1937 Ontario general election

Ontario general election, 1937

October 6, 1937
90 seats in the 20th Legislative Assembly of Ontario 46 seats were needed for a majority
First party Second party   CON Leader Mitchell Hepburn William Earl Rowe Party Liberal Conservative Leader since December 17, 1930 May 28, 1936 Leader's seat Elgin Ran in Simcoe Centre(Lost) Last election 65 17 Seats won 63 23 Seat change -2 +6 Percentage 51.6% 40.0% Swing +1.2 +0.2%
Premier before election Mitchell Hepburn Liberal Premier-designate Mitchell Hepburn Liberal

The Ontario general election, 1937 was held on October 6, 1937, to elect the 90 Members of the 20th Legislative Assembly of Ontario ("MLAs"). It was the 20th general election held in the Province of Ontario, Canada.

The Ontario Liberal Party, led by Mitchell Hepburn, was re-elected for a second term in government, with a slightly reduced majority in the Legislature.

The Ontario Conservative Party, led by William Earl Rowe, was able to win six additional seats, and continued to form the official opposition.

Meanwhile, the fledgling democratic socialist Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) lost its sole MLA, Sam Lawrence.

In 1938, MLAs voted to adopt the title "Member of Provincial Parliament", and became known as "MPPs".

This Ontario election was the last to date in which the winning party has won an absolute majority of the popular vote.

Results

	Party	Leader	1934	Elected	% change	Popular vote
						%	change
	Liberal	Mitchell Hepburn	65	63	-3.1%	51.6%	+1.2%
	Liberal–Progressive1		4	2	-50.0%
	Conservative	William Earl Rowe	17	23	+35.3%	40.0%	0.2%
	United Farmers2	Farquhar Oliver	1	1	-
	Co-operative Commonwealth		1	-	-100%	5.6%	-1.4%
	Liberal Independent		-	1
	Labour		1	-	-
	Independent		1	-
Total			90	90	-	100%

¹Liberal-Progressive MLAs supported the Hepburn government since its election in 1934. Liberal-Progressive MLA Harry Nixon sitting in Hepburn's cabinet from the beginning and formally became a Liberal in 1937.

²United Farmers MLA Farquhar Oliver was a supporter of the Hepburn Liberal government and joined Hepburn's cabinet in 1940.

See also

• Politics of Ontario
• List of Ontario political parties
• Premier of Ontario
• Leader of the Opposition (Ontario)