Manitoba general election, 1920

Manitoba's general election of 29 June 1920 was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada.

Between the previous 1915 election and the 1920 campaign, Manitoba experienced profound social and cultural change. Since the formal introduction of partisan politics in 1888, Manitoba had been dominated by the Liberal and Conservative parties, which governed the province in succession. After World War I, new political groups and interests emerged to threaten the two-party system.

The Winnipeg General Strike of 1919 brought labour issues to the forefront of provincial concern, and radicalized many working-class Manitobans. In previous elections, labour and socialist parties were a marginal force; going into the 1920 election, they stood to make significant electoral gains. In the rural constituencies, several candidates ran for office as farmer representatives, or as "people's candidates" opposed to partisan government.

Against this backdrop, the governing Liberal Party of Tobias Norris was forced to run a defensive campaign. Supported by the Winnipeg Free Press, the Liberals portrayed themselves as a stabilizing force amid the province's changes.

The 1920 election is notable for an experiment in electoral reform in the City of Winnipeg. Previously, the city had been represented in the legislature by six single-member constituencies. For the 1920 election, these seats were replaced by a single ten-member constituency. The method of election was called proportional representation at the time, but would today be referred to as the single transferable ballot.

The election resulted in a fragmented parliament, with no group holding effective power over the legislature. Norris's Liberals remained the largest party, but were reduced to a minority government with 21 seats out of 55. The party remained in office until 1922, but could do little in the way of legislative initiatives.

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