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181 seats in the House of Commons 91 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Registered | 361,028 [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Turnout | 74.3% [lower-alpha 1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Popular vote by electoral riding. (Because seats are awarded by the popular vote in each riding, the provincial popular vote does not necessarily translate to more seats.) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1867 Canadian federal election was held from August 7 to September 20, 1867, and was the first election of Canada. It was held to elect members representing electoral districts in the provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario and Quebec to the House of Commons of the 1st Canadian Parliament. The provinces of Manitoba (1870) and British Columbia (1871) were created during the term of the 1st Parliament of Canada and were not part of this election.
Sir John A. Macdonald had been sworn in as prime minister by the Governor General, Lord Monck, when the new Canadian nation was founded on 1 July 1867. As leader of the Conservative Party of Canada (known as the Liberal-Conservative Party until 1873), he led his party in this election and continued as Prime Minister of Canada when the Conservatives won a majority of the seats in the election, including majorities of the seats (and votes) in the new provinces of Ontario and Quebec.
The Liberal Party of Canada won the second most seats overall, including a majority of the seats (and votes) in the province of New Brunswick. The Liberals did not have a party leader in the election. George Brown, who was the leader of the Liberal Party of Ontario, was considered the "elder statesman" of the national party. Brown ran concurrently for seats in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario and the House of Commons of Canada, and might well have been Prime Minister in the unlikely event that the Liberals prevailed over the Conservatives in the national election. Brown failed to win a seat in either body, and the national Liberals remained officially leaderless until 1873.
The Anti-Confederation Party, led by Joseph Howe, won the third most seats overall, based solely on a majority of seats (and votes) in the province of Nova Scotia. Their main desire was the reversal of the decision to join Confederation, which had become highly unpopular in that province. The goals of the Anti-Confederation Members of Parliament (MPs) were openly supported by five of the Liberal MPs of New Brunswick. The Anti-Confederation MPs sat with the Liberal caucus. When the government in Britain refused to allow Nova Scotia to secede, a majority of the Anti-Confederation MPs (11 of 18) moved to the Conservatives.
Halifax was a two-member riding at the time of the election, while the City of Saint John was represented by its own district and the County of Saint John. The election in Kamouraska, Quebec was delayed due to rioting.
The first Canadian election took place without a uniform set of election laws to govern the selection of members to the House of Commons, [2] an interim measure until Parliament could pass its own election laws, which did not come until 1885. [3] Instead, the election was contested under the rules set by each individual province prior to confederation, and future elections would be contested under provincial rules until a time when federal parliament set their own rules. Because of this, voting rights were inconsistent, as was the method of casting a ballot. [2] The BNA Act did stipulate that in the district of Algoma any male British subject of 21 years of age or older, "being a householder," would have the right to vote.
The election took place over a six week period from August 7 to September 20, with electoral district polls closing at different dates throughout the period. [4] Under the system each electoral district was required to be polled in one day, but the day did not have to be the same across all electoral districts. The exception to the extended polling period (often called "polling circuits") being Nova Scotia which abolished the practice of polling different districts on different days after excessive violence was reported in the 1843 election. [5]
