1948 Quebec general election

The 1948 Quebec general election was held on July 28, 1948, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Quebec, Canada. The incumbent Union Nationale, led by Maurice Duplessis, won re-election, defeating the Quebec Liberal Party, led by Adélard Godbout.

1948 Quebec general election

← 1944 July 28, 1948 1952 →
← outgoing members elected members →
92 seats in the 23rd Legislative Assembly of Quebec 47 seats were needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   UdÉ Leader Maurice Duplessis Adélard Godbout P. Ernest Grégoire Party Union Nationale Liberal Union des électeurs Leader since June 20, 1936 June 11, 1936 June 11, 1936 Leader's seat Trois-Rivières L'Islet (defeated) Last election 48 seats, 38.02% 37 seats, 39.35% New Seats won 82 8 0 Seat change 34 29 Popular vote 775,747 547,478 123,508 Percentage 51.24% 36.17% 9.25% Swing 13.22% 3.18% New
Premier before election Maurice Duplessis Union Nationale Premier after election Maurice Duplessis Union Nationale

This was the third time (and the second in a row) that Duplessis led his party to a general election victory.

It was Godbout's third (and final) loss to Duplessis in a general election, and the second in a row. He had won one victory against Duplessis years earlier in the 1939 election. In this election, the Liberals fared particularly poorly, reduced to only 8 seats, although their share of the popular vote was around 36%.

Adjustment of representation

The Legislative Assembly was expanded from 91 to 92 members, as a consequence of Charlevoix—Saguenay no longer returning a joint member, separate members being elected from Charlevoix and Saguenay.^[1]

Campaign

The Union des électeurs fielded candidates in all 92 ridings, with 71 becoming, at minimum, three-way contests between them, the UN and the Liberals:

Riding contests, by number of candidates (1948)^[2]

Candidates	UN	Lib	UdE	CCF	Ind	I-UN	Lab-Pr	I-Lib	Lab	I-CCF	Total
3	70	71	71		1						213
4	13	13	13	3	6			3	1		52
5	4	4	4	1	3			3		1	20
6	2	2	2	1	3	1		1			12
7	2	2	2	1	3	2	1	1			14
Total	91	92	92	6	16	3	1	8	1	1	311

Results

^[2]

Elections to the Legislative Assembly of Quebec (1948)

Political party		Party leader	MLAs				Votes
			Candidates	1944	1948	±	#	±	%	± (pp)
	Union Nationale	Maurice Duplessis	91	48	82	34	775,747	270,086	51.25	13.22
	Liberal	Adélard Godbout	92	37	8	29	547,478	24,162	36.16	3.19
	Union des électeurs	P. Ernest Grégoire	92	–	–	–	140,050	123,508	9.25	8.01
	Co-operative Commonwealth		7	1	–	1	9,016	24,970	0.60	1.96
	Bloc populaire		–	4	–	4	did not campaign
	Other candidates
	█ Independent[a 1][a 2]	–	11	–	2	2	23,956	11,190	1.58	0.62
	█ Independent-Nationalist[a 1]	–	–	1	–	1	did not campaign
	█ Independent-Unionist	–	8	–	–	–	8,649	1,874	0.57	0.06
	█ Labor–Progressive	–	1	–	–	–	4,899	2,974	0.32	0.27
	█ Independent-Liberal	–	7	–	–	–	2,968	7,868	0.20	0.45
	█ Labour	–	1	–	–	–	1,098	7,257	0.07	0.56
	█ Independent-CCF	–	1	–	–	–	110	2,905	–	0.23
	█ Candidat du peuple	–	did not campaign
	█ Independent-Bloc	–
Total			311	91	92		1,513,971		100%
Rejected ballots							17,928	2,376
Voter turnout							1,531,899	186,388	75.22	3.24
Registered electors							2,036,576	167,180

1. René Chaloult was reelected as an Independent in Québec-Comté, the only riding in which the UN did not field a candidate
2. Frank Hanley was elected in Montréal–Sainte-Anne

