1869 Newfoundland general election

1869 Newfoundland general election

←  1865 November 13, 1869 1873  →
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30 seats of the Newfoundland House of Assembly 16 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   Leader Charles Fox Bennett Frederick Carter Party Anti-Confederation Conservative Leader since 1869 1865 Leader's seat Placentia and St. Mary's [a] Burin Last election 8 [b] 22 Seats won 21 [c] 9 Seat change 13 13 Popular vote 11,289 [d] 2,688 [d] Percentage 80.77% 19.23% Swing 36.19% [e] 36.19% [e]
Premier before election Frederick Carter Conservative Premier after election Charles Fox Bennett Anti-Confederation

The 1869 Newfoundland general election was held on November 13, 1869 to elect members of the 10th General Assembly of Newfoundland in the Newfoundland Colony. The Anti-Confederates led by Charles Fox Bennett formed the government.

The election was dominated by the issue of Newfoundland's potential union with the new Dominion of Canada. The incumbent Conservative coalition administration, led by Frederick Carter, supported Confederation. Terms of union were drafted by local confederates and they were passed after much debate within the Newfoundland House of Assembly. When the terms were ratified by the Canadian Parliament, Carter thought it best to put the decisive issue to a vote through a general election. Those opposed to Newfoundland's union with Canada coalesced under Bennett, a St. John's merchant who argued that Confederation would bring about increased taxation.

The Anti-Confederate campaign was vigorous and hard-fought. Bennett conducted a colony-wide tour across many outport communities, alleging that Newfoundlanders would be drafted into the Canadian Army if they voted for the incumbent government. By contrast, the Conservative opposition was unprepared to deal with the campaign, countering that Bennett was primarily concerned in protecting his personal interests rather than the well-being of the public. With the decisive Anti-Confederate victory, the Conservatives thereafter abandoned the issue of Confederation, and the debate was settled for the moment.

Results

	Party	Leader	1865	Candidates	Seats won	Seat change	% of seats (% change)	Popular vote [d]	% of vote (% change)
	Anti-Confederation	Charles Fox Bennett	8 [f]	28	21 [c]	13	70.00% (43.33%)	11,289	80.77% (36.19%)
	Conservative (Confederation)	Frederick Carter	22	20	9	13	30.00% (43.33%)	2,688	19.23% (36.19%)
Totals			30	48	30		100%	13,977 [g]	100%

Results by district

• Names in boldface type represent party leaders.
• † indicates that the incumbent did not run again.
• ‡ indicates that the incumbent ran in a different district.

St. John's

Electoral district	Candidates				Incumbent
	Anti-Confederation		Conservative (historical)
St. John's East		William Walsh 1,327 30.42%		W. T. Parsons 412 9.45%		John Kavanagh†
		James Jordan 1,325 30.38%				John Kent†
		Robert Parsons Sr. 1,298 29.76%				Robert Parsons Sr.
St. John's West		Peter Brennan Won by acclamation				Peter Brennan
		Thomas Talbot Won by acclamation				Thomas Talbot
		Henry Renouf [h] Won by acclamation				Henry Renouf

Conception Bay

Electoral district	Candidates				Incumbent
	Anti-Confederation		Conservative (historical)
Bay de Verde		Robert Reader At least 29 votes [1]		John Bemister Majority of 400 votes [2]		John Bemister
Carbonear [i]		Francis Taylor		John Rorke		John Rorke
Harbour Grace [i]		James Prendergast		John Munn		Vacant [j]
		Robert Dawe [3]		William Green		William Green
Harbour Main		Joseph Little Won by acclamation				Vacant [k]
		John Kennedy Won by acclamation				Charles Furey†
Port de Grave		James Woods 733 87.89%		Robert Pinsent 101 12.11%		Robert Pinsent

Avalon Peninsula

Electoral district	Candidates				Incumbent
	Anti-Confederation		Conservative (historical)
Ferryland		Thomas Glen Won by acclamation				Thomas Glen
		Thomas Battcock Won by acclamation				Michael Kearney†
Placentia and St. Mary's		Charles Fox Bennett 882 30.34%		Thomas O'Reilly 103 3.54%		Ambrose Shea
		Henry Renouf 872 30.00%		Ambrose Shea 100 3.44%		Pierce Barron
		Robert Parsons Jr. 860 29.58%		Pierce Barron 90 3.10%		Thomas O'Reilly

