1920 Manitoba general election

1920 Manitoba general election

June 29, 1920

55 seats of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba
28 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party
 
Leader Tobias Norris
Party Liberal Farmer
Leader since 1910
Leader's seat Lansdowne
Last election 40 pre-creation
Seats won 21 14
Seat change 19 14
Percentage 35.1% 14.1%
Swing 20.0pp 14.1pp

  Third party Fourth party
 
Leader Fred Dixon Richard G. Willis
Party Labour Conservative
Leader since 1920 1919
Leader's seat Winnipeg Ran in Turtle Mountain (lost)
Last election pre-creation 5
Seats won 11 8
Seat change 11 3
Percentage 20.5% 18.5%
Swing 20.5pp 14.5pp

Premier before election

Tobias Norris
Liberal

Premier after election

Tobias Norris
Liberal

The 1920 Manitoba general election was held on June 29, 1920 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada. This was the first election since the Winnipeg General Strike, which had violently divided the people of Winnipeg, Manitoba's capital and largest city, into two camps. Partly to soften this polarization, a form of proportional representation was adopted in Winnipeg, and the 1920 Manitoba election was the first North American government election above the city level to use proportional representation. This was the first election where single transferable voting was used to elect Winnipeg MLAs, now ten in number.

It was also the first Manitoba provincial election to allow women, excepting Treaty Indians, to vote and to run as candidates. Edith Rogers, a Metis, was elected in Winnipeg, becoming the first woman elected to the Manitoba Legislature.

The election produced a minority government, with no group holding a majority of seats in the legislature. Norris's Liberals had more seats than any other party, 21 seats out of 55, so were given power. The government survived only two years.