1939 Quebec general election

The 1939 Quebec general election was held on October 25, 1939, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Quebec, Canada. The Quebec Liberal Party, led by former premier Adélard Godbout, defeated the incumbent Union Nationale, led by Maurice Duplessis.

1939 Quebec general election

← 1936 October 25, 1939 1944 →
← outgoing members elected members →
86 seats in the 21st Legislative Assembly of Quebec 44 seats were needed for a majority
First party Second party   Leader Adélard Godbout Maurice Duplessis Party Liberal Union Nationale Leader since June 11, 1936 June 20, 1936 Leader's seat L'Islet Trois-Rivières Last election 14 seats, 39.41% 76 seats, 56.88% Seats won 70 15 Seat change 56 61 Percentage 54.05% 39.13% Swing 14.64pp 17.75pp
Premier before election Maurice Duplessis Union Nationale Premier after election Adélard Godbout Liberal

This was Godbout's second non-consecutive term of office and his only victory out of four consecutive general elections opposing Duplessis.

The Action libérale nationale, which had won 25 seats in the 1935 election and then merged with the Quebec Conservative Party, was re-formed by Paul Gouin, who had split with Duplessis soon after the formation of the Union Nationale. However the ALN obtained only 4.5% of the vote and no seats. It soon disbanded. Also, a rump Conservative Party ran three candidates who won 0.2% of the vote and no seats. This party also disbanded.

Redistribution of ridings

An Act passed before the election^[1] reduced the number of MLAs from 90 to 86 through the following changes:

Abolished ridings	New ridings
Reorganization of ridings
Châteauguay Napierville-Laprairie Saint-Jean	Châteauguay-Laprairie Saint-Jean–Napierville
Montreal–Sainte-Anne Montreal–Saint-Jacques Montréal–Saint-Laurent	Montreal–Sainte-Anne Montreal–Saint-Jacques
Montréal–Saint-Georges Westmount	Montréal–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce Montréal-Outremont Westmount–Saint-Georges
Montréal-Dorion Montréal-Mercier	Montréal–Jeanne-Mance[a 1] Montréal-Mercier
Mergers of ridings
Kamouraska Rivière-du-Loup	Kamouraska–Rivière-du-Loup
Richelieu Verchères	Richelieu-Verchères
Soulanges Vaudreuil	Vaudreuil-Soulanges

1. also absorbed part of Maisonneuve

Campaign

Riding contests, by number of candidates (1939)^[2]

Candidates	Lib	UN	Con	ALN	Nat	Ind	CCF	I-Con	I-Lib	I-ALN	I-UN	Lab	ALN-Lab	Comm	Total
Acclaimed	1														1
2	24	24	1		1										50
3	48	48		44		2					1		1		144
4	7	7		7		1	1	1	1		2	1			28
5	5	5		5		2		2	2	1		2		1	25
Total	85	84	1	56	1	5	1	3	3	1	3	3	1	1	248

Results

^[2]

Elections to the Legislative Assembly of Quebec (1939)

Political party		Party leader	MLAs				Votes
			Candidates	1936	1939	±	#	±	%	± (pp)
	Liberal	Adélard Godbout	85	14	69	55	301,382	77,008	53.50	14.09
	Union Nationale and allies
	█ Union Nationale	Maurice Duplessis	84	76	14	62	217,413	106,399	38.60	18.28
	█ Conservative[a 1]	–	1	–	1	1	2,989	New	0.53	New
	Action libérale nationale	Paul Gouin	56	–	–	–	25,295	New	4.49	New
	Parti national[a 2]	–	1	–	1	1	3,074	New	0.55	New
	Other candidates
	█ Independent[a 3]	–	5	–	1	1	6,281	5,514	1.12	0.99
	█ Co-operative Commonwealth	–	1	–	–	–	2,513	1,044	0.45	0.19
	█ Independent-Conservative	–	3	–	–	–	1,679	191	0.30	0.03
	█ Independent-Liberal	–	3	–	–	–	788	8,958	0.14	1.57
	█ Independent-ALN	–	1	–	–	–	617	New	0.11	New
	█ Independent-Unionist	–	3	–	–	–	469	1,459	0.08	0.26
	█ Labour	–	3	–	–	–	410	331	0.07	0.06
	█ ALN-Labour	–	1	–	–	–	228	New	0.04	New
	█ Communist	–	1	–	–	–	159	886	0.03	0.15
	█ Candidat du peuple	–	did not campaign
Total			248	90	86		563,297		100%
Rejected ballots							7,334	2,404
Voter turnout							570,631	3,624	77.00	0.06
Registered electors (contested ridings only)							741,131	5,283
Candidates returned by acclamation[a 4]					1	1

