1905 Ontario general election

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1905 Ontario general election
Flag of Ontario.svg
  1902 January 25, 1905 1908  

98 seats in the 11th Legislative Assembly of Ontario
50 seats were needed for a majority
 First partySecond party
  James Whitney.jpg Honourable GW Ross, Prime Minister for Ontario (HS85-10-12129).jpg
Leader James P. Whitney George William Ross
Party Conservative Liberal
Leader since18961899
Leader's seat Dundas Middlesex West
Last election4850
Seats won6928
Seat changeIncrease2.svg 21Decrease2.svg 22
Popular vote237,612198,595
Percentage53.37%44.61%
SwingIncrease2.svg 5.83  pp Decrease2.svg 5.04  pp

1905 Ontario Election by vote share map.png
1905 Ontario Election by holds and gains.png

Premier before election

George William Ross
Liberal

Premier after election

James P. Whitney
Conservative

The 1905 Ontario general election was the 11th general election held in the province of Ontario, Canada. It was held on January 25, 1905, to elect the 98 Members of the 11th Legislative Assembly of Ontario ("MLAs"). [1]

Contents

The Ontario Conservative Party, led by Sir James P. Whitney, defeated the Ontario Liberal Party, led by Sir George William Ross, bringing to an end the control of the government that the Liberal Party had exercised power for the previous 34 years.

Background

The Liberal Party had been in power in Ontario for the last 34 years. 24 of these were under Oliver Mowat, who was seen as a popular, moderate leader. [2] The Liberals had been able to stay dominant elections due to Mowat's willingness to compromise and his support from farmers. [2] In 1896, Mowat resigned the position of premier to join the cabinet of Wilfred Laurier. He was replaced by Arthur Hardy, who resigned 3 years later due to poor health, and was replaced by George William Ross, the former Minister of Education. [2]

The Liberals had declined significantly since the retirement of Mowat, losing the popular voting and having a small majority in the 1902 election. Demographic factors had hurt the party. Industrial cities that typically voted Conservative were growing while farmers - a core constituency of the Liberals - were on decline. [2] The dominant Liberal government was also strongly criticised for corruption. In one case, Francis Clergue, a supporter of the Liberal government, was accused of bringing over Americans in Michigan and handing out drinks to get them to vote for Liberals in Sault Ste. Marie. [2] Ross did not have Mowat's reputation of being seen as an "honest Christian man" and so found it harder to defend against the allegations. [2]

Prohibition was also an issue after the British Privy Council declared that provinces had the right to restrict alcohol. [2] Unlike Mowat, Ross was a much more hesitant supporter of Prohibition, believing it would be unpopular. [2] Instead, Ross held a referendum on Prohibition in 1902, in which the motion failed despite "Yes" winning a majority of the vote, due to a 2/3rds majority being needed for it to pass. This angered pro-Prohibition Liberals and divided the party that already held a small majority. [2] Division in the party lead to Ross calling an election in 1905.

Campaign

The main focus of the campaign was on the Conservatives attacking the Liberal "machine" which had dominated elections in the Province, especially between 1898 and 1904, and was involved in numerous instances of bribery and other corrupt practices. [3] This was further highlighted by the fact that no Liberals were prosecuted for this, while Conservatives were involved in fewer such matters but faced numerous convictions. [4] By 1905, this had led to widespread disgust, [5] and one Tory candidate, P.D. Ross in Ottawa, declared upon his nomination that every honest man should be a Conservative. [6] The Globe , a newspaper founded by Liberal George Brown, endorsed the Conservatives. [2]

The ensuing Conservative victory was overwhelming. Six constituencies returned Tory members for the first time ever since Confederation, plus eight others which had only done so once before. [7] Most cities, other than Ottawa and Kingston, voted Conservative. [8]

Electoral system

Ottawa had two seats, and plurality block voting was used. Elsewhere the first-past-the-post election system was used.

