1883 Ontario general election

1883 Ontario general election

←  1879 February 27, 1883 1886  →
←  outgoing members
88 seats in the 5th Legislative Assembly of Ontario 45 seats were needed for a majority
First party Second party   Leader Oliver Mowat William Ralph Meredith Party Liberal Conservative Leader since 1872 1879 Leader's seat Oxford North London Last election 57 29 Seats won 48 37 Seat change 9 8
Premier before election Oliver Mowat Liberal Premier after election Oliver Mowat Liberal

The 1883 Ontario general election was the fifth general election held in the province of Ontario, Canada, to elect the 88 Members of the 5th Legislative Assembly of Ontario ("MLAs"). ^[1] Held on February 27, 1883, the fifth Ontario provincial election was until 2025 the only one ever contested in the month of February. ^[2]

The Ontario Liberal Party, led by Oliver Mowat, won a fourth consecutive term in government, despite losing nine seats in the Legislature.

The Ontario Conservative Party, led by William Ralph Meredith, won eight additional seats.

Results

^[1]

Elections to the 5th Parliament of Ontario (1883)

Political party		Party leader	MNAs				Votes
			Candidates	1879	1883	±	#	±	%	± (pp)
	Liberal	Oliver Mowat	87	57	48	9	125,017	5,869	48.20%	0.13
	Conservative	William Ralph Meredith	80	29	37	8	120,853	2,340	46.59%	1.23
	Independent Liberal		3	–	2	2	3,239	3,239	1.25%	New
	Independent		8	–	1	1	3,956	3,071	1.53%	1.73
	Independent Conservative		4	2	–	2	2,354	243	0.91%	0.06
	Labour		3	–	–	–	3,957	3,957	1.53%	New
Total			185	88	88		259,376		100.00%
Rejected ballots							1,722	1,722
Voter turnout							261,098	13,241	67.95	4.73
Registered electors							384,255	7,830
Acclamations			█  Liberal		4
			█  Conservative		1

Seats and popular vote by party

Party	Seats	Votes	Change (pp)
█  Liberal	48 / 88	48.20%	0.13		0.13
█  Conservative	37 / 88	46.59%	-1.23
█ Independent Liberal	2 / 88	1.25%	1.25		1.25
█  Independent	1 / 88	1.53%	-1.73
█ Independent Conservative	0 / 88	0.91%	0.06		0.06
█  Labour	0 / 88	1.53%	1.53		1.53

Synopsis of results

Results by riding - 1879 Ontario general election ^[1]

