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The Canadian Election of 1926
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 September 2013
Extract
For the second time within twelve months, the continuing parliamentary tangle in Canada gave rise, on September 14, 1926, to a general election which not only was one of the most bitterly contested in years, but was focused, on the surface at least, upon a constitutional crisis without precedent in the history of the dominion. The outcome, however, proved to be considerably more decisive than the conflict of a year before, the Liberal party winning 119 seats—only four short of a clear majority in the House of Commons—which, with its Progressive and farmer allies, should mean that it will be able to restore relatively stable party government to Canada for the next few years.
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- Foreign Governments and Politics
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- Copyright © American Political Science Association 1927
References
1 For brief accounts of the 1925 election see the writer's article in the Review for Feb., 1926, and Keenleyside, Hugh L., “The Canadian Election of 1925,” in Current History, Jan., 1926.Google Scholar
2 Senator Bureau, however, had been replaced in September, 1925, by Mr. George H. Boivin.
3 Cf. the Round Table, Sept., 1926, for speculations as to what actually happened.
4 M. Bourassa complained that he first heard of it from an Asiatic consul he met casually strolling through the lobbies of Parliament.
5 Quoted in the New York Times, July 3, 1926.
6 Cf. “The Constitutional Crisis in Canada,” in the Round Table, Sept., 1926.
7 Quoted in the above article.
8 Cf. his Imperial Unity and the Dominions (Clarendon Press, 1916), 85–120, for an illuminating discussion of this development. Kennedy, also, characterizes the refusal of dissolution as an “act of extreme danger,” in The Constitution of Canada (London, 1922), 383.
9 Quoted in the Christian Science Monitor, July 31, 1926. The Manchester Guardian argued similarly. Cf., for example, its weekly edition of July 9, 1926.
10 Cf. New York Times, Nov. 21, 1926, for a summary of this declaration, which emphasized the fact that henceforth the governor-general should be the representative, not of the British Government, but of the crown only.
11 Montreal Gazette, Sept. 1, 1926.
12 Montreal Gazette, Sept. 6, 1926.
13 Wittke, C., “The Conservative Defeat in Canada,” in Current History, Nov., 1926.Google Scholar
14 Montreal Gazette, Sept. 7, 1926.
15 Ibid., Sept. 2, 1926.
16 Montreal Gazette, Sept. 3, 1926.
17 Ibid., Sept. 4, 1926.
18 These returns are unofficial, as reported by the Canadian Press, Ltd., an impartial news-gathering agency.
19 His defeated colleagues included E. L. Patenaude, minister of justice; Andrè Fauteux, solicitor-general; Eugene Paquet, minister of health and soldiers' civil rëestablishment; Donald Sutherland and Dr. Morand, ministers without portfolio.
20 Non-voting in dominion elections since the war has approximated thirty per cent of the eligible electorate in each instance. Cf. The Canada Year Book (1925), p. 1053, for statistical data on the popular vote since 1911.
21 These percentages, for the 1926 election, are approximations only, based upon slightly incomplete and unofficial returns (9 constituencies missing), as published by the Montreal Gazette, October 6, 1926.
22 These tabulations are based upon the list of candidates and occupations given in a preliminary print of Part IV of the report to be issued under Section 72 of the Dominion Election Act, by the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada.
23 Lord Byng's successor, Viscount Willingdon, was sworn in as the new governor-general at Quebec on October 2, amid the traditionally colorful trappings of empire. The interest of the populace in the event seemed as keen as ever.
24 The appointment of Mr. Vincent Massey as Canadian minister at Washington happily synchronizes with these developments.
25 Cf. Harold J. Laski, “The Position of Parties and the Right of Dissolution,” Fabian Tract No. 210, for a vigorous analysis of the dangers flowing from the failure of the crown to accept ministerial advice in all circumstances.
26 The make-up of the new cabinet, as announced in the press on September 25, is as follows: prime minister and secretary of state for external affairs, W. L. Mackenzie King; justice, Ernest Lapointe; finance, J. A. Robb; railways and canals, C. A. Dunning; interior, Charles Stewart; public works, J. C. Elliott; agriculture, W. R. Motherwell; trade and commerce, James Malcolm; health and soldiers' civil re-establishment, Dr. J. H. King; immigration and colonization, Robert Forke; marine and fisheries, P. J. A. Cardin; labor, Peter Heenan; defense, Col. J. L. Ralston; postmaster-general, P. J. Veniot; secretary of state, Fernand Rinfret; solicitor-general, Lucien Cannon; ministers without portfolio, Raoül Dandurand, J. E. Sinclair, and E. A. Lapierre.
27 The failure of the Canadian Senate to function as a federal institution has in part been compensated by this unwritten rule insuring provincial and linguistic minorities representation in the cabinet.
28 Christian Science Monitor, Oct. 24, 1926.
29 In working out the periodic redistributions of seats in the House, Canadian practice has been to accord more favorable treatment to rural than to urban districts, on the ground (1) that city populations have greater solidarity and compactness and (2) that the sparseness of rural populations requires smaller geographical units for purposes of political representation. In the past, both parties have accepted this principle; now it appears that the Conservatives are going to demand equality of representation on a more strictly populational basis. Cf. the speech of the new Conservative leader at Montreal on Oct. 23, as reported in the Christian Science Monitor, Oct. 21, 1926.
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