Results

[1]

Elections to the 11th Parliament of Ontario (1905)
Political partyParty leaderMPPsVotes
Candidates 1902 Dissol. 1905±#%± (pp)
Conservative James P. Whitney 98486921Increase2.svg237,61253.37%5.83Increase2.svg
Liberal George William Ross 95502822Decrease2.svg198,59544.61%5.04Decrease2.svg
Independent Liberal311Increase2.svg5,3621.20%New
Independent Conservative1950.02%0.36Decrease2.svg
Independent 21000.02%1.16Decrease2.svg
Prohibitionist21,9060.43%0.29Decrease2.svg
Socialist 71,2730.29%0.17Decrease2.svg
Temperance22500.06%New
Socialist Labour Did not campaign
Vacant
Total210989898445,193100.00%
Blank and invalid ballots3,254
Registered voters / turnout616,99672.68%1.87Decrease2.svg
Seats and popular vote by party
PartySeatsVotesChange (pp)
Conservative
69 / 98
53.37%
5.835.83
 
Liberal
28 / 98
44.61%
-5.04
 
Other
1 / 94
2.02%
-0.79
 

Synopsis of results

Results by riding - 1905 Ontario general election [1]
Riding [a 1] Winning partyTurnoutVotes
Name [a 2] 1902 PartyVotesShareMargin
#
Margin
%
ConLibI-LibI-ConIndOthTotal
 