Riding	Winning party								Turnout	Votes
Name [a 1]	1879		Party		Votes	Share	Margin #	Margin %		Lib	Con	Lab	I-Lib	I-Con	Ind	Total
Addington		Lib		Con	1,739	52.78%	183	5.55%	76.31%	1,556	1,739	–	–	–	–	3,295
Algoma		Lib		Lib	1,625	51.82%	114	3.64%	n/a	1,625	1,511	–	–	–	–	3,136
Brant North		Lib		Lib	acclaimed
Brant South		Lib		Lib	1,563	60.89%	559	21.78%	54.74%	1,563	1,004	–	–	–	–	2,567
Brockville		Lib		Lib	1,516	56.40%	344	12.80%	61.63%	1,516	–	–	–	1,172	–	2,688
Bruce North		Lib		I-Lib	1,186	52.66%	120	5.33%	44.23%	1,066	–	–	1,186	0	–	2,252
Bruce South		Lib		Lib	acclaimed
Cardwell		Lib		Con	1,500	50.68%	40	1.35%	80.17%	1,460	1,500	–	–	–	–	2,960
Carleton		Con		Con	1,302	55.86%	820	35.18%	51.72%	237	1,784 [a 2]	–	–	–	310	2,331
Cornwall		Lib		Con	710	51.49%	41	2.97%	70.33%	669	710	–	–	–	–	1,379
Dufferin		Con		Con	1,051	47.13%	369	16.55%	50.18%	–	1,051	–	–	1,179 [a 3]	–	2,230
Dundas		Con		Con	1,798	52.21%	152	4.41%	77.32%	1,646	1,798	–	–	–	–	3,444
Durham East		Con		Con	1,496	53.85%	214	7.70%	65.33%	1,282	1,496	–	–	–	–	2,778
Durham West		Lib		Lib	1,480	52.63%	148	5.26%	73.79%	1,480	1,332	–	–	–	–	2,812
Elgin East		Lib		Con	2,416	50.95%	90	1.90%	66.03%	2,326	2,416	–	–	–	–	4,742
Elgin West		Lib		Lib	1,324	51.26%	65	2.52%	72.26%	1,324	1,259	–	–	–	–	2,583
Essex North		Con		Con	1,537	55.93%	326	11.86%	59.60%	1,211	1,537 [a 4]	–	–	–	–	2,748
Essex South		Con		Lib	1,705	50.50%	34	1.01%	77.77%	1,705	1,671 [a 4]	–	–	–	–	3,376
Frontenac		Con		Con	1,103	54.25%	173	8.51%	75.81%	930	1,103	–	–	–	–	2,033
Glengarry		Con		Lib	1,436	52.07%	114	4.13%	74.18%	1,436	1,322	–	–	–	–	2,758
Grenville South		Con		Con	1,194	51.20%	56	2.40%	73.19%	1,138	1,194	–	–	–	–	2,332
Grey East		Con		Con	1,548	52.85%	167	5.70%	62.00%	–	1,548	–	–	–	1,381	2,929
Grey North		Con		Con	2,048	51.97%	155	3.93%	70.14%	1,893	2,048	–	–	–	–	3,941
Grey South		Lib		Con	1,596	52.97%	179	5.94%	74.62%	1,417	1,596	–	–	–	–	3,013
Haldimand		Lib		Lib	1,708	50.91%	61	1.82%	78.88%	1,708	1,647	–	–	–	–	3,355
Halton		Lib		Con	2,004	51.93%	149	3.86%	68.06%	1,855	2,004	–	–	–	–	3,859
Hamilton		Lib		Lib	2,077	39.78%	155	2.97%	63.07%	2,077	1,922	1,222	–	–	–	5,221
Hastings East		I-Con		Con	1,426	51.39%	77	2.77%	77.60%	1,349	1,426	–	–	–	–	2,775
Hastings North		Con		Con	1,324	54.26%	208	8.52%	64.93%	1,116	1,324	–	–	–	–	2,440
Hastings West		Con		Lib	1,217	50.48%	23	0.95%	61.06%	1,217	1,194	–	–	–	–	2,411
Huron East		Lib		Lib	1,994	50.52%	41	1.04%	75.58%	1,994	1,953	–	–	–	–	3,947
Huron South		Lib		Lib	1,962	51.74%	132	3.48%	71.07%	1,962	1,830	–	–	–	–	3,792
Huron West		Lib		Lib	2,061	52.11%	167	4.22%	67.56%	2,061	1,894	–	–	–	–	3,955
Kent East		Lib		Lib	1,947	52.61%	193	5.21%	63.36%	1,947	1,754	–	–	–	–	3,701
Kent West		Lib		Con	2,299	55.12%	427	10.24%	58.10%	1,872	2,299	–	–	–	–	4,171
Kingston		Con		Con	951	52.69%	108	5.98%	59.93%	843	951	–	–	–	3	1,805
Lambton East		Lib		Lib	2,017	51.44%	113	2.88%	71.80%	2,017	1,904	–	–	–	–	3,921
Lambton West		Lib		Lib	1,943	55.26%	370	10.52%	57.62%	1,943	1,573	–	–	–	–	3,516
Lanark North		Lib		Lib	1,247	54.19%	193	8.39%	72.68%	1,247	1,054	–	–	–	–	2,301
Lanark South		I-Con		Ind	1,089	46.56%	29	1.24%	61.79%	1,188	–	–	–	–	1,151 [a 5]	2,339
Leeds North and Grenville North		Con		Con	837	49.94%	1	0.06%	60.18%	836	837	–	–	3	–	1,676
Leeds South		Con		Con	1,553	55.09%	287	10.18%	69.08%	1,266	1,553	–	–	–	–	2,819
Lennox		Lib		Con	1,502	53.06%	173	6.11%	73.09%	1,329	1,502	–	–	–	–	2,831
Lincoln		Lib		Lib	acclaimed