The basic general requirement to vote across provinces was the requirement to be a male British subject 21 years of age or older. Voting was conducted in Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia through oral vote which required an eligible elector to declare their choice. [4] New Brunswick had adopted a form of secret ballot in 1855, [4] where electors write the name of a candidate on a piece of paper and deposit the vote in a ballot box. [2]
In all provinces, women and government employees including civil servants, judges, police and prosecutors were not permitted to vote. [2] Indigenous individuals who met property criteria were excluded from voting eligibility in most provinces if they received a benefit paid by the government. [2]
The Ontario elections laws were updated in 1866, with electors required to meet a property qualification of being an owner or tenant with a property value listed on the assessment roll of $600 in a city, $400 in a town, $300 in an incorporated village, and $100 in a township or police village. [6] [7] [2] [lower-alpha 3] Furthermore, urban residents must prove an annual income of at least $250. [8] An estimated 16.5 per cent of the population of Ontario was enfranchised for the 1867 election. [2] In Quebec, the property qualification for being an owner was $300 in urban areas and $200 in rural areas, and a tenant required a rent of $30 in an urban area or $20 in a rural area. [8] [9] Nova Scotia's election laws were passed in 1863, and had a property qualification for owners or tenants of $150, and enfranchised persons with $300 of personal property. [10] [8] [11] while New Brunswick had a property qualification for owners of $100 and an annual income of $400, but also gave the vote to anyone who owned real or personal property with a total value of $400 or more. [8] [12]
The number of members in each province in Confederation was set by the Constitution Act, 1867 on the principle of representation by population. [13] The Act provided Quebec a minimum of 65 seats and seat allotment for the remainder of the country was based by dividing the average population of Quebec's 65 electoral districts to determine the number of seats for other provinces. [14] The Act also specified that distribution and boundary reviews should occur after each 10 year census. [14]
The BNA Act established that there would be 181 MPs ("subject to provisions of this Act") - 82 from Ontario, 65 from Quebec, 19 from Nova Scotia, and 15 from New Brunswick. Each would be elected in a single-member district, except there would be two elected in Halifax. [15] Each voter cast one vote, except the Halifax voters who cast up to two votes (Plurality block voting). [16]
Party | Party leader | # of candidates | Elected | Popular vote | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
# | % | ||||||||
Conservative | Sir John A. Macdonald | 83 | 71 | 64,179 | 23.92% | ||||
Liberal-Conservative [lower-alpha 2] | 32 | 29 | 29,730 | 11.08% | |||||
Liberal | none (unofficially, George Brown) | 66 | 62 | 60,818 | 22.67% | ||||
Anti-Confederation [lower-alpha 4] | Joseph Howe | 20 | 18 | 21,239 | 7.92% | ||||
Independents | 1 | - | 1,756 | 0.65% | |||||
Independent Liberal | 1 | - | 1,048 | 0.39% | |||||
Unknown | 140 | - | 89,547 | 33.37% | |||||
Vacant - 1 | – | 0 | – | – | |||||
Total | 343 | 180 | 268,317 | 100% | |||||
Source: [17] | |||||||||
Acclamations
The following MPs were acclaimed:
Vacancy
The election in Kamouraska, Quebec, was cancelled due to rioting at the polling places. No member was elected for the riding until a by-election in 1869. [18]
Party name | Ontario | Quebec | NB | NS | Total | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Seats | 33 | 36 | 1 | 1 | 71 | |
Vote | 26.2% | 28.5% | 13.8% | 23.2% | |||
Liberal-Conservative | Seats | 16 | 11 | 2 | - | 29 | |
Vote | 12.5% | 12.3% | 11.1% | 3.5% | 11.1% | ||