1. Joseph-Philias Morin (Champlain) elected under Conservative banner; joined UN caucus after election.
2. Formed during the 20th Legislature, when five MLAs broke from the UN. Only René Chaloult (Lotbinière) ran for re-election under the Nationalist ticket, and he declared himself as an Independent-Liberal after the election
3. Camillien Houde was elected in Montréal–Sainte-Marie
4. Edgar Rochette (Charlevoix—Saguenay), for the Liberals

Popular vote PLQ   54.05% UN   39.13% Others   6.82%

Seats summary PLQ   81.40% UN   17.44% Others   1.16%

Synopsis of results

Results by riding - 1939 Quebec general election^[2][3][4]

Riding	Winning party								Turnout [a 1]	Votes[a 2]
Name	1936		Party		Votes	Share	Margin #	Margin %		Lib	UN	Con	ALN	Nat	Ind	CCF	I-Con	I-Oth	Other	Total
Abitibi		UN		Lib	7,488	56.39%	3,020	22.74%	69.71%	7,488	4,468	–	396	–	–	–	–	927	–	13,279
Argenteuil		Lib		Lib	2,670	58.89%	954	21.04%	78.26%	2,670	1,716	–	148	–	–	–	–	–	–	4,534
Arthabaska		UN		Lib	3,448	56.53%	797	13.07%	86.40%	3,448	2,651	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	6,099
Bagot		Lib		Lib	2,183	52.14%	179	4.28%	89.51%	2,183	2,004	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	4,187
Beauce		UN		Lib	3,395	42.83%	135	1.70%	76.38%	3,395	3,260	–	1,272	–	–	–	–	–	–	7,927
Beauharnois		UN		UN	2,614	46.88%	102	1.83%	82.47%	2,512	2,614	–	450	–	–	–	–	–	–	5,576
Bellechasse		UN		Lib	2,515	53.25%	384	8.13%	83.88%	2,515	2,131	–	77	–	–	–	–	–	–	4,723
Berthier		Lib		Lib	2,664	54.01%	396	8.03%	88.65%	2,664	2,268	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	4,932
Bonaventure		UN		Lib	4,265	55.62%	862	11.24%	81.69%	4,265	3,403	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	7,668
Brome		UN		UN	1,795	53.52%	236	7.04%	82.33%	1,559	1,795	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	3,354
Chambly		UN		Lib	3,598	59.93%	1,603	26.70%	76.16%	3,598	1,995	–	209	–	–	–	202	–	–	6,004
Champlain		UN		Con	2,989	50.70%	83	1.41%	76.15%	2,906	–	2,989	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	5,895
Charlevoix—Saguenay[a 3]		UN		Lib	acclaimed
Châteauguay-Laprairie	New			Lib	3,049	52.26%	432	7.40%	84.71%	3,049	2,617	–	168	–	–	–	–	–	–	5,834
Chicoutimi		UN		UN	5,968	50.59%	1,537	13.03%	77.39%	4,431	5,968	–	1,398	–	–	–	–	–	–	11,797
Compton		UN		Lib	2,455	47.93%	287	5.60%	80.29%	2,455	2,168	–	499	–	–	–	–	–	–	5,122
Deux-Montagnes		UN		UN	1,930	53.26%	236	6.51%	84.35%	1,694	1,930	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	3,624
Dorchester		UN		UN	3,235	52.72%	597	9.73%	78.11%	2,638	3,235	–	263	–	–	–	–	–	–	6,136
Drummond		UN		Lib	3,950	53.81%	1,027	13.99%	80.26%	3,950	2,923	–	467	–	–	–	–	–	–	7,340
Frontenac		UN		Lib	2,242	44.00%	83	1.63%	78.81%	2,242	2,159	–	694	–	–	–	–	–	–	5,095
Gaspé-Nord		UN		Lib	1,548	52.44%	275	9.32%	82.49%	1,548	1,273	–	–	–	–	–	–	131	–	2,952
Gaspé-Sud		UN		UN	3,338	53.83%	475	7.66%	81.52%	2,863	3,338	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	6,201
Gatineau		UN		Lib	3,592	61.22%	1,317	22.45%	76.59%	3,592	2,275	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	5,867
Hull		UN		Lib	2,833	50.08%	237	4.19%	76.92%	2,833	2,596	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	228	5,657
