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1931 Quebec general election

1931 Quebec general election
← 1927 August 24, 1931 1935 →
90 seats in the 18th Legislative Assembly of Quebec
46 seats were needed for a majority
  First party Second party
 
Leader Louis-Alexandre Taschereau Camillien Houde
Party Liberal Conservative
Leader since 1920 1929
Leader's seat Montmorency Ran in Montréal–Saint-Jacques (defeated)
Last election 74 seats, 59.33% 9 seats, 34.31%
Seats won 79 11
Seat change Increase5 Increase2
Percentage 54.88% 43.54%
Swing Decrease4.45pp Increase9.23pp
Premier before election

Louis-Alexandre Taschereau
Liberal

Premier after election

Louis-Alexandre Taschereau
Liberal

The 1931 Quebec general election was held on August 24, 1931, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Quebec, Canada. The incumbent Quebec Liberal Party, led by Louis-Alexandre Taschereau, was re-elected, defeating the Quebec Conservative Party, led by Camillien Houde.

It was the third general election victory in a row for Taschereau, who had held office since 1920.

Redistribution of ridings

[edit]

An Act passed in 1930[1] increased the number of MLAs from 85 to 90 through the following changes:

Abolished ridings New ridings
Divisions of ridings
Creation of riding from parts of others
  1. ^ formed from parts of Hull
  2. ^ formed from part of Champlain
  3. ^ formed from part of Témiscouata
  4. ^ formed from parts of Lac-Saint-Jean

Campaign

[edit]

The Liberals and Conservatives contested all 90 ridings, with 74 being two-way contests, and the remainder were three-way affairs.

Riding contests, by number of candidates (1931)[2]
Candidates Lib Ind-G Con-G Con Lab-Opp Ind-Opp Ind-Lib Ind-Con Ind Lab Total
2 74 74 148
3 16 2 1 16 2 1 2 4 2 2 48
Total 90 2 1 16 2 1 2 4 2 2 196

Aftermath

[edit]

The Conservatives initiated proceedings to attempt to quash up to 63 of the Liberal wins.[3] In one of the hearings, Houde confessed that he had personally furnished $60,000 towards the effort, but did not disclose where he had gotten the funds from.[3] In response, the Taschereau government passed the "Dillon Act",[4] which retroactively amended the laws governing the contesting of controverted elections, thus effectively gutting the ongoing actions.[5] When the Union Nationale subsequently gained power after the 1936 election, one of its first measures was to repeal this Act and restore the law to what it was before its passage.[6]

Results

[edit]

This was the last election in which a candidate campaigned in multiple ridings. Camillien Houde was nominated in both Montréal–Saint-Jacques and Montréal–Sainte-Marie, and he lost both contests.[7]

Elections to the Legislative Assembly of Quebec (1931)[2]
Political party Party leader MLAs Votes
Candidates 1927 1931 ± # ± % ± (pp)
  Government candidates
█ Liberal Louis-Alexandre Taschereau 90 74 79 5Increase 268,732 80,045Increase 54.88 4.46Decrease
█ Independent – 2 – – – 2,787 1,422Increase 0.57 0.14Increase
█ Conservative – 1 – – – 711 New 0.15 New
  Opposition candidates
█ Conservative Camillien Houde 90 9 11 2Increase 213,223 104,118Increase 43.54 9.23Increase
█ Labour – 2 1 – 1Decrease 1,683 2,749Decrease 0.34 1.05Decrease
█ Independent – 1 – – – 106 2,579Decrease 0.02 0.82Decrease
  Other candidates
█ Independent-Liberal – 2 1 – 1Decrease 1,065 8,280Decrease 0.22 2.72Decrease
█ Independent-Conservative – 4 – – – 584 New 0.12 New
█ Labour – 2 – – – 481 1,861Decrease 0.10 0.64Decrease
█ Independent – 2 – – – 323 New 0.06 New
Total 196 85 90 489,695 100%
Rejected ballots 4,190 1,347Increase
Voter turnout 493,885 173,081Increase 77.01 14.10Increase
Registered electors (contested ridings only) 641,324 131,389Increase
Candidates returned by acclamation – 12Decrease
Popular vote
PLQ
 
 54.88%
PCQ
 
 43.54%
Others
 
 1.58%
Seats summary
PLQ
 
 87.78%
PCQ
 
 12.22%

Synopsis of results

[edit]
Results by riding - 1931 Quebec general election[2][8]
Riding Winning party Turnout
[a 1] 		Votes
Name 1927 Party Votes Share Margin
# 		Margin
% 		Lib Con Gov Opp Other Total
 
