1913 Newfoundland general election

1913 Newfoundland general election

←  1909 October 30, 1913 1919  →
←  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 and William Coaker Party People's Liberal-Unionist Leader since 1908 1897 / 1908 Leader's seat St. John's West Twillingate / Bonavista Bay [a] Last election 26 10 [b] Seats won 21 15 Seat change 5 5 Popular vote 51,451 61,362 Percentage 45.55% 54.32% Swing 2.52% 2.39%
Prime Minister before election Edward Morris People's Prime Minister after election Edward Morris People's

The 1913 Newfoundland general election was held on 30 October 1913 to elect members of the 23rd General Assembly of Newfoundland in the Dominion of Newfoundland. The Liberal Party led by Robert Bond formed a coalition with the Fishermen's Protective Union led by William Coaker. Although the majority held by the Newfoundland People's Party was reduced in this election, it was again returned to power and Edward P. Morris continued to serve as Prime Minister of Newfoundland. A general election originally scheduled for 1917 was deferred until 1919 because of World War I. After Morris retired from politics in 1918, William F. Lloyd, a Liberal member of the Executive Council, was asked to form a government. In May 1919, Michael Patrick Cashin, the leader of the People's Party, introduced a motion of no confidence which resulted in the defeat of the government. Cashin served as Newfoundland prime minister until the election held later in 1919.

Results

	Party	Leader	1909	Candidates	Seats won	Seat change	% of seats (% change)	Popular vote	% of vote (% change)
	People's	Edward Morris	26	36	21	5	58.33% (13.89%)	51,451	45.55% (2.52%)
	Liberal [c]	Robert Bond	10	36 Liberal 27 FPU 9	15 FPU 8 Liberal 7	5	41.67% (13.89%)	61,362 Liberal 39,228 FPU 22,134	54.32% (2.39%)
	Fishermen's Protective Union	William Coaker	–
	Other		0	1	0		0.00% ()	153	0.14% (0.14%)
Totals			36	73	36		100%	112,966	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		William Higgins 2,660 17.29%		James Kent 2,835 18.43%		James Kent
		William Howley 2,443 15.88%		John Dwyer 2,609 16.96%		George Shea†
		Henry Bartlett 2,306 14.99%		Charles Ryan 2,533 16.46%		John Dwyer
St. John's West		Edward Morris 2,749 21.25%		William Ellis 1,738 13.43%		Edward Morris
		John R. Bennett 2,643 20.43%		Henry Cowan 1,719 13.29%		John R. Bennett
		Michael Kennedy 2,545 19.67%		John Scott 1,545 11.94%		Michael Kennedy

Conception Bay

Electoral district	Candidates				Incumbent
	People's		Liberal (historical)
Bay de Verde		John Crosbie 1,150 25.35%		Albert Hickman [d] 1,168 25.75%		John Crosbie
		Jesse Whiteway 1,078 23.77%		Nathan Barrett (FPU) [2] 1,140 25.13%		Jesse Whiteway
Carbonear		John Goodison 608 53.24%		William Penney 534 46.76%		John Goodison
Harbour Grace		Archibald Piccott 1,444 18.71%		George A. Gosse 1,200 15.55%		Archibald Piccott
		Edward Parsons 1,374 17.81%		George Gordon [3] 1,187 15.38%		Alfred Seymour†
		Moses Young 1,342 17.39%		Harris Mosdell 1,169 15.15%		Edward Parsons
Harbour Main		William Woodford 1,178 29.64%		John Lewis [4] 904 22.75%		William Woodford
		George Kennedy 1,116 28.08%		Leo Carter 776 19.53%		John J. Murphy†
Port de Grave		William Warren 697 44.45%		George Grimes (FPU) 871 55.55%		William Warren

Avalon Peninsula

Electoral district	Candidates						Incumbent
	People's		Liberal (historical)		Other
Ferryland		Michael Cashin 1,095 40.02%		Michael Hartery 303 11.07%		Michael Condon [5] (Independent) 153 5.59%		Michael Cashin
		Philip Moore 918 33.55%		Fred Williams [6] 267 9.76%				Philip Moore
Placentia and St. Mary's		Richard Devereaux 2,023 20.58%		Michael Sullivan 1,544 15.70%				Richard Devereaux
		Frank Morris 1,953 19.86%		Patrick Summers 1,300 13.22%				William Howley‡ (ran in St. John's East)
		William Walsh 1,758 17.88%		George Carty 1,254 12.75%				Frank Morris

