# 1963 Alberta general election

The 1963 Alberta general election was held on June 17, 1963, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.
The Social Credit Party, led by Ernest C. Manning, won its eighth consecutive term in government, winning roughly the same number of seats in the legislature and share of popular vote that it had in the 1959 election.
Some Social Credit supporters were so confident of their party's chances that they talked of winning "63 in '63", i.e., all 63 seats in the legislature in the 1963 election. They fell short of this goal, but still had an overwhelming majority, reducing the opposition to only three MLAs in total. Indeed, as a share of the overall seats available, this represented Social Credit's greatest victory in its 36-year reign.
Much of the opposition vote shifted away from the Progressive Conservative Party, now led by Milt Harradence, resulting in the party losing its sole seat.
The Liberal Party was a partial beneficiary of the PC Party's decline, but picked up only one additional seat, for a total of two, despite winning almost 20% of the popular vote.
New Democratic Party candidates received 9 percent of the vote but no seats.
1963 was the last year in Alberta provincial politics when an MLA was acclaimed with the acclamation of Leonard Halmrast in Taber-Warner.
After the PCs won power, they would later speak of "79 in '79".

## Results

| Party | Party | Party Leader | # of candidates | Seats | Seats | Seats | Popular Vote | Popular Vote | Popular Vote |
| Party | Party | Party Leader | # of candidates | 1959 | Elected | % Change | # | % | % Change |
| | Social Credit | Ernest C. Manning | 63 | 61 | 60 | −1.6% | 221,107 | 54.81% | −0.88% |
| | Liberal | Dave Hunter | 55 | 1 | 2 | +100% | 79,709 | 19.76% | +5.88% |
| | Coalition | Frank Gainer | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | 2,179 | 0.54% | −0.01% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Milt Harradence | 33 | 1 | - | −100% | 51,278 | 12.71% | −11.17% |
| | NDP$^1$ | Neil Reimer | 56 | - | - | - | 37,133 | 9.45% | +5.12% |
| | Independent | Independent | 3 | - | - | - | 3,966 | 0.98% | +0.10% |
| | Independent Social Credit | Independent Social Credit | 6 | 1 | - | −100% | 3,178 | 0.79% | +0.21% |
| | Alberta Unity Movement | | 3 | * | - | * | 2,223 | 0.55% | * |
| | Progressive Conservative-Liberal | Ross Ellis | 1 | * | - | * | 1,134 | 0.28% | * |
| | Communist$^2$ | | 4 | - | - | - | 527 | 0.13% | −0.08% |
| Total | Total | Total | 225 | 65 | 63 | −3.1% | 403,444 | 100% | |
| Source: Elections Alberta ||||||||||
Notes:
$^1$ The Cooperative Commonwealth Federation adopted the name "New Democratic Party" for the 1963 and subsequent elections.
$^2$ The "Labour Progressive Party" returned to its original "Communist Party of Alberta" name for the 1963 and subsequent elections.
* Party did not nominate candidates in the previous election.
Popular vote
Social Credit
54.81%
Liberal
19.76%
PC
12.71%
New Democratic
9.45%
Coalition
0.54%
Others
2.73% :
Seats summary
Social Credit
95.24%
Liberal
3.17%
Coalition
1.59% :

## Results by riding

| Electoral district | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Incumbent |
| Electoral district | Social Credit | Social Credit | Liberal | Liberal | PC | PC | NDP | NDP | Other | Other | Incumbent | Incumbent |