Abitibi Lib Lib 2,685 63.42% 1,309 30.92% 76.12% 2,685 1,376 – – 173 4,234
Argenteuil Lib Lib 2,130 55.70% 436 11.40% 80.43% 2,130 1,694 – – – 3,824
Arthabaska Lib Lib 3,590 68.79% 1,961 37.57% 84.86% 3,590 1,629 – – – 5,219
Bagot Lib Lib 1,878 52.96% 210 5.92% 89.07% 1,878 1,668 – – – 3,546
Beauce Lib Lib 3,847 53.77% 1,250 17.47% 82.82% 3,847 2,597 711 – – 7,155
Beauharnois Lib Lib 2,311 51.65% 148 3.31% 82.58% 2,311 2,163 – – – 4,474
Bellechasse Lib Lib 2,839 67.82% 1,492 35.64% 84.44% 2,839 1,347 – – – 4,186
Berthier Lib Lib 2,479 57.45% 643 14.90% 87.94% 2,479 1,836 – – – 4,315
Bonaventure Lib Lib 3,933 58.91% 1,190 17.83% 91.58% 3,933 2,743 – – – 6,676
Brome Lib Lib 1,472 50.43% 25 0.86% 84.52% 1,472 1,447 – – – 2,919
Chambly Lib Con 2,834 55.72% 582 11.44% 73.15% 2,252 2,834 – – – 5,086
Champlain Lib Lib 3,125 53.91% 453 7.81% 87.18% 3,125 2,672 – – – 5,797
Charlevoix—Saguenay Lib Lib 4,223 59.29% 1,323 18.57% 81.96% 4,223 2,900 – – – 7,123
Châteauguay Lib Lib 1,661 58.73% 494 17.47% 80.99% 1,661 1,167 – – – 2,828
Chicoutimi Lib Lib 4,123 43.58% 1,448 15.30% 71.69% 4,123 2,675 2,663 – – 9,461
Compton Lib Lib 2,658 54.84% 469 9.68% 83.63% 2,658 2,189 – – – 4,847
Deux-Montagnes Con Con 1,645 51.52% 97 3.04% 91.54% 1,548 1,645 – – – 3,193
Dorchester Lib Lib 3,253 55.67% 663 11.35% 85.53% 3,253 2,590 – – – 5,843
Drummond Lib Lib 2,848 56.28% 636 12.57% 82.06% 2,848 2,212 – – – 5,060
Frontenac Lib Lib 2,687 60.57% 938 21.15% 84.94% 2,687 1,749 – – – 4,436
Gaspé-Nord New Lib 1,330 60.40% 458 20.80% 88.72% 1,330 872 – – – 2,202
Gaspé-Sud New Lib 2,744 55.80% 570 11.59% 86.33% 2,744 2,174 – – – 4,918
Gatineau New Lib 2,906 54.87% 759 14.33% 79.80% 2,906 2,147 – – 243 5,296
Hull Con Con 3,491 60.84% 1,244 21.68% 63.95% 2,247 3,491 – – – 5,738
Huntingdon Lib Con 1,361 53.29% 168 6.58% 81.54% 1,193 1,361 – – – 2,554
Iberville Lib Lib 1,303 71.16% 775 42.33% 79.02% 1,303 528 – – – 1,831
Îles-de-la-Madeleine Lib Lib 769 50.26% 8 0.52% 80.88% 769 761 – – – 1,530
Jacques-Cartier Lib Lib 4,147 51.34% 216 2.67% 77.62% 4,147 3,931 – – – 8,078
Joliette Lib Lib 3,089 54.70% 531 9.40% 88.46% 3,089 2,558 – – – 5,647
Kamouraska Lib Lib 2,630 59.44% 835 18.87% 82.21% 2,630 1,795 – – – 4,425
L'Assomption Lib Lib 1,801 61.20% 783 26.61% 75.15% 1,801 1,018 124 – – 2,943
L'Islet Lib Lib 2,131 60.40% 734 20.80% 78.91% 2,131 1,397 – – – 3,528
Labelle Lib Lib 1,902 57.92% 520 15.83% 72.28% 1,902 1,382 – – – 3,284
Lac-Saint-Jean Lib Lib 2,055 52.75% 214 5.49% 80.84% 2,055 1,841 – – – 3,896
Laval Con Lib 8,696 52.39% 792 4.77% 72.43% 8,696 7,904 – – – 16,600
Laviolette New Lib 3,010 56.11% 656 12.23% 81.96% 3,010 2,354 – – – 5,364
Lévis Lib Lib 3,595 53.04% 412 6.08% 86.43% 3,595 3,183 – – – 6,778
Lotbinière Lib Lib 2,955 67.24% 1,515 34.47% 81.85% 2,955 1,440 – – – 4,395
Maisonneuve Lab Lib 7,538 49.67% 1,530 10.08% 68.38% 7,538 6,008 – 1,630 – 15,176
Maskinongé Lib Lib 1,912 61.24% 702 22.49% 81.47% 1,912 1,210 – – – 3,122
Matane Lib Lib 2,592 55.86% 544 11.72% 83.98% 2,592 2,048 – – – 4,640
Matapédia Lib Lib 2,813 62.57% 1,130 25.13% 79.83% 2,813 1,683 – – – 4,496
Mégantic Lib Lib 4,060 63.09% 1,685 26.18% 79.93% 4,060 2,375 – – – 6,435
Missisquoi Lib Lib 2,141 54.83% 377 9.65% 78.93% 2,141 1,764 – – – 3,905
Montcalm Lib Lib 1,765 56.07% 382 12.13% 91.29% 1,765 1,383 – – – 3,148
Montmagny Lib Lib 2,101 57.45% 545 14.90% 78.94% 2,101 1,556 – – – 3,657
Montmorency Lib Lib 1,949 58.25% 581 17.36% 89.28% 1,949 1,368 – – 29 3,346
Montréal-Dorion Con Lib 4,831 52.80% 512 5.60% 70.50% 4,831 4,319 – – – 9,150
