![]() | |||
| |||
22 seats in the North-West Legislative Assembly | |||
---|---|---|---|
|
The 1888 North-West Territories general election elected members of the 2nd Legislative Council of the North-West Territories. The 2nd Legislative Council of the North-West Territories replaced the 1st Council of the North-West Territories. The 2nd Legislative Council of the North-West Territories was replaced by the 1st North-West Assembly in 1891 when the quota of elected members was reached. (A different 2nd Council of the Northwest Territories (1905-1951) was created in 1905, when the NWT lost most of its population, to differentiate the new one from the two legislative councils of the NWT that had existed 1876 to 1891.)
The 1888 election was the first general election in the history of the North-West Territories, Canada. Elections were held in various districts between 20 June and 30 June 1888. Although considered a general election, the writs were issued to return on various days. (1891 North-West Territories general election would be the first election where all the seats came empty on the same day.)
Prior to 1888, the elected members of the 1st Council of the North-West Territories were elected in by-elections to supplement members appointed by the Government of Canada. In order to have an elected member, a constituency needed to be set up in an area 1,000 square miles (2,600 km2) in size that had 1,000 residents. This created a patchwork of represented and unrepresented areas across the sprawling and sparsely-settled territory.
Twenty-one members were elected in this election.
Robert Brett, the member for Red Deer, was appointed government leader by Lieutenant Governor Joseph Royal. His official title was Chairman of the Lieutenant Governor's Advisory Council. [1]
Three judges were appointed to the legislative assembly to provide legal advice, but they were not able to vote. They represented the territory at large.
Voters in this election cast their votes by telling the returning officer who they wanted to vote for. This system lasted until 1894 when a secret ballot was first used in a by-election in the Whitewood district.
Voter turnout cannot be established as no voters lists were in use. Candidates were all elected on non-partisan basis. Decisions in the Council were decided by majority vote.
Three members were elected by acclamation. One was re-elected; two were newly-elected.
Calgary and Edmonton elected two members through Plurality block voting.
Election summary
Candidates | # of candidates | Popular vote | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Incumbent | New | # | % | |
Acclaimed candidates | 1 | 2 | - | - |
Elected candidates | 8 | 10 | 5,081 | 62.53% |
Defeated candidates | - | 19 | 3,045 | 37.47% |
Total | 40 | 8,126 | 100% | |
Three members were appointed by Lieutenant Governor Joseph Royal after the election: James Macleod, Hugh Richardson and Charles Rouleau. The purpose of these three legal advisors was to bring experience in procedure, protocol and amending and introducing legislation. The legal advisors held seats at large, were allowed to participate in debates (but not vote) and were paid a salary of $250. [2]
The three members of the assembly had already served as members of the Assembly previously. There were no legal advisors reappointed after dissolution of the 1st North-West Legislative Assembly in 1891.
For complete electoral history, see individual districts
In the Medicine Hat electoral district, candidate William Finlay had withdrawn before election day. The returning officer declared Thomas Tweed elected by acclamation. Finlay lost his nomination deposit of $200.00 [3]
The Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly, or Legislative Council of the Northwest Territories, is the legislature and the seat of government of Northwest Territories in Canada. It is a unicameral elected body that creates and amends law in the Northwest Territories. Permanently located in Yellowknife since 1993, the assembly was founded in 1870 and became active in 1872 with the first appointments from the Government of Canada.
Medicine Hat was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada, mandated to return members to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1905 to 1971, and again from 1979 to 2019. The electoral district was named after the City of Medicine Hat.
Victoria was one of the original 25 provincial electoral districts in Alberta, named for Fort Victoria on the North Saskatchewan River. It was mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta by the first past the post method until 1917, and by instant-runoff voting from 1926 until it was abolished in 1940.
The 1902 North-West Territories general election, occurred on 21 May 1902 and was the fifth general election in the history of the North-West Territories, Canada. It was held to elect 35 Members of the Legislative Assembly of the North-West Territories.
The 1891 North-West Territories general election was held on 7 November 1891 to elect 25 members of the Legislative Assembly of the North-West Territories, Canada. It was the second general election in the History of the North-West Territories. The legislature for the first time had no appointed members. It had 25 elected members, four more than in the 1888 election. The assembly had grown by one member -- the three appointed "at large" legal advisors who had sat in the assembly previously were no longer there.
The 1894 North-West Territories general election was held on 31 October 1894. This was the third general election in the history of the North-West Territories, Canada. It was held to elect 29 members of the Legislative Assembly of the North-West Territories, the writs were dropped on 3 October 1894. Frederick Haultain continued to lead the government.
The 1st Council of the North-West Territories, also known as the North-West Council in Canada, lasted from October 7, 1876, to 1888. It was created as a permanent replacement to the Temporary North-West Council which existed prior to 1876.
Inuvik Boot Lake is a territorial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories, Canada.
Elections NWT is an independent, non-partisan public agency responsible for the administration of territorial general elections, by-elections, and plebiscites in accordance with the Elections and Plebiscites Act. Elections NWT is headed by the Chief Electoral Officer, an officer of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories.
Charles Wellington Fisher was a Canadian politician who served as the first Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.
The 1st North-West Legislative Assembly lasted from 1888 to 1891. This Assembly was the third in the history of the Northwest Territories. It marked a huge milestone, bringing responsible government to the territory for the first time.
The 1885 North-West Territories election was the first major election in the history of the territory. On 15 September 1885, 11 members were elected in separate elections or by acclamation. The elections saw members acclaimed and elected in various electoral districts to the 1st Council of the North-West Territories.
Qu'Appelle was a territorial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Northwest Territories, Canada.
Edmonton was a territorial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Northwest Territories, Canada.
William Thomas Finlay was a merchant, politician and cabinet minister in Alberta and Northwest Territories, Canada. Finlay served as the second mayor of Medicine Hat, represented the electoral district of Medicine Hat in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, and served in the Cabinet of Alexander Cameron Rutherford as Alberta's first Minister of Agriculture and Provincial Secretary from 1905 to 1909.
John Lineham was a territorial-level politician and businessman from Northwest Territories, Canada.
Kinistino was a former territorial electoral district in Northwest Territories, Canada. The electoral district was mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories from its creation in 1888 until it was abolished when Alberta and Saskatchewan were created in 1905. The district was created as part of the North-West Representation Act when it passed through the Parliament of Canada in 1888.