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Electoral history of Louis St. Laurent

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St. Laurent in 1950.

This article is the electoral history of Louis St. Laurent, the twelfth prime minister of Canada (1948–1957).

A Liberal, St. Laurent served one term as prime minister (1948–1957), succeeding William Lyon Mackenzie King. He won two general elections (1948, 1953) and lost one (1957). John Diefenbaker succeeded him as prime minister, while Lester Pearson became the leader of the Liberal Party.

He stood for election to the House of Commons of Canada five times, all successfully.

Summary

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Canada had nine provinces and two territories when St. Laurent became Prime Minister in 1948.
Canada had ten provinces and two territories when St. Laurent left office in 1957.

St. Laurent ranks ninth out of twenty-three prime ministers for time in office, serving one term of eight years and 218 days.[1]

St. Laurent was the third of eight prime ministers from Quebec, the others being Sir John Abbott, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Pierre Trudeau, Brian Mulroney, Jean Chrétien, Paul Martin and Justin Trudeau. He was also the second of five francophone prime ministers, the others being Laurier, Pierre Trudeau, Chrétien, and Justin Trudeau.

A late-comer to politics, St. Laurent was a well-respected lawyer when Prime Minister Mackenzie King recruited him to the federal government, to replace Ernest Lapointe, King's long-time Quebec lieutenant, who had died suddenly.[2] St. Laurent served in King's government as Minister of Justice and Minister of External Affairs, as well as King's political Quebec lieutenant.[3] When King retired after his lengthy time in office, he supported St. Laurent for the leadership of the Liberal Party. St. Laurent won on the first ballot and automatically became prime minister.

St. Laurent led the Liberal Party in two general elections in 1949 and 1953, winning majority governments each time. However, in his third general election, the major issue was the building of a trans-Canada gas pipeline, with financing from the federal government. The financing proposal triggered a controversial debate in the House of Commons, which St. Laurent's government ended by the use of closure to push the measure through the Commons. St. Laurent and the Liberals were defeated in the general election of 1957, with John Diefenbaker forming a minority government. St. Laurent stayed on as Liberal leader and Leader of the Opposition for half a year after the election. He resigned as Liberal leader early in 1958 and retired from politics.[3] He was succeeded as Liberal leader by Lester B. Pearson.

St. Laurent stood for election to the Canadian House of Commons five times, all for the riding of Quebec East. He was elected each time (1942 (by-election), 1945, 1949, 1953 and 1957). He served in the Commons for a total of 16 years, 1 month, 20 days.[3]

Federal general elections, 1949 to 1957

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St. Laurent led the Liberal Party in three general elections, winning two majority governments and losing once.

St. Laurent won a decisive victory in the 1949 election. George Drew, the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, continued as Leader of the Opposition.

Canadian Federal Election, 1949 - Parties, Leaders, Seats Won and Popular Vote
Party Leaders Seats Won Popular Vote
Liberal Louis St. Laurent1 191 49.2%
  Progressive Conservative George A. Drew2 41 29.7%
  Co-operative Commonwealth Federation M. J. Coldwell 13 13.4%
Social Credit Solon Earl Low 10 2.3%
  Independent 4 2.1%
  Independent Liberal 1 0.5%
  Liberal-Labour 1 0.2%
Liberal–Progressive 1 0.2%
Total 262 97.6%3
Sources: Library of Parliament – History of Federal Ridings since 1867

1 Prime Minister when election was called; Prime Minister after election.
2 Leader of the Opposition when election was called; Leader of the Opposition after the election.
3 Table does not include parties which received votes but did not elect any members.

St. Laurent won a second victory in the 1953 election, though with a reduced majority. George Drew, the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, continued as Leader of the Opposition.