Montréal-Laurier Lib Lib 3,565 58.25% 1,426 23.30% 61.85% 3,565 2,139 – – 416 6,120
Montréal-Mercier Lib Lib 9,513 59.45% 3,202 20.01% 69.44% 9,513 6,311 – – 177 16,001
Montréal–Saint-Georges Con Con 1,553 51.37% 83 2.75% 55.27% 1,470 1,553 – – – 3,023
Montréal–Saint-Henri Lib Lib 3,956 59.91% 1,455 22.04% 74.77% 3,956 2,501 – – 146 6,603
Montreal–Saint-Jacques[a 2] Lib Lib 3,583 56.34% 806 12.67% 73.83% 3,583 2,777 – – – 6,360
Montréal–Saint-Laurent Lib Lib 2,635 68.98% 1,450 37.96% 83.41% 2,635 1,185 – – – 3,820
Montréal–Saint-Louis Lib Lib 2,789 78.21% 2,077 58.24% 62.08% 2,789 712 – – 65 3,566
Montreal–Sainte-Anne Lib Lib 2,069 54.38% 683 17.95% 70.89% 2,069 1,386 – – 350 3,805
Montréal–Sainte-Marie[a 2] Lib Lib 4,989 52.43% 515 5.41% 74.10% 4,989 4,474 – 53 – 9,516
Montréal-Verdun Con Con 7,074 51.12% 1,132 8.18% 64.60% 5,942 7,074 – – 822 13,838
Napierville-Laprairie Lib Lib 2,337 58.67% 691 17.35% 86.81% 2,337 1,646 – – – 3,983
Nicolet Lib Lib 3,316 57.91% 1,012 17.67% 80.86% 3,316 2,304 – 106 – 5,726
Papineau Lib Lib 3,554 56.43% 810 12.86% 79.55% 3,554 2,744 – – – 6,298
Pontiac Lib Lib 2,164 52.44% 201 4.87% 75.40% 2,164 1,963 – – – 4,127
Portneuf Lib Lib 3,746 52.14% 308 4.29% 84.80% 3,746 3,438 – – – 7,184
Québec-Centre Lib Lib 3,522 54.95% 635 9.91% 76.59% 3,522 2,887 – – – 6,409
Québec-Comté Lib Lib 3,747 54.66% 639 9.32% 92.20% 3,747 3,108 – – – 6,855
Québec-Est Lib Lib 5,021 57.67% 1,336 15.35% 81.55% 5,021 3,685 – – – 8,706
Québec-Ouest Lib Lib 1,641 52.82% 175 5.63% 80.82% 1,641 1,466 – – – 3,107
Richelieu Lib Lib 2,685 55.13% 532 10.92% 87.51% 2,685 2,153 – – 32 4,870
Richmond Lib Lib 2,915 59.81% 956 19.61% 79.93% 2,915 1,959 – – – 4,874
Rimouski Lib Lib 2,455 52.25% 211 4.49% 87.80% 2,455 2,244 – – – 4,699
Rivière-du-Loup New Lib 3,777 64.29% 1,679 28.58% 81.64% 3,777 2,098 – – – 5,875
Roberval New Lib 2,732 52.89% 299 5.79% 88.00% 2,732 2,433 – – – 5,165
Rouville Lib Con 1,562 50.23% 14 0.45% 88.06% 1,548 1,562 – – – 3,110
Saint-Hyacinthe Lib Lib 3,115 58.78% 931 17.57% 86.85% 3,115 2,184 – – – 5,299
Saint-Jean Lib Lib 2,387 74.02% 1,549 48.03% 74.72% 2,387 838 – – – 3,225
Saint-Maurice Lib Lib 3,571 57.36% 916 14.71% 82.38% 3,571 2,655 – – – 6,226
Saint-Sauveur Lib Con 3,911 50.16% 25 0.32% 85.89% 3,886 3,911 – – – 7,797
Shefford Lib Lib 2,989 52.94% 332 5.88% 83.21% 2,989 2,657 – – – 5,646
Sherbrooke Con Lib 4,114 52.51% 394 5.03% 76.69% 4,114 3,720 – – – 7,834
Soulanges Lib Lib 1,120 58.89% 338 17.77% 82.09% 1,120 782 – – – 1,902
Stanstead Lib Lib 2,907 58.59% 852 17.17% 80.69% 2,907 2,055 – – – 4,962
Témiscamingue Lib Lib 2,062 60.13% 695 20.27% 77.71% 2,062 1,367 – – – 3,429
Témiscouata Lib Lib 1,671 52.45% 156 4.90% 87.57% 1,671 1,515 – – – 3,186
Terrebonne Lib Lib 4,749 65.97% 2,299 31.93% 81.15% 4,749 2,450 – – – 7,199
Trois-Rivières Con Con 3,812 50.27% 41 0.54% 82.96% 3,771 3,812 – – – 7,583
Vaudreuil Lib Lib 1,385 55.22% 262 10.45% 83.83% 1,385 1,123 – – – 2,508
Verchères Lib Lib 1,623 60.04% 543 20.09% 88.51% 1,623 1,080 – – – 2,703
Westmount Con Con 8,944 67.52% 4,642 35.04% 45.04% 4,302 8,944 – – – 13,246
Wolfe Lib Lib 1,907 57.06% 472 14.12% 85.04% 1,907 1,435 – – – 3,342
Yamaska Lib Con 1,909 52.10% 154 4.20% 88.35% 1,755 1,909 – – – 3,664
  1. ^ including spoilt ballots
  2. ^ a b Camillien Houde stood for reelection in Montréal–Sainte-Marie, and also campaigned in Montreal–Saint-Jacques
  = 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
  = multiple candidates

