1944 Saskatchewan general election


The 1944 Saskatchewan general election was the tenth provincial election in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It was held on June 15, 1944 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan.
The election was held six years after the previous election. There is normally a five-year limit on the lifespan of Parliaments and provincial assemblies in Canada, but the emergency brought on by the Second World War allowed the government to delay the election temporarily.
standing under a Co-operative Commonwealth Federation election billboard with C.M. Fines and Clarence Gillis shortly after the historic 1944 election that swept the Saskatchewan CCF to power.
It marked the first time a socialist government was elected anywhere in Canada. Co-operative Commonwealth Federation leader Tommy Douglas became the premier of the province.
The CCF won 47 of the 52 seats in the legislature, and over half the popular vote, despite a very negative campaign by the governing Liberal Party. The Liberals, led by William John Patterson, accused Douglas of being a communist.
The Liberal popular vote fell by 10 percentage points, and they won only five seats. It is still the worst defeat of a sitting government in Saskatchewan's history.
The Social Credit Party of Saskatchewan, which had won 16% of the vote and two seats in the 1938 election, collapsed; the party had only one candidate, who won only 249 votes.
The Communist Party-led Unity movement reverted to the name Labor-Progressive Party, and lost both of the seats it had won in 1938.
The Conservative Party, renamed the Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan and led by Rupert Ramsay, won over 10% of the vote, but no seats.
An at-large service vote was held for Saskatchewan residents in the Canadian armed services fighting during World War II. This special vote elected three nonpartisan members to represent Saskatchewan soldiers, sailors and airmen stationed in 1.) Great Britain, 2.) the Mediterranean region and 3.) Newfoundland and Canada outside the province. Alberta had a similar system during the war.

Results

Note: * Party did not nominate candidates in previous election.

Percentages

Ranking

Riding-by-riding results

Names in bold represent cabinet ministers and the Speaker. Party leaders are italicized. The symbol " ** " indicates MLAs who are not running again.

Northwestern Saskatchewan

Francis Xavier Poitras 5

Northeastern Saskatchewan

West Central Saskatchewan

East Central Saskatchewan

Southwest Saskatchewan

Southeast Saskatchewan

Urban constituencies

Dempster Henry Ratcliffe Heming
5894
Harold Walpole Pope
2887
Hugh Alexander Tiers
1036
William George Baker
Arthur Thomas Stone
7792
Robert Mitford Pinder
3924
Henry Oswald Wright
3171
Russell Hartney 200
John Harrison Hilton 121
James Wilfred Estey
Charles Cromwell Williams
14784
Bernard J. McDaniel
10551
Claude Henry James Burrows
3114
Percy McCuaig Anderson**

By-elections

!align="left" colspan=3|Total
!align="right"|6,314
!align="right"|
!align="right"|
!align="left" colspan=3|Total
!align="right"|3,085
!align="right"|
!align="right"|
!align="left" colspan=3|Total
!align="right"|6,514
!align="right"|
!align="right"|

1944 service elections

Active Service Voters, Saskatchewan members of the Canadian armed services on active duty outside of Saskatchewan, were polled between October 17 and October 30, 1944. One representative was elected from each of three areas. These candidates did not specify any party affiliation.

Area 1 (Great Britain)

Area 2 (Mediterranean Theatre)

Area 3 (Canada outside of Saskatchewan/Newfoundland)