1909 Newfoundland general election

1909 Newfoundland general election

←  1908 May 8, 1909 1913  →
←  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 Edward Morris Robert Bond Party People's Liberal Leader since 1908 1897 Leader's seat St. John's West Twillingate Last election 18 18 Seats won 26 10 Seat change 8 8 Popular vote 54,111 48,200 Percentage 52.89% 47.11% Swing 3.55% 3.11%
Prime Minister before election Edward Morris People's Prime Minister after election Edward Morris People's

The 1909 Newfoundland general election was held on 8 May 1909 to elect members of the 22nd General Assembly of Newfoundland in the Dominion of Newfoundland. The Newfoundland People's Party led by Edward P. Morris, having secured a majority, formed the government.

Results

	Party	Leader	1908	Candidates	Seats won	Seat change	% of seats (% change)	Popular vote	% of vote (% change)
	People's	Edward Morris	18	36	26	8	72.22% (22.22%)	54,111	52.89% (3.55%)
	Liberal	Robert Bond	18	36	10	8	27.78% (22.22%)	48,200	47.11% (3.11%)
Totals			36	72	36		100%	102,311	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
	People's		Liberal (historical)
St. John's East		Michael Gibbs 1,979 15.29%		James Kent 2,595 20.05%		James Kent
		Frank McNamara [1] 1,741 13.45%		George Shea 2,471 19.09%		George Shea
		Maurice Devine 1,702 13.15%		John Dwyer 2,457 18.98%		John Dwyer
St. John's West		Edward Morris 2,205 19.05%		William Ellis 1,858 16.05%		Edward Morris
		John R. Bennett 2,094 18.09%		Henry Cowan 1,762 15.22%		John R. Bennett
		Michael Kennedy 1,995 17.23%		John Scott 1,663 14.36%		Michael Kennedy

Conception Bay

Electoral district	Candidates				Incumbent
	People's		Liberal (historical)
Bay de Verde		John Crosbie 1,145 26.32%		Robert Duff 1,044 24.00%		John Crosbie
		Jesse Whiteway 1,126 25.89%		Charles Steer 1,035 23.79%		Jesse Whiteway
Carbonear		John Goodison 603 51.89%		Joseph Maddock 559 48.11%		Joseph Maddock
Harbour Grace		Archibald Piccott 1,444 18.33%		John Parsons [2] 1,223 15.52%		Archibald Piccott
		Alfred Seymour 1,404 17.82%		Arthur Barnes 1,210 15.36%		Edward Parsons
		Edward Parsons 1,403 17.81%		Eli Dawe 1,195 15.17%		Eli Dawe
Harbour Main		William Woodford 1,118 27.67%		John Lewis 949 23.49%		William Woodford
		John J. Murphy 1,065 26.36%		John J. St. John 908 22.48%		John J. Murphy
Port de Grave		William Warren 781 50.52%		Samuel Bartlett 765 49.48%		William Warren

Avalon Peninsula

Electoral district	Candidates				Incumbent
	People's		Liberal (historical)
Ferryland		Michael Cashin 881 31.05%		George Power [3] 617 21.75%		Michael Cashin
		Philip Moore 802 28.27%		Michael Condon 537 18.93%		William Ellis‡ (ran in St. John's West)
Placentia and St. Mary's		Richard Devereaux 1,791 18.12%		Edward Jackman 1,593 16.12%		Edward Jackman
		William Howley 1,767 17.88%		Michael Sullivan 1,528 15.46%		Michael Sullivan
		Frank Morris 1,743 17.64%		James Davis 1,461 14.78%		James Davis

Eastern Newfoundland

Electoral district	Candidates				Incumbent
	People's		Liberal (historical)
Bonavista Bay		Sydney Blandford 3,158 28.02%		John Giles [4] 652 5.79%		Sydney Blandford
		William C. Winsor 3,133 27.80%		Ambrose Janes [4] 636 5.64%		William C. Winsor
		Donald Morison 3,076 27.29%		Arthur Herder [4] 615 5.46%		Donald Morison
Trinity Bay		Richard Squires 2,182 17.51%		George Gushue 2,082 16.71%		George Gushue
		Robert Watson 2,176 17.46%		Arthur Miller 2,014 16.16%		Arthur Miller
		Edwin Grant 2,104 16.88%		George Ayre 1,905 15.29%		Robert Watson

Central Newfoundland

Electoral district	Candidates				Incumbent
	People's		Liberal (historical)
Fogo		Henry Fitzgerald 845 49.53%		Henry Earle 861 50.45%		Henry Earle
Twillingate		Alan Goodridge 1,297 11.48%		Robert Bond 2,621 23.19%		Robert Bond
		Jordan Milley 1,204 10.65%		James A. Clift 2,592 22.93%		James Clift
		Sydney Woods [5] 1,090 9.64%		George Roberts 2,498 22.10%		George Roberts

Southern and Western Newfoundland

Electoral district	Candidates				Incumbent
	People's		Liberal (historical)
Burgeo and LaPoile		Robert Moulton 821 63.74%		A. J. W. McNeilly 467 36.26%		Robert Moulton
Burin		John A. Robinson 781 24.94%		Henry Gear 795 25.38%		Edward Davey
		Thomas LeFeuvre 774 24.71%		Edward Davey 782 24.97%		Henry Gear
Fortune Bay		Charles Emerson 731 54.59%		William Lloyd 608 45.41%		Charles Emerson
St. Barbe		Henry Mott 790 46.44%		William Clapp 911 53.56%		William Clapp
St. George's		Joseph Downey 1,160 61.34%		George Carty 731 38.66%		Joseph Downey

References

1. "Representative of the People's Party". Evening Chronicle. October 7, 1908. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
2. "The Liberal Tidal Wave: Greatest Political Meeting Ever Held at Harbor Grace Last Night". Evening Telegram. April 22, 1909. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
3. "To Our Country". Harbour Grace Standard. April 30, 1909. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
4. "Ha! Ha!! Ha!!!". Daily News. April 22, 1909. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
5. "Woods for Twillingate". Daily News. September 25, 1908. Retrieved May 17, 2025.

Further reading

• Riggs, Bert (1981). "General Election #22: May 8, 1909". Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, volume 1. St. John's: Harry Cuff Publications Ltd. Retrieved May 17, 2025.