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Manitoba general election, 1936


Manitoba's general election of July 27, 1936 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada.

This was the second election in Manitoba after the formation of a Liberal-Progressive alliance in 1932. The Progressive Party, which had governed the province since 1922, forged an alliance with the Liberal Party just prior to the 1932 provincial election to prevent the Conservative Party from winning. This alliance won the 1932 election under Premier John Bracken's leadership, and the two parties had effectively become united by 1936.

The Liberal-Progressives faced opposition from a variety of parties in the 1936 election. The Conservative Party remained the dominant opposition group, and the most serious challenge to the government. On the left, the Independent Labour Party (ILP) formed an alliance with the national Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF), and contested the election as the ILP-CCF. The Communist Party also fielded a strong candidate in Winnipeg, while the upstart Social Credit League also ran candidates, hoping to repeat William Aberhart's surprising victory in Alberta the previous year.

Despite economic hardships in the province, Bracken expected that his government would be returned with another majority. He was mistaken. Although the Liberal-Progressives won the election, they could claim only twenty-two seats out of 53 after the initial results were declared. The Conservative party, under its new leader, former federal Member of Parliament (MP) Errick Willis, finished a close second with sixteen. The ILP-CCF won seven seats, while the Social Credit League unexpectedly won five. One independent Liberal was also elected. A number of rural ridings, which had previously supported Liberal-Progressive candidates, shifted to the Conservatives or to Social Credit in this poll.


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