1956 Quebec general election

1956 Quebec general election

June 20, 1956
93 seats in the 24th Legislative Assembly of Quebec 47 seats were needed for a majority
First party Second party   Leader Maurice Duplessis Georges-Émile Lapalme Party Union Nationale Liberal Leader since June 20, 1936 May 20, 1950 Leader's seat Trois-Rivières Montréal-Outremont Last election 68 seats, 50.5% 23 seats, 45.77% Seats won 72 20 Seat change 4 3 Percentage 51.8% 44.87% Swing 1.3pp 0.9pp
Premier before election Maurice Duplessis Union Nationale Premier after election Maurice Duplessis Union Nationale

The 1956 Quebec general election was held on June 20, 1956, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Quebec, Canada. The incumbent Union Nationale, led by Maurice Duplessis, won re-election, defeating the Quebec Liberal Party, led by Georges-Émile Lapalme.^[1]

This was the fifth and final time (and the fourth in a row) that Duplessis led his party to a general election victory. No party has since been able to win more than three elections in a row. Duplessis died in office in 1959.^{[citation needed]}

It was Lapalme's second (and final) loss in a row as Liberal leader. The Liberals did not manage to improve on their performance in the previous 1952 election.^{[citation needed]}

Expansion of the Legislative Assembly and titles

An Act passed in 1954 provided for the creation of the new electoral district of Jonquière-Kénogami for the next election, which was carved out from Chicoutimi and Lac-Saint-Jean.^[2] In 1955, a bill was passed designated members of the assembly as Members of Provincial Parliament or MPPs.^[3]

Campaign

The Liberals and the Union des électeurs pooled their resources to conduct a joint campaign against the UN in at least 50 ridings.^[4][5] They collaborated to such a degree that in February 1956 the Liberal MPP René Hamel had proposed a motion espousing social credit theory in the Assembly, and a joint rally was held in May 1956 in Shawinigan to mark that event.^[6] While the strategy was viewed within the parties as a means to maximize their strength in opposing the UN, the electorate tended to view it as being confusing,^[4] while the Montreal Gazette called it "an irresponsible alliance".^[7] There were also Liberals in the old guard that wanted the UN to win.^[8]

The Liberals supported four UdE and two Nationalist candidates,^[9] respectively running as Liberals and Independents, of which none won:^[10]

• on the Social Credit side, there were Réal Caouette (Abitibi-Est),^[9] Arthur Marcoux (Beauce),^[11] Urbain Lajeunesse (Îles-de-la-Madeleine)^[12] and Paul-Eugène Drolet (Portneuf),^[6]
• René Chaloult^[10] campaigned in the new riding of Jonquière-Kénogami, and came within 320 votes of winning. This would be his last campaign.
• Pierre Laporte,^[10] director of the magazine L'Action nationale and previously parliamentary correspondent for Le Devoir, ran in Montréal-Laurier. He would later campaign and win as a Liberal candidate in a 1961 byelection in Chambly.

One observer noted, "The Union Nationale’s strongly entrenched position could not be seriously challenged unless a united front was formed of all opposing groups."^[13] The UN chose to campaign on Quebec's right to fiscal autonomy, the party's accomplishments and the future of Ungava,^[4] while the Liberals' chances were restrained by their alliance with the UdE (while shutting out the Parti social démocratique), the choice of Chaloult and Laporte not to identify themselves as Liberal candidates, and the party's tendency to side with Ottawa's centralizing policies.^[13] The UN correctly assumed that Quebec voters, when given a choice, would prefer a nationalist policy over a social one.^[13]

Riding contests, by number of candidates (1956)^[14]

Candidates	UN	Lib	PSD	Lab-Pr	Ind	I-Lib	I-UN	Lab	UN-Lab	CF	Total
2	50	49			1						100
3	20	20	7	10	1		1	1			60
4	13	12	10	12	1	2	1			1	52
5	5	5	4	5	1	1	3	1			25
6	2	2	2	2	1		2		1		12
7	1	1	1	1		3					7
8	2	2	2	2	2	2	3	1			16
Total	93	91	26	32	7	8	10	3	1	1	272

Results

Elections to the Legislative Assembly of Quebec (1956)^[14]