Popular vote UN   51.24% PLQ   36.17% UdÉ   9.25% Others   3.34%

Seats summary UN   89.13% PLQ   8.70% Others   2.17%

Synopsis of results

Results by riding - 1948 Quebec general election^[2][3]

Riding	Winning party								Turnout [a 1]	Votes
Name	1944		Party		Votes	Share	Margin #	Margin %		UN	Lib	UdE	CCF	Ind	I-UN	Lab-Pr	I-Lib	Lab	I-CCF	Total
Abitibi-Est		Lib		UN	8,373	42.23%	2,233	11.26%	81.88%	8,373	5,313	6,140	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	19,826
Abitibi-Ouest		UN		UN	5,669	50.90%	2,497	22.42%	87.56%	5,669	2,196	3,172	–	–	100	–	–	–	–	11,137
Argenteuil		Lib		UN	5,488	48.47%	433	3.82%	82.88%	5,488	5,055	779	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	11,322
Arthabaska		Lib		UN	8,368	54.83%	3,222	21.11%	88.03%	8,368	5,146	1,749	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	15,263
Bagot		Lib		UN	5,220	59.53%	1,925	21.95%	88.78%	5,220	3,295	254	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	8,769
Beauce		BP		UN	12,571	58.94%	8,012	37.57%	88.57%	12,571	4,559	4,197	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	21,327
Beauharnois		BP		UN	9,929	63.35%	5,923	37.79%	82.02%	9,929	4,006	1,738	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	15,673
Bellechasse		Lib		UN	5,027	48.48%	781	7.53%	83.49%	5,027	4,246	1,096	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	10,369
Berthier		Lib		UN	5,952	51.49%	410	3.55%	89.11%	5,952	5,542	66	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	11,560
Bonaventure		UN		UN	8,384	50.99%	715	4.35%	84.86%	8,384	7,669	137	–	–	252	–	–	–	–	16,442
Brome		UN		UN	3,977	60.09%	1,484	22.42%	83.39%	3,977	2,493	148	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	6,618
Chambly		Lib		UN	12,197	52.04%	3,499	14.93%	73.78%	12,197	8,698	869	–	661	1,014	–	–	–	–	23,439
Champlain		UN		UN	11,465	68.52%	7,332	43.82%	86.46%	11,465	4,133	1,135	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	16,733
Charlevoix	New			UN	6,078	54.45%	2,014	18.04%	84.80%	6,078	4,064	961	–	–	59	–	–	–	–	11,162
Châteauguay		Lib		UN	4,277	54.46%	803	10.23%	83.82%	4,277	3,474	102	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	7,853
Chicoutimi		UN		UN	23,602	57.82%	13,806	33.82%	85.69%	23,602	7,424	9,796	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	40,822
Compton		Lib		UN	5,593	53.21%	1,987	18.90%	82.05%	5,593	3,606	1,312	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	10,511
Deux-Montagnes		UN		UN	5,638	62.64%	2,431	27.01%	83.52%	5,638	3,207	155	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	9,000
Dorchester		UN		UN	9,345	61.53%	4,504	29.65%	87.45%	9,345	4,841	1,002	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	15,188
Drummond		UN		UN	10,016	55.09%	5,289	29.09%	79.24%	10,016	4,727	3,438	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	18,181
Frontenac		UN		UN	6,948	56.30%	3,898	31.59%	88.13%	6,948	3,050	2,343	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	12,341
Gaspé-Nord		UN		Lib	3,572	44.95%	213	2.68%	91.81%	3,359	3,572	97	–	918	–	–	–	–	–	7,946
Gaspé-Sud		UN		UN	8,002	60.98%	3,034	23.12%	83.12%	8,002	4,968	152	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	13,122
Gatineau		Lib		UN	6,649	52.34%	1,104	8.69%	78.56%	6,649	5,545	510	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	12,704
Hull		UN		UN	12,036	65.60%	6,499	35.42%	78.23%	12,036	5,537	774	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	18,347
Huntingdon		Lib		UN	3,453	56.54%	879	14.39%	83.64%	3,453	2,574	80	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	6,107
Iberville		UN		UN	3,369	59.55%	1,344	23.76%	86.71%	3,369	2,025	228	–	35	–	–	–	–	–	5,657
Îles-de-la-Madeleine		UN		UN	2,442	58.14%	723	17.21%	91.59%	2,442	1,719	39	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	4,200
Jacques-Cartier		Lib		Lib	14,524	49.59%	4,074	13.91%	66.06%	10,450	14,524	1,088	–	–	3,225	–	–	–	–	29,287