London		Con		Con	acclaimed
Middlesex East		Con		Lib	2,702	50.80%	85	1.60%	66.01%	2,702	2,617	–	–	–	–	5,319
Middlesex North		Lib		Lib	1,946	50.47%	36	0.93%	75.05%	1,946	1,910	–	–	–	–	3,856
Middlesex West		Lib		Con	1,835	51.21%	87	2.43%	77.21%	1,748	1,835	–	–	–	–	3,583
Monck		Lib		Lib	1,574	52.17%	131	4.34%	77.93%	1,574	1,443	–	–	–	–	3,017
Muskoka and Parry Sound		Lib		Con	2,278	52.30%	200	4.59%	66.47% [a]	2,078	2,278	–	–	–	–	4,356
Norfolk North		Lib		Lib	1,633	57.54%	428	15.08%	69.29%	1,633	1,205	–	–	–	–	2,838
Norfolk South		Con		Con	1,492	50.49%	29	0.98%	73.68%	1,463	1,492	–	–	–	–	2,955
Northumberland East		Lib		Lib	2,156	50.91%	77	1.82%	77.37%	2,156	2,079	–	–	–	–	4,235
Northumberland West		Lib		Con	1,506	50.96%	57	1.93%	71.97%	1,449	1,506	–	–	–	–	2,955
Ontario North		Lib		Lib	2,412	50.25%	24	0.50%	73.11%	2,412	2,388	–	–	–	–	4,800
Ontario South		Lib		Lib	1,743	53.06%	201	6.12%	66.17%	1,743	1,542	–	–	–	–	3,285
Ottawa		Con		Con	1,363	48.49%	528	18.78%	51.65%	835	1,363	–	–	–	613	2,811
Oxford North		Lib		Lib	acclaimed
Oxford South		Lib		Lib	1,640	53.77%	230	7.54%	52.71%	1,640	1,410	–	–	–	–	3,050
Peel		Lib		Lib	1,521	51.40%	83	2.81%	76.40%	1,521	1,438	–	–	–	–	2,959
Perth North		Lib		Con	2,642	51.14%	118	2.28%	72.78%	2,524	2,642	–	–	–	–	5,166
Perth South		Lib		Lib	1,712	53.35%	215	6.70%	69.88%	1,712	1,497	–	–	–	–	3,209
Peterborough East		Lib		Lib	1,265	59.11%	390	18.22%	71.04%	1,265	875	–	–	–	–	2,140
Peterborough West		Con		Con	1,262	51.76%	86	3.53%	63.78%	1,176	1,262	–	–	–	–	2,438
Prescott		Con		Lib	1,292	50.63%	32	1.25%	73.22%	2,552 [a 6]	–	–	–	–	–	2,552
Prince Edward		Lib		I-Lib	2,045	50.47%	38	0.94%	77.94%	2,007	–	–	2,045	–	–	4,052
Renfrew North		Lib		Lib	1,108	54.10%	168	8.20%	71.40%	1,108 [a 7]	940	–	–	–	–	2,048
Renfrew South		Lib		Lib	934	52.83%	100	5.66%	69.17%	934	834	–	–	–	–	1,768
Russell		Lib		Con	1,265	46.47%	322	11.83%	63.68%	959	1,265	–	–	–	498	2,722
Simcoe East		Lib		Lib	1,403	50.38%	21	0.75%	65.70%	1,403	1,382	–	–	–	–	2,785
Simcoe South		Con		Con	1,214	53.72%	168	7.43%	66.99%	1,046	1,214	–	–	–	–	2,260
Simcoe West		Con		Lib	1,699	50.52%	35	1.04%	64.51%	1,699	1,664	–	–	–	–	3,363
Stormont		Con		Con	1,145	56.21%	253	12.42%	74.67%	892	1,145	–	–	–	–	2,037
Toronto East		Con		Con	2,135	47.93%	124	2.78%	50.44%	2,011	2,135	308	–	–	–	4,454
Toronto West		Con		Con	2,634	52.05%	207	4.09%	44.83%	–	2,634	2,427	–	–	–	5,061
Victoria North		Lib		Con	1,189	55.95%	253	11.91%	71.16%	936	1,189	–	–	–	–	2,125
Victoria South		Lib		Lib	1,609	50.55%	35	1.10%	72.40%	1,609	1,574	–	–	–	–	3,183
Waterloo North		Lib		Lib	1,569	65.16%	730	30.32%	61.85%	1,569	839	–	–	–	–	2,408
Waterloo South		Lib		Lib	1,606	51.16%	73	2.33%	73.03%	1,606	1,533	–	–	–	–	3,139
Welland		Con		Lib	2,070	50.67%	55	1.35%	67.82%	2,070	2,015	–	–	–	–	4,085
Wellington Centre		Lib		Lib	1,569	59.89%	518	19.77%	58.83%	1,569	1,051	–	–	–	–	2,620
Wellington South		Lib		Lib	1,348	50.62%	33	1.24%	68.02%	1,348	1,315	–	–	–	–	2,663
Wellington West		Lib		Lib	2,103	56.28%	469	12.55%	64.73%	2,103	1,634	–	–	–	–	3,737
Wentworth North		Lib		Lib	1,430	52.77%	150	5.54%	72.14%	1,430	1,280	–	–	–	–	2,710
Wentworth South		Con		Lib	1,410	50.50%	28	1.00%	76.12%	1,410	1,382 [a 8]	–	–	–	–	2,792
York East		Lib		Lib	2,022	53.20%	243	6.39%	71.39%	2,022	1,779	–	–	–	–	3,801
York North		Lib		Lib	2,328	61.23%	854	22.46%	66.79%	2,328	1,474	–	–	–	–	3,802
York West		Lib		Con	1,553	50.50%	31	1.01%	66.33%	1,522	1,553	–	–	–	–	3,075