Liberal | Seats | 33 | 17 | 12 | 62 | ||
Vote | 23.7% | 25.2% | 49.5% | 22.7% | |||
Anti-Confederation | Seats | 18 | 18 | ||||
Vote | 58.2% | 7.9% | |||||
Unknown | Seats | - | - | - | - | - | |
Vote | 35.6% | 34.1% | 39.3% | 23.06% | 34% | ||
Independent | Seats | - | - | ||||
Vote | 1.3% | 0.7% | |||||
Independent Liberal | Seats | - | - | ||||
Vote | 0.7% | 0.4% | |||||
Total seats | 82 | 64 | 15 | 19 | 180 |
Electoral District | Candidates | Incumbent | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winner | Runner up | Other | ||||||
Antigonish | Hugh McDonald (A Conf) 1,238 | William Alexander Henry (Cons.) 390 | William Alexander Henry & John McKinnon | |||||
Cape Breton | James McKeagney (A Conf.) Accl. | Thomas Caldwell & John George Bourinot | ||||||
Guysborough | Stewart Campbell (A Conf.) Accl. | William O. Heffernan & Stewart Campbell | ||||||
Inverness | Hugh Cameron (A Conf) 1,186 | Samuel McDonnell (Cons.) 601 | Hiram Blanchard, Peter Smyth & Samuel McDonnell | |||||
Pictou | James William Carmichael (A Conf) 2,011 | James McDonald (Cons.) 1,653 | James Fraser, James McDonald, Donald Fraser & Alexander MacKay | |||||
Richmond | William Joseph Croke (A Conf) 545 | Donovan 279 | Isaac LeVesconte & William Miller | |||||
Victoria | William Ross (A Conf.) Accl. | William Ross & Charles James Campbell |
Electoral District | Candidates | Incumbent | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winner | Runner up | Other | ||||||
Gloucester | Timothy Anglin (Lib) 1,061 | John Meahan 671 | Robert Young & John Meahan | |||||
Kent | Auguste Renaud (Lib) 876 | Lestock P. W. DesBrisay 757 | Owen McInerney 485 Robert Barry Cutler 4 | William Shand Caie & Owen McInerney | ||||
Northumberland | John Mercer Johnson (Lib) 1,226 | Thomas F. Gillespie 757 | John Mercer Johnson, Edward Williston, Richard Sutton, George Kerr | |||||
Restigouche | John McMillan (Lib) 370 | John Phillips 259 | John McMillan & Alexander C. DesBrisay | |||||
Victoria | John Costigan (Lib-Cons) 778 | William Blackwood Beveridge 549 | James Workman 16 James Tibbetts 0 | Benjamin Beveridge & Vital Hébert |
Electoral District | Candidates | Incumbent | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winner | Runner up | Other | ||||||
Bonaventure | Théodore Robitaille (Cons) 1,018 | M. Tremblay 444 | Théodore Robitaille (Bleu) | |||||
Dorchester | Hector Louis Langevin (Cons) acclaimed | Hector Louis Langevin (Bleu) | ||||||
Gaspé | Pierre-Étienne Fortin (Cons) acclaimed | John Le Boutillier (Bleu) | ||||||
Kamouraska | No election due to rioting | Jean-Charles Chapais (Bleu) | ||||||
Lévis | Joseph-Goderic Blanchet (Lib-Cons) acclaimed | Joseph-Goderic Blanchet (Bleu) | ||||||
L'Islet | Barthélemy Pouliot (Cons) 464 | Louis-Bonaventure Caron 40 | Louis-Bonaventure Caron (Rouge) | |||||
Montmagny | Joseph-Octave Beaubien (Cons) acclaimed | Joseph-Octave Beaubien (Bleu) | ||||||
Rimouski | George Sylvain (Cons) 1,152 | Augustin Michaud 697 | George Sylvain (Bleu) | |||||
Témiscouata | Charles Bertrand (Cons) acclaimed | Jean-Baptiste Pouliot (Rouge) |
Electoral District | Candidates | Incumbent | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winner | Runner up | Other | ||||||
Charlevoix | Simon-Xavier Cimon (Cons) 999 | Adolphe Gagnon 911 | Adolphe Gagnon (Rouge) | |||||
Chicoutimi—Saguenay | Pierre-Alexis Tremblay (Liberal) acclaimed | Pierre-Alexis Tremblay (Liberal) | ||||||
Montmorency | Joseph-Édouard Cauchon (Cons) acclaimed | Joseph-Édouard Cauchon (Bleu) | ||||||
Quebec County | Pierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau (Cons) acclaimed | François Évanturel (Liberal) | ||||||
Quebec East | Pierre-Gabriel Huot (Liberal) acclaimed | Pierre-Gabriel Huot (Rouge) | ||||||
Quebec West | Thomas McGreevy (Lib-Cons) acclaimed | Charles Joseph Alleyn (Cons) | ||||||
Quebec-Centre | Georges-Honoré Simard (Cons) 1,291 | P. Garneau 5 | Blanchet 2 | Isidore Thibaudeau (Rouge) |
Electoral District | Candidates | Incumbent | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winner | Runner up | Other | ||||||