Joliette		UN		UN	10,482	64.99%	5,030	31.19%	86.46%	10,482	5,452	195	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	16,129
Kamouraska		Lib		UN	5,519	49.89%	454	4.10%	83.56%	5,519	5,065	479	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	11,063
L'Assomption		UN		UN	5,971	62.32%	2,729	28.48%	84.56%	5,971	3,242	233	–	–	–	–	135	–	–	9,581
L'Islet		Lib		UN	4,374	45.04%	40	0.41%	85.92%	4,374	4,334	1,004	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	9,712
Labelle		UN		UN	6,694	64.07%	4,127	39.50%	86.60%	6,694	2,567	1,187	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	10,448
Lac-Saint-Jean		Lib		UN	6,277	55.12%	1,661	14.59%	93.33%	6,277	4,616	494	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	11,387
Laval		Lib		UN	29,043	63.36%	15,582	33.99%	67.94%	29,043	13,461	3,033	–	–	–	–	300	–	–	45,837
Laviolette		UN		UN	8,612	54.05%	4,466	28.03%	79.84%	8,612	4,146	3,176	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	15,934
Lévis		UN		UN	10,322	52.41%	4,512	22.91%	85.06%	10,322	5,810	3,561	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	19,693
Lotbinière		Lib		UN	5,900	49.22%	668	5.57%	89.78%	5,900	5,232	854	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	11,986
Maisonneuve		UN		UN	18,493	52.70%	5,128	14.61%	66.51%	18,493	13,365	2,744	486	–	–	–	–	–	–	35,088
Maskinongé		UN		UN	5,184	55.68%	1,124	12.07%	91.60%	5,184	4,060	67	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	9,311
Matane		UN		UN	9,405	57.40%	3,069	18.73%	87.73%	9,405	6,336	643	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	16,384
Matapédia		UN		UN	6,039	47.00%	776	6.04%	87.62%	6,039	5,263	1,547	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	12,849
Mégantic		UN		UN	9,787	51.04%	3,110	16.22%	89.39%	9,787	6,677	2,710	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	19,174
Missisquoi		Lib		UN	5,899	53.75%	1,086	9.90%	82.83%	5,899	4,813	263	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	10,975
Montcalm		UN		UN	4,645	59.04%	1,466	18.63%	86.12%	4,645	3,179	43	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	7,867
Montmagny		Lib		UN	5,284	49.81%	702	6.62%	85.41%	5,284	4,582	742	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	10,608
Montmorency		Lib		UN	4,018	43.88%	245	2.68%	87.87%	4,018	3,773	1,365	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	9,156
Montréal–Jeanne-Mance		Lib		UN	21,456	55.28%	6,491	16.72%	62.55%	21,456	14,965	1,424	970	–	–	–	–	–	–	38,815
Montréal-Laurier		BP		UN	17,234	58.65%	7,176	24.42%	65.40%	17,234	10,058	1,236	–	–	–	–	855	–	–	29,383
Montréal-Mercier		Lib		UN	17,844	57.71%	6,444	20.84%	60.23%	17,844	11,400	1,347	–	–	–	–	331	–	–	30,922
Montréal–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce		Lib		Lib	18,834	76.13%	13,237	53.50%	53.01%	5,597	18,834	309	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	24,740
Montréal-Outremont		Lib		Lib	15,115	70.29%	9,137	42.49%	49.32%	5,978	15,115	412	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	21,505
Montréal–Saint-Henri		UN		UN	17,754	53.83%	6,340	19.22%	68.85%	17,754	11,414	1,625	1,779	–	166	–	246	–	–	32,984
Montréal–Saint-Jacques		UN		UN	12,328	60.56%	6,404	31.46%	61.71%	12,328	5,924	1,008	–	–	–	–	–	1,098	–	20,358
Montréal–Saint-Louis		Lib		Lib	11,032	38.37%	646	2.25%	49.83%	10,386	11,032	845	1,593	–	–	4,899	–	–	–	28,755
Montréal–Sainte-Anne		Lib		Ind	8,216	42.10%	1,771	9.07%	56.27%	2,632	6,445	556	366	8,398	1,120	–	–	–	–	19,517
Montréal–Sainte-Marie		UN		UN	16,108	55.48%	7,793	26.84%	61.51%	16,108	8,315	1,639	–	1,873	–	–	1,101	–	–	29,036
Montréal-Verdun		Lib		Lib	12,639	52.74%	6,017	25.11%	57.26%	6,622	12,639	1,052	3,544	–	–	–	–	–	110	23,967
Napierville-Laprairie		UN		UN	7,080	65.01%	3,389	31.12%	87.67%	7,080	3,691	119	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	10,890
Nicolet		UN		UN	6,810	49.72%	207	1.51%	83.88%	6,810	6,603	285	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	13,698