Eastern and Central Newfoundland

Electoral district	Candidates				Incumbent
	Anti-Confederation		Conservative (historical)
Bonavista Bay		James Noonan 697 19.39%		John Warren 539 14.99%		John Warren
		Francis Winton 657 18.28%		John Burton 537 14.94%		John Burton
		William Barnes 650 18.08%		Michael Carroll 515 14.33%		John Oakley†
Trinity Bay [i]		Robert Alsop		Stephen Rendell		Stephen Rendell
		Stephen March		Thomas H. Ridley		Robert Alsop
				Ellis Watson		Frederick Wyatt†
Twillingate and Fogo		Smith McKay 1,063 44.68%		William Whiteway 208 8.74%		William Whiteway
		Charles Duder 1,025 43.09%		Thomas Knight 83 3.49%		Thomas Knight

Southern Newfoundland

Electoral district	Candidates				Incumbent
	Anti-Confederation		Conservative (historical)
Burgeo and LaPoile				Prescott Emerson Won by acclamation		D. W. Prowse†
Burin [l]		Henry LeMessurier [4]		Frederick Carter Majority of 2 or 3 votes		Frederick Carter
		John Woods [4]		Edward Evans Majority of 2 or 3 votes		Edward Evans
Fortune Bay		Thomas Bennett Won by acclamation				Thomas Bennett

Notes

1. Not the incumbent, but stood in this district and won.
2. As the Opposition Party
3. This figure includes Henry Renouf's double election in the districts of Placentia and St. Mary's and St. John's West.
4. Note that this does not include the vote totals for the districts of Bay de Verde, Burin, Carbonear, Harbour Grace, and Trinity Bay, as the full results of those contests are not available.
5. Based on incomplete figures from the previous election
6. As the Opposition Party
7. Given that the majorities are known for the districts of Bay de Verde and Burin, it is evident that at least 14,414 votes were cast in this election.
8. As Renouf had also been elected in the district of Placentia and St. Mary's, he chose to resign his seat in St. John's West, triggering a by-election.
9. Returns are not available for this district.
10. John Hayward had been elected in 1865, but he resigned his office on August 7, 1868 to accept an appointment as an assistant judge in the Supreme Court of Newfoundland.
11. George Hogsett had been elected in 1865, but he died while in office on June 15, 1869.
12. Carter and Evans were initially declared the victors, but the results were challenged by LeMessurier and Woods. They charged that five voters from Frenchman's Cove had voted for Carter and Evans by proxy before changing their minds at the polling booth and declaring themselves for LeMessurier and Woods. These verbal votes were accepted by the returning officer at first, but they were later rejected, and Carter and Evans were returned for the district.

References

1. "Responding to the Courier". Newfoundland Express. November 30, 1869. Retrieved June 8, 2025.
2. "Responding to the Courier". Newfoundland Express. November 20, 1869. Retrieved June 8, 2025.
3. "Nomination Day". Morning Courier. November 10, 1869. Retrieved June 8, 2025.
4. "The Burin Election". Newfoundland Express. November 23, 1869. Retrieved June 8, 2025.

Further reading

• Blake, Raymond B. “Newfoundland and Canada: Confederation and the Search for Stability.” in Reconsidering Confederation: Canada’s Founding Debates, 1864-1999, edited by Daniel Heidt, (U of Calgary Press, 2018), pp. 237–62. online

• Blake, Raymond B., and Melvin Baker, Where Once They Stood: Newfoundland's Rocky Road to Confederation (U of Regina Press, 2019) ch. 1.
• Cadigan, Sean. Newfoundland and Labrador: A History (2009) pp. 131–136.

• Hiller, James K. (1997). "The Confederation Election of 1869". Heritage Newfoundland and Labrador. Retrieved June 8, 2025.

• Killer, James. “Confederation Defeated: The Newfoundland Election of 1869.” in Newfoundland in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries: Essays in Interpretation, edited by James Killer and Peter Neary, (University of Toronto Press, 1980, pp). 67–94 online

• Mayo, H. B. “Newfoundland and Confederation in the Eighteen-Sixties,” Canadian Historical Review 29#2 (1948): 125–42. online

• Riggs, Bert (1981). "General Election #10: November 13, 1869". Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, volume 1. St. John's: Harry Cuff Publications Ltd. Retrieved June 8, 2025.

• "The Debate: Confederation Rejected, 1864–1869" Heritage Newfoundland & Labrador (1997) online with attached video