In the 1941 provincial election, Maitland led the Conservatives to a strong finish with 30.91 per cent of the vote and 12 seats, though with the CCF doubling its seats the party was consigned to third place. The Liberal government of Thomas Dufferin Pattullo was reduced to a minority government and though it won the greatest number of seats actually received fewer votes than the CCF. The Liberal Party pressured Pattullo to form a coalition government with the Conservatives in order to forestall the government's collapse and a possible CCF victory.