Papineau		UN		UN	10,129	61.93%	6,149	37.59%	82.86%	10,129	3,980	2,247	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	16,356
Pontiac		Lib		UN	4,723	56.03%	1,346	15.97%	76.61%	4,723	3,377	329	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	8,429
Portneuf		UN		UN	10,506	55.55%	5,224	27.62%	85.44%	10,506	5,282	3,123	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	18,911
Québec-Centre		Lib		UN	8,174	47.66%	404	2.36%	73.52%	8,174	7,770	1,208	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	17,152
Québec-Comté		Nat		Ind	11,807	49.49%	4,261	17.86%	81.97%	–	7,546	4,503	–	11,807	–	–	–	–	–	23,856
Québec-Est		Lib		UN	14,998	54.17%	6,004	21.68%	80.48%	14,998	8,994	3,696	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	27,688
Québec-Ouest		Lib		UN	7,034	50.35%	844	6.04%	74.43%	7,034	6,190	747	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	13,971
Richelieu		Lib		UN	6,647	47.86%	377	2.71%	84.48%	6,647	6,270	970	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	13,887
Richmond		UN		UN	7,135	50.00%	2,784	19.51%	84.70%	7,135	4,351	2,783	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	14,269
Rimouski		UN		UN	7,819	44.81%	1,439	8.25%	85.62%	7,819	6,380	3,252	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	17,451
Rivière-du-Loup		Lib		UN	9,391	56.90%	2,582	15.64%	89.63%	9,391	6,809	305	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	16,505
Roberval		UN		UN	9,695	55.02%	3,782	21.46%	89.83%	9,695	5,913	2,013	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	17,621
Rouville		UN		UN	4,946	54.78%	992	10.99%	88.04%	4,946	3,954	129	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	9,029
Rouyn-Noranda		CCF		UN	5,245	41.73%	1,183	9.41%	81.09%	5,245	3,263	4,062	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	12,570
Saguenay	New			UN	4,726	41.11%	2,207	19.20%	75.15%	4,726	2,519	1,274	–	264	2,713	–	–	–	–	11,496
Saint-Hyacinthe		UN		UN	7,973	49.20%	1,206	7.44%	79.41%	7,973	6,767	1,465	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	16,205
Saint-Jean		UN		UN	7,535	65.27%	3,948	34.20%	82.78%	7,535	3,587	423	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	11,545
Saint-Maurice		UN		UN	11,830	53.40%	5,491	24.79%	84.98%	11,830	3,983	6,339	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	22,152
Saint-Sauveur		Lib		UN	10,149	46.48%	3,261	14.93%	83.66%	10,149	6,888	4,799	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	21,836
Shefford		UN		UN	9,375	52.28%	2,578	14.38%	83.20%	9,375	6,797	1,760	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	17,932
Sherbrooke		UN		UN	13,818	57.26%	8,307	34.42%	77.15%	13,818	5,511	4,525	278	–	–	–	–	–	–	24,132
Stanstead		BP		UN	6,869	53.57%	2,597	20.25%	71.41%	6,869	4,272	1,681	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	12,822
Témiscamingue		UN		UN	3,374	43.95%	858	11.18%	86.54%	3,374	2,516	1,787	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	7,677
Témiscouata		UN		UN	4,779	45.24%	894	8.46%	87.41%	4,779	3,885	1,900	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	10,564
Terrebonne		UN		UN	16,805	59.94%	7,911	28.22%	83.33%	16,805	8,894	2,337	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	28,036
Trois-Rivières		UN		UN	16,097	76.91%	12,261	58.58%	81.12%	16,097	3,836	997	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	20,930
Vaudreuil-Soulanges		Lib		UN	6,272	55.29%	1,359	11.98%	82.22%	6,272	4,913	158	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	11,343
Verchères		Lib		Lib	3,796	49.97%	346	4.55%	86.48%	3,450	3,796	351	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	7,597
Westmount–Saint-Georges		Lib		Lib	13,947	75.87%	9,879	53.74%	47.94%	4,068	13,947	367	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	18,382
Wolfe		UN		UN	4,205	52.44%	905	11.29%	91.53%	4,205	3,300	513	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	8,018
Yamaska		UN		UN	4,326	62.24%	1,954	28.11%	83.33%	4,326	2,372	253	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	6,951

