1891 Canadian federal election

Last updated

1891 Canadian federal election
Canadian Red Ensign (1868-1921).svg
  1887 March 5, 1891 1896  

215 seats in the House of Commons
108 seats needed for a majority
Turnout64.4% [1] (Decrease2.svg5.7pp)
 First partySecond party
  Sir John A Macdonald circa 1878 retouched crop.jpg Wilfrid Laurier 1890 - cropped (cropped).jpg
Leader John A. Macdonald Wilfrid Laurier
Party Conservative Liberal
Leader since18671887
Leader's seat Kingston Quebec East [lower-alpha 1]
Last election122 seats, 47.4%80 seats, 43.1%
Seats won11790
Seat changeDecrease2.svg5Increase2.svg10
Popular vote376,518350,512
Percentage48.6% [lower-alpha 2] 45.2%
SwingIncrease2.svg1.2%Increase2.svg2.1%

Canada 1891 Federal Election.svg
1891 Canadian electoral map

Chambre des Communes 1891.png
The Canadian parliament after the 1891 election

Prime Minister before election

John A. Macdonald
Conservative

Prime Minister after election

John A. Macdonald
Conservative

The 1891 Canadian federal election was held on March 5, 1891, to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada of the 7th Parliament of Canada. It was won by the Conservative Party of Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald.

Contents

A Conservative election poster from 1891. John A Macdonald election poster 1891.jpg
A Conservative election poster from 1891.

The main issue of the 1891 campaign was Macdonald's National Policy, a policy of protective tariffs. The Liberals supported reciprocity (free trade) with the United States.

Macdonald led a Conservative campaign emphasizing stability, and retained the Conservatives' majority in the House of Commons. It was a close election and he campaigned hard. Macdonald died a few months after the election, which led to his succession by four different Conservative Prime Ministers until the 1896 election.

It was Wilfrid Laurier's first election as leader of the Liberals. Although he lost the election, he increased the Liberals' support. He returned in 1896 to win a solid majority, despite losing the popular vote.

Canadian voters would return to the issue of free trade 20 years later in the 1911 federal election.

National results

1891 Canadian parliament.svg
PartyParty leader# of
candidates
SeatsPopular vote
1887 ElectedChange#%Change
  Conservative John A. Macdonald 1878797+11.5%332,96142.96%+2.80pp
  Liberal-Conservative 252420-16.7%43,5575.62%-1.64pp
  Liberal Wilfrid Laurier 1947990+13.9%350,51245.22%+2.09pp
 Independent Conservative433-15,0451.94%+0.38pp
 Independent43 2-66.7%6,3570.82%-0.42pp
 Nationalist111--10.00%-0.66pp
 Independent Liberal251-80%5,5730.72%-1.45pp
  Nationalist Conservative 12 1-50%1,2710.16%-0.32pp
 Unknown141--100%16,8902.18%-1.15pp
  Equal Rights 2*-*2,4550.32%*
 Progressive22*-*4680.06%*
Total436205215+4.9%775,089100% 
Sources: http://www.elections.ca -- History of Federal Ridings since 1867

Notes:

* Party did not nominate candidates in the previous election.

1 One Nationalist candidate was elected by acclamation.

2 The Parliamentary website identifies two candidates in Nova Scotia as being "Progressives". This may be an error.

Acclamations:

The following Members of Parliament were elected by acclamation;

Results by province

Party name BC NWT MB ON QC NB NS PE Total
  Conservative Seats:54139241012297
 Popular vote (%):71.681.012.642.245.448.941.948.543.0
  Liberal-Conservative Seats:1 37324 20
 Vote (%):  40.55.33.03.710.8 5.6
  Liberal Seats:--1443345390
 Vote (%):28.419.046.949.145.941.343.641.045.2
 Independent ConservativeSeats:   12   3
 Vote (%):   1.35.9   1.9
 IndependentSeats:   11-  2
 Vote (%):   0.71.23.2  0.8
 NationalistSeats:    1   1
 Vote (%):    -   -
 Independent LiberalSeats:     - 11
 Vote (%):     2.9 10.50.7
 Nationalist ConservativeSeats:    1   1
 Vote (%):    0.7   0.2
Total seats 6 4 5 92 65 16 21 6 215
Parties that won no seats:
 UnknownVote (%):   2.03.8 3.1 2.2
 Equal RightsVote (%):   0.7    0.3
 ProgressiveVote (%):      0.5 0.1

See also

Notes

  1. Laurier also ran in Richmond—Wolfe, where he was defeated.
  2. Popular vote is combination of Conservative and Liberal-Conservative tallies.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Tupper</span> Prime Minister of Canada in 1896

Sir Charles Tupper, 1st Baronet, M.D. was a Canadian Father of Confederation who served as the sixth prime minister of Canada from May 1 to July 8, 1896. As the premier of Nova Scotia from 1864 to 1867, he led Nova Scotia into Confederation. He briefly served as the Canadian prime minister, from seven days after parliament had been dissolved, until he resigned on July 8, 1896, following his party's loss in the 1896 Canadian federal election. He is the only medical doctor to have ever held the office of prime minister of Canada and his 68-day tenure as prime minister is the shortest in Canadian history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilfrid Laurier</span> Prime Minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911

Sir Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier, was a Canadian lawyer, statesman, and politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911. The first French Canadian prime minister, his 15-year tenure remains the longest uninterrupted term of office among Canadian prime ministers and his nearly 45 years of service in the House of Commons is a record for the House. Laurier is best known for his compromises between English and French Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Progressive Conservative Party of Canada</span> Canadian centre-right political party from 1942 to 2003