Canadian Federal Election, 1953 - Parties, Leaders, Seats Won and Popular Vote
Party Leaders Seats Won Popular Vote
Liberal Louis St. Laurent1 169 48.4%
  Progressive Conservative George A. Drew2 51 31.0%
  Co-operative Commonwealth Federation M. J. Coldwell 23 11.3%
Social Credit Solon Earl Low 15 5.4%
  Independent 3 1.0%
  Independent Liberal 2 1.2%
Liberal–Progressive 1 1.1%
  Liberal-Labour 1 0.2%
Total 265 99.6%3
Sources: Library of Parliament – History of Federal Ridings since 1867

1 Prime Minister when election was called; Prime Minister after election.
2 Leader of the Opposition when election was called; Leader of the Opposition after the election.
3 Table does not include parties which received votes but did not elect any members.

St. Laurent went to the polls a third time in 1957, but the election resulted in a hung parliament, with no party having a majority. Although the Liberals came in first in the popular vote, they came in second in seats in the House of Commons, behind John Diefenbaker and the Progressive Conservatives. St. Laurent resigned and Diefenbaker formed a minority government. St. Laurent became Leader of the Opposition, but resigned as Liberal leader in early 1958 and retired from politics.

Canadian Federal Election, 1957 - Parties, Leaders, Seats Won and Popular Vote
Party Leaders Seats Won Popular Vote
  Progressive Conservative John Diefenbaker1 112 38.5%
Liberal Louis St. Laurent2 105 40.5%
  Co-operative Commonwealth Federation M. J. Coldwell 25 10.6%
Social Credit Solon Earl Low 19 6.5%
  Others 4 1.0%
  Spoiled ballots 1.1%
Total 265 98.2%3
Sources: Library of Parliament – History of Federal Ridings since 1867

1 Leader of the Opposition when election was called; Prime Minister after election.
2 Prime Minister when election was called; Leader of the Opposition after the election.
3 Table does not include parties which received votes but did not elect any members.

Federal constituency elections, 1942 to 1957

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By-election on 9 February 1942

On Lapointe's death, 26 November 1941

Party Candidate Votes
Liberal Louis St. Laurent 16,708
  Canadian Party Paul Bouchard 12,768


1945 Canadian federal election: Quebec East
Party Candidate Votes
Liberal Louis St. Laurent 17,965
Independent Noël Dorion 7,197
Social Credit Gérard Mercier 2,816
Bloc populaire Joseph-Norbert-Jules Thérien 1,463
Independent Paul-Émile Latouche 280
Co-operative Commonwealth François-Xavier Perron 231
Labor–Progressive Joseph-Gaudias De Croiselles 109
1949 Canadian federal election: Quebec East
Party Candidate Votes
Liberal Louis St. Laurent 25,832
Progressive Conservative Mark Robert Drouin 7,876
Union des électeurs Alphonse Tousignant 1,395

1953 Canadian federal election: Quebec East
Party Candidate Votes
Liberal Louis St. Laurent 25,945
Progressive Conservative Raymond Maher 5,841
Labor–Progressive Gérard Fortin 438
  Locataire Louis Seigneur 417
  Anti-Communist Patrick Walsh 333
1957 Canadian federal election: Quebec East
Party Candidate Votes
Liberal Louis St. Laurent 27,364
Progressive Conservative Louis Gagnon 9,900
Social Credit Roland Roy 739

Liberal Party leadership convention, 1948

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St. Laurent entered the convention as the favourite, with King's support in opposition to James Gardiner, the long-time Minister of Agriculture from Saskatchewan. St. Laurent won on the first ballot, after most other nominees dropped out as a result of King's manoeuvering behind the scenes.

Liberal Leadership Convention, August 7, 1948
Voting results by ballot
Candidate First Ballot
Votes cast %
Louis St. Laurent 848 69.1%
James Garfield Gardiner 323 26.3%
Charles Gavan Power 56 4.6%
Douglas Abbott*
Lionel Chevrier*
Brooke Claxton*
Stuart Garson*
C.D. Howe*
Paul Martin Sr.*
Total 1,227 100.0%
Source: CPAC – 1948 Liberal Convention
  • Nominated, but withdrew on the floor of the convention prior to the first ballot.

See also

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References

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