1948 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election


The 1948 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election was called to replace retiring Liberal leader and sitting Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King. The convention was held exactly 29 years after the 1919 leadership convention that saw King elected Liberal leader.
Secretary of State for External Affairs Louis St. Laurent defeated Minister of Agriculture James Garfield Gardiner and former cabinet minister Charles Gavan Power on the first ballot, and would be sworn in as Prime Minister later that year.

Candidates

[James Garfield Gardiner]

;Background
Premier of Saskatchewan
MP for Melville, Saskatchewan
MP for Assiniboia, Saskatchewan
Minister of Agriculture
Gardiner, 64, called for increased immigration and closer ties to the United Kingdom. His support was strongest in Alberta, British Columbia, and his home province of Saskatchewan, and he was seen as St. Laurent's primary competition. His convention speech, which went over the allotted 20 minutes, asked for a chance to be the party's "spark plug." King campaigned hard against Gardiner, calling his campaign "ruthless and selfish," and criticized his tactics.

[Charles Gavan Power]

;Background
MP for Quebec South, Quebec
Senator for Gulf, Quebec
Minister of Pensions and National Health
Postmaster General
Minister of National Defence for Air
Associate Minister of National Defence
Power, 60, had resigned from cabinet during World War II amidst the Conscription Crisis of 1944 due to his opposition to conscription. Power left the Liberals to sit as an "Independent Liberal," and was elected as such during the 1945 election. Following the war, Power rejoined the Liberals. His convention speech called for electoral reform, and called on the party to return to its policy of protecting individual rights.

[Louis St. Laurent]

;Background
MP for Quebec East, Quebec
Minister of Justice and Attorney General
Secretary of State for External Affairs
St. Laurent, 66, was King's personal choice, and King campaigned hard for St. Laurent to win. King lobbied hard behind the scenes, reversing his earlier pledge not to vote on the first ballot and convincing various other cabinet ministers to enter the race and withdraw in favour of St. Laurent. St. Laurent's support was seen as strong throughout the country, especially Ontario and Quebec. St. Laurent's convention speech told delegates that his government would fight to prevent the spread of communism abroad, and that the Liberals were the only party capable of bridging the gap between English Canada and French Canada, and respect provincial rights.

Withdrawn candidates

King, in his behind the scenes attempt to swing the convention in favour of St. Laurent, convinced the following candidates to run for the leadership but withdraw at the convention to support St. Laurent:
There was an attempt to draft Premier of Nova Scotia Angus Lewis Macdonald after he gave a rousing speech to the convention but he announced that he would not stand.

Results