The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a centre to centre-right federal political party in Canada that existed from 1942 to 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1993 Canadian federal election</span> Selection of the 35th Parliament

The 1993 Canadian federal election was held on October 25, 1993, to elect members to the House of Commons of the 35th Parliament of Canada. Considered to be a major political realignment, it was one of the most eventful elections in Canada's history. Two new regionalist parties emerged, finishing second and third in seat count. Most notably, the election marked the worst defeat for a governing party at the federal level and among the worst ever suffered by a governing party in the Western democratic world. In a landslide, the Liberal Party, led by Jean Chrétien, won a majority government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1988 Canadian federal election</span>

The 1988 Canadian federal election was held on November 21, 1988, to elect members to the House of Commons of Canada of the 34th Parliament of Canada. It was an election largely fought on a single issue: the Canada–United States Free Trade Agreement (CUSFTA); the Progressive Conservative Party campaigned in favour of it, whereas the Liberal Party and the New Democratic Party (NDP) campaigned against it. Mulroney won a governing majority and the agreement was passed into law, even though a majority of the voters had voted for parties opposing free trade. The Mulroney government proposed a Goods and Services Tax during this term as well.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942)</span> Right-of-centre political party in Canada

The Conservative Party of Canada was a major federal political party in Canada that existed from 1867 to 1942. The party adhered to traditionalist conservatism and its main policies included strengthening relations with Great Britain, nationalizing industries, and promoting high tariffs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1896 Canadian federal election</span>

The 1896 Canadian federal election was held on June 23, 1896, to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada of the 8th Parliament of Canada. Though the Conservative Party, led by Prime Minister Charles Tupper, won a plurality of the popular vote, the Liberal Party, led by Wilfrid Laurier, won the majority of seats to form the next government. The election ended 18 years of Conservative rule.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1872 Canadian federal election</span>

The 1872 Canadian federal election was held from July 20 to October 12, 1872, to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada of the 2nd Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald's Conservative Party remained in power, defeating the Liberals. However, the Liberals increased their parliamentary representation considerably, while the Conservative seat count remained static, giving them only six more seats than the Liberals. The election produced the country's first minority government. The support of two independent Conservative MPs functionally gave Macdonald an extremely slim majority that allowed it to survive for two years, until it fell due to scandal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Rogers (Manitoba politician)</span> Canadian politician

Robert Rogers, was a Canadian merchant and politician. He served as a cabinet minister at the federal and provincial levels.

The McCarthyites were a short-lived anti-Catholic and anti-French Canadian political movement which contested the 23 June 1896 federal election in Canada. The McCarthyite movement and the Patrons of Industry represented the first challenge to the two-party system in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1917 Canadian federal election</span>

The 1917 Canadian federal election was held on December 17, 1917, to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada of the 13th Parliament of Canada. Described by historian Michael Bliss as the "most bitter election in Canadian history", it was fought mainly over the issue of conscription. The election resulted in Prime Minister Sir Robert Borden's Unionist government elected with a strong majority and the largest percentage of the popular vote for any party in Canadian history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1900 Canadian federal election</span>

The 1900 Canadian federal election was held on November 7, 1900 to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada of the 9th Parliament of Canada. As a result of the election, the Liberal Party, led by Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier, was re-elected to a second majority government, defeating the Conservative Party and Liberal-Conservatives led by Charles Tupper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1878 Canadian federal election</span>

The 1878 Canadian federal election was held on September 17, 1878, to elect members of the House of Commons of the 4th Parliament of Canada. It resulted in the end of Prime Minister Alexander Mackenzie's Liberal government after only one term in office. Canada suffered an economic depression during Mackenzie's term, and his party was punished by voters for it. The Liberals' policy of free trade also hurt their support with the business establishment in Toronto and Montreal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1887 Canadian federal election</span>

The 1887 Canadian federal election was held on February 22, 1887, to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada of the 6th Parliament of Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walter Humphries Montague</span> Canadian politician

Walter Humphries Montague, was a Canadian politician. He was a federal cabinet minister in the governments of Mackenzie Bowell and Charles Tupper, and subsequently a provincial cabinet minister in the Manitoba government of Rodmond Roblin. Montague was a member of the Conservative Party of Canada.

This article covers the history of the Liberal Party of Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electoral history of John A. Macdonald</span> Electoral history of Prime Minister Macdonald

This article is the Electoral history of Sir John A. Macdonald, the first prime minister of Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electoral history of Charles Tupper</span> List of elections featuring Charles Tupper as a candidate

This article is the Electoral history of Sir Charles Tupper, the sixth Prime Minister of Canada. A Conservative, he became prime minister upon the resignation of Prime Minister Sir Mackenzie Bowell over the Manitoba Schools Question in 1896. Tupper was the shortest-serving prime minister, with a term of only 69 days. He led his party in two general elections and lost both, to Sir Wilfrid Laurier

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electoral history of Wilfrid Laurier</span> List of elections featuring Wilfrid Laurier as a candidate

This article is the Electoral history of Sir Wilfrid Laurier, the seventh Prime Minister of Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electoral history of Robert Borden</span> List of elections featuring Robert Borden as a candidate

This article is the Electoral history of Robert Borden, the eighth Prime Minister of Canada (1911-1920).

References

  1. "Voter Turnout at Federal Elections and Referendums". Elections Canada. Retrieved March 10, 2019.

Further reading