# 1915 Manitoba general election

The 1915 Manitoba general election was held August 6, 1915 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada. The Liberals under Norris won a landslide majority with 40 seats, replacing the Conservative government that had ruled the province since 1899.
This election was held only one year after the previous general election of 1914. In that election, the governing Conservatives of premier Rodmond Roblin were confirmed in office with 28 seats out of 49. In early 1915, however, the Roblin administration was forced to resign from office after a commission appointed by the Lieutenant Governor found the government guilty of corruption in the tending of contracts for new legislative buildings.
Roblin denied the charges, but resigned as premier on May 12. Three days later, opposition Liberal leader Tobias Norris was called upon to form a new administration. The house was quickly adjourned, and new elections were scheduled for August.
The primary issue of the campaign was corruption. The pro-Liberal Manitoba Free Press ran numerous articles criticizing the practices of the Roblin government, and alleging that the "Roblin machine" still controlled the Conservative Party. The Liberals claimed they would manage the province's affairs in a businesslike rather than a partisan manner, an approach typified by Provincial Treasurer Edward Brown call for the province to "forget party for five years and get down to business".
Women's suffrage and temperance were also important issues. The Liberal Party promised to introduce voting rights for women, and to hold a provincial referendum on temperance. The party's platform also promised direct legislation and plebiscites on other issues.
Facing unpopularity due to the corruption scandal, the Manitoba Conservatives chose federal Member of Parliament (MP) James Albert Manning Aikins as their new leader on July 15. Aikins had never served in the Roblin government and was regarded by many as free from the controversy that had forced the Conservatives to resign. In a further effort to separate themselves from the Roblin government, the Conservative party tried to change its name, referring to itself as the "Independent-Liberal-Conservative" party for this election. Liberals ridiculed this name change and sarcastically described the "new" Conservatives as the "Purity Party".
The election results were a disaster for Conservatives. They won only five seats out of 47, and Aikins lost by a considerable margin in Brandon City. The Liberals under Norris won a landslide majority with 40 seats, the largest victory in Manitoba history, although with barely more than half the vote.
In the Winnipeg Centre district, Fred Dixon was re-elected as an independent candidate with support from both Liberals and the Labour Representation Committee.
The Social Democratic Party also won its first ever seat in the province, taking one of the two seats in north-end Winnipeg.
This election (like the previous one in 1914) used two-member districts in Winnipeg, with each seat being filled in separate contests.
Manitoba's francophone constituencies rejected the provincial trend, and continued to support candidates of the Conservative party (four of the five Conservative MLAs were from francophone areas). Many francophone voters opposed Norris's plans to end provincial funding for denominational Catholic schools.
The "Independent-Liberal-Conservative" name seems to have been dropped shortly after the election.
This was the last election before Winnipeg was made into a single ten-seat district, and Single transferable voting was brought into use.

## Electoral system

In this election Manitoba used a mixture of multi-member districts and single-member districts. In the multi-member districts - Winnipeg North, Winnipeg South and Winnipeg Centre - each member was elected in a separate contest through First past the post.
In each single-member district the member was elected through First past the post.

## Results

| Party | Party | Party leader | # of candidates | Seats | Seats | Seats | Popular vote | Popular vote | Popular vote |
| Party | Party | Party leader | # of candidates | 1914 | Elected | % Change | # | % | % Change |
| | Liberal | Tobias Norris | | 20 | 40 | +100% | | 55.1% | |
| | Conservative | James Albert Manning Aikins | | 28 | 5 | -82.1% | | 33.0% | |
| | Social Democratic | | | | 1 | | | 11.9% | |
| | Independent/others | Independent/others | | 1 | 1 | - | | 11.9% | |
| Total | Total | Total | | 49 | 47 | -4.1% | | 100% | |
Popular vote
Liberal
55.10%
Conservative
33.00%
Others
11.90% :
Seats summary
Liberal
85.11%
Conservative
10.64%
Others
4.25% :