| Alexandra | | Anders O. Aalborg 3,284 66.30% | | | | | | John C. Sandercock 529 10.68% | | W. Slim Thorpe (Con-Lib) 1,134 22.92% | Anders O. Aalborg |
| Athabasca | | Antonio Aloisio 2,241 50.43% | | Dave Hunter 1,827 41.11% | | | | Judith Johnston 223 5.02% | | Trygve Hansen (Comm.) 118 2.66% | Antonio Aloisio |
| Banff-Cochrane | | Victor Watson 1,878 42.68% | | | | | | Jack Fraser 331 7.52% | | Frank L. Gainer (Coal) 2,179 49.66% | Francis Leo Gainer |
| Bonnyville | | Romeo B. Lamothe 2,222 47.91% | | Albert Turcotte 1,059 22.83% | | Victor E. Justik 1,091 23.52% | | Peter G. Forman 255 5.50% | | | Karl Earnest Nordstrom |
| Bow Valley-Empress | | William Delday 2,871 60.19% | | George Timko 923 19.35% | | George A. Simpson 972 20.38% | | | | | William Delday |
| Calgary Bowness | | Charles E. Johnston 5,355 52.11% | | Peter Petrasuk 2,456 23.90% | | Albert A. Frawley 1,719 16.73% | | Everett C. Baldwin 735 7.15% | | | Charles E. Johnston |
| Calgary-Centre | | Frederick C. Colborne 4,395 61.22% | | E. Virgil Anderson 1,878 26.16% | | | | Mrs. Melba Cochlan 757 10.54% | | Dave Raichman (Comm.) 101 1.41% | Frederick C. Colborne |
| Calgary-East | | Albert W. Ludwig 4,763 60.23% | | Evelyn Leew 677 8.56% | | Bill Duncan 1,497 18.93% | | Dick Dunlop 953 12.05% | | | |
| Calgary-Glenmore | | A. Ross Lawson 4,268 31.40% | | William Daniel Dickie 6,037 44.42% | | Ned Corrigal 2,891 21.27% | | G.A.J. Otjes 374 2.75% | | | Ernest S. Watkins |
| Calgary-North | | Robert A. Simpson 4,713 56.82% | | Robert F. Goss 794 9.57% | | Larry B. Nugent 2,123 25.59% | | Steven P. Galan 647 7.80% | | | Rose Wilkinson |
| Calgary Queens Park | | Lea Leavitt 4,363 48.19% | | John Donnachie 961 10.61% | | Duncan Lovell McKillop 1,597 17.64% | | Ben S. Greenfield 509 5.62% | | Roy Alexander Farran (Ind.) 1,469 16.22% Conrad Pfeifer (Ind. SoCred) 126 1.39% | |
| Calgary-South | | Arthur J. Dixon 5,661 60.51% | | Howard G. Cook 2,529 27.03% | | | | John N. Smith 1,123 12.00% | | | |
| Calgary-West | | Donald S. Fleming 5,183 42.76% | | Ted Duncan 2,250 18.56% | | Asa Milton Harradence 4,109 33.90% | | Jack D. Peters 568 4.69% | | | Donald S. Fleming |
| Camrose | | Chester I. Sayers 3,427 56.57% | | James P. Richardson 746 12.31% | | Ernest Moore 1,519 25.07% | | Kenneth Nelson 356 5.88% | | | Chester I. Sayers |
| Cardston | | Edgar W. Hinman 2,527 68.00% | | John Fenton Webster 1,035 27.85% | | | | Collin H. Holt 150 4.04% | | | Edgar W. Hinman |
| Clover Bar | | Floyd M. Baker 3,730 57.65% | | James P. O'Dwyer 791 12.23% | | Daniel F. Hollands 1,407 21.75% | | Paul Arthur Dorin 535 8.27% | | | Floyd M. Baker |
| Cypress | | Harry E. Strom 3,030 77.71% | | Alvin H. Reiman 861 22.08% | | | | | | | Harry E. Strom |
| Drumheller-Gleichen | | Gordon Edward Taylor 4,565 86.07% | | | | | | Irene Dyck 720 13.57% | | | |
| Dunvegan | | Ernest L. Lee 1,306 52.45% | | M.H. (Milt) Connery 849 34.10% | | | | Roy A. Mitchell 325 13.05% | | | Joseph M. Scruggs |
| Edmonton North | | Ethel Sylvia Wilson 4,655 52.17% | | Thomas O'Dwyer 2,489 27.90% | | | | William H. Nash 1,743 19.54% | | | Ethel Sylvia Wilson |
| Edmonton-Centre | | Ambrose Holowach 3,378 47.56% | | Joseph A. Tannous 1,219 17.16% | | Gerard Joseph Amerongen 1,492 21.01% | | Alex Szchechina 993 13.98% | | | Ambrose Holowach |
