# 1944 Saskatchewan general election

The 1944 Saskatchewan general election, the tenth in the history of the province, was held on June 15, 1944 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan. The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, under the leadership of Tommy Douglas, was elected to a majority government.

## Summary

The 1944 election was held six years after the previous election in 1938. While there is normally a five-year limit on the lifespan of Parliaments and provincial assemblies in Canada, the emergency brought on by the Second World War allowed the government to delay the election temporarily, which William Patterson's governing Liberal Party opted to do.
The 1944 election marked the first time a nominally socialist government was elected anywhere in Canada. With the victory, Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) leader Tommy Douglas became the premier of Saskatchewan. The CCF, which had spent two terms as the Official Opposition, won 47 of the 52 seats in the legislature, and over half the popular vote.
The Liberals, led by Patterson, had run a negative campaign, accusing Douglas and the CCF of being communists. The Liberal popular vote fell by 10 percentage points, and the party won only five seats. This marked the worst defeat of a sitting government in Saskatchewan's history.
The Social Credit Party, which had won 16% of the vote and two seats in the 1938 election, collapsed; the party had only one candidate, who received only 249 votes.
The Communist Party-led Unity movement reverted to the name Labor-Progressive Party, and lost both of the seats it had won in 1938.
The Conservative Party, renamed the Progressive Conservative Party and led by Rupert Ramsay, continued to see its share of the vote drop, taking only just over 10% of the vote, and won no seats.
An at-large service vote was held for Saskatchewan residents in the Canadian armed services fighting during the war. This special vote elected three nonpartisan members to represent Saskatchewan soldiers, sailors and airmen stationed in Great Britain, the Mediterranean region, and Newfoundland and Canada outside the province. Alberta had a similar system during the war.

## Results

| Party | Party | Party leader | # of candidates | Seats | Seats | Seats | Seats | Popular vote | Popular vote | Popular vote |
| Party | Party | Party leader | # of candidates | 1938 | Dissol. | Elected | % Change | # | % | % Change |
| | Co-operative Commonwealth | Tommy Douglas | 52 | 10 | 11 | 47 | +327.3% | 211,364 | 53.13% | +34.4% |
| | Liberal | William Patterson | 52 | 38 | 37 | 5 | -86.5% | 140,901 | 35.42% | -10.03% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Rupert Ramsay | 39 | – | – | – | – | 42,511 | 10.69% | -1.18% |
| | Labor-Progressive | | 3 | 2 | 2 | – | – | 2,067 | 0.52% | -1.41% |
| | Independent | Independent | 5 | – | – | – | – | 705 | 0.18% | -0.73% |
| | Social Credit | Joseph J. Needham (default) | 1 | 2 | 2 | – | – | 249 | 0.06% | -15.84% |
| | Independent Liberal | Independent Liberal | 1 | * | * | – | * | 5 | 0.00% | * |
| Total | Total | Total | 153 | 52 | 52 | 52 | – | 397,802 | 100% | |
| Source: Elections Saskatchewan |||||||||||
Note: * Party did not nominate candidates in previous election.

### Percentages

Popular vote
CCF
53.13%
Liberal
35.42%
PC
10.69%
Others
0.76% :
Seats summary
CCF
90.38%
Liberal
9.62% :

### Ranking

| Party | Seats | Second | Third | Fourth | Fifth |
| Co-operative Commonwealth | 47 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Liberal | 5 | 47 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Progressive Conservative | 0 | 0 | 37 | 2 | 0 |
| Other parties | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 |

## Riding-by-riding results

Names in bold represent cabinet ministers and the Speaker. Party leaders are italicized. The symbol " ** " indicates MLAs who are not running again.