Analysis

[edit]

None of the third parties achieved a 1st- or 2nd-place result.

Resulting composition of the 18th Quebec Legislative Assembly[8]
Source Party
Lib Con Total
Seats retained Incumbents returned 56 6 62
Open seats held 12 12
Byelection loss reversed 1 1
Seats changing hands Incumbents defeated 4 2 6
Open seats gained 2 2
Byelection gain held 1 1
New ridings Incumbent returned in new seat 2 2
New MLAs elected 4 4
Total 79 11 90

See also

[edit]

Further reading

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ An Act to amend the Revised Statutes, 1925, respecting the creation of new electoral districts, S.Q. 1930, c. 15.
  2. ^ a b c Drouilly, Pierre (November 7, 2017). "Élections québécoises de 1931". donneesquebec.ca. Atlas des élections au Québec.
  3. ^ a b Cdn Ann Rev 1932 1933, p. 169.
  4. ^ An Act to amend the Quebec Controverted Elections Act, S.Q. 1931-32, c. 20
  5. ^ Cdn Ann Rev 1932 1933, pp. 171–172.
  6. ^ An Act to repeal the Act 22 George V, chapter 20, commonly known as the "Dillon Act", S.Q. 1936 (2nd session), c. 9
  7. ^ Morin, Jacques Carl (Winter 2008–2009). "A Note on Simultaneous Candidacies in the Québec Legislature" (PDF). Canadian Parliamentary Review. 31 (4): 20–23.
  8. ^ a b "Les membres de l'Assemblée nationale par circonscription" [National Assembly members by riding] (in French). National Assembly of Quebec. Retrieved September 13, 2023.