1956 Quebec general election


1956 Quebec general election


The 1956 Quebec general election was held on June 20, 1956, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec, Canada. The incumbent Union Nationale, led by Maurice Duplessis, won re-election, defeating the Quebec Liberal Party, led by Georges-Émile Lapalme.

This was the fifth and final time (and the fourth in a row) that Duplessis led his party to a general election victory. No party has since been able to win more than three elections in a row. Duplessis died in office in 1959.

It was Lapalme's second (and final) loss in a row as Liberal leader. The Liberals did not manage to improve on their performance in the previous 1952 election.

Expansion of the Legislative Assembly

An Act passed in 1954 provided for the creation of the new electoral district of Jonquière-Kénogami for the next election, which was carved out from Chicoutimi and Lac-Saint-Jean.

Campaign

The Liberals and the Union des électeurs pooled their resources to conduct a joint campaign against the UN in at least 50 ridings. They collaborated to such a degree that in February 1956 the Liberal MPP René Hamel had proposed a motion espousing social credit theory in the Assembly, and a joint rally was held in May 1956 in Shawinigan to mark that event. While the strategy was viewed within the parties as a means to maximize their strength in opposing the UN, the electorate tended to view it as being confusing, while the Montreal Gazette called it "an irresponsible alliance". There were also Liberals in the old guard that wanted the UN to win.

The Liberals supported four UdE and two Nationalist candidates, respectively running as Liberals and Independents, of which none won:

  • on the Social Credit side, there were Réal Caouette (Abitibi-Est), Arthur Marcoux (Beauce), Urbain Lajeunesse (Îles-de-la-Madeleine) and Paul-Eugène Drolet (Portneuf),
  • René Chaloult campaigned in the new riding of Jonquière-Kénogami, and came within 320 votes of winning. This would be his last campaign.
  • Pierre Laporte, director of the magazine L'Action nationale and previously parliamentary correspondent for Le Devoir, ran in Montréal-Laurier. He would later campaign and win as a Liberal candidate in a 1961 byelection in Chambly.

One observer noted, "The Union Nationale’s strongly entrenched position could not be seriously challenged unless a united front was formed of all opposing groups." The UN chose to campaign on Quebec's right to fiscal autonomy, the party's accomplishments and the future of Ungava, while the Liberals' chances were restrained by their alliance with the UdE (while shutting out the Parti social démocratique), the choice of Chaloult and Laporte not to identify themselves as Liberal candidates, and the party's tendency to side with Ottawa's centralizing policies. The UN correctly assumed that Quebec voters, when given a choice, would prefer a nationalist policy over a social one.

Results

Synopsis of results

  = 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
  = UdE candidates under the Liberal banner
  = Nationalist candidates supported by the Liberals
  = multiple candidates

Analysis

See also

  • List of Quebec premiers
  • Politics of Quebec
  • Timeline of Quebec history
  • List of Quebec political parties
  • 25th Legislative Assembly of Quebec

Further reading

  • Lemieux, Vincent, ed. (1969). Quatre élections provinciales au Québec [Four provincial elections in Quebec] (in French). Montreal: Les presses de l'Université Laval.
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References


Text submitted to CC-BY-SA license. Source: 1956 Quebec general election by Wikipedia (Historical)



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