1936 Quebec general election

1936 Quebec general election
← outgoing members elected members →
90 seats in the 20th Legislative Assembly of Quebec ; 46 seats were needed for a majority
Premier before election; Adélard Godbout; Liberal	Premier after election ; Maurice Duplessis; Union Nationale

The 1936 Quebec general election was held on August 17, 1936, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Quebec, Canada. The Union Nationale, led by Maurice Duplessis, defeated the incumbent Quebec Liberal Party, led by Adélard Godbout.^[1]

This marked the end of slightly more than 39 consecutive years in power for the Liberals, who had governed Quebec since the 1897 election.

This 1936 election had been called less than one year after the 1935 election after Liberal premier Louis-Alexandre Taschereau resigned because of a scandal. He was replaced by Godbout as Liberal leader and premier.

This was Duplessis's first term in office. After losing the subsequent 1939 election, he later won four more general elections in a row, and became the dominant politician of his time. It was also the Union Nationale's first election, having been formed from a merger between the Action libérale nationale and the Quebec Conservative Party.

Campaign

Riding contests, by number of candidates (1936)^[2]
Candidates	UN	Lib	Ind-G	I-Lib	I-UN	I-Con	CCF	Comm	Ind	CDP	Lab	Total
2	69	68	1									138
3	17	16	1	8	2	2		2	2		1	51
4	4	4		3	1	1	1	1		1		16
Total	90	88	2	11	3	3	1	3	2	1	1	205

Results

Elections to the Legislative Assembly of Quebec (1936)^[2]
Political party		Party leader	MLAs				Votes
Political party		Party leader	Candidates	1935	1936	±	#	±	%	± (pp)
	Union Nationale^{[a 1]}	Maurice Duplessis	90	42	76	34	323,812	61,138	56.88	8.47
	Liberals and allies
	█ Liberal	Adélard Godbout	88	47	14	33	224,374	25,212	39.41	7.12
	█ Independent-Government	–	2	–	–	–	3,765	3,150	0.66	0.55
	Other candidates
	█ Independent-Liberal	–	11	1	–	1	9,746	11,841	1.71	2.31
	█ Independent-Unionist	–	3	–	–	–	1,928	New	0.34	New
	█ Independent-Conservative	–	3	–	–	–	1,870	1,833	0.33	0..33
	█ Co-operative Commonwealth	–	1	–	–	–	1,469	New	0.26	New
	█ Communist	–	3	–	–	–	1,045	New	0.18	New
	█ Independent	–	2	–	–	–	767	New	0.13	New
	█ Candidat du peuple	–	1	–	–	–	470	New	0.08	New
	█ Labour	–	1	–	–	–	79	2,159	0.01	0.41
Total			205	90			569,325		100%
Rejected ballots							4,930	10,302
Voter turnout							574,255	22,662	76.94	0.78
Registered electors (contested ridings only)							746,414	22,154
Candidates returned by acclamation					–	3

^ Comparative results reflect Conservative/ALN merger in 1935.

Popular vote

UN			56.88%
PLQ			39.41%
Others			3.71%

Seats summary

UN			84.44%
PLQ			15.56%

Synopsis of results

Results by riding - 1936 Quebec general election^[2]^[3]^[4]
Riding	Winning party								Turnout ^{[a 1]}	Votes^{[a 2]}
Name	1935		Party		Votes	Share	Margin #	Margin %		UN	Lib	Ind-G	I-Lib	I-UN	I-Con	Ind	Other	Total
Name	1935		Party		Votes	Share	Margin #	Margin %										Total

