1871 Ontario general election

1871 Ontario general election

←  1867 March 21, 1871 1875  →
←  outgoing members
82 seats in the 2nd Legislative Assembly of Ontario 42 seats were needed for a majority
First party Second party   Leader Edward Blake John Sandfield Macdonald Party Liberal Conservative Leader's seat Bruce South Cornwall Last election 41 41 Seats won 43 38 Seat change 2 3
Premier before election John Sandfield Macdonald Conservative Premier after election Edward Blake Liberal

The 1871 Ontario general election was the second general election held in the Province of Ontario, Canada. It was held on March 21, 1871, to elect the 82 Members of the 2nd Legislative Assembly of Ontario ("MLAs"). ^[1]

The Ontario Liberal Party, led by Edward Blake, won a slim majority of the seats, and formed the government.

The Ontario Conservative Party, led by John Sandfield Macdonald, served as the official opposition.

Electoral reforms

Earlier in 1871, the Legislative Assembly passed an Act to give the courts jurisdiction to rule on petitions dealing with corrupt practices in elections. ^[2]

In 1872, the Parliament of Canada passed an Act to compel MPs who were also members of a provincial legislature to resign such seats if they wished to stand again in a federal election. ^[3] Five MLAs in the 1871 election were thus obliged to leave the Legislative Assembly in order to stand in federal ridings in 1872.

Results

^[4]

Elections to the 2nd Parliament of Ontario (1871)

Political party		Party leader	MLAs				Votes
			Candidates	1867	1871	±	#	±	%	± (pp)
	Liberal		76	41	43	2	68,366	9,323	52.30%	3.54
	Conservative		73	41	38	3	59,926	20,185	45.85%	4.44
	Conservative-Liberal		1	–	1	1	1,116	1,116	0.85%	New
	Independent		9	–	–	–	1,303	220	1.00%	0.04
Total			159	82	88		130,711		100.00%
Voter turnout							130,711	28,612	62.93	10.93
Registered electors							207,717	8,005
Acclamations			█  Liberal		7
			█  Conservative		8
Other candidates receiving nil votes [a 1]			█  Independent		2

1. one in Halton, and another in Peel

Seats and popular vote by party

Party	Seats	Votes	Change (pp)
█  Liberal	43 / 88	52.30%	3.54		3.54
█  Conservative	38 / 88	45.85%	-4.44
█ Other	1 / 88	1.85%	0.90		0.9

Synopsis of results

Results by riding - 1871 Ontario general election ^[4]

