1st Council of the North-West Territories

Last updated
1st Council of the Northwest Territories
EarlyNWTcouncillogo.jpg
Type
Type
History
Established1876
Disbanded1888
Preceded by Temporary North-West Council
Succeeded by 1st North-West Legislative Assembly
Seats7 – 15
Elections
Last election
1885 Northwest Territories election
Meeting place
Fort Livingstone
Battleford
Regina

The 1st Council of the North-West Territories, also known as the North-West Council in Canada, lasted from October 7, 1876, to 1888. [1] It was created as a permanent replacement to the Temporary North-West Council which existed prior to 1876.

Contents

A 2nd Council of the North-West Territories was elected in 1888. It was replaced in 1891 by the 1st North-West Assembly when the quota of elected members was reached.

(A different 2nd Council of the Northwest Territories (1905-1951) was created in 1905, when the NWT lost most of its population, to differentiate the new one from the two legislative councils of the NWT that had existed 1876 to 1891.)

Early history and development

The first members of the new council were appointed under the Northwest Territories Act and consisted of the Lieutenant Governor, appointed men and Stipendiary Magistrates. Elected representatives were added later and could join the council. If an area of 1,000 square miles (2,600 km2) had 1000 people, an electoral district could be set up and a district member elected. This created a patchwork of represented and unrepresented areas, and there was no official or independent boundaries commission; all electoral law at the beginning was under the purview of the Lieutenant Governor.

Three electoral districts were created in 1881 and for an unknown reason writs were only issued in the district of Lorne, which returned the first elected member, Lawrence Clarke.

Electors participating in the Northwest Territories elections did not vote by secret ballot until the 1893 Whitewood by-election. [2]

Early sessions

When the first council formed under the new appointed government in 1876, the council consisted of the lieutenant governor who acted as the chairman (speaker), and two appointed members. Because a quorum could not be maintained, the council had to be adjourned if one member went to the washroom.

Elections

Numerous elections took place during the period of 1876–1891 - 11 separate by-elections electing one or two members, 9 by-elections held on one day in September 1885 (1885 Northwest Territories election), and the 1888 North-West Territories general election.

The election of 1885 took place on September 15, 1885. The election saw 11 members in 9 new districts returned to the council, due to high rate of population growth in the North-west Territories at the time.

After the 1885 election, elected members became the majority in the council vis a vis the appointed members, although they had to fight to wrest control from the "colonial" officials. It became a full assembly.

The other elections, other than the 1888 general election, are not considered general elections, as there was no dissolution of the assembly - not all the members were up for election. However, after three years from an election, a district had to have another election - the seat was declared empty to be filled in an election.

For list of elected members please see below.

By-election dates and summaries

March 23, 1881 Lorne by-election #1

Election summary

Candidates# of candidatesPopular vote
#%
Elected candidates125063.61%
Defeated candidates114336.39%
Total2393100%

May 29, 1883 Edmonton by-election

Election summary -- Frank Oliver elected

Candidates# of candidatesPopular vote
#%
Elected candidates115559.62%
Defeated candidates210540.38%
Total3260100%

June 5, 1883 Lorne by-election

Election summary

Candidates# of candidatesPopular vote
#%
Elected candidates127969.92%
Defeated candidates112030.08%
Total2399100%

August 13, 1883 Moose Jaw, Regina, Qu'Appelle sub-election

Election summary

Candidates# of candidatesPopular vote
#%
Elected candidates351772.82%
Defeated candidates519327.18%
Total8710100%

August 31, 1883 Broadview by-election

Election summary

Candidates# of candidatesPopular vote
#%
Elected candidates19155.83%
Defeated candidates17244.17%
Total2163100%

June 28, 1884 Calgary by-election

Election summary - James Geddes elected

Candidates# of candidatesPopular vote
#%
Elected candidates110053.19
Defeated candidates18846.81
Total2188

(vote totals not recorded in Mardon and Mardon Alberta Election Results)

June 28, 1884 Moose Mountain by-election

Election summary

Candidates# of candidatesPopular vote
#%
Elected candidates19864.9
Defeated candidates15335.1
Total2151

(1885 Northwest Territories election -- almost a dozen by-elections were held in September 1885)

July 8, 1886 Moose Mountain by-election

Election summary

Candidates# of candidatesPopular vote
IncumbentNew#%
Acclaimed candidates1---
Total1--

July 16, 1886 Calgary by-election

Source: [3]

Each voter could cast up to two votes.