Abitibi		Lib		UN	6,458	66.19%	3,159	32.38%	75.90%	6,458	3,299	–	–	–	–	–	–	9,757
Argenteuil		Lib		Lib	2,179	46.51%	615	13.13%	80.49%	942	2,179	–	–	1,564	–	–	–	4,685
Arthabaska		Lib		UN	3,559	55.63%	720	11.25%	88.52%	3,559	2,839	–	–	–	–	–	–	6,398
Bagot		Lib		Lib	2,101	50.38%	32	0.77%	89.01%	2,069	2,101	–	–	–	–	–	–	4,170
Beauce		ALN		UN	4,788	55.06%	2,087	24.00%	84.22%	4,788	1,207	–	2,701	–	–	–	–	8,696
Beauharnois		Con		UN	2,970	60.70%	1,047	21.40%	78.77%	2,970	1,923	–	–	–	–	–	–	4,893
Bellechasse		Lib		UN	2,780	55.14%	518	10.27%	88.76%	2,780	2,262	–	–	–	–	–	–	5,042
Berthier		Lib		Lib	2,529	50.01%	1	0.02%	90.58%	2,528	2,529	–	–	–	–	–	–	5,057
Bonaventure		Lib		UN	3,876	50.29%	45	0.58%	85.64%	3,876	3,831	–	–	–	–	–	–	7,707
Brome		Lib		UN	1,836	52.16%	152	4.32%	82.36%	1,836	1,684	–	–	–	–	–	–	3,520
Chambly		Lib		UN	3,452	58.39%	992	16.78%	76.86%	3,452	2,460	–	–	–	–	–	–	5,912
Champlain		ALN		UN	4,068	61.38%	1,508	22.75%	86.91%	4,068	2,560	–	–	–	–	–	–	6,628
Charlevoix—Saguenay		Lib		UN	5,080	52.18%	425	4.37%	89.21%	5,080	4,655	–	–	–	–	–	–	9,735
Châteauguay		Lib		UN	1,899	55.04%	348	10.09%	85.94%	1,899	1,551	–	–	–	–	–	–	3,450
Chicoutimi		ALN		UN	8,277	74.59%	5,457	49.18%	78.61%	8,277	2,820	–	–	–	–	–	–	11,097
Compton		Con		UN	3,157	59.75%	1,030	19.49%	80.53%	3,157	2,127	–	–	–	–	–	–	5,284
Deux-Montagnes		Lib		UN	2,127	56.51%	490	13.02%	92.54%	2,127	1,637	–	–	–	–	–	–	3,764
Dorchester		ALN		UN	3,928	58.78%	1,174	17.57%	85.95%	3,928	2,754	–	–	–	–	–	–	6,682
Drummond		Lib		UN	4,086	55.95%	869	11.90%	82.91%	4,086	3,217	–	–	–	–	–	–	7,303
Frontenac		ALN		UN	3,426	64.01%	1,500	28.03%	84.24%	3,426	1,926	–	–	–	–	–	–	5,352
Gaspé-Nord		Lib		UN	1,426	48.22%	174	5.88%	85.95%	1,426	1,252	279	–	–	–	–	–	2,957
Gaspé-Sud		Lib		UN	3,653	57.73%	978	15.46%	87.76%	3,653	2,675	–	–	–	–	–	–	6,328
Gatineau		Lib		UN	3,085	50.52%	64	1.05%	78.49%	3,085	3,021	–	–	–	–	–	–	6,106
Hull		Lib		UN	3,623	55.91%	766	11.82%	62.64%	3,623	2,857	–	–	–	–	–	–	6,480
Huntingdon		Con		UN	1,844	57.63%	488	15.25%	81.88%	1,844	1,356	–	–	–	–	–	–	3,200
Iberville		Lib		Lib	1,292	57.09%	321	14.18%	86.51%	971	1,292	–	–	–	–	–	–	2,263
Îles-de-la-Madeleine		Lib		UN	1,001	50.38%	15	0.75%	86.00%	1,001	986	–	–	–	–	–	–	1,987
Jacques-Cartier		ALN		UN	5,164	59.70%	1,678	19.40%	74.50%	5,164	–	3,486	–	–	–	–	–	8,650
Joliette		Lib		UN	3,595	53.97%	529	7.94%	84.38%	3,595	3,066	–	–	–	–	–	–	6,661
Kamouraska		Lib		UN	2,720	51.04%	111	2.08%	87.31%	2,720	2,609	–	–	–	–	–	–	5,329
L'Assomption		ALN		UN	2,080	53.25%	254	6.50%	79.22%	2,080	1,826	–	–	–	–	–	–	3,906
