A plebiscite on conscription was held in Canada on 27 April 1942.Nohlen, D (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I, p127 It was held in response to the Conservative Party lobbying Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King (Liberal leader) to introduce compulsory overseas military service, the government having previously promised not to introduce same in 1940. The result was 66% voting in favour,Nohlen, p130 with Quebec being the only province to have a majority voting against. Quebec's strong majority against the commitment's release prompted the prime minister not to pursue the issue until later events prompted a change in position.
Content The following question appeared on the ballot: Are you in favour of releasing the Government from any obligations arising out of any past commitments restricting the methods of raising men for military service?French: Consentez-vous à libérer le gouvernement de toute obligation résultant d'engagements antérieurs restreignant les méthodes de mobilisation pour le service militaire?
Opinion polling Completion Date Polling firm Source YesNo Undecided Lead April 27, 1942 Official results 65.62% 34.38% 31.24% March 1942 Gallup 64 28 8 36 February 1942 Gallup 60 24 16 36 December 27, 1941 Gallup Gallup and Fortune Polls. (1942). The Public Opinion Quarterly, 6(1), 140–174. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2745046 60 30 10 30
Quebec polling only Completion Date Polling firm Source YesNo Lead April 27, 1942 Official results 27.9% 72.1% 44.2% March 1942 Gallup 25 75 50 February 1942 Gallup 39 61 22
Results National
By province
|- style="text-align:center;background:#E9E9E9;" ! colspan="5" | Canadian conscription plebiscite, 1942 Provincial results |- style="text-align:center;background:#E9E9E9;" ! rowspan="2" style="text-align:left;" | Jurisdiction ! colspan="2" | Yes ! colspan="2" | No |- style="text-align:center;background:#E9E9E9;" ! Votes !! % !! Votes !! % |- | style="text-align:left;" | Alberta || 186,624 || || 75,880 || 28.9 |- | style="text-align:left;" | British Columbia || 253,844 || || 62,033 || 19.6 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Manitoba || 218,093 || || 53,651 || 19.7 |- | style="text-align:left;" | New Brunswick || 105,629 || || 45,743 || 30.2 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Nova Scotia || 120,763 || || 35,840 || 22.1 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Ontario || 1,202,953 || || 229,847 || 16.0 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Prince Edward Island || 23,569 || || 4,869 || 17.1 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Quebec || 375,650 || 27.9 || 971,925 || |- | style="text-align:left;" | Saskatchewan || 183,617 || || 67,654 || 26.9 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Yukon || 847 || || 291 || 25.6 |- style="background:#F2F2F2;" ! style="text-align:left;" | Total civilian vote !! 2,670,088 !! !! 1,547,724 !! 36.7 |- style="background:#F2F2F2;" | style="text-align:left;" | Military vote || 251,118 || || 60,885 || 19.5 |- style="background:#F2F2F2;" ! style="text-align:left;" | Canada !! 2,921,206 !! !! 1,608,609 !! 35.5
The referendum was held in all 245 electoral districts, which covered all nine provinces and one of the two territories. Residents in the Northwest Territories did not have a vote, as their area was not organized as an electoral district.
References