1949 Nova Scotia general election

The 1949 Nova Scotia general election was held on 9 June 1949 to elect members of the 44th House of Assembly of the Province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It was won by the Liberal party. The Progressive Conservatives returned to the legislature after their wipeout in the 1945 general election, but their eight seats put them in a distant second place to the Liberals' 37.

1949 Nova Scotia general election

← 1945 June 9, 1949 1953 →
← outgoing members members →
37 seats of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly 19 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	77.67% 12.99pp
First party Second party Third party   CCF Leader Angus Lewis Macdonald Robert Stanfield Russell Cunningham Party Liberal Progressive Conservative Co-operative Commonwealth Leader since August 31, 1945 November 10, 1948 1945 Leader's seat Halifax South Colchester Cape Breton East Last election 28 0 2 Seats won 27 8[1] 2 Seat change 1 8 Popular vote 178,177 134,311 34,036 Percentage 51.0% 39.2% 9.6% Swing 2.08% 6.18% 4.10%
Premier before election Angus Lewis Macdonald Liberal Premier after election Angus Lewis Macdonald Liberal

Results

Results by party

↓

27	8	2
Liberal	Progressive Conservative	CCF

Official results ^[2]

Party		Party leader	# of candidates	Seats				Popular vote
				1945	Dissolution	Elected	Change	#	%	Change (pp)
	Liberal	Angus Lewis Macdonald	38	28		28	0	178,177	50.97%	-2.08%
	Progressive Conservative	Robert Stanfield	37	0		7	+7	134,311	39.21%	+6.18%
	Co-operative Commonwealth	Donald MacDonald	22	2		2	0	34,036	9.60%	-4.10%
	Independent/Other		1	0		0	0	749	0.22%	N/A
	Vacant
Total valid votes								342,533	%	–
Blank and invalid ballots								1,857	0.54%	–
Total			96	30	30	37	–	344,390	100.00%	–
Registered voters / turnout								369,117	77.67%[3]

Popular vote Liberal   50.97% PC   39.21% CCF   9.60% Others   0.22%

Seats summary Liberal   72.97% PC   21.62% CCF   5.41%

Retiring incumbents

Liberal

• John Malcolm Campbell, Victoria
• John Patrick Gorman, Antigonish
• Gordon Purdy, Colchester
• Henry A. Waterman, Yarmouth

Nominated candidates

Legend
bold denotes party leader
† denotes an incumbent who is not running for re-election or was defeated in nomination contest

Valley

Electoral district	Candidates								Incumbent
	Liberal		CCF		PC		Independent
Annapolis		Henry Hicks 5,091 52.29%		Louisa Anna Shaw 198 2.03%		Harry Thompson MacKenzie 4,447 45.68%				Henry Hicks
Clare		Benoit Comeau 2,078 49.55%				Desire J. Comeau 2,116 50.45%				New riding
Digby		Blanchard Spring Morrell 2,748 49.26%				E. Keith Potter 2,830 50.74%				Vacant
Hants West[4]		George B. Cole 2,530 39.67%		Ralph Loomer 569 8.92%		George Henry Wilson 2,529 39.66%		Gordon B. Crossley 749 11.75%		New riding
Kings		David Durell Sutton 7,322 25.34%				Hiram Thomas 7,061 24.44%				David Durell Sutton
		William H. Pipe 7,369 25.51%				Edward Haliburton 7,138 24.71%				New seat

South Shore

Electoral district	Candidates								Incumbent
	Liberal		CCF		PC		Independent
Lunenburg		Arthur L. Thurlow 7,145 23.49%		Orris A. MacLaren 844 2.77%		R. Clifford Levy 6,935 22.80%				Vacant
		Gordon E. Romkey 7,814 25.69%		Lemuel O. Murphy 871 2.86%		Fred Rhodenizer 6,807 22.38%				Gordon E. Romkey
Queens		Merrill D. Rawding 3,166 50.21%		J.N. McIntyre 299 4.74%		E.M. More 2,840 45.04%				Merrill D. Rawding
Shelburne		Wilfred Dauphinee 3,436 53.20%				Reginald Donald Ross 3,023 46.80%				Wilfred Dauphinee
Yarmouth		Joseph Israel Pothier 4,601 24.38%				William Heartz Brown 5,322 28.20%				New seat
		Donald J. Fraser 4,751 25.18%				Alfred B. d'Entremont 4,197 22.24%				Henry A. Waterman†