L'Islet		Lib		UN	2,233	50.22%	20	0.45%	85.91%	2,233	2,213	–	–	–	–	–	–	4,446
Labelle		ALN		UN	3,077	72.18%	1,891	44.36%	80.60%	3,077	1,186	–	–	–	–	–	–	4,263
Lac-Saint-Jean		Con		UN	2,544	54.28%	401	8.56%	90.12%	2,544	2,143	–	–	–	–	–	–	4,687
Laval		Con		UN	12,353	67.52%	6,411	35.04%	67.60%	12,353	5,942	–	–	–	–	–	–	18,295
Laviolette		ALN		UN	4,059	64.98%	1,871	29.95%	79.21%	4,059	2,188	–	–	–	–	–	–	6,247
Lévis		ALN		UN	4,053	51.24%	196	2.48%	85.38%	4,053	3,857	–	–	–	–	–	–	7,910
Lotbinière		Lib		UN	2,981	51.11%	129	2.21%	86.21%	2,981	2,852	–	–	–	–	–	–	5,833
Maisonneuve		Con		UN	11,445	68.63%	6,213	37.25%	65.30%	11,445	5,232	–	–	–	–	–	–	16,677
Maskinongé		Lib		UN	2,269	55.38%	441	10.76%	87.04%	2,269	1,828	–	–	–	–	–	–	4,097
Matane		Lib		UN	3,256	55.17%	686	11.62%	86.09%	3,256	2,570	–	76	–	–	–	–	5,902
Matapédia		Lib		UN	3,199	52.97%	359	5.94%	86.07%	3,199	2,840	–	–	–	–	–	–	6,039
Mégantic		ALN		UN	4,627	59.49%	1,649	21.20%	85.78%	4,627	2,978	–	–	–	–	173	–	7,778
Missisquoi		Con		UN	2,854	56.77%	681	13.55%	79.79%	2,854	2,173	–	–	–	–	–	–	5,027
Montcalm		Lib		UN	2,019	56.76%	481	13.52%	88.02%	2,019	1,538	–	–	–	–	–	–	3,557
Montmagny		ALN		UN	2,695	55.70%	552	11.41%	86.59%	2,695	2,143	–	–	–	–	–	–	4,838
Montmorency		Lib		UN	2,149	54.06%	323	8.13%	91.32%	2,149	1,826	–	–	–	–	–	–	3,975
Montréal-Dorion		ALN		UN	5,674	63.20%	2,370	26.40%	66.79%	5,674	3,304	–	–	–	–	–	–	8,978
Montréal-Laurier		ALN		Lib	3,472	50.10%	14	0.20%	58.23%	3,458	3,472	–	–	–	–	–	–	6,930
Montréal-Mercier		Lib		UN	9,340	58.31%	2,960	18.48%	63.62%	9,340	6,380	–	–	299	–	–	–	16,019
Montréal–Saint-Georges		Con		UN	1,399	55.54%	500	19.85%	48.54%	1,399	–	–	221	–	899	–	–	2,519
Montréal–Saint-Henri		ALN		UN	3,622	51.79%	1,300	18.59%	68.25%	3,622	2,322	–	580	–	–	–	470	6,994
Montreal–Saint-Jacques		Con		UN	3,616	58.72%	1,259	20.44%	72.08%	3,616	2,357	–	–	–	–	–	185	6,158
Montréal–Saint-Laurent		Lib		UN	1,201	53.59%	161	7.18%	47.00%	1,201	1,040	–	–	–	–	–	–	2,241
Montréal–Saint-Louis		Lib		Lib	2,024	58.84%	1,251	36.37%	53.46%	773	2,024	–	–	65	–	–	578	3,440
Montreal–Sainte-Anne		I-Lib		Lib	1,673	49.54%	563	16.67%	66.09%	1,110	1,673	–	–	–	–	594	–	3,377
Montréal–Sainte-Marie		ALN		UN	6,410	65.24%	3,276	33.34%	68.85%	6,410	3,134	–	–	–	–	–	282	9,826
Montréal-Verdun		Con		UN	7,502	56.23%	3,626	27.18%	59.59%	7,502	495	–	3,876	–	–	–	1,469	13,342
Napierville-Laprairie		Lib		UN	2,331	51.69%	152	3.37%	88.69%	2,331	2,179	–	–	–	–	–	–	4,510
Nicolet		Lib		UN	3,612	52.86%	661	9.67%	85.88%	3,612	2,951	–	270	–	–	–	–	6,833