Political party		Party leader	MPPs				Votes
			Candidates	1952	1956	±	#	±	%	± (pp)
	Union Nationale	Maurice Duplessis	93	68	72	4	956,082	108,099	51.80%	1.30
	Liberal	Georges-Émile Lapalme	92	23	20	3	828,264	59,725	44.87%	0.90
	Social Democratic	Thérèse Casgrain	26	–	–	–	11,232	4,807	0.61%	0.35
	Labor–Progressive	Gui Caron	32	–	–	–	6,517	2,585	0.35%	0.12
	Other candidates
	█ Independent		7	1	1		33,205	19,359	1.80%	0.98
	█ Independent-Liberal		7	–	–	–	4,438	528	0.24%	0.06
	█ Independent-Unionist		10	–	–	–	4,108	9,089	0.22%	0.57
	█ Labour		3	–	–	–	1,274	247	0.07%	0.01
	█ Union Nationale-Labour		1	–	–	–	516	New	0.03%	New
	█ Capital familial		1	–	–	–	93	New	0.01%	New
Total			272	92	93		1,845,729		100%
Rejected ballots							28,781	3,133
Voter turnout							1,874,510	169,599	78.32	2.44
Registered electors							2,393,360	146,362

Popular vote UN   51.80% PLQ   44.87% Others   3.33%

Seats summary UN   77.42% PLQ   21.51% Others   1.08%

Synopsis of results

Results by riding - 1956 Quebec general election^[14]^[15]