Huntingdon		UN		Lib	1,729	58.14%	484	16.27%	81.95%	1,729	1,245	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	2,974
Iberville		Lib		Lib	1,146	47.26%	34	1.40%	87.61%	1,146	1,112	–	–	–	167	–	–	–	–	2,425
Îles-de-la-Madeleine		UN		UN	1,030	53.59%	138	7.18%	89.84%	892	1,030	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1,922
Jacques-Cartier		UN		Lib	7,341	68.05%	3,895	36.11%	78.74%	7,341	3,446	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	10,787
Joliette		UN		UN	3,466	51.82%	243	3.63%	87.08%	3,223	3,466	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	6,689
Kamouraska–Rivière-du-Loup	New			Lib	6,691	58.67%	2,148	18.83%	81.46%	6,691	4,543	–	171	–	–	–	–	–	–	11,405
L'Assomption		UN		Lib	2,043	55.82%	633	17.30%	84.92%	2,043	1,410	–	207	–	–	–	–	–	–	3,660
L'Islet		UN		Lib	2,459	56.39%	566	12.98%	84.20%	2,459	1,893	–	9	–	–	–	–	–	–	4,361
Labelle		UN		UN	2,226	54.17%	343	8.35%	78.32%	1,883	2,226	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	4,109
Lac-Saint-Jean		UN		Lib	2,482	51.05%	135	2.78%	89.15%	2,482	2,347	–	33	–	–	–	–	–	–	4,862
Laval		UN		Lib	7,200	55.72%	2,226	17.23%	75.31%	7,200	4,974	–	748	–	–	–	–	–	–	12,922
Laviolette		UN		Lib	2,838	49.13%	339	5.87%	72.98%	2,838	2,499	–	439	–	–	–	–	–	–	5,776
Lévis		UN		Lib	4,342	56.03%	934	12.05%	85.60%	4,342	3,408	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	7,750
Lotbinière		UN		Nat	3,074	57.58%	2,265	42.42%	80.39%	–	2,265	–	–	3,074 [a 4]	–	–	–	–	–	5,339
Maisonneuve		UN		Lib	7,019	58.79%	2,685	22.49%	74.31%	7,019	4,334	–	586	–	–	–	–	–	–	11,939
Maskinongé		UN		Lib	2,155	57.76%	579	15.52%	80.76%	2,155	1,576	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	3,731
Matane		UN		UN	2,892	49.65%	10	0.17%	77.61%	2,882	2,892	–	51	–	–	–	–	–	–	5,825
Matapédia		UN		Lib	3,089	56.37%	840	15.33%	78.87%	3,089	2,249	–	142	–	–	–	–	–	–	5,480
Mégantic		UN		Lib	4,174	52.64%	418	5.27%	83.35%	4,174	3,756	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	7,930
Missisquoi		UN		Lib	2,334	49.60%	155	3.29%	79.40%	2,334	2,179	–	193	–	–	–	–	–	–	4,706
Montcalm		UN		Lib	1,654	47.49%	116	3.33%	87.12%	1,654	1,538	–	291	–	–	–	–	–	–	3,483
Montmagny		UN		Lib	2,326	53.63%	640	14.76%	76.14%	2,326	1,686	–	325	–	–	–	–	–	–	4,337
Montmorency		UN		Lib	1,960	50.91%	489	12.70%	87.21%	1,960	1,471	–	373	–	46	–	–	–	–	3,850
Montréal–Jeanne-Mance	New			Lib	6,978	60.01%	3,072	26.42%	71.43%	6,978	3,906	–	745	–	–	–	–	–	–	11,629
Montréal-Laurier		Lib		Lib	5,050	51.03%	1,028	10.39%	68.22%	5,050	4,022	–	824	–	–	–	–	–	–	9,896
Montréal-Mercier		UN		Lib	6,215	53.77%	2,431	21.03%	72.21%	6,215	3,784	–	1,524	–	–	–	–	35	–	11,558
Montréal–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce	New			Lib	6,827	74.95%	5,529	60.70%	62.16%	6,827	694	–	111	–	–	–	1,477 [a 5]	–	–	9,109
Montréal-Outremont	New			Lib	6,869	79.29%	5,368	61.96%	62.62%	6,869	1,501	–	293	–	–	–	–	–	–	8,663
Montréal–Saint-Henri		UN		Lib	6,261	64.28%	3,796	38.97%	67.73%	6,261	2,465	–	611	–	–	–	–	229	174	9,740
Montreal–Saint-Jacques		UN		Lib	3,810	52.84%	1,359	18.85%	66.87%	3,810	2,451	–	490	–	301	–	–	–	159	7,211
