The 1969 Manitoba general election was held on June 25, 1969 to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) of the Canadian province of Manitoba. It was a watershed moment in the province's political history. The social-democratic New Democratic Party emerged for the first time as the largest party in the legislature, winning 28 out of 57 seats. The governing Progressive Conservative Party fell to 22, and the once-dominant Liberal Party fell to an historical low of five. The Social Credit Party won one seat, and there was also one Independent elected. Although the NDP had risen from third place to only one seat short of a majority, it was not clear what form the government would take in the days immediately following the election. There were negotiations among the Liberals and Progressive Conservatives to form a minority coalition government, supported by the Social Credit and Independent members; under this scenario, former Liberal leader Gildas Molgat would have become Premier. These plans came to nothing when Liberal MLA Laurent Desjardins announced that he would sit as a "Liberal Democrat" supporting the NDP, allowing the NDP to form government by one seat. Edward Schreyer became the province's first social democratic Premier shortly thereafter. The Manitoba NDP had a total election budget of $45,000. Although very small by modern standards, this was the most the party had ever spent up to this time. The Liberals had managed to remain as the Official Opposition for a decade after losing power in 1959. However, this would be the start of almost 20 years in the political wilderness; the party would not come close to governing again until winning opposition status in 1988. Results See also List of Manitoba political parties Riding results Party key: PC: Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba L: Manitoba Liberal Party NDP: New Democratic Party of Manitoba SC: Manitoba Social Credit Party Comm: Communist Party of Canada - Manitoba Ind: Independent Arthur: (incumbent)J. Douglas Watt (PC) 3133 John McRae (L) 1375 Raymond Jones (NDP) 980 Assiniboia: (incumbent)Stephen Patrick (L) 2355 Bill Docking (PC) 2329 Curtis Nordman (NDP) 1466 Brandon East: Leonard Evans (NDP) 3035 Emily Lyons (PC) 1962 Don Martin (L) 1194 Brandon West: Edward McGill (PC) 2814 James M. Skinner (NDP) 2310 Terry Penton (L) 1796 Burrows: (incumbent)Ben Hanuschak (NDP) 3418 Wasyl Michael Swystun (PC) 1317 Olga E. Lewicki (L) 751 Andrew Bileski (Comm) 323 Charleswood: Arthur Moug (PC) 3401