Addington ConCon1,38464.58%62529.16%49.56%1,3847592,143
Algoma ConCon2,06455.22%39010.43%57.46%2,0641,6743,738
Brant North LibCon1,24251.34%652.69%83.58%1,2421,1772,419
Brant South LibLib3,09151.26%1522.52%86.28%2,9393,0916,030
Brockville LibLib2,20152.00%1693.99%80.74%2,0322,2014,233
Bruce Centre ConCon1,98253.47%2576.93%80.79%1,9821,7253,707
Bruce North LibLib2,16250.94%801.89%71.83%2,0822,1624,244
Bruce South LibCon1,89050.97%721.94%78.65%1,8901,8183,708
Cardwell ConCon1,90265.25%88930.50%54.23%1,9021,0132,915
Carleton ConCon1,61778.69%1,17957.37%42.74%1,6174382,055
Dufferin ConCon2,02753.88%2927.76%65.39%2,0271,7353,762
Dundas ConCon2,29357.87%62415.75%75.63%2,2931,6693,962
Durham East ConCon1,66565.60%79231.21%60.41%1,6658732,538
Durham West LibCon1,69052.02%1314.03%88.82%1,6901,5593,249
Elgin East ConCon2,24951.42%1242.83%85.65%2,2492,1254,374
Elgin West ConCon3,12953.02%5369.08%79.02%3,1292,5931805,902
Essex North ConCon3,38557.04%83614.09%68.70%3,3852,5495,934
Essex South LibLib2,82851.26%1392.52%76.39%2,6892,8285,517
Fort William and Lake of the Woods LibCon1,53655.57%30811.14%45.06%1,5361,2282,764
Frontenac ConCon1,61655.46%31810.91%62.29%1,6161,2982,914
Glengarry ConLib2,21453.17%2646.34%74.28%1,9502,2144,164
Grenville ConCon2,01057.89%54815.78%62.92%2,0101,4623,472
Grey Centre ConCon2,16070.11%1,23940.21%50.62%2,1609213,081
Grey North LibLib3,26852.16%2714.33%77.42%2,9973,2686,265
Grey South ConCon2,37254.73%4109.46%71.57%2,3721,9624,334
Haldimand LibLib2,01957.50%52715.01%86.11%1,4922,0193,511
Halton LibCon2,52255.62%51011.25%82.70%2,5222,0124,534
Hamilton East ConCon3,27354.48%5388.95%79.39%3,2732,7356,008
Hamilton West ConCon3,08953.68%4247.37%80.78%3,0892,6655,754
Hastings East LibI-Lib2,12553.42%2726.84%86.32%1,8532,1253,978
Hastings North ConCon2,32774.51%1,53149.02%44.02%2,3277963,123
Hastings West ConCon2,01857.46%52414.92%68.93%2,0181,4943,512
Huron East LibLib2,21251.66%1423.32%86.22%2,0702,2124,282
Huron South ConCon2,68854.14%4118.28%88.60%2,6882,2774,965
Huron West LibLib2,43550.02%20.04%83.44%2,4332,4354,868
Kent East LibCon2,71450.52%561.04%76.12%2,7142,6585,372
Kent West LibLib4,07351.05%1672.09%83.46%3,9064,0737,979
Kingston LibLib2,23850.22%200.45%91.13%2,2182,2384,456
Lambton East LibCon2,58751.94%1933.87%85.17%2,5872,3944,981
Lambton West ConCon4,20154.01%6248.02%80.75%4,2013,5777,778
Lanark North LibCon1,81057.59%47715.18%75.61%1,8101,3333,143
Lanark South ConCon1,56569.90%89139.79%39.61%1,5656742,239
Leeds ConCon1,98364.89%91029.78%55.59%1,9831,0733,056
Lennox ConCon1,59751.09%682.18%81.95%1,5971,5293,126
Lincoln ConCon3,28756.58%76513.17%78.68%3,2872,5225,809
London ConCon4,78352.27%5666.19%86.19%4,7834,2171509,150
Manitoulin ConCon1,27756.43%44819.80%42.66%1,2778291572,263
Middlesex East LibCon2,46351.46%1402.93%85.15%2,4632,3234,786
Middlesex North LibCon2,06950.69%561.37%84.68%2,0692,0134,082
Middlesex West LibLib2,04351.42%1132.84%84.00%1,9302,0433,973
Monck LibLib1,76651.11%772.23%82.77%1,6891,7663,455
Muskoka LibCon2,12263.46%90026.91%59.12%2,1221,2223,344
Nipissing East LibCon1,52449.48%632.05%58.63%1,5241,461953,080
Nipissing West LibCon1,53358.62%45117.25%44.50%1,5331,0822,615
Norfolk North ConLib1,96955.36%38110.71%88.14%1,5881,9693,557
Norfolk South LibCon1,71150.19%130.38%91.67%1,7111,6983,409
Northumberland East ConCon2,64459.47%84218.94%75.38%2,6441,8024,446
Northumberland West LibLib1,51054.91%2709.82%81.64%1,2401,5102,750
Ontario North ConCon2,25852.10%1824.20%85.32%2,2582,0764,334
Ontario South LibCon2,72051.05%1122.10%87.48%2,7202,6085,328
Oxford North LibLib2,88554.82%5079.63%75.82%2,3782,8855,263
Oxford South ConCon2,71352.04%2134.09%82.73%2,7132,5005,213
Parry Sound LibCon2,24352.37%3748.73%43.75%2,2431,8691714,283
Peel LibLib2,26950.36%320.71%86.86%2,2372,2694,506
Perth North ConCon3,71252.21%3144.42%88.18%3,7123,3987,110
Perth South LibCon2,55550.58%591.17%87.11%2,5552,4965,051
Peterborough East LibLib1,37152.25%1184.50%64.81%1,2531,3712,624
Peterborough West LibCon2,96762.33%1,17424.66%73.55%2,9671,7934,760
Port Arthur and Rainy River LibLib1,28550.27%140.55%53.77%1,2711,2852,556
Prescott LibLib2,09350.01%10.02%67.64%4,185 [a 3] 4,185
Prince Edward LibLib2,27050.06%50.11%85.84%2,2652,2704,535
Renfrew North LibCon2,79167.48%1,44634.96%73.03%2,7911,3454,136
Renfrew South LibCon2,45754.55%4109.10%70.65%2,4572,0474,504
Russell LibLib2,55759.55%82019.10%54.87%1,7372,5574,294
Sault Ste. Marie ConLib1,39652.05%1104.10%55.73%1,2861,3962,682
Simcoe Centre LibCon2,20157.26%55814.52%79.10%2,2011,6433,844
Simcoe East LibLib3,28451.92%2433.84%77.68%3,0413,2846,325
Simcoe West ConCon2,12959.60%68619.20%65.33%2,1291,4433,572
Stormont LibCon2,67949.93%370.69%79.90%2,723 [a 4] 2,6425,365
Toronto East ConCon3,57372.08%2,37347.87%55.23%3,5731,2001844,957
Toronto North ConCon5,18957.00%1,48516.31%70.74%5,1893,7042119,104
Toronto South ConCon5,38068.48%3,07239.10%57.89%5,3802,3081687,856
Toronto West ConCon4,99870.26%3,22345.31%53.88%4,9981,775283137,114
Victoria East ConCon2,12867.02%1,08134.05%58.99%2,1281,0473,175
Victoria West ConCon2,21151.61%1383.22%78.33%2,2112,0734,284
Waterloo North ConCon3,02152.51%3616.27%74.87%3,0212,660725,753
Waterloo South ConCon2,86254.19%4438.39%73.89%2,8622,4195,281
Welland LibCon3,32852.29%2914.57%79.15%3,3283,0376,365
Wellington East LibCon1,91052.36%1724.71%74.39%1,9101,7383,648
Wellington South ConCon2,64051.18%2825.47%80.29%2,6402,3581605,158
Wellington West ConCon1,86353.20%2246.40%79.89%1,8631,6393,502
Wentworth North LibLib1,61250.44%280.88%80.53%1,5841,6123,196
Wentworth South LibLib1,49054.01%2218.01%78.50%1,2691,4902,759
York East LibCon2,22855.33%42910.65%73.50%2,2281,7994,027
York North LibCon2,82752.49%2684.98%87.60%2,8272,5595,386
York West [a 5] ConCon3,27664.07%1,43928.14%61.08%3,2761,8375,113
  1. excluding Ottawa, a multi-member constituency
  2. order is as given in EO reports
  3. the incumbent Alfred Évanturel received 2,092 votes
  4. George Kerr was the winning candidate
  5. EO error re party affiliations corrected
  = 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