Riding	Winning party								Turnout	Votes
Name [a 1]	1867		Party		Votes	Share	Margin #	Margin %		Lib	Con	CL	Ind	Total
Addington		Con		Lib	809	50.82%	26	1.63%	59.31%	809	783	–	–	1,592
Algoma		Con		Con	acclaimed
Bothwell		Lib		Lib	1,304	55.02%	238	10.04%	72.17%	1,304	1,066	–	–	2,370
Brant North		Lib		Lib	740	60.26%	252	20.52%	60.73%	740	488	–	–	1,228
Brant South		Con		Con	1,172	52.70%	120	5.40%	66.55%	1,052	1,172	–	–	2,224
Brockville and Elizabethtown		Con		Con	620	50.28%	7	0.57%	66.33%	613	620	–	–	1,233
Bruce North		Lib		Lib	acclaimed
Bruce South		Lib		Lib	2,082	55.21%	393	10.42%	79.79%	2,082 [a 2]	1,689	–	–	3,771
Cardwell		Con		CL	1,116	63.16%	465	26.32%	67.14%	651	–	1,116	–	1,767
Carleton		Lib		Con	822	50.31%	10	0.61%	63.46%	812	822	–	–	1,634
Cornwall		Con		Con	acclaimed
Dundas		Lib		Lib	1,216	56.09%	264	12.18%	76.28%	1,216	952	–	–	2,168
Durham East		Con		Con	acclaimed
Durham West		Lib		Lib	acclaimed [a 2]
Elgin East		Con		Lib	1,442	53.11%	169	6.22%	63.82%	1,442	1,273	–	–	2,715
Elgin West		Con		Lib	969	55.69%	198	11.38%	76.55%	969	771	–	–	1,740
Essex		Con		Lib	1,204	51.23%	418	17.79%	50.95%	1,204	786	–	360	2,350
Frontenac		Con		Con	acclaimed
Glengarry		Con		Con	962	52.89%	105	5.77%	72.30%	857	962	–	–	1,819
Grenville South		Con		Con	797	51.22%	38	2.44%	76.42%	759	797	–	–	1,556
Grey North		Con		Con	1,339	58.42%	386	16.84%	50.22%	953	1,339	–	–	2,292
Grey South		Con		Con	1,625	59.92%	538	19.84%	61.83%	1,087	1,625	–	–	2,712
Haldimand		Lib		Lib	1,212	60.78%	430	21.56%	59.90%	1,212	782	–	–	1,994
Halton		Lib		Lib	1,194	55.98%	255	11.95%	57.51%	1,194	939	–	–	2,133
Hamilton		Lib		Lib	1,294	54.23%	202	8.47%	60.54%	1,294	1,092	–	–	2,386
Hastings East		Con		Con	186	88.57%	162	77.14%	10.10%	24	186	–	–	210
Hastings North		Con		Con	604	86.04%	506	72.08%	41.29%	98	604	–	–	702
Hastings West		Con		Con	acclaimed
Huron North		Con		Lib	2,259	55.86%	474	11.72%	68.67%	2,259	1,785	–	–	4,044
Huron South		Lib		Lib	1,561	53.55%	207	7.10%	71.64%	1,561	1,354	–	–	2,915
Kent		Lib		Lib	1,382	53.55%	183	7.09%	61.15%	1,382	1,199	–	–	2,581
Kingston		Con		Con	607	50.04%	21	1.73%	58.21%	586	607	–	20	1,213
Lambton		Lib		Lib	acclaimed
Lanark North		Lib		Lib	acclaimed
Lanark South		Con		Con	816	42.88%	150	7.88%	66.10%	666	816	–	421	1,903
Leeds North and Grenville North		Lib		Con	723	61.01%	261	22.03%	52.71%	462	723	–	–	1,185
Leeds South		Con		Con	acclaimed
Lennox		Con		Con	1,183	56.41%	269	12.83%	62.95%	–	2,097 [a 3]	–	–	2,097
Lincoln		Con		Con	acclaimed
London		Con		Con	985	63.84%	427	27.67%	57.06%	558	985	–	–	1,543
Middlesex East		Lib		Con	1,622	51.41%	89	2.82%	74.92%	1,533	1,622	–	–	3,155
Middlesex North		Lib		Lib	1,286	56.58%	299	13.15%	69.34%	1,286	987	–	–	2,273
Middlesex West		Con		Lib	1,362	58.81%	408	17.62%	77.17%	1,362	954	–	–	2,316
Monck		Con		Con	931	50.13%	5	0.27%	66.35%	926	931	–	–	1,857
Niagara		Con		Con	277	62.25%	109	24.49%	56.98%	168	277	–	–	445
Norfolk North		Con		Lib	1,122	56.78%	268	13.56%	74.43%	1,122	854 [a 4]	–	–	1,976
Norfolk South		Lib		Lib	1,009	53.30%	125	6.60%	71.73%	1,009	884 [a 4]	–	–	1,893
Northumberland East		Lib		Lib	694	37.70%	30	1.63%	53.22%	694	664	–	483	1,841
Northumberland West		Lib		Lib	1,013	50.90%	36	1.81%	67.48%	1,013	977	–	–	1,990
Ontario North		Lib		Lib	1,279	73.80%	833	48.07%	44.11%	1,279	446	–	–	1,733
Ontario South		Lib		Lib	1,180	52.17%	98	4.33%	65.81%	1,180	1,082	–	–	2,262
Ottawa		Lib		Lib	574	76.33%	396	52.66%	27.68%	574	178	–	–	752
Oxford North		Lib		Lib	acclaimed
Oxford South		Lib		Lib	1,430	57.78%	385	15.56%	65.86%	1,430	1,045	–	–	2,475
Peel		Con		Con	1,118	51.36%	59	2.71%	75.91%	1,059	1,118	–	–	2,177
Perth North		Con		Con	1,630	57.88%	444	15.77%	68.20%	1,186	1,630	–	–	2,816
Perth South		Lib		Con	1,302	50.60%	31	1.20%	71.99%	1,271	1,302	–	–	2,573
Peterborough East		Con		Con	779	61.68%	299	23.67%	60.55%	480	779	–	4	1,263
Peterborough West		Con		Lib	648	52.13%	53	4.26%	69.91%	648	595	–	–	1,243
Prescott		Lib		Con	853	54.26%	134	8.52%	75.61%	719	853	–	–	1,572
Prince Edward		Lib		Lib	1,522	52.23%	130	4.46%	78.19%	1,522	1,392 [a 5]	–	–	2,914
Renfrew North		Con		Con	640	56.74%	152	13.48%	74.31%	488	640	–	–	1,128
Renfrew South		Lib		Con	448	63.46%	190	26.91%	59.88%	258	448	–	–	706
Russell		Con		Con	773	51.29%	46	3.05%	56.15%	727	773	–	7	1,507
Simcoe North		Lib		Con	1,354	44.39%	313	10.26%	69.41%	1,696 [a 6]	1,354	–	–	3,050
Simcoe South		Con		Con	acclaimed
Stormont		Con		Con	705	50.18%	5	0.36%	74.34%	700	705	–	–	1,405
Toronto East		Con		Con	1,232	52.56%	120	5.12%	52.26%	1,112	1,232	–	–	2,344
Toronto West		Con		Lib	1,487	53.05%	171	6.10%	51.84%	1,487	1,316	–	–	2,803
Victoria North		Lib		Con	518	54.76%	90	9.51%	61.55%	428	518	–	–	946
Victoria South		Lib		Lib	1,046	60.05%	350	20.09%	59.97%	1,742 [a 7]	–	–	–	1,742
Waterloo North		Lib		Lib	acclaimed
Waterloo South		Lib		Lib	1,215	60.27%	414	20.54%	69.42%	1,215	801	–	–	2,016
Welland		Lib		Lib	1,182	53.12%	139	6.25%	61.08%	2,225 [a 8]	–	–	–	2,225
Wellington Centre		Con		Lib	1,465	64.94%	674	29.88%	58.89%	1,465	791	–	–	2,256
Wellington North		Lib		Lib	1,531	63.53%	652	27.05%	59.40%	1,531	879	–	–	2,410
Wellington South		Lib		Lib	acclaimed
Wentworth North		Lib		Lib	1,071	57.24%	271	14.48%	70.95%	1,071	800	–	–	1,871
Wentworth South		Lib		Lib	957	66.97%	485	33.94%	56.08%	957	472	–	–	1,429
York East		Lib		Lib	791	70.19%	455	40.37%	36.52%	791	336	–	–	1,127
York North		Lib		Con	1,306	50.10%	5	0.19%	66.64%	1,301	1,306	–	–	2,607
York West		Con		Lib	865	56.32%	194	12.63%	62.54%	865	671	–	–	1,536

