Canadian Election Series

The election of 1949 saw the left finally achieve a majority government!

CCF: 42% (+9%), 136 seats (+51)
Unionist: 29% (-1%), 61 seats (-18)
Liberal: 25% (+2%), 56 seats (nc)
Social Credit: 4% (-1%), 9 seats (-3)

With the Communists gone, the CCF picked up lots of new support in addition to their modest gains from the Unionists. In Ontario, the Unionists vote efficiency worked against them, with the CCF surge turning their previously narrow victories into losses. This collapse was masked by gains in Quebec. The CCF’s vote was still very inefficient which prevented them from gaining a larger majority. The CCF racked up massive majorities in BC, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. They swept the first two provinces and nearly swept the third, their massive vote share would have gone to better use in the Maritimes and Ontario.

While the Unionists lost in Ontario, this was masked by their gains in Quebec. Dorion’s traditionalist Catholicism began to grate on the more prosperous, secular francophones, which led to some switching to the Tories, who made gains in the wealthier cities, and in heavily Anglophone rural areas.

The Liberals saw mixed results. Dorion had minor losses in Quebec, but the Anglo wing of the party benefitted from the addition of heavily Liberal Newfoundland. Paul Martin also went down in defeat to a CCF candidate, even as Anglo Liberals made gains elsewhere. Social Credit sustained losses with the CCF’s incredibly strong performance in the Prairies. Blackmore’s party was held to half a dozen seats in southern Alberta and a couple of seats in Quebec.

Gillis quickly went to work nationalizing the healthcare system along the British model. This in turn prompted many strikes among local physician’s associations, which had campaigned on behalf of the Unionists. Despite strong initial resistance, Gillis was able to stand firm with the backing of his majority in parliament.

In 1950, the Korean War broke out, but GIllis and the CCF opted to stay out of the war with Liberal support. The Tories and Socreds both lambasted the government for being soft on anti-communism, but again the CCF majority was able to prevent the country from joining the war.

The doctors’ strikes eventually came to an end, but Gillis was in a pickle as his government’s first term came to a close. The healthcare system had been nationalized, but the reforms wouldn’t fully take effect until the government’s second term. Gillis’ government was also facing criticism for not assisting in the Korean war.

Gillis knew his party was vulnerable to Tory attempts to paint the government as poor fiscal managers. He looked to the new Alberta oil industry for funds. Wary of embarking on an unpopular nationalization program, he decided to implement a steep new tax on each barrel of oil produced in Canada. The government went into the election posting a modest surplus...

CCF: Gillis and the CCF are running on their record of healthcare reform and budget surplus. Gillis is arguing that the CCF needs another term to see healthcare reform through properly, and is attacking opposition promises to repeal the oil royalty tax, as unsound.

Unionist: Drew is mostly focusing the campaign on anti-communism, attacking the CCF for refusing to fight communists overseas. Knowing that universal healthcare is quite popular in Canada, Drew has shifted somewhat to the left on this issue and merely promises that the Unionists will be more efficient administrators of the healthcare system. Drew has also taken up "French Baiting", alleging that a Liberal surge will result in Catholic power plays.

Liberal: Under Dorion, the Liberals are continuing their two pronged campaign. Both the Anglo & Francophone wings of the party are pro-universal healthcare. The two wing differ on other issues. The Anglos are mostly focusing on secularism and free trade, while the francophones under Dorion attack the CCF for being soft on Communism and the Unionists for being anti-language rights.

Social Credit: With the nationalization of the new Alberta oil industry, Social Credit has shifted to the right somewhat to combat the CCF. Their platform is largely one of “provincial rights”, aiming to keep oil money in Alberta. However, their anti-federal government campaign has given them new support in the B.C.where voters are skeptical of a far off government, but not willing to vote for eastern Tories. Social Credit has shifted to the right on fiscal issues this time and is attacking the universal healthcare reform as an exercise in tyranny.

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