Montréal–Saint-Louis		Lib		Lib	5,084	64.92%	3,324	42.45%	63.09%	5,084	1,760	–	987	–	–	–	–	–	–	7,831
Montreal–Sainte-Anne		Lib		Lib	5,770	76.62%	4,206	55.85%	64.92%	5,770	1,564	–	197	–	–	–	–	–	–	7,531
Montréal–Sainte-Marie		UN		Ind	4,517	47.67%	1,997	21.07%	68.95%	2,520	2,002	–	330	–	4,517	–	–	–	107	9,476
Montréal-Verdun		UN		Lib	4,449	50.91%	1,936	22.15%	63.15%	4,449	1,415	–	362	–	–	2,513	–	–	–	8,739
Nicolet		UN		Lib	3,351	53.97%	825	13.29%	79.35%	3,351	2,526	–	332	–	–	–	–	–	–	6,209
Papineau		UN		UN	3,617	49.82%	704	9.70%	74.92%	2,913	3,617	–	730	–	–	–	–	–	–	7,260
Pontiac		Lib		Lib	1,998	50.85%	67	1.71%	65.21%	1,998	1,931	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	3,929
Portneuf		UN		Lib	3,759	48.45%	290	3.74%	80.53%	3,759	3,469	–	531	–	–	–	–	–	–	7,759
Québec-Centre		UN		Lib	4,296	59.05%	1,921	26.41%	76.86%	4,296	2,375	–	604	–	–	–	–	–	–	7,275
Québec-Comté		UN		Lib	3,539	47.17%	876	11.68%	86.24%	3,539	2,663	–	1,052	–	–	–	–	249	–	7,503
Québec-Est		UN		Lib	6,431	64.11%	2,831	28.22%	80.44%	6,431	3,600	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	10,031
Québec-Ouest		Lib		Lib	2,803	62.66%	1,366	30.54%	77.19%	2,803	1,437	–	233	–	–	–	–	–	–	4,473
Richelieu-Verchères	New			Lib	4,776	58.32%	2,137	26.09%	84.24%	4,776	2,639	–	775	–	–	–	–	–	–	8,190
Richmond		UN		Lib	2,998	52.55%	684	11.99%	82.92%	2,998	2,314	–	393	–	–	–	–	–	–	5,705
Rimouski		UN		Lib	3,584	54.63%	690	10.52%	83.28%	3,584	2,894	–	83	–	–	–	–	–	–	6,561
Roberval		UN		Lib	3,424	50.69%	589	8.72%	82.75%	3,424	2,835	–	496	–	–	–	–	–	–	6,755
Rouville		UN		Lib	1,761	50.01%	1	0.03%	81.83%	1,761	1,760	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	3,521
Saint-Hyacinthe		Lib		Lib	3,615	55.39%	703	10.77%	83.38%	3,615	2,912	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	6,527
Saint-Jean–Napierville	New			Lib	3,833	59.89%	1,309	20.45%	83.23%	3,833	2,524	–	43	–	–	–	–	–	–	6,400
Saint-Maurice		UN		Lib	3,462	46.54%	134	1.80%	80.23%	3,462	3,328	–	648	–	–	–	–	–	–	7,438
Saint-Sauveur		UN		Lib	4,972	56.56%	1,848	21.02%	85.59%	4,972	3,124	–	566	–	–	–	–	–	129	8,791
Shefford		UN		Lib	3,370	50.55%	598	8.97%	80.27%	3,370	2,772	–	525	–	–	–	–	–	–	6,667
Sherbrooke		UN		UN	3,914	46.90%	98	1.17%	75.23%	3,816	3,914	–	615	–	–	–	–	–	–	8,345
Stanstead		UN		Lib	2,846	50.18%	552	9.73%	76.83%	2,846	2,294	–	532	–	–	–	–	–	–	5,672
Témiscamingue		UN		Lib	4,760	56.52%	1,861	22.10%	65.61%	4,760	2,899	–	460	–	–	–	–	303	–	8,422
Témiscouata		UN		Lib	2,362	53.63%	373	8.47%	83.48%	2,362	1,989	–	53	–	–	–	–	–	–	4,404
Terrebonne		UN		Lib	4,891	53.17%	1,044	11.35%	83.15%	4,891	3,847	–	460	–	–	–	–	–	–	9,198
Trois-Rivières		UN		UN	5,278	59.69%	1,713	19.37%	87.91%	3,565	5,278	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	8,843
Vaudreuil-Soulanges	New			Lib	2,933	56.01%	710	13.56%	85.33%	2,933	2,223	–	81	–	–	–	–	–	–	5,237
Westmount–Saint-Georges	New			Lib	5,385	76.25%	4,135	58.55%	64.97%	5,385	427	–	–	–	1,250 [a 6]	–	–	–	–	7,062
Wolfe		UN		Lib	2,035	52.56%	198	5.11%	87.47%	2,035	1,837	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	3,872
Yamaska		UN		UN	2,089	54.97%	378	9.95%	87.32%	1,711	2,089	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	3,800