### Northwestern Saskatchewan

| Electoral district | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Incumbent |
| Electoral district | CCF | CCF | Liberal | Liberal | PC | PC | Other | Other | Incumbent | Incumbent |
| Athabasca | | Pierre Ephrem Ayotte 57 | | Louis Marcien Marion 626 | | Alexander Fred De Laronde 9 | | Errick Guttormur Erickson (Ind.) 78 Francis Xavier Poitras (Ind. Liberal) 5 | Hubert Staines** |
| Cut Knife | | Isidore Charles Nollet 2726 | | John A. Gordon 1820 | | | | | William Roseland** |
| Meadow Lake | | Herschel Lee Howell 2034 | | Donald MacDonald 1805 | | William Titley 362 | | Arthur J. Doucet (Labor-Progressive) 716 | Donald MacDonald |
| Redberry | | Dmytro Matthew Lazorko 2306 | | Wilfred James Langley 1285 | | Ernest Wilson 662 | | Peter John Semko (Ind.) 99 | Orest Zerebko** |
| Rosthern | | Henry Begrand 1541 | | Peter J. Hooge 2199 | | Gordon Ellis Goble 473 | | | John Michael Uhrich** |
| Shellbrook | | Albert Victor Sterling 3310 | | Omer Demers 2177 | | | | | Omer Alphonse Demers |
| The Battlefords | | Alexander Duff Connon 2783 | | Paul Prince 2426 | | Robert Wendell McNair 446 | | | Paul Prince |
| Turtleford | | Bob Wooff 2506 | | William Franklin Kerr 1766 | | Chester Hicks 399 | | | William Franklin Kerr |

### Northeastern Saskatchewan

| Electoral district | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Incumbent |
| Electoral district | CCF | CCF | Liberal | Liberal | PC | PC | Other | Other | Incumbent | Incumbent |
| Cumberland | | Leslie Walter Lee 357 | | Deakin Alexander Hall 242 | | Raoul Olier St. Denis 11 | | | Deakin Alexander Hall |
| Humboldt | | Ben Putnam 3587 | | Arnold William Loehr 2673 | | Stephen David Weese 358 | | | Joseph William Burton** |
| Kelvington | | Peter Anton Howe 3132 | | Gladstone Mansfield Ferrie 1880 | | Samuel Edward Hall 649 | | | Peter Anton Howe |
| Kinistino | | William James Boyle 3055 | | Russell Martin Paul 1544 | | Andrew Fraser 671 | | | John Richard Parish Taylor** |
| Melfort | | Oakland Woods Valleau 3396 | | John Duncan MacFarlane 1862 | | Stanley Beattie Caskey 1450 | | | Oakland Woods Valleau |
| Prince Albert | | Lachlan Fraser McIntosh 6178 | | Harold John Fraser 3617 | | Edgar Percy Woodman 655 | | | Harold John Fraser |
| Tisdale | | John Hewgill Brockelbank 5283 | | Clarence Railsback O'Connor 2269 | | Isaac Flexman Stothers 703 | | | John Hewgill Brockelbank |
| Torch River | | John Bruce Harris 2609 | | Donald L. Menzies 846 | | Keith Acton Baldwin 535 | | | James Archibald Kiteley** |

### West Central Saskatchewan

| Electoral district | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Incumbent |
| Electoral district | CCF | CCF | Liberal | Liberal | PC | PC | Other | Other | Incumbent | Incumbent |
| Arm River | | William R. Fansher 2256 | | Gustaf Herman Danielson 2343 | | Thomas Alfred Homersham 1068 | | | Gustaf Herman Danielson |
| Biggar | | Woodrow Stanley Lloyd 3633 | | Frank Freeman 2156 | | | | | John Allan Young** |
| Hanley | | James Smith Aitken 2272 | | Charles Agar 1775 | | James Hubert Cannon 893 | | | Charles Agar |
| Kerrobert-Kindersley | | John Wellbelove 3236 | | Donald Laing 2377 | | Wellington Smith Myers 933 | | | Donald Laing |
| Rosetown | | John Taylor Douglas 3168 | | William Leith 1864 | | John Wilbert Stewart 1046 | | | Neil McVicar** |
| Watrous | | James Andrew Darling 3801 | | Frank Stephen Krenn 2312 | | Hugh Smith 749 | | | Frank Stephen Krenn |
| Wilkie | | Hans Ove Hansen 3567 | | John Cunningham Knowles 2527 | | | | | John Cunningham Knowles |

### East Central Saskatchewan

| Electoral district | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Incumbent |
| Electoral district | CCF | CCF | Liberal | Liberal | PC | PC | Other | Other | Incumbent | Incumbent |
| Canora | | Myron Henry Feeley 3538 | | Stephen T. Shabbits 2537 | | | | | Myron Henry Feeley |
| Last Mountain | | Jacob Benson 3803 | | Henry Philip Mang 2064 | | James Lindsay Blair 1281 | | | Jacob Benson |
| Melville | | William James Arthurs 4575 | | Lionel Stilborn 3614 | | Shamus Patrick Regan 821 | | | John Frederick Herman** |
| Pelly | | Dan Daniels 3273 | | Reginald John Marsden Parker 2544 | | | | William Michael Berezowski (Labor-Progressive) 554 | Reginald John Marsden Parker |
| Saltcoats | | Joseph Lee Phelps 3461 | | Donald Alexander MacKenzie 2874 | | Rae Melville Salkeld 454 | | | Joseph Lee Phelps |
| Touchwood | | Tom Johnston 3337 | | John Joseph Collins 1925 | | William Seneshen 301 | | | Tom Johnston |
| Wadena | | George Hara Williams 4162 | | George Russell Cook 1686 | | | | Walter Elvy Rogers (Ind.) 207 | George Hara Williams |
| Yorkton | | Arthur Percy Swallow 3887 | | Alfred Ariel Brown 2280 | | Norman Roebuck 958 | | | Alan Carl Stewart** (Unity) |