Riding	Winning party								Turnout [a 1]	Votes
Name	1952		Party		Votes	Share	Margin #	Margin %		UN	Lib	PSD	Lab-Pr	Ind	I-Lib	I-UN	Lab	Other	Total
Abitibi-Est		UN		UN	13,967	53.94%	2,200	8.50%	81.31%	13,967	11,767	–	–	–	–	–	160	–	25,894
Abitibi-Ouest		UN		Lib	6,207	50.66%	161	1.31%	89.27%	6,046	6,207	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	12,253
Argenteuil		UN		UN	7,153	55.54%	1,427	11.08%	86.07%	7,153	5,726	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	12,879
Arthabaska		UN		UN	10,189	54.74%	1,765	9.48%	92.72%	10,189	8,424	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	18,613
Bagot		UN		UN	5,696	61.46%	2,124	22.92%	90.76%	5,696	3,572	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	9,268
Beauce		UN		UN	13,432	56.66%	3,158	13.32%	88.52%	13,432	10,274	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	23,706
Beauharnois		UN		UN	11,928	58.31%	3,450	16.87%	87.96%	11,928	8,478	–	50	–	–	–	–	–	20,456
Bellechasse		UN		UN	6,243	57.89%	1,702	15.78%	82.86%	6,243	4,541	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	10,784
Berthier		UN		UN	7,123	56.17%	1,565	12.34%	90.30%	7,123	5,558	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	12,681
Bonaventure		UN		Lib	8,551	52.68%	869	5.35%	84.06%	7,682	8,551	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	16,233
Brome		UN		Lib	3,274	51.66%	245	3.87%	83.36%	3,029	3,274	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	6,338
Chambly		UN		Lib	20,031	49.43%	767	1.89%	76.45%	19,264	20,031	877	150	–	205	–	–	–	40,527
Champlain		UN		UN	12,579	58.93%	3,814	17.87%	90.32%	12,579	8,765	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	21,344
Charlevoix		UN		UN	7,729	60.37%	2,655	20.74%	87.17%	7,729	5,074	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	12,803
Châteauguay		UN		UN	5,936	57.10%	1,477	14.21%	85.59%	5,936	4,459	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	10,395
Chicoutimi		UN		UN	19,103	67.22%	9,788	34.44%	87.25%	19,103	9,315	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	28,418
Compton		UN		Lib	5,542	51.41%	401	3.72%	85.72%	5,141	5,542	98	–	–	–	–	–	–	10,781
Deux-Montagnes		UN		UN	8,133	72.31%	5,162	45.90%	83.43%	8,133	2,971	143	–	–	–	–	–	–	11,247
Dorchester		UN		UN	9,569	60.74%	3,385	21.49%	85.40%	9,569	6,184	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	15,753
Drummond		Lib		UN	13,211	53.83%	1,928	7.86%	91.52%	13,211	11,283	–	47	–	–	–	–	–	24,541
Frontenac		Lib		UN	6,451	52.12%	524	4.23%	89.65%	6,451	5,927	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	12,378
Gaspé-Nord		UN		UN	4,574	50.40%	135	1.49%	84.26%	4,574	4,439	–	–	62	–	–	–	–	9,075
Gaspé-Sud		UN		UN	8,016	56.03%	1,726	12.06%	85.67%	8,016	6,290	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	14,306
Gatineau		UN		UN	8,206	55.96%	1,748	11.92%	76.32%	8,206	6,458	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	14,664
Hull		UN		Lib	10,564	45.70%	143	0.62%	83.05%	10,421	10,564	157	79	–	–	1,895	–	–	23,116
Huntingdon		UN		UN	3,273	52.33%	291	4.65%	84.69%	3,273	2,982	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	6,255
Iberville		UN		UN	3,903	57.22%	985	14.44%	88.13%	3,903	2,918	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	6,821
Îles-de-la-Madeleine		UN		UN	2,591	56.72%	614	13.44%	89.09%	2,591	1,977	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	4,568
Jacques-Cartier		Lib		Lib	31,385	55.39%	9,094	16.05%	70.68%	22,291	31,385	2,322	668	–	–	–	–	–	56,666
Joliette		UN		UN	11,500	64.88%	5,275	29.76%	86.06%	11,500	6,225	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	17,725
Jonquière-Kénogami	New			UN	11,946	50.68%	320	1.36%	88.00%	11,946	–	–	–	11,626	–	–	–	–	23,572
Kamouraska		UN		UN	6,489	58.30%	1,847	16.59%	81.48%	6,489	4,642	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	11,131
L'Assomption		UN		UN	7,260	55.53%	1,445	11.05%	87.97%	7,260	5,815	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	13,075
L'Islet		UN		UN	5,322	53.25%	649	6.49%	86.54%	5,322	4,673	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	9,995
Labelle		UN		UN	6,717	62.07%	2,658	24.56%	87.41%	6,717	4,059	–	46	–	–	–	–	–	10,822
Lac-Saint-Jean		UN		UN	8,544	54.49%	1,408	8.98%	92.66%	8,544	7,136	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	15,680
Laval		UN		UN	50,417	53.91%	9,203	9.84%	70.51%	50,417	41,214	1,129	763	–	–	–	–	–	93,523
Laviolette		UN		UN	11,848	59.46%	3,769	18.91%	82.94%	11,848	8,079	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	19,927
Lévis		Lib		UN	12,220	54.30%	2,114	9.39%	90.04%	12,220	10,106	–	18	–	–	161	–	–	22,505
Lotbinière		UN		UN	7,052	57.23%	1,781	14.45%	89.41%	7,052	5,271	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	12,323
Maisonneuve		Lib		UN	20,668	50.93%	2,469	6.08%	68.96%	20,668	18,199	227	176	249	119	941	–	–	40,579
Maskinongé		UN		UN	5,588	57.26%	1,417	14.52%	93.04%	5,588	4,171	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	9,759
Matane		UN		UN	10,109	57.93%	2,769	15.87%	84.28%	10,109	7,340	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	17,449
Matapédia		UN		UN	7,205	54.66%	1,229	9.32%	86.00%	7,205	5,976	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	13,181
Mégantic		UN		UN	12,123	52.50%	1,155	5.00%	92.22%	12,123	10,968	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	23,091
