Class Voting in the First Alberta Social Credit Election

Abstract

AbstractMany interpretations of the Social Credit movement in Alberta are based on assertions regarding the class basis of its popular support. Since no previous study of Social Credit has offered an empirical account of its popular class base, such an account is provided here. The author analyzes the provincial election of 1935, in which Social Credit first gained power, by comparing party support in the cities, towns and countryside. Within the cities, a district-by-district analysis measures the pattern of class voting in urban areas. Class is found to have been a powerful determinant of voting in this election.