1st Manitoba Legislature

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1st Manitoba Legislature
March 15, 1871  December 16, 1874
Coat of arms of Manitoba.svg
Parliament leaders
Premier Alfred Boyd
September 1870 - December 1871
Marc-Amable Girard
December 1871 - March 1872
Henry Joseph Clarke
March 1872 - July 1874
Leader of the
Opposition
Edward Hay
1871-1874
Party caucuses
Government Non-partisan
Legislative Assembly
Speaker of the
Assembly
Joseph Royal
1871 - 1872
Curtis James Bird
1873
Members24 MLA seats
Legislative Council
Speaker of the
Council
James McKay
March 15, 1871 July 22, 1874
Counsellors7 counsellor seats
Sovereign
Monarch Queen Victoria
20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901
Lieutenant
Governor
Adams George Archibald
May 20, 1870 December 2, 1872
Alexander Morris
December 2, 1872 October 7, 1877
Sessions
1st session
March 15, 1871 (1871-03-15) – May 3, 1871 (1871-05-03)
2nd session
January 16, 1872 (1872-01-16) – February 21, 1872 (1872-02-21)
3rd session
February 3, 1873 (1873-02-03) – July 22, 1873 (1873-07-22)
4th session
November 4, 1873 (1873-11-04) – July 22, 1874 (1874-07-22)
  2nd

The members of the 1st Manitoba Legislature were elected in the Manitoba general election held in December 1870, the first general election for the new province. The legislature sat from March 15, 1871, to December 16, 1874. [1]

Contents

Lieutenant Governor Adams George Archibald's "Government party" held the balance of power in the assembly with 17 seats. The Canadian Party, also known as the "Loyal party", led by John Christian Schultz, won 5 seats; they demanded swift punishment for the leaders of the Red River Rebellion. Henry Joseph Clarke served as government house leader in the assembly but Lieutenant Governor Archibald performed the functions of Premier. [2] In December 1872, Alexander Morris replaced Archibald as Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba. [3]

In July 1874, a government led by Henry Joseph Clarke [1] was defeated by a motion of non-confidence. Marc-Amable Girard was asked to form a government and was allowed to select the members of his cabinet, thus introducing responsible government to the province. On December 1, 1874, all but one member of the Girard cabinet resigned due to ethnic tensions. Robert Atkinson Davis was asked to form a new government which went to the polls later that month. [4]

Joseph Royal served as speaker for the assembly from 1871 to 1872. Curtis James Bird was speaker from 1873 to 1874. [1]

There were four sessions of the 1st Legislature: [1]

SessionStartEnd
1stMarch 15, 1871May 3, 1871
2ndJanuary 16, 1872February 21, 1872
3rdFebruary 3, 1873July 22, 1873
4thNovember 4, 1873July 22, 1874

Members of the Assembly

The following members were elected to the assembly in 1870: [1] [5]

MemberElectoral districtAffiliation [6] First electedNo.# of term(s)Notes
Joseph Dubuc Baie St. Paul Government18701st term
John Taylor [nb 1] [7] Headingly Opposition18701st term
James Cunningham Government18711st term
John Norquay High Bluff Government18701st term
John Sutherland Kildonan Opposition18701st term
Angus McKay Lake Manitoba Government18701st term
David Spence Poplar Point Government18701st term
Frederick Bird Portage la Prairie Opposition18701st term
Alfred Boyd St. Andrews North Government18701st term
Edward Hay St. Andrews South Opposition18701st term
Marc-Amable Girard St. Boniface East Government18701st term
Louis Schmidt St. Boniface West Government18701st term
Henry Joseph Clarke St. Charles Government18701st term
Thomas Bunn St. Clements Independent18701st term
Pascal Breland St. Francois Xavier East Government18701st term
Joseph Royal St. Francois Xavier West Government18701st term
Edwin Bourke St. James Opposition18701st term
Joseph Lemay St. Norbert North Government18701st term
Pierre Delorme St. Norbert South Government18701st term
Curtis Bird St. Pauls Government18701st term
Thomas Howard St Peters Government18701st term
André Beauchemin St. Vital Government18701st term
George Klyne Ste. Agathe Independent18701st term
John McTavish Ste. Anne Government18701st term
Donald Alexander Smith [nb 2] [8] Winnipeg and St. John Government18701st term
Robert Atkinson Davis (1874)Opposition18741st term

Notes:

  1. Taylor's election was later overturned and Government supporter James Cunningham was declared elected
  2. Smith was forced to resign when serving in both provincial and federal legislatures became illegal in May 1873

By-elections

By-elections were held to replace members for various reasons:

Electoral districtMember electedAffiliationElection dateReason
Winnipeg and St. John Robert Atkinson Davis [9] OppositionApril 1874DA Smith resigned after dual representation abolished [8]

Notes:

    References

    1. 1 2 3 4 5 "First Legislative Assembly of Manitoba (1871–1874)". Memorable Manitobans. Manitoba Historical Society. Retrieved 2012-09-18.
    2. "The Establishment of Manitoba's First Provincial Government". Manitoba Historical Society. Retrieved 2012-09-18.
    3. Alexander Morris – Parliament of Canada biography
    4. Swan, Ruth (1994). "Davis, Robert Atkinson". In Cook, Ramsay; Hamelin, Jean (eds.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography . Vol. XIII (1901–1910) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.
    5. "First Legislative Assembly of Manitoba" (PDF). Legislative Assembly of Manitoba. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
    6. "Historical Summaries" (PDF). Elections Manitoba. Retrieved 2012-09-23.
    7. Russenholt, Edgar Stanford (1968). The heart of the continent : being the history of Assiniboia--the truly typical Canadian community. p. 150. Archived from the original on 2020-01-09. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
    8. 1 2 "Donald Alexander Smith, 1st Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
    9. "Robert Atkinson Davis (1841–1903)". Memorable Manitobans. Manitoba Historical Society. Retrieved 2012-09-18.