### Southwest Saskatchewan

| Electoral district | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Incumbent |
| Electoral district | CCF | CCF | Liberal | Liberal | PC | PC | Other | Other | Incumbent | Incumbent |
| Elrose | | Maurice John Willis 3771 | | Hubert Staines 1807 | | Ernest J. Ewing 1013 | | | Louis Henry Hantelman** |
| Gravelbourg | | Henry Edmund Houze 2681 | | Edward M. Culliton 2586 | | | | | Edward Milton Culliton |
| Gull Lake | | Alvin Cecil Murray 3942 | | Harvey Harold McMahon 2200 | | Charles Howard Howlett 1356 | | | Harvey Harold McMahon |
| Maple Creek | | Beatrice Janet Trew 3656 | | John Joseph Mildenberger 2872 | | George Chester Stewart 911 | | | John Joseph Mildenberger |
| Morse | | Sidney Merlin Spidell 2763 | | Benjamin Thomas Hyde 2122 | | Clifford Bruce Martin 725 | | | Benjamin Thomas Hyde |
| Notukeu-Willow Bunch | | Niles Leonard Buchanan 4176 | | Charles William Johnson 2862 | | | | | Charles William Johnson |
| Swift Current | | Harry Gibbs 4756 | | James Gordon Taggart 3123 | | Bryan Maxwell Hill 1021 | | | James Gordon Taggart |

### Southeast Saskatchewan

| Electoral district | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Incumbent |
| Electoral district | CCF | CCF | Liberal | Liberal | PC | PC | Other | Other | Incumbent | Incumbent |
| Bengough | | Allan Lister Samuel Brown 3847 | | Thomas Waddell 2473 | | | | | Herman Kersler Warren** (Unity) |
| Cannington | | Gladys Strum 3204 | | William John Patterson 3210 | | William Armstrong Brigden 687 | | | William John Patterson |
| Lumsden | | William Sancho Thair 2966 | | James Gallagher Knox 1887 | | Arthur Maurice Pearson 1220 | | | Robert Scott Donaldson** |
| Milestone | | Frank Keem Malcolm 3302 | | William Pedersen 2207 | | | | | William Pedersen |
| Moosomin | | David Alexander Cunningham 3324 | | Arthur Thomas Procter 3865 | | | | | Arthur Thomas Procter |
| Qu'Appelle-Wolseley | | Warden Burgess 4339 | | Frederick Middleton Dundas 3314 | | William Herman Acres 938 | | | Frederick Middleton Dundas |
| Souris-Estevan | | Charles David Cuming 3933 | | Norman Leslie McLeod 2660 | | Herbert Samuel Penny 1259 | | | Norman Leslie McLeod |
| Weyburn | | Thomas Clement Douglas 5605 | | James Weyburn Adolphe 3489 | | | | | George Levi Crane** |

### Urban constituencies

| Electoral district | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Incumbent |
| Electoral district | CCF | CCF | Liberal | Liberal | PC | PC | Other | Other | Incumbent | Incumbent |
| Moose Jaw City | | John Wesley Corman 6296 Dempster Henry Ratcliffe Heming 5894 | | William George Baker 2881 Harold Walpole Pope 2887 | | Russell Lawrence Brownridge 1271 Hugh Alexander Tiers 1036 | | Frank Ernest Talbot (Social Credit) 249 | William Gladstone Ross** William George Baker |
| Saskatoon City | | John Henry Sturdy 9375 Arthur Thomas Stone 7792 | | James Wilfred Estey 5084 Robert Mitford Pinder 3924 | | Rupert David Ramsay 5368 Henry Oswald Wright 3171 | | Frederick Nelson Clarke (Labor-Progressive) 797 Russell Hartney (Ind.) 200 John Harrison Hilton (Ind.) 121 | Robert Mitford Pinder James Wilfred Estey |
| Regina City | | Clarence Melvin Fines 14129 Charles Cromwell Williams 14784 | | Charles Roberts Davidson 10982 Bernard J. McDaniel 10551 | | Hugh McGillivray 3536 Claude Henry James Burrows 3114 | | | Bernard J. McDaniel Percy McCuaig Anderson** |

