The Canadian Election
The General Election in Canada is likely in some of its aspects to be an unpalatable affair. The dissolution an- nounced by the Governor-General last Thursday was sudden and unexpected, for it had been generally supposed that Canada, like Great Britain, would avoid contested elections for the period of the war. It was a considerable shock for Members who had just arrived in Ottawa from all parts of the Dominion for the opening of the session to be sent back within half-a-dozen hours to electoral fights in their constituencies. The Prime Minister, Mr. Mackenzie King, explained that his decision to ask for a dissolution was the fissure in his own Liberal ranks revealed by the vote of censure on the Federal Government carried by the Liberal majority in Ontario, under its vigorous Liberal Premier, Mr. Mitchell Hepburn. That, said Mr. King, made it impera- tive for him to get a new mandate from the country. The Conservative leader, Dr. Manion, bitterly reproached the Prime Minister for what he regarded as the sharp practice of a snap election, and many Liberals agree with him. What line -the Hepburn Liberals in Ontario will take is not clear, as they show no signs so far either of running anti- King Liberal candidates or of backing the Conservatives. The election, which will take place on March 26th, seems likely to resolve itself into a verdict on the Government's conduct of the war, and more than one skeleton may be produced from party cupboards in the course of it. Serving soldiers in Europe will vote. The Government is expected to win, with a reduced majority, in spite of the popularity of Dr. Manion's appeal for a National Government.
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