1. including spoilt ballots
2. Affiliations without candidates gaining 1st or 2nd place results provincewide, or otherwise not receiving more than 1% of the total vote, are grouped under "I-Oth" or "Other"
3. Edgar Rochette had previously been MLA until 1936
4. René Chaloult was previously elected in Kamouraska under the UN banner
5. William Ross Bulloch (1,298 votes) was previously elected as the UN MLA in Westmount
6. Gilbert Layton was previously elected in Montréal–Saint-Georges under the UN banner

  = open seat

  = turnout is above provincial average

  = winning candidate was in previous Legislature

  = incumbent had switched allegiance

  = not incumbent; was previously elected to the Legislature

  = incumbency arose from byelection gain

  = previously incumbent in another riding

  = other incumbents renominated

  = previously an MP in the House of Commons of Canada

  = multiple candidates

Analysis

Party candidates in 2nd place^[2]

Party in 1st place		Party in 2nd place					Total
		Lib	UN	Ind	CCF	I-Con
	Liberal		65	1	1	1	68
	Union Nationale	14					14
	Conservative	1					1
	Nationalist		1				1
	Independent	1					1
Total		16	66	1	1	1	85

Candidates ranked 1st to 5th place, by party^[2]

Parties	Acclaimed	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	Total
█ Liberal	1	68	16				85
█ Union Nationale		14	66	4			84
█ Independent		1	1	1	2		5
█ Conservative		1					1
█ Nationalist		1					1
█ Independent Conservative			1		2		3
█ Co-operative Commonwealth			1				1
█ Action libérale nationale				52	3	1	56
█ Independent UN				1	2		3
█ Independent ALN				1			1
█ ALN-Lab				1			1
█ Independent Liberal					2	1	3
█ Labour					1	2	3
█ Communist						1	1

Resulting composition of the 21st Quebec Legislative Assembly^[3]

Source		Party
		Lib	UN	Con	Nat	Ind	Total
Seats retained	Incumbents returned	6	14				20
	Ouster of incumbent changing allegiance	1					1
	Byelection loss reversed - previous incumbent returned	1					1
	Byelection loss reversed - new MLA elected	1					1
Seats changing hands	Incumbents defeated - previous incumbent returned	10			1		11
	Incumbents defeated - new MLAs elected	25				1	26
	Open seats gained - previous incumbent returned	3					3
	Open seats gained - new MLAs elected	9		1			10
	Acclamation - previous incumbent returned	1					1
	Incumbent changed allegiance	1					1
New ridings	Incumbent returned in new seat	3					3
	New MLA elected	6					6
Total		68	14	1	1	1	86

See also

• List of Quebec premiers
• Politics of Quebec
• Timeline of Quebec history
• List of Quebec political parties
• 21st Legislative Assembly of Quebec

References

1. An Act respecting the electoral districts of the Province, S.Q. 1939, c. 7.
2. Drouilly, Pierre (December 4, 2017). "Élections québécoises de 1939". donneesquebec.ca. Atlas des élections au Québec.
3. "Les membres de l'Assemblée nationale par circonscription" [National Assembly members by riding] (in French). National Assembly of Quebec. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
4. "Results by Ridings Outside City; Figures for Ridings on Island". Montreal Gazette. October 26, 1939. p. 6.