## By-elections

By-election: Shellbrook, June 29, 1945 CCF hold :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | CCF | Guy Franklin Van Eaton | 3,350 | 53.1 | -7.3 |
| | Liberal | Harold Keith Elder | 2,514 | 42.9 | +3.2 |
| | Social Credit | Albert M. Courchene | 450 | 15.2 | - |
| Total | Total | Total | 6,314 | | |
By-election: Wadena, November 21, 1945 CCF hold :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | CCF | Frederick Arthur Dewhurst | 2,474 | 80.9 | +12.2 |
| | Labor-Progressive | William Beeching | 584 | 19.1 | - |
| Total | Total | Total | 3,085 | | |
By-election: Morse, June 27, 1946 CCF hold :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | CCF | James William Gibson | 3,006 | 46.1 | -3.1 |
| | Liberal | Herbert Wiebe | 2,410 | 37.0 | -0.8 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Rupert Ramsay | 1,098 | 16.9 | +3.9 |
| Total | Total | Total | 6,514 | | |

## 1944 service elections

Active Service Voters, Saskatchewan members of the Canadian armed services on active duty outside of Saskatchewan, were polled between October 17 and October 30, 1944. One representative was elected from each of three areas. These candidates did not specify any party affiliation.

### Area 1 (Great Britain)

| Candidate | Votes |
| LAC Delmar Storey Valleau | 605 |
| Lt. Col. N.S. Cuthbert | 554 |
| Lt. Col. F.E. Bell | 330 |
| Major J.R. Mather | 319 |
| Lt. P.A. Mahon | 311 |
| Sgt. H.S. Bearden | 301 |
| RSM A.S. Cochrane | 301 |
| Lt. Col. F. Steele | 283 |
| F/L C.A. Angus | 265 |
| Col. R.B. Martin | 260 |
| F/L G. Ward | 233 |
| Capt. H.C. Rees | 217 |
| S/Sgt. S. Haskell | 159 |
| F/O J.C. Cavanagh | 149 |
| Lt. J.E. McCann | 90 |
| F/O J. Knippelberg | 89 |
| Capt. S.A. Giverego | 53 |

### Area 2 (Mediterranean Theatre)

| Candidate | Votes |
| Lt. Col. Alan Williams Embury | 803 |
| BSM H.J. MacBurney | 451 |
| Sgt. H.M. Woollard | 218 |
| Pte. J.H. Heffernan | 216 |
| Capt. E. Horvath | 211 |
| Capt. K.A. Calder | 203 |
| Cpl. Ian Selkirk | 186 |
| Lt. J.H. Archer | 168 |
| BSM R.G. Polloc | 148 |
| Lt. E.J. Western | 105 |
| Sgt. V.C. McCarthy | 86 |
| Sgt. C.J. Baker | 59 |
| Sgt. D.G. Rice | 49 |
| A/PO H.W. Moody | 41 |

### Area 3 (Canada outside of Saskatchewan/Newfoundland)

| Candidate | Votes |
| Major Malcolm James Dobie | 510 |
| S/L John Allan Young | 386 |
| C.W.M.S. Clifford Herbert Peet | 355 |
| Lt. Col. Henry Austin Hunt | 355 |
| Lt. Douglas Hague | 347 |
| S/L E.W. Campbell | 317 |
| Major Percy H. Maguire | 265 |
| AC1 John Bender | 209 |
| Lt. Col. Thomas Russell MacNutt | 209 |
| Lt. Comdr. Donald Alexander Grant | 190 |
| L/Sgt. William Harold Lilwall | 186 |
| S/L Angus C. McClaskey | 170 |
| F/L Walter Hemming Nelson | 124 |
| Sgt. Benjamin Malcolm MacKinnon | 114 |
| F/O Robert Bruce Butler | 114 |
| Sgt. Irving S. Brown | 80 |
| S.Q.M.S. (WO II) David Vogt | 74 |
| F/S Gerhard Epp | 72 |
| F/S Arthur Rudolph Dohlen | 41 |
| F/L H.E.M. Hales | 29 |