Alberta general election, 1935

The Alberta general election of 1935 was the eighth general election for the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on August 22 1935 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.

Related Topics:
Alberta - Canada - August 22 - 1935 - Legislative Assembly of Alberta

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Premier John E. Brownlee was forced to resign on July 10 1934 when he was sued and found guilty of the seduction of a young clerk working in the Attorney-General's office. The scandal hurt the United Farmers of Alberta's reputation among socially conservative Albertans. The new UFA leader, Richard G. Reid, was unable to recover the party's popularity. The UFA's fiscal conservatism and the taint of moral turpitude led to the government's defeat in the 1935 election at the hands of the new Social Credit Party of Alberta and its leader evangelist William Aberhart. Every UFA candidate was defeated. Aberhart's combination of economic populism with Christian social conservatism highlighted the UFA's weaknesses. Social Credit won 56 of the 63 seats in the legislature, and over 50% of the popular vote.

Related Topics:
John E. Brownlee - July 10 - 1934 - United Farmers of Alberta - Richard G. Reid - Social Credit Party of Alberta - William Aberhart

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The Alberta Liberals in this election ran with the tactically fatal slogan, the "rest of Canada can't be wrong", refering the popularity of the Liberal Party in the rest of the country, and paid the price by having their seats cut in half.

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The turnout of the 1935 election topped 80%, and no election in Alberta has come close to this mark.

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The election was also the most negative election in Alberta with social crediters openly and under William Aberhart's directive, defacing the campaign signs of anyone who opposed them, as well as drowning out opponets speaches by honking car horns, and significant attack ads were run.

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After the 1935 election results were in, news papers across North America took notice, with the Boston Globe running the headline ALBERTA GOES CRAZY!. Historians note that this election was the biggest single electoral shift in North American history.

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This shift marked the first in the Social Credits nine back to back election victorys.

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