1908 Newfoundland general election

1908 Newfoundland general election

←  1904 November 2, 1908 1909  →
←  Outgoing members Elected members  →
36 seats of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly 19 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   Leader Robert Bond Edward Morris Party Liberal People's Leader since 1897 1908 Leader's seat Twillingate St. John's West Last election 30 6 [a] Seats won 18 18 Seat change 12 12 Popular vote 48,341 47,487 Percentage 50.22% 49.34% Swing 9.80% 9.77%
Prime Minister before election Robert Bond Liberal Prime Minister after election Robert Bond Liberal

The 1908 Newfoundland general election was held on November 2, 1908 to elect members of the 21st General Assembly of Newfoundland in the Dominion of Newfoundland. The seats were split evenly between the Liberal Party and the new Newfoundland People's Party formed by Edward Morris after he resigned from the Liberal government in 1907 and joined with the opposition. Robert Bond, the Liberal leader, asked the Governor William MacGregor to dissolve the assembly. MacGregor refused to do this and Bond resigned as Premier. The Governor asked Edward P. Morris to form a government. The assembly was not able to elect a speaker and, after the Governor was unable to convince the two party leaders to form a coalition government, the house of assembly was dissolved on April 9, 1909.

Results

	Party	Leader	1904	Candidates	Seats won	Seat change	% of seats (% change)	Popular vote	% of vote (% change)
	Liberal	Robert Bond	30	36	18	12	50.00% (33.33%)	48,341	50.22% (9.80%)
	People's	Edward Morris	6 [a]	36	18	12	50.00% (33.33%)	47,487	49.34% (9.77%)
	Other		0	2	0		0.00% ()	424	0.44% (0.03%)
Totals			36	74	36		100%	96,252	100%

Results by district

• Names in boldface type represent party leaders.
• † indicates that the incumbent did not run again.
• ‡ indicates that the incumbent ran in a different district.

St. John's

Electoral district	Candidates				Incumbent
	Liberal (historical)		People's
St. John's East		James Kent 2,755 21.37%		Michael Gibbs 1,935 15.01%		James Kent
		George Shea 2,555 19.82%		Frank McNamara 1,598 12.40%		George Shea
		John Dwyer 2,461 19.09%		Maurice Devine 1,588 12.32%		John Dwyer
St. John's West		George Power [1] 1,822 15.89%		Edward Morris 2,274 19.83%		Edward Morris
		Andrew Glendenning [1] 1,604 13.99%		John R. Bennett 2,142 18.68%		John R. Bennett
		Edward Carter [2] 1,575 [3] 13.73%		Michael Kennedy 2,052 17.89%		John Scott†

Conception Bay

Electoral district	Candidates				Incumbent
	Liberal (historical)		People's
Bay de Verde		William Penney 998 23.54%		John Crosbie 1,147 27.06%		William C. Winsor‡ (ran in Bonavista Bay)
		F. Mews 992 23.40%		Jesse Whiteway 1,102 26.00%		Charles Hutchings†
Carbonear		Joseph Maddock 579 51.01%		John Goodison 556 48.99%		Joseph Maddock
Harbour Grace		Eli Dawe 1,153 16.55%		Archibald Piccott 1,206 17.31%		Eli Dawe
		Arthur Barnes 1,129 16.20%		Edward Parsons 1,200 17.22%		William Oke
		William Oke 1,129 16.20%		Alfred Seymour 1,150 16.51%		Arthur Barnes
Harbour Main		John Lewis 862 25.44%		William Woodford 948 27.98%		Frank Morris‡ (ran in Placentia and St. Mary's)
		Patrick Summers 702 20.72%		John J. Murphy 876 25.86%		John Lewis
Port de Grave		William Lloyd 581 42.85%		William Warren 775 57.15%		Vacant [b]