1. order is as given in EO reports
2. the incumbent George William Monk was the winning candidate
3. the incumbent William Jelly ran as an Independent Conservative, getting 682 votes
4. Solomon White campaigned in two ridings
5. the incumbent William Lees ran and won as an Independent candidate
6. the incumbent Albert Peter Hagar, having won in an 1881 byelection, was the winning candidate
7. Thomas Murray had won in Renfrew South in 1879, but had resigned his seat to unsuccessfully contest a federal seat in Pontiac in the 1878 election.
8. Franklin Metcalfe Carpenter had previously won in 1879, but his election was overturned on petition to the court.

  = 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

  = incumbency arose from prior election result being overturned by the court

  = other incumbents renominated

  = previously an MP in the House of Commons of Canada

  = multiple candidates

Analysis

Party candidates in 2nd place ^[1]

Party in 1st place		Party in 2nd place						Total
		Accl	Lib	Con	I-Con	Lab	Ind
	Liberal	4	1	42	1			48
	Conservative	1	32	1	1	1	1	37
	Independent Liberal		2					2
	Independent		1					1
Total		5	36	43	2	1	1	88

Candidates ranked 1st to 5th place, by party ^[1]

Parties	Accl	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th
█  Liberal	4	44	36	1	2
█  Conservative	1	36	43
█ Independent Liberal		2	1
█  Independent		1	1	3	2	1
█ Independent Conservative			2	2
█  Labour			1	2

Resulting composition of the 2nd Legislative Assembly of Ontario ^[1]

Source		Party
		Lib	Con	I-Lib	Ind	Total
Seats retained	Incumbents returned	32	13			45
	Returned by acclamation	4	1			5
	Open seats held	3	6			9
	Byelection loss reversed	1				1
	Ouster of incumbent changing allegiance		1			1
Seats changing hands	Incumbents defeated	1	14	1		16
	Open seats gained	3	2	1		6
	Byelection gains held	3				3
	Incumbent changing allegiance				1	1
	Retention of seat overturned in previous election	1				1
Total		48	37	2	1	88

MLAs elected by region and riding

Party designations are as follows:

  Liberal

  Conservative

  Independent Liberal

  Independent

Northern Ontario    Algoma : Robert Adam Lyon Ottawa Valley    Carleton : George William Monk    Lanark North : William Clyde Caldwell    Lanark South : William Lees (Ind)    Ottawa : Patrick Baskerville    Prescott : Albert Peter Hagar    Renfrew North : Thomas Murray    Renfrew South : John Francis Dowling [b]    Russell : Honoré Robillard Saint Lawrence Valley    Brockville : Christopher Finlay Fraser    Cornwall : Alexander Peter Ross    Dundas : Andrew Broder    Glengarry : James Rayside    Grenville South : Frederick John French    Kingston : James Henry Metcalfe    Leeds North and Grenville North : Henry Merrick    Leeds South : Robert Henry Preston    Stormont : Joseph Kerr Central Ontario    Addington : George Denison    Durham East : Charles Herbert Brereton    Durham West : James Wellington McLaughlin    Frontenac : Henry Wilmot    Hastings East : William Parker Hudson    Hastings North : Alpheus Field Wood    Hastings West : Ephraim George Sills    Lennox : Alexander Hall Roe    Northumberland East : James Marshall Ferris    Northumberland West : Robert Mulholland    Peterborough East : Thomas Blezard    Peterborough West : John Carnegie    Prince Edward : James Hart (I-Lib)    Victoria North : John Fell    Victoria South : Duncan John McIntyre

