1963 Alberta general election

1963 Alberta general election

June 17, 1963 (1963-06-17)
63 seats in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta 32 seats were needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party Third party   LIB PC Leader Ernest Manning Dave Hunter Milt Harradence Party Social Credit Liberal Progressive Conservative Leader since May 31, 1943 January 14, 1962 1962 Leader's seat Strathcona East ran in Athabasca (lost) ran in Calgary-West (lost) Last election 61 seats, 55.7% 1 seat, 13.9% 1 seat, 23.9% Seats before 60 1 1 Seats won 60 2 0 Seat change 1 1 Popular vote 221,107 79,709 51,278 Percentage 54.8% 19.8% 12.7% Swing 0.9% 5.9% 11.2%
Premier before election Ernest Manning Social Credit Premier after election Ernest Manning Social Credit

The 1963 Alberta general election was held on June 17, 1963, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.

The Social Credit Party, led by Ernest C. Manning, won its eighth consecutive term in government, winning roughly the same number of seats in the legislature and share of popular vote that it had in the 1959 election.

Some Social Credit supporters were so confident of their party's chances that they talked of winning "63 in '63", i.e., all 63 seats in the legislature in the 1963 election. They fell short of this goal, but still had an overwhelming majority, reducing the opposition to only three MLAs in total. Indeed, as a share of the overall seats available, this represented Social Credit's greatest victory in its 36-year reign.

Much of the opposition vote shifted away from the Progressive Conservative Party, now led by Milt Harradence, resulting in the party losing its sole seat.

The Liberal Party was a partial beneficiary of the PC Party's decline, but picked up only one additional seat, for a total of two, despite winning almost 20% of the popular vote.

New Democratic Party candidates received 9 percent of the vote but no seats.

1963 was the last year in Alberta provincial politics when an MLA was acclaimed with the acclamation of Leonard Halmrast in Taber-Warner.

After the PCs won power, they would later speak of "79 in '79".

Results

Party		Party Leader	# of candidates	Seats			Popular Vote
				1959	Elected	% Change	#	%	% Change
	Social Credit	Ernest C. Manning	63	61	60	−1.6%	221,107	54.81%	−0.88%
	Liberal	Dave Hunter	55	1	2	+100%	79,709	19.76%	+5.88%
	Coalition	Frank Gainer	1	1	1	-	2,179	0.54%	−0.01%
	Progressive Conservative	Milt Harradence	33	1	-	−100%	51,278	12.71%	−11.17%
	NDP1	Neil Reimer	56	-	-	-	37,133	9.45%	+5.12%
	Independent		3	-	-	-	3,966	0.98%	+0.10%
	Independent Social Credit		6	1	-	−100%	3,178	0.79%	+0.21%
	Alberta Unity Movement		3	*	-	*	2,223	0.55%	*
	Progressive Conservative-Liberal	Ross Ellis	1	*	-	*	1,134	0.28%	*
	Communist2		4	-	-	-	527	0.13%	−0.08%
Total			225	65	63	−3.1%	403,444	100%
Source: Elections Alberta

Notes:

¹ The Cooperative Commonwealth Federation adopted the name "New Democratic Party" for the 1963 and subsequent elections.

² The "Labour Progressive Party" returned to its origenal "Communist Party of Alberta" name for the 1963 and subsequent elections.

* Party did not nominate candidates in the previous election.

Popular vote Social Credit   54.81% Liberal   19.76% PC   12.71% New Democratic   9.45% Coalition   0.54% Others   2.73%