[1]

Results for Ottawa (2 seats)
Political partyCandidateVotes %ElectedIncumbent
Liberal Donald Joseph McDougal 6,05326.06Green check.svgY
Liberal George Samuel May 5,90425.42Green check.svgY
Conservative Dennis Murphy 5,67524.43Red x.svgNGreen check.svgY
Conservative P.D. Ross5,59624.09
Majority [a 1] 2290.99
Turnout11,72674.01
Registered voters15,844
  1. plurality for second winning candidate

Analysis

Party candidates in 2nd place [1] [a 1]
Party in 1st placeParty in 2nd placeTotal
ConLibI-LibProh
Conservative 662169
Liberal 25126
Independent Liberal11
Total26672196
  1. excluding Ottawa seats
Candidates ranked 1st to 5th place, by party [1]
Parties1st2nd3rd4th5th
  Conservative 692621
  Liberal 2768
 Independent Liberal12
 Prohibitionist11
  Socialist 7
 Temperance11
  Independent 11
 Independent Conservative1
Resulting composition of the 10th Legislative Assembly of Ontario [1]
SourceParty
ConLibI-LibTotal
Seats retainedIncumbents returned371855
Open seats held5510
Byelection losses reversed22
Seats changing handsIncumbents defeated16117
Open seats gained81110
Byelection gains held112
Ottawa seatsNew MLA11
Incumbent defeated11
Total6928198

MLAs elected by region and riding

Party designations are as follows:

  Liberal
  Conservative
  Independent Liberal

    Seats that changed hands

    Elections to the 11th Parliament of Ontario – seats won/lost by party, 1902–1905
    Party1902Gain from (loss to)1905
    ConLibI-Lib
    Conservative 4826(5)69
    Liberal 505(26)(1)28
    Independent-Liberal11
    Total986(26)26(5)(1)98

    There were 32 seats that changed allegiance in the election:

    See also

    Notes and references

    Notes

    1. Election declared void because of corrupt practices. Writ for new election issued. Pense was reelected in the subsequent byelection. [9]

    References

    1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "1905 General Election". Elections Ontario. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
    2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Randall, White (1985). Ontario, 1610-1985: A Political and Economic History. Dundurn Press. ISBN   0-919670-99-7.
    3. Hopkins 1906, pp. 204–206.
    4. Hopkins 1906, p. 206.
    5. Hopkins 1906, p. 208.
    6. Hopkins 1906, p. 209.
    7. Hopkins 1906, pp. 215–216.
    8. Hopkins 1906, p. 216.
    9. Journals of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario. Vol. XL. Toronto: Legislative Assembly of Ontario. 1906. pp. 11–13.

    Further reading