Canada at War: ONTARIO: Second Sight

Political wiseacres, looking long & hard at the results of Ontario’s provincial election of a fortnight ago, claimed that they could see some things not discernible at first glance.

¶ Premier George Alexander Drew’s Progressive Conservatives scored their land slide* with minority support. They got 694,166 of over a million and a half votes cast.

¶ The setback handed to the Socialist CCF was not as shattering as it looked. It certainly did not mean what jubilant right-wingers claimed it meant: the certain doom of the party. Though CCFers got only 8% of the 90 seats in the provincial legislature, they received 22% of the popular vote. What was even more interesting: in the 13 ridings in traditionally conservative Toronto, 667 more people (73,087) actually voted CCF this time than in the last provincial election (1943).

Obviously the Progressive Conservative triumph was due less to a decline in CCF popularity than to a record outpouring of Progressive Conservative voters.

Meanwhile, Premier Drew, who got a big victory hug from his wife, announced that Ontario’s 22nd legislature would convene within a month.

* At week’s end, with the service vote still to come, the count was: Progressive Conservatives, 67 legislature seats (out of 90); Liberals, 13; CCFers, 7; Labor Progressives (Communists), 2; still doubtful, 1.