The 1969 Manitoba general election was held on June 25, 1969 to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) 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.
Although the NDP had risen from third place to only one seat short of a majority, it was not clear what form the government would take in the days immediately following the election. There were negotiations among the Liberals 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.Ian Stewart, Just One Vote: Jim Walding's nomination to constitutional defeat, (Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press), 2009, p. 17.
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
PartyParty Leader# ofcandidatesSeatsPopular Vote1966Elected% Change#%Change New Democratic Edward Schreyer5711 28+154.5%128,08038.27%+15.13 Progressive Conservative Walter Weir5731 22 -29.0%119,02135.56%-4.40 Liberal Robert Bend57145-64.3%80,28823.99%-9.14 Jacob Froese (?)611-4,5351.36%-2.18 William Cecil Ross2---7440.22%+0.02Independent5- 1 2,0200.60%+0.57 Total18457 57-334,688100%
See also List of Manitoba political parties
Riding results
Party key: PC: Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba L: Manitoba Liberal Party NDP: New Democratic Party of Manitoba SC: Manitoba Social Credit Party Comm: Communist Party of Canada - Manitoba Ind: Independent
Arthur: (incumbent)J. Douglas Watt (PC) 3133 John McRae (L) 1375 Raymond Jones (NDP) 980
Assiniboia: (incumbent)Stephen Patrick (L) 2355 Bill Docking (PC) 2329 Curtis Nordman (NDP) 1466
Brandon East: Leonard Evans (NDP) 3035 Emily Lyons (PC) 1962 Don Martin (L) 1194
Brandon West: Edward McGill (PC) 2814 James M. Skinner (NDP) 2310 Terry Penton (L) 1796
Burrows: (incumbent)Ben Hanuschak (NDP) 3418 Wasyl Michael Swystun (PC) 1317 Olga E. Lewicki (L) 751 Andrew Bileski (Comm) 323
Charleswood: Arthur Moug (PC) 3401 Duncan Edmonds (L) 2361 John C. Hilgenga (NDP) 1325
Churchill: Gordon Beard (Ind) 1151 Walter Perepeluk (L) 971 Andre Champagne (PC) 913 Wilf Hudson (NDP) 822
Crescentwood: Cy Gonick (NDP) 2689 (incumbent)Gurney Evans (PC) 2416 Francis Creighton Muldoon (L) 1422
Dauphin: Peter Burtniak (NDP) 2933 (incumbent)Stewart McLean (PC) 2892 Robert E. Sheldon (L) 620
Elmwood: (incumbent)Russell Doern (NDP) 3803 Alan George Gardiner (PC) 1526 John Kozoriz (L) 1053
Emerson: Gabriel Girard (PC) 2467 (incumbent)John Tanchak (L) 2014 Stephen Zaretski (NDP) 695 Jacob Wall (SC) 237
Flin Flon: Thomas Barrow (NDP) 2045 (incumbent)Charles H. Witney (PC) 1675 Francis Jobin (L) 1276
Fort Garry: Bud Sherman (PC) 3570 G. Grant Cosby (NDP) 2063 Richard Alan Wankling (L) 1936
Fort Rouge: Inez Trueman (PC) 2750 Una Decter (NDP) 2446 Jane Sayler Heffelfinger (L) 1941
Gimli: John Gottfried (NDP) 2159 Eric Stefanson (PC) 1936 Walter Griffin (L) 1663
Gladstone: James Ferguson (PC) 3000 (incumbent)Nelson Shoemaker (L) 2583 Mary McIntosh (NDP) 1064
Inkster: (incumbent)Sidney Green (NDP) 4001 Robert Armstrong (PC) 989 Gurzon Harvey (L) 661
Kildonan: (incumbent)Peter Fox (NDP) 4589 Don Mills (PC) 1876 John Gugulyn (L) 851
Lac Du Bonnet: (incumbent)Samuel Uskiw (NDP) 4060 (incumbent)Fred Klym (PC) 1267 Al Tymko (L) 806
Lakeside: (incumbent)Harry Enns (PC) 2532 Robert Bend (L) 2190
Logan: William Jenkins (NDP) 3029 Samuel Minuk (PC) 871 Howard Ferguson (L) 679
Minnedosa: (incumbent)Walter Weir (PC) 3525 Emile Roy Shellborn (NDP) 1713 Donald McNabb (L) 1028
Osborne: Ian Turnbull (NDP) 3188 (incumbent)Obie Baizley (PC) 2565 Win Loewen (L) 965
Pembina: George Henderson (PC) 2823 Kenneth John Draper (L) 1815 David Harms (SC) 521 Edith Alsop (NDP) 336