Georgian Bay    Bruce North : John Gillies (I-Lib)    Grey North : David Creighton    Muskoka and Parry Sound : Frederick G. Fauquier [c]    Simcoe East : Charles Alfred Drury    Simcoe South : George Prevost McKay    Simcoe West : Orson James Phelps [d] Wentworth/Halton/Niagara    Halton : William Kerns    Hamilton : John Morison Gibson    Lincoln : Sylvester Neelon    Monck : Richard Harcourt    Welland : James E. Morin    Wentworth North : James McMahon    Wentworth South : Nicholas Awrey Midwestern Ontario    Brant North : James Young    Brant South : Arthur Sturgis Hardy    Bruce South : Hamilton Parke O'Connor    Dufferin : Robert McGhee    Grey East : Abram William Lauder    Grey South : John Blythe    Haldimand : Jacob Baxter    Huron East : Thomas Gibson    Huron South : Archibald Bishop    Huron West : Alexander McLagan Ross    Norfolk North : John Bailey Freeman    Norfolk South : William Morgan    Oxford North : Oliver Mowat    Oxford South : Adam Crooks    Perth North : John George Hess    Perth South : Thomas Ballantyne    Waterloo North : Elias Weber Bingeman Snider    Waterloo South : Isaac Master    Wellington Centre : Charles Clarke    Wellington South : James Laidlaw    Wellington West : Robert McKim

Southwestern Ontario    Elgin East : Charles Oaks Ermatinger    Elgin West : John Cascaden    Essex North : Solomon White    Essex South : William Douglas Balfour    Kent East : Daniel McCraney    Kent West : James Clancy    Lambton East : Peter Graham    Lambton West : Timothy Blair Pardee    London : William Ralph Meredith    Middlesex East : Donald MacKenzie    Middlesex North : John Waters    Middlesex West : Alexander Johnston [e] Peel/York/Ontario    Cardwell : William Henry Hammell [f]    Ontario North : Isaac James Gould    Ontario South : John Dryden    Peel : Kenneth Chisholm    Toronto East : Alexander Morris    Toronto West : Henry Edward Clarke    York East : George Badgerow    York North : Joseph Henry Widdifield    York West : John Gray

See also

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

Notes and references

Notes

1. Part of the district was unorganized territory, for which voter's lists were not prepared. Total valid ballots were 4,356 of which 1,815 came from such territory. Net amount was 2,541 plus 16 rejected ballots giving 2,557 net turnout. Compared to 3,847 registered voters, this gives a turnout of 66.47%. ^[3]
2. Election declared void because of corrupt practices. Writ for new election issued. Dowling was returned in the subsequent byelection. ^[4]
3. Election declared void because of corrupt practices. Writ for new election issued after appeal dismissed. Jacob William Dill (Liberal) won the subsequent byelection. ^[5]
4. Election declared void because of corrupt practices. Writ for new election issued. Phelps was returned in the subsequent byelection. ^[4]
5. Election declared void because of corrupt practices. Writ for new election issued. George William Ross (Liberal) won the subsequent byelection. ^[4]
6. Election declared void because of corrupt practices. Writ for new election issued. Hammell was returned in the subsequent byelection. ^[4]

References

1. "1883 general election results". Elections Ontario . Retrieved November 8, 2023.
2. "Ontario Political History 101". January 6, 2010. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
3. "Sessional Paper No. 1". Sessional Papers (Vol. XVI–Part I). Toronto: Legislative Assembly of Ontario. 1884. pp. 48–49.
4. Journals of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario. Vol. XVII. Toronto: Legislative Assembly of Ontario. 1884. pp. 20–23. hdl:2027/mdp.39015069459652.
5. Journals of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario. Vol. XVIII. Toronto: Legislative Assembly of Ontario. 1885. pp. 9–12. hdl:2027/chi.096180466.