Papineau		ALN		UN	4,629	61.60%	1,743	23.19%	75.50%	4,629	2,886	–	–	–	–	–	–	7,515
Pontiac		Lib		Lib	2,091	44.91%	86	1.85%	76.48%	2,005	2,091	–	560	–	–	–	–	4,656
Portneuf		ALN		UN	5,276	64.60%	2,385	29.20%	86.17%	5,276	2,891	–	–	–	–	–	–	8,167
Québec-Centre		ALN		UN	3,837	52.99%	433	5.98%	79.85%	3,837	3,404	–	–	–	–	–	–	7,241
Québec-Comté		Lib		UN	4,651	56.15%	1,019	12.30%	90.40%	4,651	3,632	–	–	–	–	–	–	8,283
Québec-Est		ALN		UN	5,826	61.72%	2,212	23.43%	81.82%	5,826	3,614	–	–	–	–	–	–	9,440
Québec-Ouest		Lib		Lib	1,628	51.44%	282	8.91%	79.20%	1,346	1,628	–	24	–	167	–	–	3,165
Richelieu		Lib		Lib	2,818	57.70%	784	16.05%	85.34%	2,034	2,818	–	32	–	–	–	–	4,884
Richmond		Con		UN	3,460	61.23%	1,269	22.46%	82.28%	3,460	2,191	–	–	–	–	–	–	5,651
Rimouski		Lib		UN	3,491	55.15%	652	10.30%	89.61%	3,491	2,839	–	–	–	–	–	–	6,330
Rivière-du-Loup		Lib		Lib	3,572	50.60%	85	1.20%	88.55%	3,487	3,572	–	–	–	–	–	–	7,059
Roberval		ALN		UN	4,191	61.69%	1,588	23.37%	86.47%	4,191	2,603	–	–	–	–	–	–	6,794
Rouville		Con		UN	2,046	56.26%	455	12.51%	85.82%	2,046	1,591	–	–	–	–	–	–	3,637
Saint-Hyacinthe		Lib		Lib	3,289	50.44%	57	0.87%	87.70%	3,232	3,289	–	–	–	–	–	–	6,521
Saint-Jean		Lib		Lib	2,451	53.29%	303	6.59%	84.80%	2,148	2,451	–	–	–	–	–	–	4,599
Saint-Maurice		ALN		UN	4,635	65.19%	2,160	30.38%	82.07%	4,635	2,475	–	–	–	–	–	–	7,110
Saint-Sauveur		Con		UN	4,816	58.23%	1,362	16.47%	85.76%	4,816	3,454	–	–	–	–	–	–	8,270
Shefford		ALN		UN	3,940	57.73%	1,055	15.46%	84.60%	3,940	2,885	–	–	–	–	–	–	6,825
Sherbrooke		ALN		UN	4,987	60.77%	1,768	21.55%	76.59%	4,987	3,219	–	–	–	–	–	–	8,206
Soulanges		Lib		UN	1,022	44.11%	157	6.78%	88.56%	1,022	865	–	430	–	–	–	–	2,317
Stanstead		ALN		UN	2,980	54.73%	515	9.46%	78.04%	2,980	2,465	–	–	–	–	–	–	5,445
Témiscamingue		ALN		UN	4,200	66.32%	2,067	32.64%	68.46%	4,200	2,133	–	–	–	–	–	–	6,333
Témiscouata		Lib		UN	2,383	54.77%	415	9.54%	92.17%	2,383	1,968	–	–	–	–	–	–	4,351
Terrebonne		Lib		UN	5,279	58.80%	1,659	18.48%	84.37%	5,279	3,620	–	–	–	–	–	79	8,978
Trois-Rivières		Con		UN	5,628	69.31%	3,136	38.62%	83.13%	5,628	2,492	–	–	–	–	–	–	8,120
Vaudreuil		Lib		UN	1,277	42.54%	301	10.03%	84.26%	1,277	749	–	976	–	–	–	–	3,002
Verchères		Lib		Lib	1,843	58.01%	509	16.02%	88.21%	1,334	1,843	–	–	–	–	–	–	3,177
Westmount		Con		UN	8,970	57.75%	3,212	20.68%	48.31%	8,970	5,758	–	–	–	804	–	–	15,532
Wolfe		Lib		UN	2,176	53.78%	306	7.56%	89.80%	2,176	1,870	–	–	–	–	–	–	4,046
Yamaska		Con		UN	2,197	55.85%	460	11.69%	87.88%	2,197	1,737	–	–	–	–	–	–	3,934