Chambly | Pierre Basile Benoit (Cons) 691 | V. P. W. Dorion 526 | Charles Boucher de Boucherville (Bleu) | |||||
Iberville | François Béchard (Lib) 1,035 | Alexandre Dufresne 504 | Alexandre Dufresne (Rouge) | |||||
Richelieu | Thomas McCarthy (Cons) 777 | Joseph-Xavier Perrault 625 | P. Gélinas 450 | Joseph-Xavier Perrault (Rouge) | ||||
Rouville | Guillaume Cheval dit St-Jacques (Lib) 1,236 | Joseph-Napoléon Poulin 824 | Joseph-Napoléon Poulin (Bleu) | |||||
St. Hyacinthe | Alexandre-Édouard Kierzkowski (Lib) 1,107 | Rémi Raymond 929 | Rémi Raymond (Bleu) | |||||
St. John's | François Bourassa (Lib) 696 | Charles Laberge 600 | François Bourassa (Rouge) | |||||
Verchères | Félix Geoffrion (Lib) 831 | L. H. Massuee 740 | Félix Geoffrion (Rouge) |
Electoral District | Candidates | Incumbent | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winner | Runner up | Other | ||||||
Beauharnois | Michael Cayley (Cons) 724 | Paul Denis 691 | Paul Denis (Bleu) | |||||
Châteauguay | Luther Hamilton Holton (Lib) 1,013 | Thomas Kennedy Ramsay 586 | Luther Hamilton Holton (Rouge) | |||||
Huntingdon | John Rose (Lib-Cons) 1,280 | W. H. Kerr 468 | Robert Brown Somerville (Ind) | |||||
Laprairie | Alfred Pinsonneault (Cons) 750 | M. Normandeau 293 | Alfred Pinsonneault (Bleu) | |||||
Napierville | Sixte Coupal dit la Reine (Lib) 878 | M. Laviolette 344 | Sixte Coupal dit la Reine (Rouge) | |||||
Soulanges | Luc-Hyacinthe Masson (Cons) 729 | M. Guindon 470 | William Duckett (Cons) | |||||
Vaudreuil | Donald McMillan (Cons) acclaimed | Antoine Chartier de Lotbinière Harwood (Cons) |
Electoral District | Candidates | Incumbent | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winner | Runner up | Other | ||||||
Hochelaga | Antoine-Aimé Dorion (Lib) 1,312 | J. Lanouette 1,289 | Antoine-Aimé Dorion (Rouge) | |||||
Jacques Cartier | Guillaume Gamelin Gaucher (Cons) 659 | M. Brunet 542 | Guillaume Gamelin Gaucher (Bleu) | |||||
Laval | Joseph-Hyacinthe Bellerose (Cons) acclaimed | Joseph-Hyacinthe Bellerose (Bleu) | ||||||
Montreal Centre | Thomas Workman (Lib) acclaimed | John Rose (Cons) | ||||||
Montreal East | George-Étienne Cartier (Lib-Cons) 2,431 | M. Lanctot (Lib) 2,085 | George-Étienne Cartier (Bleu) | |||||
Montreal West | Thomas D'Arcy McGee (Lib-Cons) 2,675 | Bernard Devlin (Lib) 2,478 | Thomas D'Arcy McGee (Cons) |
Electoral District | Candidates | Incumbent | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winner | Runner up | Other | ||||||
Argenteuil | John Abbott (Lib-Cons) 693 | B. Hutchins 595 | John Abbott (Lib) | |||||
Ottawa (County of) | Alonzo Wright (Lib-Cons) acclaimed | Alonzo Wright (Cons) | ||||||
Pontiac | Edmund Heath (Cons) acclaimed | John Poupore (Bleu) | ||||||
Terrebonne | Louis-Rodrigue Masson (Cons) acclaimed | Louis Labrèche-Viger (Lib) | ||||||
Two Mountains | Jean-Baptiste Daoust (Cons) acclaimed | Jean-Baptiste Daoust (Reformer) |
Electoral District | Candidates | Incumbent | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winner | Runner up | Other | ||||||
Carleton | John Holmes (Lib-Cons) 1,087 | John Rochester (Cons) 1,006 | William Frederick Powell (Cons) | |||||
Lanark North | William McDougall (Lib-Cons) acclaimed | William McDougall (Reformer) | ||||||
Lanark South | Alexander Morris (Cons) acclaimed | Alexander Morris (Cons) | ||||||
Ottawa (City of) | Joseph Merrill Currier (Lib-Cons) 974 | Alexander Gibb 25 | Edward McGillivray 5 E. Martineau 1 Moss Kent Dickinson 0 Philip Thompson 0 | Joseph Merrill Currier (Cons) | ||||
Prescott | Albert Hagar (Lib) 1,205 | Thomas Higginson 130 | Thomas Higginson (Cons) | |||||
Renfrew North | John Rankin (Cons) 613 | Thomas Murray 527 | Robert McIntyre (Reformer) Renfrew | |||||
Renfrew South | Daniel McLachlin (Lib) acclaimed | |||||||
Russell | James Alexander Grant (Cons) 1,293 | Robert Bell 695 | Robert Bell (Cons) |
Electoral District | Candidates | Incumbent | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winner | Runner up | Other | ||||||
Hastings East | Robert Read (Cons) 1,110 | J. J. Farley 457 | New district | |||||
Hastings North | Mackenzie Bowell (Cons) 928 | Thomas Campbell Wallbridge 636 | McLean 1 | Thomas Campbell Wallbridge (Reformer) | ||||