Fundy-Northeast

Electoral district	Candidates								Incumbent
	Liberal		CCF		PC		Independent
Colchester		W.J. MacDonald 6,968 23.23%		A.L. Lynds 513 1.71%		Robert Stanfield 8,081 26.94%				Gordon Purdy†
		Robert F. McLellan 6,857 22.86%				George Isaac Smith 7,580 25.27%				Robert F. McLellan
Cumberland Centre		Archibald J. Mason 2,219 42.41%		Florence Welton 1,406 26.87%		Archie B. Smith 1,607 30.71%				New riding
Cumberland East		Martin J. Kaufman 4,280 49.79%		Brenton Garnhum 697 8.11%		Arnold G. McLellan 3,619 42.10%				Martin J. Kaufman Cumberland
Cumberland West		Kenneth Judson Cochrane 2,645 48.38%				Thomas A. Giles 2,822 51.62%				Kenneth Judson Cochrane Cumberland
Hants East		Robert A. MacLellan 2,069 46.62%		Johnston B. Hart 272 6.13%		Ernest M. Ettinger 2,097 47.25%				Robert A. MacLellan Hants

Halifax/Dartmouth/Eastern Shore

Electoral district	Candidates								Incumbent
	Liberal		CCF		PC		Independent
Halifax Centre		James Edward Rutledge 5,725 54.71%		Elmore Webber 1,167 11.15%		Jack L. Dowell 3,573 34.14%				James Edward Rutledge
Halifax East		Geoffrey W. Stevens 7,703 52.22%		Wallace Mason 2,773 18.80%		R. Graham Murray 4,274 28.98%				Geoffrey W. Stevens
Halifax North		Harold Connolly 7,944 54.79%		Arthur Kenneth Green 2,066 14.25%		Richard Donahoe 4,489 30.96%				Harold Connolly
Halifax South		Angus Lewis Macdonald 6,097 59.57%		Edward Coombs 926 9.05%		John R. Milledge 3,212 31.38%				Angus Lewis Macdonald
Halifax West		Ronald Manning Fielding 6,788 49.88%		Fred M. Young 3,027 22.24%		Malcolm Edgbert Walker 3,795 27.88%				Ronald Manning Fielding

Central Nova

Electoral district	Candidates								Incumbent
	Liberal		CCF		PC		Independent
Antigonish		Colin H. Chisholm 3,179 58.23%				Terrance Bernard Thompson 2,280 41.77%				John Patrick Gorman†
Guysborough		Arthur W. MacKenzie 4,041 64.19%				Hugh A.K. Forbes 2,254 35.81%				Arthur W. MacKenzie
Pictou Centre		Alfred B. DeWolfe 5,283 47.49%		Alvin M. Stewart 1,343 12.07%		John A. MacGregor 4,499 40.44%				Alfred B. DeWolfe Pictou
Pictou East		John W. MacDonald 2,455 46.55%		Collie G. Ross 603 11.43%		William A. MacLeod 2,216 42.02%				Vacant Pictou
Pictou West		Stewart W. Proudfoot 2,817 55.04%				Donald R. Gilchrist 2,301 44.96%				New riding

Cape Breton

Electoral district	Candidates								Incumbent
	Liberal		CCF		PC		Independent
Cape Breton Centre		Ronald McIsaac 3,271 40.17%		Michael James MacDonald 3,339 41.01%		Joseph A. MacDonald 1,532 18.82%				Michael James MacDonald
Cape Breton East		Charles Roy MacDonald 3,829 36.59%		Russell Cunningham 4,543 43.41%		Thomas Horace Dickson 2,093 20.00%				Russell Cunningham
Cape Breton North		Alexander O'Handley 4,727 46.13%		Wendell Coldwell 2,502 24.42%		John Michael Macdonald 3,018 29.45%				Alexander O'Handley
Cape Breton South		John Smith MacIvor 6,742 47.20%		Vincent Allan Morrison 3,740 26.18%		Ross Anderson MacKimmie 3,802 26.62%				John Smith MacIvor
Cape Breton West		Malcolm A. Patterson 3,444 51.14%		Arthur Briggs 1,171 17.39%		David McLeod 2,120 31.48%				Malcolm A. Patterson
Inverness		Alexander H. McKinnon 6,168 37.72%				Alcorn A. Munro 2,368 14.48%				Alexander H. McKinnon
		Roderick MacLean 5,562 34.01%				George H. Penny 2,254 13.78%				New seat
Richmond		Lauchlin Daniel Currie 3,254 66.49%				D.W. Morrison 1,640 33.51%				Lauchlin Daniel Currie
Victoria		Carleton L. MacMillan 2,486 61.75%				Phillip MacLeod 1,540 38.25%				John Malcolm Campbell†

References

1. 27 November 1950 deferred by-election for Hants West seat, won by PC candidate
2. "Election Returns 1949" (PDF). Elections Nova Scotia. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
3. While 344,390 votes were cast, only 286,694 electors voted as electors in several districts voted for two candidates.
4. In the riding of Hants West, Progressive Conservative George Henry Wilson's 3-vote lead on election night, became a tie after a judicial recount. The Returning Officer then cast the deciding vote for the Liberal's George B. Cole. After an appeal, a judge then decided to throw out the results of the general election; a by-election was held several months later to fill the seat and was won by Wilson.