## Riding results

Arthur:
* (incumbent)John Williams (L) 815
* W.S. Kenner (C) 632
Assiniboia:
* John Wilton (L) 828
* William Bayley (Labour Representation Committee) 773
* (incumbent)John Thomas Haig (C) 590
Beautiful Plains:
* William Wood (L) 1115
* J. Harry Irwin (C) 918
Birtle:
* (incumbent)George Malcolm (L) 873
* S. Arnold (C) 422
Brandon City:
* Stephen Clement (L) 1914
* James Albert Manning Aikins (C) 1213
Carillon:
* Albert Prefontaine (C) 629
* (incumbent)Thomas B. Molloy (L) 605
Cypress:
* Andrew Myles (L) 851
* (incumbent)George Steel (C) 789
Dauphin:
* William Harrington (L) 739
* (incumbent)William Buchanan (C) 637
* J.M. McQuay (Ind) 233
Deloraine:
* (incumbent)Robert Thornton (L) 1146
* John C. Walker Reid (C) 851
Dufferin:
* Edward August (L) 1134
* Andrew S. Argue (C) 848
Elmwood:
* Thomas Glendenning Hamilton (L) 2319
* Donald Munro (C) 866
Emerson:
* John David Baskerville (L) 1181
* G. Coulter (C) 460
Gilbert Plains:
* William Findlater (L) 1383
* (incumbent)Sam Hughes (C) 792
Gimli:
* Taras Ferley (L-Ind) 1172
* (incumbent)Sveinn Thorvaldson (C) 562
(Einar Jonasson had been nominated as the official Liberal candidate, but withdrew.)
Gladstone:
* (incumbent)James Armstrong (L) 1154
* A. Singleton (C) 484
Glenwood:
* (incumbent)James Breakey (L) 1091
* John Perdue (C) 636
Hamiota:
* (incumbent)John Henry McConnell (L) 1063
* J. Moss Fraser (C) 596
Iberville:
* (incumbent)Aime Benard (C) 527
* James H. Black (L) 400
Kildonan and St. Andrews:
* George Prout (L) 1295
* R. Sanders (C) 754
Killarney:
* Samuel Hayden (L) 779
* (incumbent)George Lawrence (C) 656
Lakeside:
* Charles Duncan McPherson (L) 863
* (incumbent)John J. Garland (C) 700
Lansdowne:
* (incumbent)Tobias Norris (L) 1334
* W.J. Cundy (C) 592
La Verendrye:
* Philippe Talbot (L) 713
* (incumbent)Jean-Baptiste Lauzon (C) 558
Manitou:
* George Thomas Armstrong (L) 1090
* W.H. Sharpe (C) 1006
Minnedosa:
* (incumbent)George Grierson (L) 1173
* James Muir (C) 654
Morden and Rhineland:
* (incumbent)Valentine Winkler (L) 1180
* William Johnston Tupper (C) 712
Morris:
* (incumbent)Jacques Parent (C) 740
* William Molloy (L) 683
Mountain:
* (incumbent)James Baird (L) 1331
* John T. Dale (C) 419
Norfolk:
* (incumbent)John Graham (L) 933
* Robert F. Lyons (C) 770
Portage la Prairie:
* (incumbent)Ewan McPherson (L) 1065
* Fawcett Taylor (C) 807
Roblin:
* (incumbent)Frederic Newton (C) 714
* William Angus (L) 609
Rockwood:
* Arthur Lobb (L) 1275
* Thomas Scott (C) 639
Russell:
* William Wilber Wilfred Wilson (L) 1033
* J.P. Laycock (C) 614
St. Boniface:
* Joseph Dumas (L) 921
* J.A. Beaupre (C) 790
* J.P. Howden (Ind L) 640
St. Clements:
* (incumbent)Donald Ross (L/Ind) 1014
* Thomas Hay (C) 489
St. George:
* Skuli Sigfusson (L) 1291
* Paul Reykdal (C) 831
Ste. Rose:
* (incumbent)Joseph Hamelin (C) 443
* Z.H. Rheaume (L) 414
* A. McLeod (Ind) 266
Swan River:
* (incumbent)William Sims (L) 626
* Daniel D. McDonald (C) 414
Turtle Mountain:
* George William McDonald (L) 687
* (incumbent)James Johnson (C) 651
Virden:
* (incumbent)George Clingan (L) 1181
* R.A. Knight (C) 772

### Winnipeg

Winnipeg North "A":
* Robert Newton Lowery (L) 2443
* Arthur Beech (SDP) 2248
* (incumbent)Joseph P. Foley (C) 1490
Winnipeg North "B":
* Richard Rigg (SDP) 2494
* Solomon Hart Green (L) 2263
* E.R. Levinson (C) 1248
Winnipeg Centre "A":
* (incumbent)Thomas Herman Johnson (L) 6763
* A.J. Norquay (C) 2346
Winnipeg Centre "B":
* (incumbent)Fred Dixon (Ind) 6443
* H.M. Hanneson (C) 2048
* George Armstrong (SPC) 804
Winnipeg South "A":
* (incumbent)Albert Hudson (L) 5986
* W.J. Boyd (C) 2011
Winnipeg South "B":
* (incumbent)William Parrish (L) 5635
* Lendrum McMeans (C) 2303

## Deferred elections

The Pas, August 25, 1915:
* Edward Brown (L) accl.
Horace Halcrow had been nominated by the Conservatives to contest this riding, but withdrew before the election. Halcrow had been Manitoba's chief game warden under the Roblin government.

## Post-election changes

Rupertsland (new constituency), September 16, 1916:
* John Morrison (Ind-L) accl.
Iberville (res. Aime Benard, 1917), November 1, 1917:
* Arthur Boivin (C) elected
Roblin (res. Frederic Newton, 1917), November 19, 1917:
* William Westwood (Ind-L) elected
* Irwin L. Mitchell (L)
(A Winnipeg Free Press report from November 20, 1917 shows Westwood winning by 186 votes, with one poll yet to declare. This was likely the first provincial election where Manitoba women cast votes.)
Morris (dep. Jacques Parent, 1917; no by-election)
Minnedosa (George Grierson to cabinet, November 10, 1917), November 30, 1917:
* George Grierson (L) elected
Winnipeg North "B" (res. Richard Rigg, 1917), January 15, 1918:
* Robert Jacob (Union-L) 2923
* E.R. Levinson (Ind) 2251
(Numbers taken from the Winnipeg Free Press.)
Rhineland (dec. Valentine Winkler, June 7, 1920; no by-election)