^ including spoilt ballots
^ Affiliations without candidates gaining 1st or 2nd place results provincewide, or otherwise not receiving more than 1% of the total vote, are grouped under "I-Oth" or "Other"

= open seat

= turnout is above provincial average

= winning candidate was in previous Legislature

= winning candidate was ALN or Conservative incumbent

= 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

= previously an MP in the House of Commons of Canada

= multiple candidates

Analysis

Party candidates in 2nd place^[2]
Party in 1st place		Party in 2nd place						Total
Party in 1st place		UN	Lib	Ind-G	Ind-Lib	Ind-UN	Ind-Con	Total
	Union Nationale		71	1	3		1	76
	Liberal	13				1		14
Total		13	71	1	3	1	1	90

Candidates ranked 1st to 4th place, by party^[2]
Parties	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Total
█ Union Nationale	76	13	1		90
█ Liberal	14	71	2	1	88
█ Independent Liberal		3	7	1	11
█ Independent Conservative		1	2		3
█ Independent UN		1	1	1	3
█ Independent Government		1	1		2
█ Communist			3		3
█ Independent			2		2
█ Co-operative Commonwealth			1		1
█ Labour			1		1
█ Candidat du peuple				1	1

Resulting composition of the 23rd Quebec Legislative Assembly^[3]
Source		Party
Source		UN	Lib	Total
Seats retained	Incumbents returned	35	12	47
	Ouster of incumbent changing allegiance	4		4
	Open seats held	2		2
Seats changing hands	Incumbents defeated - new MLAs	19	1	20
	Incumbents defeated - return of members previously elected to Legislature	2		2
	Incumbents defeated - election of previous MP to the Parliament of Canada	1		1
	Open seats gained	13		13
	Incumbent changed allegiance		1	1
Total		76	14	90

References

^ Cdn Annual Rev 1939, p. 285.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Drouilly, Pierre (December 4, 2017). "Élections québécoises de 1936". donneesquebec.ca. Atlas des élections au Québec.
^ ^a ^b "Les membres de l'Assemblée nationale par circonscription" [National Assembly members by riding] (in French). National Assembly of Quebec. Retrieved September 13, 2023.
^ "Results by Ridings Outside City; Figures for Ridings on Island". Montreal Gazette. October 26, 1939. p. 6.

[3] Comparative results reflect Conservative/ALN merger in 1935.

[6] uding spoilt ballots

[7] Affiliations without candidates gaining 1st or 2nd place results provincewide, or otherwise not receiving more than 1% of the total vote, are grouped under "I-Oth" or "Other"

[FOOTNOTECdn_Annual_Rev1939285-1] Cdn Annual Rev 1939, p. 285.

[EQdata-2] Drouilly, Pierre (December 4, 2017). "Élections québécoises de 1936". donneesquebec.ca. Atlas des élections au Québec.

[MNAdata-4] "Les membres de l'Assemblée nationale par circonscription" [National Assembly members by riding] (in French). National Assembly of Quebec. Retrieved September 13, 2023.

[5] "Results by Ridings Outside City; Figures for Ridings on Island". Montreal Gazette. October 26, 1939. p. 6.

[1]

[2]

[a 1]

[3]

[4]

[a 1]

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v t e Elections and referendums in Quebec
General elections	1867 1871 1875 1878 1881 1886 1890 1892 1897 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1919 1923 1927 1931 1935 1936 1939 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1962 1966 1970 1973 1976 1981 1985 1989 1994 1998 2003 2007 2008 2012 2014 2018 2022 44th
Municipal elections	1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1983 1985 1986 1987 1989 1990 1993 1994 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2005 2006 2009 2013 2017 2021
Referendums	1919 1980 1992 1995 2004
See also: List of Quebec by-elections

1936 Quebec general election

Campaign

Results

Synopsis of results

Analysis

See also

Further reading

References

€4.95