Выборы в Манитобе 1920 года: Первая женщина-депутат и новая система голосования

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The 1920 Manitoba general election was held on June 29, 1920 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada. The election resulted in a fragmented parliament, with no group holding effective power over the legislature. Norris's Liberals were re elected. They remained the largest party, but were reduced to a minority government with 21 seats out of 55. This was the first general election in which women could vote and run for office. Edith Rogers was elected in this election, becoming the first woman elected to the Manitoba Legislature. This was also the first election where Single Transferable Voting was used to elect the Winnipeg MLAs, now ten in number.

Between the previous 1915 election and the 1920 campaign, Manitoba experienced profound social and cultural change. Since the formal introduction of partisan politics in 1888, Manitoba had been dominated by the Liberal and Conservative parties, which governed the province in succession. After World War I, new political groups and interests emerged to threaten the two party system. The Winnipeg General Strike of 1919 brought labour issues to the forefront of provincial concern, and radicalized many working class Manitobans. In previous elections, labour and socialist parties were a marginal force; going into the 1920 election, they stood to make significant electoral gains. In the rural constituencies, several candidates ran for office as farmer representatives, or as "people's candidates" opposed to partisan government. Against this backdrop, the governing Liberal Party of Tobias Norris was forced to run a defensive campaign. Supported by the Winnipeg Free Press, the Liberals portrayed themselves as a stabilizing force amid the province's changes. The 1920 election is notable for its use of Single Transferable Voting in the City of Winnipeg. Previously, the city had been divided into three two member constituencies, each seat elected in a separate First past the post election. Starting in the 1920 election, Winnipeg was a single ten member constituency, where each voter had one vote. The method of election was the single transferable voting (STV) system of proportional representation. In the world, this was the largest number of legislators elected in any district using STV for many years. Winnipeg would use STV to elect its MLAS until 1952.

The election resulted in a fragmented parliament, with no group holding effective power over the legislature. Norris's Liberals remained the largest party, but were reduced to a minority government with 21 seats out of 55. The party remained in office until 1922, but unwilling or unable to find joint cause with the other factions did little in the way of legislative initiatives. Twelve "farmer" and "independent farmer" candidates were elected in rural constituencies. These candidates were a heterogeneous group, and did not run a united campaign. While not a "political party" in the traditional sense, they formed a functional caucus group in the legislature. Some members of this group later joined the political wing of the United Farmers of Manitoba, which took power in the next election. In Winnipeg, Liberal candidates took four seats and Conservatives two but Labour made a good showing there as well. Four different working class and left wing parties ran candidates in Winnipeg. The Labour Party won an impressive victory in Winnipeg, taking two seats. Party leader Fred Dixon received 1100 votes in the First Count, a lead of more than 7,000 votes ahead of his nearest rival. His vote tally was more than twice the number needed to take a seat (the quota). His surplus were not wasted but under the rules of STV, they were transferred to other candidates. Many went to other DLP candidates, and Ivens then exceeded quota and was declared elected. Leftists were rewarded with four seats of the 10 Winnipeg seats. Elected were Dixon and William Ivens of the Dominion Labour Party, George Armstrong of the Socialist Party of Canada, and John Queen of the Social Democratic Party. SPC's Robert B. Russell narrowly failed to win a second seat for his party. A candidate of the Ex Soldiers and Ex Sailors Party of Manitoba also campaigned with the labour candidates in Winnipeg. When he was eliminated, his votes went mostly to the remaining candidates of the DLP, SPC and SDP. Ivens, Armstrong, Queen and Russell were all serving prison sentences at the time of the election, due to their leadership of the Winnipeg General Strike. Many Winnipeg ers believed the prison sentences were politically motivated, and the issue was a rallying cry for labour in the campaign. Seven other labour MLAs were elected in the rest of the province, making the Labour group the third largest in the legislature. The Conservative Party managed a minor recovery from its disastrous showing in 1915, winning eight seats under new leader Richard G. Willis. Willis himself was not elected. Three independents were also elected to the legislature in rural districts. The first woman was elected to the Legislature in this election. Edith Rogers was also the first Indigenous woman in the Manitoba Legislature.