| Edmonton-Jasper Place | | John William Horan 3,639 45.14% | | Keith C. Campbell 2,234 27.71% | | Clarence Edgar Sage 1,034 12.83% | | Patrick J. Ryan 1,128 13.99% | | | |
| Edmonton-North East | | Lou W. Heard 4,023 42.66% | | Ken McAuley 1,295 13.73% | | Allan Welsh 1,510 16.01% | | Neil Reimer 2,589 27.45% | | | Lou W. Heard |
| Edmonton-North West | | Edgar H. Gerhart 4,369 45.97% | | Edmund H. Leger 1,854 19.51% | | Ned Feehan 1,878 19.76% | | Grant W. Notley 1,391 14.64% | | | Edgar H. Gerhart |
| Edmonton-Norwood | | William Tomyn 3,905 47.86% | | J. Laurier Picard 1,628 19.95% | | J. Gordon Ozarko 1,190 14.58% | | Robert W. Douglas 1,330 16.30% | | Walter Makowecki (Comm.) 93 1.14% | William Tomyn |
| Edmonton-West | | Stanley Gordon Geldart 3,733 41.83% | | Robert A. Doyle 2,572 28.82% | | Tony Nugent 2,019 22.62% | | Neil R. Larsen 585 6.55% | | | |
| Edson | | Norman Alfred Willmore 2,668 56.16% | | Bertram E. Schoeppe 1,371 28.86% | | | | James D. Torgersen 701 14.75% | | | Norman Alfred Willmore |
| Grande Prairie | | Ira McLaughlin 4,763 72.94% | | Ed. Kimpe 997 15.27% | | | | Charles A. Evaskevich 762 11.67% | | | Ira McLaughlin |
| Grouard | | Roy Ells 3,832 62.38% | | Gunner Wahlstrom 1,595 25.96% | | | | Clif. I. Tollefson 674 10.97% | | | Roy Ells |
| Hand Hills-Acadia | | Clinton Keith French 3,215 61.77% | | | | | | | | Lyall Alexander Curry (Ind.) 1,972 37.89% | |
| Lac La Biche | | Elvin J. Woynarowich 1,479 36.11% | | Michael Maccagno 1,809 44.17% | | Henry T. Thompson 260 6.35% | | Henry Tomaschuk 297 7.25% | | Rudolph Michetti (Ind. SoCred) 246 6.01% | Michael Maccagno |
| Lac Ste. Anne | | William Patterson 2,777 51.94% | | Douglas P. McKeen 1,794 33.55% | | | | John Liss 1,474 27.57% | | | William Patterson |
| Lacombe | | Allan Russell Patrick 3,405 69.22% | | John Paul Fehrenbach 776 15.78% | | | | John Liss 1,474 29.97% | | | Allan Russell Patrick |
| Leduc | | James D. Henderson 1,898 39.74% | | Ronald John Hayter 461 9.65% | | Peter Wyllie 971 20.33% | | Andrew Simon Borys 613 12.84% | | Ronald Earl Ansley (Ind. SoCred) 731 15.31% Michael F. Hold (AUM) 88 1.84% | Ronald Earl Ansley |
| Lethbridge | | John C. Landeryou 6,975 60.05% | | Alan Cullen 3,786 32.60% | | | | James Taylor 820 7.06% | | | John C. Landeryou |
| Little Bow | | Raymond Albert Speaker 3,368 63.72% | | Arthur W. Ulrich 649 12.28% | | Douglas H. Galbraith 1,245 23.55% | | | | | Peter Dawson |
| Macleod | | James Hartley 3,127 64.57% | | | | Allie Streeter 1,466 30.27% | | John K. Head 238 4.91% | | | James Hartley |
| Medicine Hat | | Harry C. Leinweber 4,954 51.77% | | Helen Beny Gibson 2,259 23.61% | | Kenneth Roy Biddell 1,485 15.52% | | Milton J. Reinhardt 841 8.79% | | | Elizabeth G. Robinson |
| Okotoks-High River | | Edward P. Benoit 2,361 52.55% | | Robert E.G. Armstrong 448 9.97% | | Samuel Brown 1,585 35.28% | | Bill Steemson 86 1.91% | | | Ernest G. Hansell |
| Olds-Didsbury | | Robert Curtis Clark 3,950 66.79% | | | | | | Eva Banta 400 6.76% | | Roger Lebeuf (AUM) 1,550 26.21% | |
| Peace River | | Euell F. Montgomery 2,782 60.32% | | Vic. O'Reilly 980 21.25% | | Hall C. Sisson 842 18.26% | | | | | William F. Gilliland |
| Pembina | | Robin D. Jorgenson 3,067 55.78% | | Ray Brodeur 842 15.31% | | Percy Baxandall 823 14.97% | | Herman Hauch 562 10.22% | | Verdun Baxandall (Ind. SoCred) 165 3.00% | Robin D. Jorgenson |