1. order is as given in EO reports
2. Edward Blake was elected in two ridings.
3. the incumbent John Stevenson received 914 votes
4. James Wilson (incumbent in Norfolk North) campaigned and lost in two ridings
5. William Anderson had been elected as a Liberal in an 1870 byelection
6. the incumbent William Lount received 655 votes
7. the incumbent Thomas Matchett received 696 votes
8. the incumbent William Beatty received 1,043 votes

  = open seat

  = turnout is above provincial average

  = winning candidate was in previous Legislature

  = incumbent had switched allegiance

  = previously incumbent in another riding

  = not incumbent; was previously elected to the Legislature

  = incumbency arose from byelection gain

  = other incumbents renominated

  = previously an MP in the House of Commons of Canada

  = multiple candidates

Analysis

Party candidates in 2nd place ^[4]

Party in 1st place		Party in 2nd place			Total
		Accl	Lib	Con
	Liberal	7	2	34	43
	Conservative	8	29	1	38
	Conservative-Liberal		1		1
Total		15	32	35	82

Candidates ranked 1st to 3rd place, by party ^[4]

Parties	Accl	1st	2nd	3rd
█  Liberal	7	36	32	1
█  Conservative	8	30	35
█ Conservative-Liberal		1
█  Independent				7

Resulting composition of the 2nd Legislative Assembly of Ontario ^[4]

Source		Party
		Lib	Con	CL	Total
Seats retained	Incumbents returned	19	16		35
	Returned by acclamation	7	8		15
	Open seats held		3		3
	Ouster of incumbents changing allegiance	4			4
	Defeat of incumbent by same-party candidate	2	1		3
	Byelection loss reversed		1		1
Seats changing hands	Incumbents defeated	8	7		15
	Open seats gained	3	2	1	6
Total		43	38	1	82

MLAs elected by region and riding

Party designations are as follows:

  Liberal

  Conservative

  Conservative-Liberal

Northern Ontario    Algoma : Frederick William Cumberland Ottawa Valley    Carleton : George William Monk [lower-alpha 1]    Lanark North : Daniel Galbraith    Lanark South : Abraham Code    Ottawa : Richard William Scott    Prescott : George Wellesley Hamilton [lower-alpha 2]    Renfrew North : Thomas Deacon    Renfrew South : Eric Harrington    Russell : William Craig Saint Lawrence Valley    Brockville and Elizabethtown : William Fitzsimmons    Cornwall : John Sandfield MacDonald    Dundas : Simon S. Cook    Glengarry : James Craig    Grenville South : Mcneil Clarke    Kingston : William Robinson    Leeds North and Grenville North : Henry Merrick    Leeds South : Herbert Stone MacDonald    Stormont : William Colquhoun [lower-alpha 3] Central Ontario    Addington : Hammel Madden Deroche    Durham East : Arthur Trefusis Heneage Williams    Durham West : Edward Blake [lower-alpha 4]    Frontenac : Delino Dexter Calvin    Hastings East : Henry Corby    Hastings North : George Henry Boulter    Hastings West : Ketchum Graham    Lennox : John Thomas Grange    Northumberland East : William Wilson Webb    Northumberland West : Alexander Fraser    Peterborough East : George Read    Peterborough West : Thomas McCulloch Fairbairn    Prince Edward : Gideon Striker [lower-alpha 5]    Victoria North : Duncan McRae    Victoria South : Samuel Casey Wood