1. including spoilt ballots

  = open seat

  = turnout is above provincial average

  = winning candidate was in previous Legislature

  = incumbent had switched allegiance

  = incumbency arose from byelection gain

  = previously incumbent in another riding

  = other incumbents renominated

  = multiple candidates

Analysis

Party candidates in 2nd place^[2]

Party in 1st place		Party in 2nd place				Total
		UN	Lib	UDE	Ind-UN
	Union Nationale		76	5	1	82
	Liberal	8				8
	Independent		2			2
Total		8	78	5	1	92

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

Parties	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	Total
█ Union Nationale	82	8	1			91
█ Liberal	8	78	6			92
█ Independent	2		1	1	3	7
█ Union des électeurs		5	77	8	2	92
█ Independent UN		1	3	3		7
█ Co-operative Commonwealth			2	4		6
█ Labor–Progressive			1			1
█ Labour			1			1
█ Independent Liberal				5	2	7
█ Independent-CCF					1	1

Resulting composition of the 23rd Quebec Legislative Assembly^[3]

Source		Party
		UN	Lib	Ind	Total
Seats retained	Incumbents returned	45	5		50
	Incumbent changed allegiance			1	1
	Open seats held	1	2		3
Seats changing hands	Incumbents defeated	25	1	1	27
	Open seats gained	5			5
	Byelection gains held	4			4
New ridings	Incumbent returned in new seat	1			1
	New MLA elected	1			1
Total		82	8	2	92

See also

• List of Quebec premiers
• Politics of Quebec
• Timeline of Quebec history
• List of Quebec political parties
• 23rd Legislative Assembly of Quebec

References

1. An Act to amend the Legislature Act and the Territorial Division Act, S.Q. 1945, c. 12, s. 1
2. Drouilly, Pierre (December 4, 2017). "Élections québécoises de 1948". 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.