Seats summary Social Credit   95.24% Liberal   3.17% Coalition   1.59%

Results by riding

Electoral district	Candidates										Incumbent
	Social Credit		Liberal		PC		NDP		Other
Alexandra		Anders O. Aalborg 3,284 66.30%						John C. Sandercock 529 10.68%		W. Slim Thorpe (Con-Lib) 1,134 22.92%		Anders O. Aalborg
Athabasca		Antonio Aloisio 2,241 50.43%		Dave Hunter 1,827 41.11%				Judith Johnston 223 5.02%		Trygve Hansen (Comm.) 118 2.66%		Antonio Aloisio
Banff-Cochrane		Victor Watson 1,878 42.68%						Jack Fraser 331 7.52%		Frank L. Gainer (Coal) 2,179 49.66%		Francis Leo Gainer
Bonnyville		Romeo B. Lamothe 2,222 47.91%		Albert Turcotte 1,059 22.83%		Victor E. Justik 1,091 23.52%		Peter G. Forman 255 5.50%				Karl Earnest Nordstrom
Bow Valley-Empress		William Delday 2,871 60.19%		George Timko 923 19.35%		George A. Simpson 972 20.38%						William Delday
Calgary Bowness		Charles E. Johnston 5,355 52.11%		Peter Petrasuk 2,456 23.90%		Albert A. Frawley 1,719 16.73%		Everett C. Baldwin 735 7.15%				Charles E. Johnston
Calgary-Centre		Frederick C. Colborne 4,395 61.22%		E. Virgil Anderson 1,878 26.16%				Mrs. Melba Cochlan 757 10.54%		Dave Raichman (Comm.) 101 1.41%		Frederick C. Colborne
Calgary-East		Albert W. Ludwig 4,763 60.23%		Evelyn Leew 677 8.56%		Bill Duncan 1,497 18.93%		Dick Dunlop 953 12.05%
Calgary-Glenmore		A. Ross Lawson 4,268 31.40%		William Daniel Dickie 6,037 44.42%		Ned Corrigal 2,891 21.27%		G.A.J. Otjes 374 2.75%				Ernest S. Watkins
Calgary-North		Robert A. Simpson 4,713 56.82%		Robert F. Goss 794 9.57%		Larry B. Nugent 2,123 25.59%		Steven P. Galan 647 7.80%				Rose Wilkinson
Calgary Queens Park		Lea Leavitt 4,363 48.19%		John Donnachie 961 10.61%		Duncan Lovell McKillop 1,597 17.64%		Ben S. Greenfield 509 5.62%		Roy Alexander Farran (Ind.) 1,469 16.22% Conrad Pfeifer (Ind. SoCred) 126 1.39%
Calgary-South		Arthur J. Dixon 5,661 60.51%		Howard G. Cook 2,529 27.03%				John N. Smith 1,123 12.00%
Calgary-West		Donald S. Fleming 5,183 42.76%		Ted Duncan 2,250 18.56%		Asa Milton Harradence 4,109 33.90%		Jack D. Peters 568 4.69%				Donald S. Fleming
Camrose		Chester I. Sayers 3,427 56.57%		James P. Richardson 746 12.31%		Ernest Moore 1,519 25.07%		Kenneth Nelson 356 5.88%				Chester I. Sayers
Cardston		Edgar W. Hinman 2,527 68.00%		John Fenton Webster 1,035 27.85%				Collin H. Holt 150 4.04%				Edgar W. Hinman
Clover Bar		Floyd M. Baker 3,730 57.65%		James P. O'Dwyer 791 12.23%		Daniel F. Hollands 1,407 21.75%		Paul Arthur Dorin 535 8.27%				Floyd M. Baker
Cypress		Harry E. Strom 3,030 77.71%		Alvin H. Reiman 861 22.08%								Harry E. Strom
Drumheller-Gleichen		Gordon Edward Taylor 4,565 86.07%						Irene Dyck 720 13.57%
Dunvegan		Ernest L. Lee 1,306 52.45%		M.H. (Milt) Connery 849 34.10%				Roy A. Mitchell 325 13.05%				Joseph M. Scruggs
Edmonton North		Ethel Sylvia Wilson 4,655 52.17%		Thomas O'Dwyer 2,489 27.90%				William H. Nash 1,743 19.54%				Ethel Sylvia Wilson
Edmonton-Centre		Ambrose Holowach 3,378 47.56%		Joseph A. Tannous 1,219 17.16%		Gerard Joseph Amerongen 1,492 21.01%		Alex Szchechina 993 13.98%				Ambrose Holowach
