1949 Newfoundland general election

May 27, 1949
28 seats of the Newfoundland House of Assembly 15 seats were needed for a majority
First party Second party   Leader Joey Smallwood Harry Mews Party Liberal Progressive Conservative Leader's seat Bonavista North St. John's West (defeated) Seats won 22 5 Popular vote 110,459 54,728 Percentage 65.68% 32.54%
Premier before election New Office Premier after election Joey Smallwood Liberal

The 1949 Newfoundland general election was held on 27 May 1949 to elect members of the 29th General Assembly of Newfoundland. It was the first general election held since Newfoundland joined Canadian confederation on 31 March 1949 and the first Newfoundland-wide election of any kind since the suspension of responsible government and the creation of the Commission of Government in 1934. The election was won by the Liberal Party.

Joey Smallwood was invited to form an interim administration when Newfoundland became a part of Canada just before midnight on March 31, 1949. This interim Smallwood administration continued until the results of the May election.

The election was held under the House of Assembly Act of 1932, with the same 27 seats, plus a new seat for Labrador, though the election in the Labrador seat was deferred until July 25. The five seats where Progressive Conservatives won had all voted heavily against confederation in the 1948 Newfoundland referendums.

Results by district

References

• Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, volume 1. Newfoundland Book Publishers (1967) Ltd. 1981. p. 723. Retrieved May 17, 2019.