The 1949 Newfoundland general election was held on 27 May 1949 to elect members of the 29th General Assembly of Newfoundland. It was the first general election held since Newfoundland joined Canadian confederation on 31 March 1949 and the first Newfoundland-wide election of any kind since the suspension of responsible government and the creation of the Commission of Government in 1934. The election was won by the Liberal Party.
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28 seats of the Newfoundland House of Assembly 15 seats were needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Joey Smallwood was invited to form an interim administration when Newfoundland became a part of Canada just before midnight on March 31, 1949. This interim Smallwood administration continued until the results of the May election.
The election was held under the House of Assembly Act of 1932, with the same 27 seats, plus a new seat for Labrador, though the election in the Labrador seat was deferred until July 25. The five seats where Progressive Conservatives won had all voted heavily against confederation in the 1948 Newfoundland referendums.
Results by district
editCandidates by district | ||||||
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Electoral District | Liberal | Progressive Conservative | Independent | |||
Bonavista North | Joey Smallwood 4,215 |
J.M. Wray 637 |
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Bonavista South | Ted Russell 3,462 |
Walter Young 1,583 |
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Burgeo and LaPoile | Herman W. Quinton 3,225 |
E.J. Skinner 256 |
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Burin | Phillip Forsey 3,947 |
Grace Sparkes 416 |
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Carbonear-Bay de Verde | Herbert Pottle 3,770 |
C.W. Puddester 1,627 |
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Ferryland | Augustus Greene 456 |
- | Peter Cashin 2,506 J.J. O'Brien 338 | |||
Fogo | Gordon Janes 3,121 |
Harold Earle 602 |
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Fortune Bay and Hermitage | John R. Courage 4,032 |
C.D. Pinsent 325 |
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Grand Falls | Edward Spencer 7,014 |
L.R. Cooper 1,586 |
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Green Bay | Baxter Morgan 2,901 |
Roy Manuel 429 |
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Harbour Grace | James Chalker 2,066 |
R.A. Parsons 1,237 |
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Harbour Main-Bell Island (Multi-Member) | T. Addison Brown 2,927 Myles P. Murray 2,807 |
David Jackman 4,259 Ronald Fahey 3,808 |
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Humber | Charles Ballam 7,174 |
Pierce Fudge 1,307 |
Louis Bonnell 136 | |||
Labrador (election held July 25, 1949) | Harold Horwood 1,268 |
R.A. Parsons 133 |
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Placentia and St. Mary's | Michael J. Sinnott 2,022 |
Leonard J. Miller 2,166 |
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Placentia West | Patrick Canning 3,100 |
L.J. Murphy 860 |
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Port de Grave | George Makinson 2,243 |
W.R. Dawe 1,222 |
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St. Barbe | Reginald F. Sparkes 2,588 |
George Whiteley 190 |
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St. George's-Port au Port | William Keough 4,076 |
J.J. Dawson 925 |
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St. John's East (Multi-Member) | Geoffrey C. Carnell 6,417 James M. Fagan 6,276 |
John G. Higgins 6,878 Frank Fogwill 6,611 |
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St. John's West (Multi-Member) | Oliver Vardy 8,411 James Spratt 8,363 |
Harry Mews 7,526 Michael F. Harrington 7,381 |
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Trinity North | Samuel J. Hefferton 3,727 |
James Mifflin 1,027 |
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Trinity South | Maxwell Button 3,070 |
Isaac Mercer 1,152 |
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Twillingate | Leslie Curtis 3,100 |
C.L. Parkins 293 |
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White Bay | Sam Drover 4,023 |
F.M. Wells 417 |
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References
edit- Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, volume 1. Newfoundland Book Publishers (1967) Ltd. 1981. p. 723. Retrieved May 17, 2019.