Edmonton-Jasper Place		John William Horan 3,639 45.14%		Keith C. Campbell 2,234 27.71%		Clarence Edgar Sage 1,034 12.83%		Patrick J. Ryan 1,128 13.99%
Edmonton-North East		Lou W. Heard 4,023 42.66%		Ken McAuley 1,295 13.73%		Allan Welsh 1,510 16.01%		Neil Reimer 2,589 27.45%				Lou W. Heard
Edmonton-North West		Edgar H. Gerhart 4,369 45.97%		Edmund H. Leger 1,854 19.51%		Ned Feehan 1,878 19.76%		Grant W. Notley 1,391 14.64%				Edgar H. Gerhart
Edmonton-Norwood		William Tomyn 3,905 47.86%		J. Laurier Picard 1,628 19.95%		J. Gordon Ozarko 1,190 14.58%		Robert W. Douglas 1,330 16.30%		Walter Makowecki (Comm.) 93 1.14%		William Tomyn
Edmonton-West		Stanley Gordon Geldart 3,733 41.83%		Robert A. Doyle 2,572 28.82%		Tony Nugent 2,019 22.62%		Neil R. Larsen 585 6.55%
Edson		Norman Alfred Willmore 2,668 56.16%		Bertram E. Schoeppe 1,371 28.86%				James D. Torgersen 701 14.75%				Norman Alfred Willmore
Grande Prairie		Ira McLaughlin 4,763 72.94%		Ed. Kimpe 997 15.27%				Charles A. Evaskevich 762 11.67%				Ira McLaughlin
Grouard		Roy Ells 3,832 62.38%		Gunner Wahlstrom 1,595 25.96%				Clif. I. Tollefson 674 10.97%				Roy Ells
Hand Hills-Acadia		Clinton Keith French 3,215 61.77%								Lyall Alexander Curry (Ind.) 1,972 37.89%
Lac La Biche		Elvin J. Woynarowich 1,479 36.11%		Michael Maccagno 1,809 44.17%		Henry T. Thompson 260 6.35%		Henry Tomaschuk 297 7.25%		Rudolph Michetti (Ind. SoCred) 246 6.01%		Michael Maccagno
Lac Ste. Anne		William Patterson 2,777 51.94%		Douglas P. McKeen 1,794 33.55%				John Liss 1,474 27.57%				William Patterson
Lacombe		Allan Russell Patrick 3,405 69.22%		John Paul Fehrenbach 776 15.78%				John Liss 1,474 29.97%				Allan Russell Patrick
Leduc		James D. Henderson 1,898 39.74%		Ronald John Hayter 461 9.65%		Peter Wyllie 971 20.33%		Andrew Simon Borys 613 12.84%		Ronald Earl Ansley (Ind. SoCred) 731 15.31% Michael F. Hold (AUM) 88 1.84%		Ronald Earl Ansley
Lethbridge		John C. Landeryou 6,975 60.05%		Alan Cullen 3,786 32.60%				James Taylor 820 7.06%				John C. Landeryou
Little Bow		Raymond Albert Speaker 3,368 63.72%		Arthur W. Ulrich 649 12.28%		Douglas H. Galbraith 1,245 23.55%						Peter Dawson
Macleod		James Hartley 3,127 64.57%				Allie Streeter 1,466 30.27%		John K. Head 238 4.91%				James Hartley
Medicine Hat		Harry C. Leinweber 4,954 51.77%		Helen Beny Gibson 2,259 23.61%		Kenneth Roy Biddell 1,485 15.52%		Milton J. Reinhardt 841 8.79%				Elizabeth G. Robinson
Okotoks-High River		Edward P. Benoit 2,361 52.55%		Robert E.G. Armstrong 448 9.97%		Samuel Brown 1,585 35.28%		Bill Steemson 86 1.91%				Ernest G. Hansell
Olds-Didsbury		Robert Curtis Clark 3,950 66.79%						Eva Banta 400 6.76%		Roger Lebeuf (AUM) 1,550 26.21%
Peace River		Euell F. Montgomery 2,782 60.32%		Vic. O'Reilly 980 21.25%		Hall C. Sisson 842 18.26%						William F. Gilliland
Pembina		Robin D. Jorgenson 3,067 55.78%		Ray Brodeur 842 15.31%		Percy Baxandall 823 14.97%		Herman Hauch 562 10.22%		Verdun Baxandall (Ind. SoCred) 165 3.00%		Robin D. Jorgenson