Election summary - Frank Oliver and H.C. Wilson elected

Candidates# of candidatesPopular vote
#%
Elected candidates242761.88%
Defeated candidates226338.12%
Total4690100%

October 14, 1886 Qu'Appelle by-election

Election summary

Candidates# of candidatesPopular vote
#%
Elected candidates133253.37%
Defeated candidates129046.62%
Total2622100%

May 24, 1887 Qu'Appelle by-election

Election summary [4]

Candidates# of candidatesPopular vote
#%
Elected candidates142761.88%
Defeated candidates126338.12%
Total2690100%

September 5, 1887 Macleod by-election

Election summary

Candidates# of candidatesPopular vote
#%
Elected candidates130165.86%
Defeated candidates115634.14%
Total2457

(1888 North-West Territories general election)

100%

Legislative session dates

Elected members of the 1st Council of the Northwest Territories

For complete electoral history, see individual districts

DistrictMemberDate electedDate left officeReason for leaving office
Broadview John Claude Hamilton August 31, 1883September 14, 1887Retirement?
Broadview Charles Marshallsay September 16, 1885November 5, 1887Death
Calgary James Davidson Geddes June 28, 18841886
Calgary John D. Lauder July 14, 1886June 30, 1888Retirement
Calgary Hugh Cayley July 14, 1886June 30, 1888Re-elected 1888 election
Edmonton Frank Oliver May 29, 1883
September 15, 1885Defeated
Edmonton Herbert Charles Wilson September 15, 1885June 30, 1888Re-elected 1888 election
Lorne Lawrence Clarke March 23, 1881June 4, 1883Retirement
Lorne Day Hort MacDowall June 5, 1883September 14, 1885Retirement
Lorne Owen Hughes September 15, 1885June 30, 1888Retirement
Macleod Richard Henry Boyle September 15, 1885August, 1887Resignation
Macleod Frederick Haultain September 5, 1887June 30, 1888Re-elected 1888 election
Moose Jaw James Hamilton Ross August 13, 1883June 30, 1888Re-elected 1888 election
Moose Mountain John Gillanders Turriff June 29, 1884June 30, 1888Re-elected 1888 election
Moosomin Spencer Bedford September 15, 1885June 30, 1888Retirement
Qu'Appelle Thomas Wesley Jackson August 13, 1883September, 1886Resignation
Qu'Appelle William Dell Perley September 15, 1885February 22, 1887Elected in 1887 federal election
Qu'Appelle Robert Crawford October 14, 1886June 30, 1888Retirement
Qu'Appelle William Sutherland May 24, 1887June 30, 1888Re-elected 1888 election
Regina William White August 13, 1883August 12, 1885Retirement
Regina David Jelly September 15, 1885June 30, 1888Re-elected 1888 election
Regina John Secord September 15, 1885June 30, 1888Re-elected 1888 election
St. Albert Samuel Cunningham September 15, 1885June 30, 1888Defeated 1888 election

Appointed members of the 1st Council of the Northwest Territories

MemberDate joined councilDate left officeReason for leaving office
Matthew Ryan January 1, 18761883Retirement?
Hugh Richardson January 1, 1876June 30, 1888Re-appointed after the election of 1888
James Macleod January 1, 1876June 30, 1888Re-appointed after the election of 1888
Pascal Breland July 10, 1878June 30, 1888Lost appointment when Legislature dissolved
Acheson Gosford Irvine August 20, 1883June 30, 1888Lost appointment when Legislature dissolved
Hayter Reed August 20, 1883June 30, 1888Lost appointment when Legislature dissolved
Charles Rouleau July 3, 1883June 30, 1888Re-appointed after the election of 1888
Jeremiah Travis 1885???

See also

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References

  1. "Territories" (PDF). Saskatchewan Archives. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  2. MacEwan, Grant (1966). Poking into politics. Edmonton, Alberta: The Institute of Applied Art. pp. 57–59. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  3. Calgary Herald (July 17, 1886): 2.{{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. "Qu'Appelle". Prince Albert Times (June 10, 1887).

Further reading