Avalon Peninsula

Electoral district	Candidates						Incumbent
	Liberal (historical)		People's		Other
Ferryland		William Ellis 639 27.00%		Michael Cashin 916 38.70%		Michael Condon (Independent) 298 12.59%		Michael Cashin
		R. J. Moore 225 9.51%		Philip Moore 587 24.80%				William Ellis
Placentia and St. Mary's		Edward Jackman 1,846 19.94%		Richard Devereaux 1,343 14.55%				Edward Jackman
		Michael Sullivan 1,724 18.67%		William Howley 1,341 14.52%				Thomas Bonia†
		James Davis 1,653 17.90%		Frank Morris 1,326 14.36%				Michael Sullivan

Eastern Newfoundland

Electoral district	Candidates				Incumbent
	Liberal (historical)		People's
Bonavista Bay		Edward Bishop [4] 1,013 9.81%		Sydney Blandford 2,624 25.40%		Donald Morison
		James Blackwood [4] 923 8.93%		William C. Winsor 2,524 24.43%		Mark Chaplin†
		Philip Knowling [4] 808 7.82%		Donald Morison 2,439 23.61%		Sydney Blandford
Trinity Bay		George Gushue 2,007 18.32%		Robert Watson 1,832 16.72%		George Gushue
		Arthur Miller 1,882 17.18%		Richard Squires 1,827 16.67%		William Lloyd‡ (ran in Port de Grave)
		George Ayre 1,690 15.42%		Aaron Stone [5] 1,719 15.69%		Arthur Miller

Central Newfoundland

Electoral district	Candidates				Incumbent
	Liberal (historical)		People's
Fogo		Henry Earle 757 55.13%		Henry Fitzgerald 616 44.87%		Henry Earle
Twillingate		Robert Bond 2,639 25.30%		Alan Goodridge 1,176 11.28%		Robert Bond
		James Clift 2,550 24.45%		Jordan Milley 975 9.35%		James Clift
		George Roberts 2,290 21.96%		Sydney Woods 800 7.67%		George Roberts

Southern and Western Newfoundland

Electoral district	Candidates						Incumbent
	Liberal (historical)		People's		Other
Burgeo and LaPoile		A. J. W. McNeilly 566 41.74%		Robert Moulton 790 58.26%				Robert Moulton
Burin		Edward Davey 930 27.34%		John A. Robinson 802 23.57%				Edward Davey
		Henry Gear 896 26.34%		Thomas LeFeuvre 774 22.75%				Henry Gear
Fortune Bay		Andrew Carnell 758 46.96%		Charles Emerson 856 53.04%				Albert Martin†
St. Barbe		William Clapp 972 59.30%		Henry Mott 667 40.70%				William Clapp
St. George's		Michael Abbott [6] 676 37.43%		Joseph Downey 1,004 55.59%		James Hayes [7] (Independent) 126 6.98%		George Carty†

Notes

1. As the United Opposition Party
2. Charles Dawe had been elected in a 1906 by-election, but he died while in office on March 29, 1908.

References

1. "The West End Aflame! The Fountainhead of Liberalism More Loyal Than Ever!". Evening Telegram. October 16, 1908. Retrieved May 19, 2025.
2. "Voters of St. John's West". Evening Chronicle. October 30, 1908. Retrieved May 19, 2025.
3. "Election Returns". The Western Star. November 11, 1908. Retrieved May 19, 2025.
4. "Bonavista's Watchword: Vote For Bishop, Knowling and Blackwood, and No Confederation!". Evening Telegram. October 16, 1908. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
5. "The Trinity Team: Watson, Squires and Stone". Evening Chronicle. September 24, 1908. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
6. "Michael Francis Abbott". The Western Star. October 28, 1908. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
7. "Jas. R Hayes Addresses Electors". The Western Star. October 28, 1908. Retrieved May 20, 2025.

Further reading

• Riggs, Bert (1981). "General Election #21: November 2, 1908". Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, volume 1. St. John's: Harry Cuff Publications Ltd. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
• Webb, Jeff (2001). "The 1908 Tie Election". Heritage Newfoundland and Labrador. Retrieved May 31, 2025.