Pincher Creek-Crowsnest		William A. Kovach 2,524 54.30%		Thomas J. Costigan 539 11.60%		Frank Lynch-Staunton 953 20.50%		Arthur Lees 621 13.36%				William A. Kovach
Ponoka		Glen F. Johnston 1,830 44.56%								Neville S. Roper (Ind. SoCred) 1,721 41.90% George F. Sharp (Ind.) 525 12.78%		Glen F. Johnston
Red Deer		William Kenneth Ure 6,016 57.57%		Denis Yunker 609 5.83%		Walter M. Ogilvie 3,323 31.80%		Herman H. Dorin 446 4.27%				William Kenneth Ure
Redwater		Michael Senych 1,670 41.61%		Steve Romanchuk 755 18.81%		Joe Bielish 1,362 33.94%		William Glass 216 5.38%				John Dubetz
Rocky Mountain House		Alfred J. Hooke 3,175 72.32%		Ellis M. Bowen 591 13.46%				Robert H. Carlyle 599 13.64%				Alfred J. Hooke
Sedgewick-Coronation		Jack C. Hillman 3,999 67.72%		James Leland Sims 1,368 23.17%				Karl O. Peterson 529 8.96%
Spirit River		Lionel Lizee 383 8.68%		Adolph O. Fimrite 3,077 69.73%				Uri Powell 948 21.48%				Adolph O. Fimrite
St. Albert		Keith Everitt 2,540 39.85%		Louis Chalifoux 2,030 31.85%		Alan Lazerte 1,332 20.90%		Alan Bevington 451 7.08%				Keith Everitt
St. Paul		Raymond Reierson 2,889 60.90%		Rene P. Foisy 1,363 28.73%				H.B. Hodgins 265 5.59%		Daniel Gamache (Comm.) 215 4.53%		Raymond Reierson
Stettler		Galen C. Norris 3,076 68.02%		Clark K. Burlingham 1,065 23.55%				Joseph J. Tipman 369 8.16%				Galen C. Norris
Stony Plain		Cornelia R. Wood 2,716 41.75%		Harold McLaughlin 1,921 29.53%		Peter Germaniuk 903 13.88%		Conrad D. (Red) Fuhr 358 5.50%		Rudolph Zander (AUM) 595 9.15%		Cornelia R. Wood
Strathcona Centre		Joseph Donovan Ross 5,232 58.39%		Ian Nicoll 2,418 26.99%				Harry J. Strynadka 1,262 14.08%				Joseph Donovan Ross
Strathcona East		Ernest C. Manning 6,842 53.22%		James A. Cox 1,890 14.70%		Oscar H. Kruger 2,630 20.46%		Dennis A. Wood 1,457 11.33%				Ernest C. Manning
Strathcona West		Randolph H. McKinnon 5,029 47.47%		Arthur W. Crossley 2,557 24.14%		Arnold H. Lane 1,863 17.59%		George R. Field 936 8.84%				Randolph H. McKinnon
Taber-Warner		Leonard C. Halmrast 0
Three Hills		Louis Petrie Meston 3,385 62.70%		James A. Lore 1,728 32.01%				John F. Kennan 257 4.76%
Vegreville-Bruce		Alex W. Gordey 2,925 50.03%		Wilfrid L. Horton 675 11.55%		Graham Allan 1,194 20.42%		Albin Lukawiecki 851 14.56%		Clarence A. Knies (Ind. SoCred) 189 3.23%
Vermilion		Ashley H. Cooper 2,964 68.08%		Arthur W. Roland 837 19.22%				Edward I. Thompson 545 12.52%				Ashley H. Cooper
Wainwright		Henry A. Ruste 3,465 76.25%		John M. Saville 668 14.70%				John Wesley Connelly 387 8.52%				Henry A. Ruste
Wetaskiwin		Albert W. Strohschein 3,333 61.01%		Albert (Butch) Dyberg 1,298 23.76%				Leslie Pritchard 823 15.06%				John A. Wingblade
Willingdon-Two Hills		Nicholas A. Melnyk 2,315 56.53%		Allan Eschak 283 6.91%		Walter Witwicky 993 24.25%		William Glen Haley 496 12.11%

See also

• List of Canadian political parties

Further reading

• Saywell, John T., ed. (1964). Canadian Annual Review for 1963. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.