Georgian Bay    Bruce North : Donald Sinclair    Grey North : Thomas Scott    Simcoe North : William Davis Ardagh [lower-alpha 6]    Simcoe South : Thomas Roberts Ferguson Wentworth/Halton/Niagara    Halton : William Barber    Hamilton : James Miller Williams    Lincoln : John Charles Rykert    Monck : Lachlin McCallum    Niagara : Stephen Richards    Welland : James George Currie    Wentworth North : Robert Christie    Wentworth South : William Sexton Midwestern Ontario    Brant North : Hugh Finlayson    Brant South : Edmund Burke Wood    Bruce South : Edward Blake    Grey South : Abram William Lauder [lower-alpha 7]    Haldimand : Jacob Baxter    Huron North : Thomas Gibson    Huron South : Robert Gibbons    Norfolk North : John Fitzgerald Clarke    Norfolk South : Simpson McCall    Oxford North : George Perry    Oxford South : Adam Oliver    Perth North : Andrew Monteith    Perth South : Thomas B. Guest    Waterloo North : Moses Springer    Waterloo South : Isaac Clemens    Wellington Centre : Charles Clarke    Wellington North : Robert McKim    Wellington South : Peter Gow

Southwestern Ontario    Bothwell : Archibald McKellar    Elgin East : John Henry Wilson    Elgin West : Thomas Hodgins    Essex : Albert Prince    Kent : James Dawson    Lambton : Timothy Blair Pardee    London : John Carling    Middlesex East : Richard Tooley    Middlesex North : James Sinclair Smith    Middlesex West : Alexander Mackenzie Peel/York/Ontario    Cardwell : George McManus    Ontario North : Thomas Paxton    Ontario South : Charles Godfrey    Peel : John Coyne    Toronto East : Matthew Crooks Cameron    Toronto West : Adam Crooks    York East : Hugh Powell Crosby    York North : Alfred Boultbee    York West : Peter Patterson

Later resignations on campaigning at the federal level

Resignation				New incoming MLA
District	Outgoing MLA		Elected as MP	Winner
1872 federal election
Bruce South		Edward Blake	Y		Rupert Mearse Wells
London		John Carling	Y		William Ralph Meredith
Middlesex West		Alexander Mackenzie	Y [a 1]		John Watterworth
Monck		Lachlin McCallum	N		Henry Ryan Haney
1873 federal byelection (Durham West)
Brant South		Edmund Burke Wood	Y		Arthur Sturgis Hardy
1874 federal election
Wellington North		Robert McKim	N [a 2]		George Turner Orton

1. elected in Lambton
2. campaigned in Wellington Centre

See also

• Politics of Ontario
• List of Ontario political parties
• Premier of Ontario
• Leader of the Opposition (Ontario)

Notes and references

Notes

1. Election declared void because of corrupt practices. Writ for new election issued. ^[5] Monk was returned in the subsequent byelection.
2. Election declared void because of corrupt practices. Writ for new election issued. ^[5] Hamilton was returned in the subsequent byelection.
3. Election declared void because of corrupt practices. Writ for new election issued. ^[5] James Bethune (Liberal) won the subsequent byelection.
4. Declined the seat in favour of sitting for Bruce South ^[5] John McLeod (Liberal) won the subsequent byelection.
5. Election declared void because of corrupt practices. Writ for new election issued. ^[5] James Simeon McCuaig (Conservative) won the subsequent byelection.
6. Election declared void because of corrupt practices. Writ for new election issued. ^[5] Ardagh was returned in the subsequent byelection.
7. Election declared void because of corrupt practices. Writ for new election issued. ^[5] Lauder was returned in the subsequent byelection.

References

1. "1871 General Election". Elections Ontario. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
2. The Controverted Elections Act of 1871 , S.O. 1870-71, c. 3
3. An Act to compel Members of a Local Legislature in any Province where dual representation is not allowed, to resign their Seats before becoming Candidates in any Seats in the Dominion Parliament , S.C. 1872, c. 15
4. "1871 general election results". Elections Ontario . Retrieved November 11, 2023.
5. Journals of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario. Toronto: Legislative Assembly of Ontario. 1872. pp. 5–15.