Missisquoi		UN		UN	7,001	56.72%	1,658	13.43%	86.03%	7,001	5,343	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	12,344
Montcalm		UN		UN	4,585	56.67%	1,079	13.34%	89.26%	4,585	3,506	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	8,091
Montmagny		UN		UN	6,403	55.92%	1,355	11.83%	87.37%	6,403	5,048	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	11,451
Montmorency		UN		UN	6,628	59.53%	2,165	19.44%	90.72%	6,628	4,463	–	43	–	–	–	–	–	11,134
Montréal–Jeanne-Mance		Lib		UN	29,076	49.76%	3,439	5.88%	66.38%	29,076	25,637	334	239	238	1,798	91	1,025	–	58,438
Montréal-Laurier		UN		UN	17,154	60.26%	7,491	26.31%	70.86%	17,154	–	–	–	9,663	1,652	–	–	–	28,469
Montréal-Mercier		UN		UN	18,165	60.03%	6,705	22.16%	65.79%	18,165	11,460	162	383	–	–	–	89	–	30,259
Montréal–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce		Lib		Lib	28,175	77.44%	21,106	58.01%	55.29%	7,069	28,175	629	510	–	–	–	–	–	36,383
Montréal-Outremont		Lib		Lib	24,348	67.83%	14,331	39.93%	55.80%	10,017	24,348	726	802	–	–	–	–	–	35,893
Montréal–Saint-Henri		Lib		Lib	17,344	51.30%	1,960	5.80%	70.57%	15,384	17,344	234	156	–	–	172	–	516	33,806
Montréal–Saint-Jacques		UN		UN	11,206	62.36%	4,922	27.39%	63.90%	11,206	6,284	279	200	–	–	–	–	–	17,969
Montréal–Saint-Louis		Lib		Lib	12,276	49.47%	2,461	9.92%	52.88%	9,815	12,276	425	649	–	1,650	–	–	–	24,815
Montréal–Sainte-Anne		Ind		Ind	10,520	66.01%	6,432	40.36%	60.75%	587	4,088	145	167	10,520	–	429	–	–	15,936
Montréal–Sainte-Marie		Lib		UN	15,051	54.80%	3,853	14.03%	67.93%	15,051	11,198	195	172	847	–	–	–	–	27,463
Montréal-Verdun		Lib		Lib	20,175	70.12%	13,361	46.43%	64.50%	6,814	20,175	1,785	–	–	–	–	–	–	28,774
Napierville-Laprairie		UN		UN	7,861	53.81%	1,166	7.98%	89.28%	7,861	6,695	–	52	–	–	–	–	–	14,608
Nicolet		UN		UN	8,498	59.33%	2,673	18.66%	86.53%	8,498	5,825	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	14,323
Papineau		UN		UN	11,164	56.21%	2,467	12.42%	87.78%	11,164	8,697	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	19,861
Pontiac		UN		UN	6,201	71.83%	3,769	43.66%	79.30%	6,201	2,432	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	8,633
Portneuf		UN		UN	12,810	60.72%	4,523	21.44%	87.52%	12,810	8,287	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	21,097
Québec-Centre		UN		UN	10,983	60.18%	3,715	20.36%	81.48%	10,983	7,268	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	18,251
Québec-Comté		Lib		UN	21,272	56.22%	5,047	13.34%	85.59%	21,272	16,225	–	63	–	–	280	–	–	37,840
Québec-Est		Lib		UN	20,173	55.47%	4,090	11.25%	85.85%	20,173	16,083	–	112	–	–	–	–	–	36,368
Québec-Ouest		Lib		Lib	10,073	50.40%	158	0.79%	82.76%	9,915	10,073	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	19,988
Richelieu		Lib		UN	9,552	54.28%	1,590	9.03%	89.78%	9,552	7,962	66	19	–	–	–	–	–	17,599
Richmond		Lib		Lib	9,470	51.49%	742	4.03%	90.47%	8,728	9,470	–	194	–	–	–	–	–	18,392
Rimouski		UN		Lib	9,911	51.05%	408	2.10%	85.03%	9,503	9,911	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	19,414
Rivière-du-Loup		UN		Lib	8,623	51.24%	556	3.30%	87.88%	8,067	8,623	–	–	–	–	139	–	–	16,829
Roberval		UN		UN	10,903	52.50%	1,038	5.00%	88.94%	10,903	9,865	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	20,768
Rouville		UN		UN	5,277	52.84%	567	5.68%	87.54%	5,277	4,710	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	9,987
Rouyn-Noranda		UN		Lib	7,561	51.16%	1,007	6.81%	84.35%	6,554	7,561	665	–	–	–	–	–	–	14,780
Saguenay		UN		UN	10,899	58.60%	3,198	17.19%	75.91%	10,899	7,701	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	18,600
Saint-Hyacinthe		UN		Lib	9,965	51.67%	669	3.47%	83.85%	9,296	9,965	–	24	–	–	–	–	–	19,285
Saint-Jean		UN		UN	8,279	56.17%	1,901	12.90%	85.62%	8,279	6,378	55	27	–	–	–	–	–	14,739
Saint-Maurice		Lib		Lib	13,851	51.37%	741	2.75%	90.44%	13,110	13,851	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	26,961
Saint-Sauveur		UN		UN	16,117	68.77%	8,862	37.81%	87.43%	16,117	7,255	–	64	–	–	–	–	–	23,436
Shefford		Lib		UN	11,534	53.59%	1,627	7.56%	85.31%	11,534	9,907	–	82	–	–	–	–	–	21,523
Sherbrooke		UN		UN	16,588	55.30%	3,438	11.46%	78.62%	16,588	13,150	73	185	–	–	–	–	–	29,996
Stanstead		UN		UN	7,815	50.26%	81	0.52%	82.63%	7,815	7,734	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	15,549
Témiscamingue		Lib		UN	4,078	50.83%	133	1.66%	86.26%	4,078	3,945	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	8,023
Témiscouata		UN		UN	6,299	59.35%	1,985	18.70%	85.36%	6,299	4,314	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	10,613
Terrebonne		UN		UN	20,984	57.57%	5,704	15.65%	85.34%	20,984	15,280	107	77	–	–	–	–	–	36,448
Trois-Rivières		UN		UN	16,263	61.73%	6,327	24.02%	88.23%	16,263	9,936	–	52	–	–	–	–	93	26,344
Vaudreuil-Soulanges		UN		UN	7,681	51.00%	370	2.46%	85.94%	7,681	7,311	70	–	–	–	–	–	–	15,062
Verchères		Lib		UN	5,104	53.06%	627	6.52%	89.67%	5,104	4,477	39	–	–	–	–	–	–	9,620
Westmount–Saint-Georges		Lib		Lib	13,808	80.05%	10,870	63.02%	51.26%	2,938	13,808	255	248	–	–	–	–	–	17,249
Wolfe		Lib		UN	4,058	50.31%	50	0.62%	93.33%	4,058	4,008	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	8,066
Yamaska		UN		UN	4,736	66.22%	2,320	32.44%	85.90%	4,736	2,416	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	7,152

