1969 Manitoba general election


The 1969 Manitoba general election was held on June 25, 1969 to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Canadian province of Manitoba. It was a watershed moment in the province's political history. The social-democratic New Democratic Party emerged for the first time as the largest party in the legislature, winning 28 out of 57 seats. The governing Progressive Conservative Party fell to 22, and the once-dominant Liberal Party fell to an historical low of five. The Social Credit Party won one seat, and there was also one Independent elected.
It was not clear what form the government would take in the days immediately following the election. There were negotiations among the Liberal and Progressive Conservatives to form a minority coalition government, supported by the Social Credit and Independent members; under this scenario, former Liberal leader Gildas Molgat would have become Premier. These plans came to nothing when Liberal MLA Laurent Desjardins announced that he would sit as a "Liberal Democrat" supporting the NDP, allowing the NDP to form government by one seat. Edward Schreyer became the province's first social democratic Premier shortly thereafter.
The Manitoba NDP had a total election budget of $45,000. Although very small by modern standards, this was the most the party had ever spent up to this time.
The Liberals had managed to remain as the Official Opposition for a decade after losing power in 1959. However, this would be the start of almost 20 years in the political wilderness; the party would not come close to governing again until winning opposition status in 1988.

Results

Riding results

Party key:
denotes incumbent.
Arthur:
Assiniboia:
Brandon East:
Brandon West:
Burrows:
Charleswood:
Churchill:
Crescentwood:
Dauphin:
Elmwood:
Emerson:
Flin Flon:
Fort Garry:
Fort Rouge:
Gimli:
Gladstone:
Inkster:
Kildonan:
Lac Du Bonnet:
Lakeside:
Logan:
Minnedosa:
Osborne:
Pembina:
Portage la Prairie:
Radisson:
Rhineland:
Riel:
River Heights:
Roblin:
Rock Lake:
Rossmere:
Rupertsland:
St. Boniface:
St. George:
St. James:
St. Johns:
St. Matthews:
Ste. Rose:
Selkirk:
Seven Oaks:
Souris-Killarney:
Springfield:
Sturgeon Creek:
Swan River:
The Pas:
Thompson:
Transcona:
Virden:
Wellington:
Winnipeg Centre:
Wolseley:
Jack Hardy resigned his seat. A by-election was called for April 5, 1971.
Ste. Rose, April 5, 1971:
Minnedosa, November 16, 1971:
Laurent Desjardins formally joined the NDP in 1971.
Wolseley, June 16, 1972:
Jean Allard left the NDP to sit as an Independent on April 7, 1972. Joseph Borowski left the NDP caucus on June 25, 1972.
Churchill