| Pincher Creek-Crowsnest | | William A. Kovach 2,524 54.30% | | Thomas J. Costigan 539 11.60% | | Frank Lynch-Staunton 953 20.50% | | Arthur Lees 621 13.36% | | | William A. Kovach |
| Ponoka | | Glen F. Johnston 1,830 44.56% | | | | | | | | Neville S. Roper (Ind. SoCred) 1,721 41.90% George F. Sharp (Ind.) 525 12.78% | Glen F. Johnston |
| Red Deer | | William Kenneth Ure 6,016 57.57% | | Denis Yunker 609 5.83% | | Walter M. Ogilvie 3,323 31.80% | | Herman H. Dorin 446 4.27% | | | William Kenneth Ure |
| Redwater | | Michael Senych 1,670 41.61% | | Steve Romanchuk 755 18.81% | | Joe Bielish 1,362 33.94% | | William Glass 216 5.38% | | | John Dubetz |
| Rocky Mountain House | | Alfred J. Hooke 3,175 72.32% | | Ellis M. Bowen 591 13.46% | | | | Robert H. Carlyle 599 13.64% | | | Alfred J. Hooke |
| Sedgewick-Coronation | | Jack C. Hillman 3,999 67.72% | | James Leland Sims 1,368 23.17% | | | | Karl O. Peterson 529 8.96% | | | |
| Spirit River | | Lionel Lizee 383 8.68% | | Adolph O. Fimrite 3,077 69.73% | | | | Uri Powell 948 21.48% | | | Adolph O. Fimrite |
| St. Albert | | Keith Everitt 2,540 39.85% | | Louis Chalifoux 2,030 31.85% | | Alan Lazerte 1,332 20.90% | | Alan Bevington 451 7.08% | | | Keith Everitt |
| St. Paul | | Raymond Reierson 2,889 60.90% | | Rene P. Foisy 1,363 28.73% | | | | H.B. Hodgins 265 5.59% | | Daniel Gamache (Comm.) 215 4.53% | Raymond Reierson |
| Stettler | | Galen C. Norris 3,076 68.02% | | Clark K. Burlingham 1,065 23.55% | | | | Joseph J. Tipman 369 8.16% | | | Galen C. Norris |
| Stony Plain | | Cornelia R. Wood 2,716 41.75% | | Harold McLaughlin 1,921 29.53% | | Peter Germaniuk 903 13.88% | | Conrad D. (Red) Fuhr 358 5.50% | | Rudolph Zander (AUM) 595 9.15% | Cornelia R. Wood |
| Strathcona Centre | | Joseph Donovan Ross 5,232 58.39% | | Ian Nicoll 2,418 26.99% | | | | Harry J. Strynadka 1,262 14.08% | | | Joseph Donovan Ross |
| Strathcona East | | Ernest C. Manning 6,842 53.22% | | James A. Cox 1,890 14.70% | | Oscar H. Kruger 2,630 20.46% | | Dennis A. Wood 1,457 11.33% | | | Ernest C. Manning |
| Strathcona West | | Randolph H. McKinnon 5,029 47.47% | | Arthur W. Crossley 2,557 24.14% | | Arnold H. Lane 1,863 17.59% | | George R. Field 936 8.84% | | | Randolph H. McKinnon |
| Taber-Warner | | Leonard C. Halmrast 0 | | | | | | | | | |
| Three Hills | | Louis Petrie Meston 3,385 62.70% | | James A. Lore 1,728 32.01% | | | | John F. Kennan 257 4.76% | | | |
| Vegreville-Bruce | | Alex W. Gordey 2,925 50.03% | | Wilfrid L. Horton 675 11.55% | | Graham Allan 1,194 20.42% | | Albin Lukawiecki 851 14.56% | | Clarence A. Knies (Ind. SoCred) 189 3.23% | |
| Vermilion | | Ashley H. Cooper 2,964 68.08% | | Arthur W. Roland 837 19.22% | | | | Edward I. Thompson 545 12.52% | | | Ashley H. Cooper |
| Wainwright | | Henry A. Ruste 3,465 76.25% | | John M. Saville 668 14.70% | | | | John Wesley Connelly 387 8.52% | | | Henry A. Ruste |
| Wetaskiwin | | Albert W. Strohschein 3,333 61.01% | | Albert (Butch) Dyberg 1,298 23.76% | | | | Leslie Pritchard 823 15.06% | | | John A. Wingblade |
| Willingdon-Two Hills | | Nicholas A. Melnyk 2,315 56.53% | | Allan Eschak 283 6.91% | | Walter Witwicky 993 24.25% | | William Glen Haley 496 12.11% | | | |