1. including spoilt ballots

  = 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

  = UdE candidates under the Liberal banner

  = Nationalist candidates supported by the Liberals

  = multiple candidates

Analysis

Party candidates in 2nd place^[14]

Party in 1st place		Party in 2nd place			Total
		UN	Lib	Ind
	Union Nationale		70	2	72
	Liberal	20			20
	Independent		1		1
Total		20	71	2	93

Candidates ranked 1st to 5th place, by party^[14]

Parties	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	Total
█ Union Nationale	72	20	1			93
█ Liberal	20	71				92
█ Independent	1	2	2		1	6
█ Social Democratic			16	6	2	24
█ Labor–Progressive			13	11	5	29
█ Independent UN			5	3	1	9
█ Independent Liberal			3	2		5
█ Labour			1	1	1	3
█ UN-Labour			1			1
█ Capital familial			1			1

Resulting composition of the 23rd Quebec Legislative Assembly^[15]

Source		Party
		UN	Lib	Ind	Total
Seats retained	Incumbents returned	55	9	1	65
	Open seats held	3	1		4
Seats changing hands	Incumbents defeated	9	6		15
	Incumbents defeated - previous incumbents returned	3			3
	Open seats gained	1	4		5
New ridings	New MPP elected	1			1
Total		72	20	1	93

See also

• List of Quebec premiers
• Politics of Quebec
• Timeline of Quebec history
• List of Quebec political parties
• 25th Legislative Assembly of Quebec

Further reading

• Lemieux, Vincent, ed. (1969). Quatre élections provinciales au Québec [Four provincial elections in Quebec] (in French). Montreal: Les presses de l'Université Laval.

References

1. Leslie Roberts (1963). The Chief: A Political Biography of Maurice Duplessis. Clarke, Irwin.
2. An Act to constitute the electoral district of Jonquière-Kénogami, S.Q. 1953-54, c. 42
3. Débats de l'Assemblée législative. November 17, 1955.
4. Lemieux 1969, p. 9.
5. "Relations entre Libéraux et Créditistes" [Liberal-Créditiste Relations]. Vers Demain (in French). Montreal. June 15, 1956. p. 2.
6. "La manifestation du 6 mai à Shawinigan" [The May 6 rally in Shawinigan]. Vers Demain (in French). Montreal. June 1, 1956. pp. 6–7.
7. "An irresponsible alliance". Montreal Gazette. June 18, 1956. p. 8.
8. Lemieux 1969, pp. 8–9.
9. Arkison, Wilbur (June 21, 1956). "Liberals Gain 9 Seats - But Lose 13". Montreal Gazette. p. 1.
10. "The extremists were repudiated". Montreal Gazette. June 21, 1956. p. 8.
11. "Les candidats créditistes tous défaits" [The Créditiste candidates are all defeated]. La Presse (in French). Montreal. June 21, 1956. p. 24. See p. 25 for candidate listings.
12. "La campagne électorale aux Îles-de-la-Madeleine" [The electoral campaign in the Magdalen Islands]. Vers Demain (in French). Montreal. July 15, 1956. p. 6.
13. Lemieux 1969, p. 10.
14. Drouilly, Pierre (December 4, 2017). "Élections québécoises de 1956". donneesquebec.ca. Atlas des élections au Québec.
15. "Les membres de l'Assemblée nationale par circonscription" [National Assembly members by riding] (in French). National Assembly of Quebec. Retrieved September 13, 2023.