Sunday, July 20, 2008

Provincial Vote


With the first round of federal elections done, we move to the provincial side of the bracket for a series of intriguing match-ups. Once again, the seeds have been selected from the list of reader nominations by Fights of our Lives author John Duffy. Voting will close at 10 pm on Wednesday night.


1935 Alberta (8) vs. 1976 Quebec (1)
1935 Alberta (Aberhart over the UFA): Brownlee and the farmers knocked down to 0 seats after he's set up in a faux sex scandal. The crazy SoCreds take over going from zero seats to 36 years in power, tilting Alberta to the right for the next 70+ years.
1976 Quebec (Levesque over Bourassa): Rene Levesque surges to power, and puts the threat to Canada's unity on the cover of TIME magazine. The PQ threat in Quebec would define Canadian politics for the next 30 years.
Which Election Was Bigger?
(8) 1935 Alberta (Aberhart over the UFA)
(1) 1976 Quebec (Levesque over Bourassa)
See Results



1952 BC (7) vs. 1944 Saskatchewan (2)

1952 BC (SoCreds over Socialists): West Coast wildness - STV system used to keep CCF out of power, but it leads to a surprise SoCred win.
1944 Saskatchewan (Douglas over Patterson): Tommy Douglas creates North America's first socialist government, leading to new frontiers in social policy nationwide.
Which Election Was Bigger?
(7) 1952 BC (SoCreds over Socialists)
(2) 1944 Saskatchewan (Douglas over Patterson)
See Results



1867 Ontario (6) vs. 1943 Ontario (3)

1867 Ontario (Macdonald ties McKellar): Libs and Tories deadlocked at 41 seats, leading to a grand coalition government under John Stanfield Macdonald's leadership.
1943 Ontario (Drew over Nixon, CCF): Liberals implode, CCF on the march, and Conservatives come up winners to begin a 42-year dynasty.
Which Election Was Bigger?
(6) 1867 Ontario (Macdonald ties McKellar)
(3) 1943 Ontario (Drew over Nixon)
See Results



1989 Newfoundland (5) vs. 1960 Quebec (4)

1989 Newfoundland (Wells over Rideout): Clyde Wells loses the popular vote but wins the election, helping to kill Meech Lake.
1960 Quebec (Lesage over l'Union Nationale): The Quiet Revolution begins on election night and transforms Quebec society, Canadian politics, and public policy, forever
Which Election Was Bigger?
(5) 1989 Newfoundland (Wells over Rideout)
(4) 1960 Quebec (Lesage over Barrette)
See Results

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10 Comments:

  • The two big Quebec elections bookend my votes; the fallout from those two has been the defining political issue in Canada for the last several decades; even when it isn't right up front, it's always lurking in our peripheral vision.

    1943; a 42-year dynasty is nothing to sneeze at.

    Douglas' win in 1944.

    By Blogger IslandLiberal, at 11:34 p.m.  

  • The Douglas election in 1944 was a turning point in Saskatchewan history where the province's economy went down and has only recently recovered. Remember that until shortly after this point Saskatchewan was larger than Alberta in terms of population.

    Had Douglas never been elected, Saskatchewan would still be a much larger and prosperous province than Alberta. Hopefully future generations will learn the lesson and say no to the NDP.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 11:30 a.m.  

  • Crazy, none of these races are even close at all.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 11:37 a.m.  

  • I like the mix of elections Duffy pulled together for this - there's a little bit of everything in there. I've got to agree with the 4 that are leading (by a lot) right now, although Alberta 1935 (and 1971) certainly deserve some consideration I think.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 12:52 p.m.  

  • These ones seem to be turning into blow-outs, but the Quebec-Quebec duel next round should be a close one. I suspect '76 will beat '60, but the Lesage win really did set the wheels in motion for what came later.

    So I'm expecting the Levesque/Douglas showdown in the final here, as it should be. Given that, it's hard to argue with the seedings.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1:43 p.m.  

  • The Saskatchewan 1944 election is important. It set this Province back a lot, And I mean A LOT!

    We could have been just as good or better then Alberta if it were not for the socialist Governments we keeped electing for most if the last 64 years.

    By Blogger huffb1, at 9:27 p.m.  

  • This one was more obvious. I was with something like 80% of voters on every one!

    I'm amazed that people voted for 1935 over 1926, though. 1935 never would have happened if not for the King-Byng Affair. I suppose that says something about much Canadians understand of politics in the 1920s.

    By Blogger Jason Cherniak, at 11:27 p.m.  

  • "The Saskatchewan 1944 election is important. It set this Province back a lot, And I mean A LOT!

    We could have been just as good or better then Alberta if it were not for the socialist Governments we keeped electing for most if the last 64 years."

    You said a mouthful, Huff; Saskatcheawn residents still live under the iron heel of socialism, even today.

    By Blogger John Murney , at 2:05 a.m.  

  • Lesage in 1960 was a Liberal not PQ as you are showing although one of his ministers certainly was later on.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 10:35 p.m.  

  • Hey, there is a great deal of effective info above!

    By Anonymous www.toledo-3d.com, at 4:40 a.m.  

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