The 1955 Prince Edward Island general election was held in the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island on May 25, 1955.
The governing Liberals of Premier Alex W. Matheson increased their majority in the Legislature, winning three more seats over the opposition Progressive Conservatives led by Reginald Bell, who would resign as leader in 1957 following this election. Matheson took over as premier from his predecessor J. Walter Jones in May 1953 following his appointment to the Senate.
This election marked the first and only time (as of 2016) that a party has won six consecutive general elections on Prince Edward Island.
Party Standings
+ ↓ 27 3 Liberal PC
PartyParty LeaderSeatsPopular Vote1951ElectedChange#%ChangeLiberalAlex W. Matheson2427+344,91855.0%+3.4%Reginald Bell63-336,70545.0%-1.7%
Members Elected
The Legislature of Prince Edward Island had two levels of membership from 1893 to 1996 - Assemblymen and Councillors. This was a holdover from when the Island had a bicameral legislature, the General Assembly and the Legislative Council.
In 1893, the Legislative Council was abolished and had its membership merged with the Assembly, though the two titles remained separate and were elected by different electoral franchises. Assembleymen were elected by all eligible voters of within a district, while Councillors were only elected by landowners within a district.
Kings
District Assemblyman Party Councillor Party 1st Kings William Acorn Liberal Brenton St. John Liberal 2nd Kings Harvey Douglas Liberal Leo Rossiter Progressive Conservative 3rd Kings Joseph Campbell Liberal Keir Clark Liberal 4th Kings Lorne Bonnell Liberal Alexander Wallace Matheson Liberal 5th Kings Stephen Hessian Liberal George Saville Liberal
Queens
District Assemblyman Party Councillor Party 1st Queens Frederic Large Liberal W. F. Alan Stewart Liberal Progressive Conservative 2nd Queens George Kitson Liberal Reginald Bell Progressive Conservative 3rd Queens Russell C. Clark Liberal Eugene Cullen Liberal 4th Queens Dougald MacKinnon Liberal Harold P. Smith Liberal 5th Queens Earle MacDonald Liberal Alex MacIsaac Liberal
Prince
District Assemblyman Party Councillor Party 1st Prince Prosper Arsenault Liberal Fred Ramsay Liberal 2nd Prince George Dewar Progressive Conservative Forrest Phillips Liberal 3rd Prince Augustin Gallant Liberal Frank MacNutt Liberal 4th Prince J. George MacKay Liberal Cleveland Baker Liberal 5th Prince Edward P. Foley Liberal Morley Bell Liberal
Sources