1917 Saskatchewan general election

The 1917 Saskatchewan general election was held on June 26, 1917, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan.

After replacing Walter Scott as leader of the Liberal Party of Saskatchewan and premier of the province, William M. Martin led the party to its fourth consecutive victory, winning all but 8 of the 59 seats in the legislature.

The Conservative Party of Wellington Willoughby continued to lose popular support.

This was the first Saskatchewan election in which women were allowed to vote and run for office. However, none were declared elected in this election. The first Saskatchewan woman MLA was elected in a 1918 by-election.

The Non-Partisan League, forerunner of the Progressive Party of Saskatchewan, ran candidates in this election but none were successful. Labour candidates also appeared for the first time.

David John Sykes became the first Independent to sit in the Saskatchewan legislature. He was nominated by the Liberal, Conservative and Non-Partisan League organizations, and was acclaimed to the seat this election.

A separate army ("service") vote was held from October 3 to October 13, 1917 to elect three soldier MLAs. All service candidates were Independent (not affiliated), and those MLAs were elected to represent Saskatchewan residents stationed in France, Belgium and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

Results PartyParty Leader# ofcandidatesSeatsPopular Vote 1912 Elected % Change Votes % % Change Liberal William M. Martin584651+13.3%106,55256.68%-0.28% Conservative Wellington Willoughby5377–68,24336.30%-5.68%Independent10–1+100%4,4402.36%+1.30%7*–*7,2673.87%*William Geo. Baker(default)2*–*1,4740.79%* Sub-total 13053 59–187,976100%  Soldiers' vote (Province at large)14*3*13,6556.77%* Total1445362+11.3%201,631100%  Source: Elections Saskatchewan Note:* Party did not nominate candidates in previous election.

Percentages

Members of the Legislative Assembly elected For complete electoral history, see individual districts +4th Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly DistrictMemberPartyArm RiverGeorge A. ScottLiberalBengoughThomas GambleLiberalBiggarGeorge H. Harris LiberalCanningtonJohn D. StewartLiberalCanoraAlbert HermansonLiberalCumberlandDeakin Alexander HallLiberalCut KnifeWilliam DoddsLiberalCypressIsaac StirlingLiberalElroseArchibald McNabLiberalEstevanGeorge BellLiberalFrancisWalter RobinsonLiberalHanleyMacbeth MalcolmLiberalHappylandStephen MorreyLiberalHumboldtWilliam TurgeonLiberalÎle-à-la-CrosseJoseph NolinLiberalJack Fish LakeDonald FinlaysonLiberalKerrobertJohn DowdLiberalKindersleyWilliam R. MotherwellLiberalKinistinoJohn R. TaylorLiberalLast MountainSamuel LattaLiberalLloydminsterRobert J. GordonLiberalLumsdenWilliam VanciseLiberalMaple CreekAlexander ColquhounLiberalMelfortGeorge B. JohnstonLiberalMilestoneBernard LarsonLiberalMoose Jaw CityWellington WilloughbyConservativeMoose Jaw CountyCharles DunningLiberalMoose MountainRobert MageeLiberalMoosominJohn SalkeldConservativeMorseMalcolm L. LeitchLiberalNorth Qu'AppelleJames Garfield GardinerLiberalNotukeuGeorge Spence LiberalPellyMagnus Ramsland 1LiberalPheasant HillsJames Arthur SmithLiberalPipestoneRichard PhinLiberalPrince AlbertCharles M. McDonaldLiberalRedberryGeorge LangleyLiberalRegina CityWilliam MartinLiberalRosetownWilliam BadgerConservativeRosthernWilliam BashfordLiberalSaltcoatsJames Alexander CalderLiberalSaskatoon CityDonald MacleanConservativeSaskatoon CountyMurdo CameronLiberalShellbrookEdgar ClinchLiberalSourisWilliam FraserConservativeSouth Qu'AppelleJoseph GlennConservativeSwift CurrentDavid SykesIndependentThe BattlefordsAllan PickelLiberalThunder CreekAndrew GallaugherConservativeTisdaleHugh JonesLiberalTouchwoodJohn M. ParkerLiberalTurtlefordArchibald GemmellLiberalVondaJames HoganLiberalWadenaJohn MacMillanLiberalWeyburnRobert MitchellLiberalWilkieReuben MartinLiberalWillow BunchAbel HindleLiberalWynyardWilhelm PaulsonLiberalYorktonThomas GarryLiberal

Notes 1 Magnus Ramsland died in 1918. In the resulting by-election, he was succeeded by his widow Sarah Ramsland, the first woman ever elected to the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan.

October 13, 1917 service vote results Like other provinces Saskatchewan held a service vote – actually two separate votes – for Saskatchewan residents in the Canadian armed services fighting during World War I. The first vote was for France and Belgium – two members were elected in a block vote; the top member represented France and the second member elected represented Belgium. Another member was also elected to represent troops in Great Britain. Three seats in the Legislature were set aside for these soldier-MLAs.

France and Belgium Candidate Votes % electedPrivate Harris Turner3,938FranceCaptain Frederick Bagshaw1,791BelgiumLt. Col. Alexander Ross978Private Kenneth Crawford798Sergeant William Reade577Sapper John Arthur Gibson379Major Robert Henry Smith365Sgt. Major William Harry Wilson233Lieutenant Alfred Haigh216

Great Britain Candidate Votes %Lt. Col. James Albert Cross2,698Captain Alfred Manville691Sergeant Arthur Eaton504Sergeant Samuel Barraclough273Captain Daniel Lochead214

See also List of political parties in Saskatchewan List of Saskatchewan provincial electoral districts

References

Saskatchewan Archives Board – Election Results By Electoral Division Elections Saskatchewan - Provincial Vote Summaries

Further reading