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.
The Winnipeg General Strike of 1919 brought labour issues to the forefront of provincial concern, and radicalized many working-class Manitobans.
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.
[2] The election resulted in a fragmented parliament, with no group holding effective power over the legislature.
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.
Some members of this group later joined the political wing of the United Farmers of Manitoba, which took power in the next election.
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 Winnipegers believed the prison sentences were politically motivated, and the issue was a rallying cry for labour in the campaign.
The Conservative Party managed a minor recovery from its disastrous showing in 1915, winning eight seats under new leader Richard G. Willis.
(1) SDP popular vote included in "Independents/others".Arthur: Assiniboia: Beautiful Plains: Birtle: Brandon City: Carillon: Cypress: Dauphin: Deloraine: Dufferin: Emerson: Ethelbert: Fairford: Fisher: Gilbert Plains: Gimli: Gladstone: Glenwood: Hamiota: Iberville: Kildonan & St. Andrews: Killarney: Lakeside: Lansdowne: La Verendrye: Manitou: Minnedosa: Morden and Rhineland: Morris: Mountain: Norfolk: Portage la Prairie: Roblin: Rockwood: Rupertsland: Russell: St. Boniface: St. Clements: St. George: Ste.
Each voter casting just a single vote in a multi-member district meant mixed roughly proportional grouping of the candidates in winning positions from the 1st Count on.
Armstrong eliminated) (11 candidates remaining, seven seats still open) Thirty-First Count (Morden eliminated; Haig declared elected): (9 candidates remaining, six seats still open) Thirty-Second Count (Jacob eliminated; Queen declared elected): (although Queen was the only SDP candidate and did not initially have quota, he received many vote transfers and eventually exceeded quota and took a seat.
Final Winnipeg seat tally: Liberal 4, DLP 2, Conservative 2, SDPC 1, SPC 1 Election was not by party list.
The successful candidates were chosen individually by the voters: Liberals: Thomas Johnson, John Stovel, Duncan Cameron, Edith Rogers Dominion Labour: Fred Dixon, William Ivens Conservatives: John Thomas Haig, William J. Tupper Social Democrats: John Queen Socialists: George Armstrong (but not Robert Russell, who was initially more popular of the two Socialist Party candidates) The first ballot results for Winnipeg and results for all other constituencies are taken from an official Manitoba government publication entitled "Manitoba elections, 1920-1941" (cross-referenced with an appendix to the government's report of the 2003 provincial election).
The Canadian Parliamentary Guide for 1921 lists slightly different results for Dufferin and Gladstone; the other two sources contain more information, however, and may be taken as more reliable.