The 1935 Prince Edward Island general election was held in the

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

province of

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has seve ...

on 23 July 1935. The

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

led by

Walter Lea Walter Maxfield Lea (February 10, 1874 – January 10, 1936) was a Prince Edward Island politician. A farmer and livestock breeder by profession, Lea was born in Tryon, the son of William C. Lea and Annie Murphy. He was elected to the pr ...

swept the board by winning every seat in every constituency. This was the first time that a government in the

British Commonwealth The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...

would face no opposition in an elected chamber. To date, this feat has only been accomplished one other time in Canadian history, the 1987 New Brunswick election.

Background

The 1935 election took place in the shadow of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. In

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

, the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

, then under

James David Stewart James David Stewart (January 15, 1874 – October 10, 1933) was a Prince Edward Island educator, lawyer and politician, the province's 15th premier. Born in Lower Montague and educated at Prince of Wales College and Dalhousie University ...

, defeated the incumbent Liberal government, installing Stewart as Premier. As Premier, Stewart worked to get federal assistance in combating the Depression, but stress caused him to die in office in 1933. When Stewart's health was failing, he was replaced by Acting Premier William J. P. MacMillan, who took over for Stewart upon his death. MacMillan continued Stewart's policies of increased economic spending and government assistance, until the election in 1935. Walter Lea, a farmer by trade, had been elected to the Legislature in 1915, and had been Premier before Stewart from 1930–31. During his time as Premier, he "undertook many initiatives to improve and diversify the island’s agricultural industry". After his loss to James Stewart, he continued in opposition until 1935. By the time the 1935 election came around, Lea was very ill. He coordinated most of the campaign "from a hospital bed for six weeks, and then from his home for the remainder of the election. He made only one public appearance during the entire campaign".

Results

The Liberal Party, under Lea, won all 30 seats in the House of Assembly, a feat that had never been accomplished before in the Commonwealth. News media across the Commonwealth broadcast the story. When faced with this unusual institutional setup, Lea had several members of his own party act as members of the opposition, as an actual opposition party did not exist within the legislature. This step was also used in the

New Brunswick Legislative Assembly New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

after the 1987 election, in which the New Brunswick Liberal Party won all 58 seats in the Legislative Assembly. Lea died a few months into his mandate, and was replaced by

Thane Campbell Thane Alexander Campbell, (July 7, 1895 – September 28, 1978) was a Prince Edward Island politician and jurist, who served as the 19th premier of Prince Edward Island from 1936 to 1943. Early life Born in Summerside, Prince Edward Island ...

, who served as Premier until 1943.

Members

The Legislature of Prince Edward Island had two levels of membership from 1893 to 1996 - Assemblymen and Councillors. This was a holdover from when the Island had a bicameral legislature, the General Assembly and the Legislative Council. In 1893, the Legislative Council was abolished and had its membership merged with the Assembly, though the two titles remained separate and were elected by different electoral franchises. Assembleymen were elected by all eligible voters of within a district, while Councillors were only elected by landowners within a district.

Background

Results

Members

Kings

Queens

Prince

References

Further reading