Hastings West | James Brown (Cons) 773 | Holden 313 | Lewis Wallbridge (Reformer) South Hastings | |||||
Northumberland East | Joseph Keeler (Lib-Cons) 1,607 | Kenneth McKenzie 827 | Meyers 0 | James Lyons Biggar (Reformer) | ||||
Northumberland West | James Cockburn (Cons) acclaimed | James Cockburn (Lib-Cons) | ||||||
Peterborough East | Peregrine Maitland Grover (Cons) 956 | James Anderson 644 | Frederick W. Haultain (Cons) Peterborough | |||||
Peterborough West | Charles Perry (Cons) 681 | J. Gordon 652 | ||||||
Prince Edward | Walter Ross (Lib) 1,779 | James Simeon McCuaig (Cons) 942 | Walter Ross (Reformer) | |||||
Victoria North | John Morison (Lib) 687 | Hector Cameron 403 | James Dunsford (Reformer) Victoria | |||||
Victoria South | George Kempt (Lib) 1,001 | Hector Cameron 801 |
Electoral District | Candidates | Incumbent | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winner | Runner up | Other | ||||||
Algoma | Wemyss Mackenzie Simpson (Cons.) 250 | William Beatty 241 | A. MacDonell 38 | New district | ||||
Bruce North | Alexander Sproat (Cons) 862 | R. Douglas 852 | New district | |||||
Bruce South | Francis Hurdon (Cons) 1,777 | W. Rastall 1,624 | Hall 5 | New district | ||||
Cardwell | Thomas Roberts Ferguson (Cons) 1,155 | Philips 1,078 | New district | |||||
Grey North | George Snider (Lib) 1,399 | D'Arcy Boulton 1,143 | George Jackson (Cons) Grey | |||||
Grey South | George Jackson (Cons) 1,560 | R. Dalgleish 1,547 | ||||||
Simcoe North | Thomas David McConkey (Lib) Acclaimed | Thomas David McConkey (Reformer) | ||||||
Simcoe South | William Carruthers Little (Lib-Cons) 1,411 | Thomas Saunders 1,055 | Thomas Roberts Ferguson (Cons) |
Electoral District | Candidates | Incumbent | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winner | Runner up | Other | ||||||
Huron North | Joseph Whitehead (Lib) 1,940 | J. Holmes 1,318 | Sloan 675 | James Dickson (Reform) Huron & Bruce | ||||
Huron South | Malcolm Colin Cameron (Lib) 1,624 | G. H. Ritchie 1,453 | D. L. Sills 1 | |||||
Oxford North | Thomas Oliver (Lib) Acclaimed | Thomas Oliver (Reformer) | ||||||
Oxford South | Ebenezer Vining Bodwell (Lib) Acclaimed | George Brown (Reformer) | ||||||
Perth North | James Redford (Lib) 1,515 | Thomas Mayne Daly Sr. (Lib-Cons) 1,307 | Robert MacFarlane (Reform) Perth | |||||
Perth South | Robert MacFarlane (Lib) 1,490 | T. B. Guest 1,393 | ||||||
Waterloo North | Isaac Erb Bowman (Lib) Acclaimed | Isaac Erb Bowman (Reformer) | ||||||
Waterloo South | James Young (Lib) 1,324 | James Cowan 958 | James Cowan (Reformer) | |||||
Wellington Centre | Thomas Sutherland Parker (Lib) Acclaimed | Thomas Sutherland Parker (Reform) North Wellington | ||||||
Wellington North | George Alexander Drew (Lib-Cons) 1,493 | Michael Hamilton Foley 1,271 | ||||||
Wellington South | David Stirton (Lib) 963 | F. W. Stone 652 | David Stirton (Reformer) |
Electoral District | Candidates | Incumbent | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winner | Runner up | Other | ||||||
Bothwell | David Mills (Lib) 1,333 | David Glass (Cons) 1,224 | New district | |||||
Elgin East | Thomas William Dobbie (Cons) 1,492 | Leonidas Burwell 1,382 | Leonidas Burwell (Reformer) | |||||
Elgin West | John H. Munroe (Cons) 970 | C. McDougall 766 | John Scoble (Reformer) | |||||
Essex | John O'Connor (Cons) 1,439 | Arthur Rankin 1,432 | Arthur Rankin (Reformer) | |||||
Kent | Rufus Stephenson (Cons) 1,524 | Archibald McKellar 1,427 | Archibald McKellar (Reformer) | |||||
Lambton | Alexander Mackenzie (Lib) 1,999 | Alexander Vidal (Cons) 1,311 | Alexander Mackenzie (Reformer) | |||||
London | John Carling (Lib-Cons) 1,114 | James Peacock 266 | John Carling (Lib-Cons) | |||||
Middlesex East | Crowell Willson (Lib-Cons) 1,896 | D. McFie 1,756 | Crowell Willson (Reformer) | |||||
Middlesex North | Thomas Scatcherd (Lib) 1,605 | Watson 874 | Thomas Scatcherd (Reformer) West Middlesex | |||||
Middlesex West | Angus Peter McDonald (Cons) 1,063 | G. Billington 1,044 |
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