Eastern Newfoundland

Electoral district	Candidates				Incumbent
	People's		FPU
Bonavista Bay		Sydney Blandford 1,624 11.04%		William Coaker 3,473 23.61%		Sydney Blandford
		William C. Winsor 1,515 10.30%		Robert G. Winsor 3,313 22.52%		William C. Winsor
		Donald Morison 1,477 10.04%		John Abbott 3,308 22.49%		Donald Morison
Trinity Bay		Richard Squires 1,678 13.39%		John Stone 2,685 21.42%		Richard Squires
		Richard Fowlow [7] 1,510 12.05%		Archibald Targett 2,608 20.81%		Robert Watson†
		Brian Dunfield 1,462 11.66%		William Lloyd (Liberal) [e] 2,592 20.68%		Edwin Grant†

Central Newfoundland

Electoral district	Candidates				Incumbent
	People's		Liberal (historical)
Fogo		Henry Fitzgerald [7] 594 30.76%		William Halfyard (FPU) 1,337 69.24%		Henry Earle†
Twillingate		Jordan Milley [7] 887 7.03%		Robert Bond [f] 3,481 27.57%		Robert Bond
		William Temple [7] 734 5.81%		James Clift [g] 3,427 27.14%		James Clift
		Adolphus Yates [7] 698 5.53%		Walter Jennings (FPU) 3,399 26.92%		George Roberts†

Southern and Western Newfoundland

Electoral district	Candidates				Incumbent
	People's		Liberal (historical)
Burgeo and LaPoile		Robert Moulton 760 51.08%		Charles James [7] 728 48.92%		Robert Moulton
Burin		John Currie 1,200 30.76%		George Bartlett [7] 786 20.15%		Henry Gear
		Thomas LeFeuvre 1,174 30.09%		Henry Gear 741 19.00%		Thomas LeFeuvre
Fortune Bay		Charles Emerson 1,000 53.62%		Randall Fudge [7] 865 46.38%		Charles Emerson
St. Barbe		Henry Mott 871 41.01%		William Clapp [h] 1,253 58.99%		William Clapp
St. George's		Joseph Downey 1,187 60.65%		Arthur English 770 39.35%		Joseph Downey

Notes

1. Not the incumbent, but stood in this district and won
2. As the Liberal Party
3. Campaigned as the Liberal-Unionist Party
4. According to a 1934 Fishermen's Advocate article, the FPU had intended to run Allan Hudson as their other candidate for the Bay de Verde district. They agreed to let Liberal candidate Albert Hickman run in Hudson's place as part of the Liberal-Union electoral alliance. ^[1]
5. According to a 1934 Fishermen's Advocate article, the FPU had intended to run John Loder as their other candidate for the Trinity district. They agreed to let Liberal candidate William Lloyd run in Loder's place as part of the Liberal-Union electoral alliance. ^[1]
6. According to a 1934 Fishermen's Advocate article, the FPU had intended to run Martin Phillips as one of the two other candidates for the Twillingate district. They agreed to let Liberal leader Robert Bond run in Phillips' place as part of the Liberal-Union electoral alliance. ^[1]
7. According to a 1934 Fishermen's Advocate article, the FPU had intended to run Adolph Yates as one of the other candidates for the Twillingate district. They agreed to let Liberal incumbent James Clift run in Yates' place as part of the Liberal-Union electoral alliance. ^[1] Yates would ultimately run as a People's Party candidate.
8. According to a 1934 Fishermen's Advocate article, the FPU had intended to run a Mr. Alcock as their candidate for the St. Barbe district. They agreed to let Liberal incumbent William Clapp run in Alcock's place as part of the Liberal-Union electoral alliance. ^[1]

References

1. "Telegram Scribblers Taken to Task". Fishermen's Advocate. August 21, 1934. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
2. Coaker, William (1930). Twenty Years of the Fishermen's Protective Union of Newfoundland. St. John's, NL: Advocate Publishing Company Ltd. p. 386. Retrieved May 16, 2025.
3. "Nomination Day". Harbour Grace Standard. October 24, 1913. Retrieved May 16, 2025.
4. "Harbor Breton Fishermen For Capt. Fudge: Capt. John Lewis Appeals to the Fishermen". Evening Telegram. October 14, 1913. Retrieved May 16, 2025.
5. "Motor Man From Ferryland on the War Path". Evening Telegram. October 24, 1913. Retrieved May 16, 2025.
6. "Another Scorcher From the Southern Shore". Evening Telegram. October 15, 1913. Retrieved May 16, 2025.
7. "Yesterday's Nominations". The Daily News. October 21, 1913. Retrieved May 16, 2025.

Further reading

• Riggs, Bert (1981). "General Election #23: October 30, 1913". Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, volume 1. St. John's: Harry Cuff Publications Ltd. Retrieved May 16, 2025.
• Webb, Jeff. "The Fishermen's Protective Union and Politics". Heritage Newfoundland and Labrador. Memorial University of Newfoundland . Retrieved May 16, 2025.