The Hemisphere: Bitter Foretaste

The acid test facing Prime Minister St. Laurent was the general election expected some time this year. Last week Louis St. Laurent received notice that the struggle would be bitter and hard-fought. In a by-election in the Quebec riding of Nicolet-Yamaska, his Liberal Party candidate was beaten in a surprise turnover by a Progressive Conservative (Tory).

On its face, the Tory victory presented a striking parallel to another Quebec upset. In November 1910, when a Liberal government had been in power for 14 years, the Drummond-Arthabaska constituency heralded the end of an era by giving the Tories a surprise victory. Next year, the Liberal government of Sir Wilfrid Laurier was swept from office.

To Tories, the parallel seemed perfect. The present Liberal government was in its 14th year of continuous power. It had a new head in Prime Minister St. Laurent, but it was essentially a continuation of William Lyon Mackenzie King’s administration. The fact that St. Laurent was a French-Canadian made the parallel look even better to the Tories; once again Quebeckers had rejected one of their own.

The Liberals knew that in Nicolet-Yamaska they had made mistakes. They had neglected grass-roots organizing. Their party was badly split in the district; they had run a weak candidate who leaned on the fact that his father once represented the riding. Nevertheless, the election threw an unaccustomed scare into the Liberals. The Tories felt nothing but joy. When Leader George Drew entered Parliament the night of the election, party colleagues gave him a loud cheer and, following time-honored custom, threw copies of Hansard (equivalent to the Congressional Record) across the House.