1959 Prince Edward Island general election

1959 Prince Edward Island general election

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All 30 seats in the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island 16 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   PC Leader Walter R. Shaw Alex W. Matheson Party Progressive Conservative Liberal Leader since 1957 1953 Leader's seat 1st Queens 4th Kings Last election 3 seats, 45.0% 27 seats, 55.0% Seats won 22 8 Seat change 19 19 Popular vote 43,845 42,214 Percentage 50.9% 49.1% Swing 5.9pp 5.9pp
Premier before election Alex W. Matheson Liberal Premier after election Walter R. Shaw Progressive Conservative

The 1959 Prince Edward Island general election was held in the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island on September 1, 1959.^[1]

The governing Liberals of Premier Alex W. Matheson were defeated by the Progressive Conservatives led by Walter R. Shaw, who gained a massive number of districts across the Island to earn a majority government, despite a close result in the popular vote.

The defeat of the Matheson-led Liberals marked the end of the longest serving government in Island history. The Liberals had governed for 24 straight years since their initial victory in the 1935 general election, a feat that would not be rivaled by any other provincial government on the Island.

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.^[2]