Portage la Prairie: (incumbent)Gordon Johnston (L) 2451 Harvey Carmichael (PC) 2440 Sidney Coulthard (NDP) 1049
Radisson: Harry Shafransky (NDP) 3707 Edward Joseph Albert Kotowich (L) 2284 Moreen Henderson (PC) 1054
Rhineland: (incumbent)Jacob Froese (SC) 1981 Henry Hildebrand (PC) 1853 Willo Sterritt Forrester (L) 782 Jacob W. Heinrichs (NDP) 181
Riel: (incumbent)Donald Craik (PC) 3125 James Edward Buchanan (NDP) 3096 Raymond Spence (L) 1423
River Heights: (incumbent)Sidney Spivak (PC) 4623 Mark Danzker (L) 1573 Jack Silverberg (NDP) 1051
Roblin: (incumbent)J. Wally McKenzie (PC) 2579 (incumbent)Mike Kawchuk (NDP) 2448 J.R. Mitchell (L) 516
Rock Lake: (incumbent)Henry Einarson (PC) 3064 Remi Engelbert DePape (L) 1818 Timothy Leonard (NDP) 763
Rossmere: Edward Schreyer (NDP) 4089 David Wilfred Pekary (PC) 1746 Vern Breckman (L) 631 Stanley Copp (Ind) 238
Rupertsland: Jean Allard (NDP) 1366 S. P. Berthelette (L) 1142 Paul Burelle (PC) 1026
St. Boniface: (incumbent)Laurent Desjardins (L) 4210 Kamil Michael Gajdosik (NDP) 2656 Maurice J. Arpin (PC) 1110
St. George: Bill Uruski (NDP) 2284 (incumbent)Elman Guttormson (L) 1886 Joseph Schwartz (PC) 1169
St. James: Al Mackling (NDP) 3642 (incumbent)Douglas Stanes (PC) 2676 Peter Moss (L) 1404
St. Johns: (incumbent)Saul Cherniack (NDP) 3642 Joe Rozmus (PC) 1014 George Strewchuk (L) 736
St. Matthews: Wally Johannson (NDP) 2974 (incumbent)Robert Steen (PC) 2217 Rudy Peters (L) 1119
Ste. Rose: (incumbent)Gildas Molgat (L) 2247 Heinz Marohn (PC) 1198 Leon Hoefer (NDP) 754 Norma Oswald (SC) 313
Selkirk: Howard Pawley (NDP) 3374 Robert Stefan Oliver (PC) 2054 George S. Sigurdson (L) 835 Thomas Norquay (Ind) 57
Seven Oaks: (incumbent)Saul Miller (NDP) 4203 Daniel Abraham Yanofsky (PC) 1505 Evelyne Rosborough (L) 813
Souris-Killarney: (incumbent)Malcolm Earl McKellar (PC) 3053 (incumbent)Edward Dow (L) 1982 Wayne Williams (NDP) 892
Springfield: Rene Toupin (NDP) 2724 George Mulder (PC) 1551 Hector Bahuaud (L) 807
Sturgeon Creek: Frank Johnston (PC) 2781 Robert Megill Chipman (L) 2251 Stanley J. Carter (NDP) 1251 William John Turner (Ind) 336 James Farrell (Ind) 238
Swan River: (incumbent)James Bilton (PC) 1920 Alex Filuk (NDP) 1757 Jerry Webb (SC) 1252 Gordon Beaumont (L) 766
The Pas: Ron McBryde (NDP) 1556 (incumbent)John Carroll (PC) 1361 Calvert D. Gibson (L) 963
Thompson: (incumbent)Joseph Borowski (NDP) 2436 Thomas Farrell (PC) 1500 Maurice Desjardins (L) 843
Transcona: (incumbent)Russ Paulley (NDP) 4614 Thelma Jean Opseth Call (L) 1488 Kenn Gunn-Walberg (PC) 1052
Virden: (incumbent)Morris McGregor (PC) 2161 (incumbent)Earl Dawson (L) 1571 Ralph Rowan (NDP) 1531
Wellington: (incumbent)Philip Petursson (NDP) 3260 William McGarva (PC) 1522 Thomas Bernes(L) 1035
Winnipeg Centre: Bud Boyce (NDP) 2398 (incumbent)James Cowan (PC) 1451 Joseph Wapemoose (L) 822
Wolseley: (incumbent)Leonard Claydon (PC) 2360 Hans J. Wittich (NDP) 1743 Paul N. Duval (L) 1391
Post-election changes
Jack Hardy (St. Vital, PC) resigned his seat. A by-election was called for April 5, 1971.
Ste. Rose (res. Gildas Molgat, October 7, 1970), April 5, 1971: Aime Adam (NDP) 2785 Fred Werbiski (L) 2118 John Borcher (PC) 1792
Minnedosa (res. Walter Weir, September 1971), November 16, 1971: Dave Blake (PC) 3532 Emil Shellborn (NDP) 2348 Hugh Stephenson (L) 1129
Laurent Desjardins formally joined the NDP in 1971.
Wolseley (dec. Leonard Claydon, 1971), June 16, 1972: Israel Asper (L) 3530 Ernie J. Enns (PC) 2271 Vic Schroeder (NDP) 2174 William Hawryluk (Ind) 45
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 (dec. Gordon Beard, November 12, 1972)
References
Further reading