Prince Edward Island general election, 1908

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Prince Edward Island general election, 1908
Flag of Prince Edward Island.svg
  1904 November 18, 1908 (1908-11-18) 1912  

All 30 seats in the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island
16 seats needed for a majority

  First party Second party
  Francis Haszard.jpg John Mathieson.jpg
Leader Francis Haszard John A. Mathieson
Party Liberal Conservative
Leader since 1908 1903
Leader's seat 4th Queens 5th Kings
Last election 22 seats, 54.1% 8 seats, 45.9%
Seats won17 13
Seat changeDecrease2.svg5Increase2.svg5
Popular vote15,488 14,541
Percentage51.6% 48.4%
SwingDecrease2.svg2.5pp Increase2.svg2.5pp

Premier before election

Francis Haszard
Liberal

Premier-designate

Francis Haszard
Liberal

The 1908 Prince Edward Island general election was held in the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island on November 18, 1908. [1]

Canada Country in North America

Canada is a country in the northern part of North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering 9.98 million square kilometres, making it the world's second-largest country by total area. Canada's southern border with the United States, stretching some 8,891 kilometres (5,525 mi), is the world's longest bi-national land border. Its capital is Ottawa, and its three largest metropolitan areas are Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. As a whole, Canada is sparsely populated, the majority of its land area being dominated by forest and tundra. Consequently, its population is highly urbanized, with over 80 percent of its inhabitants concentrated in large and medium-sized cities, with 70% of citizens residing within 100 kilometres (62 mi) of the southern border. Canada's climate varies widely across its vast area, ranging from arctic weather in the north, to hot summers in the southern regions, with four distinct seasons.

Prince Edward Island Province of Canada

Prince Edward Island is a province of Canada consisting of the Atlantic island of the same name along with several much smaller islands nearby. PEI is one of the three Maritime Provinces. It is the smallest province of Canada in both land area and population, but it is the most densely populated. Part of the traditional lands of the Mi'kmaq, it became a British colony in the 1700s and was federated into Canada as a province in 1873. Its capital is Charlottetown. According to the 2016 census, the province of PEI has 142,907 residents.

Contents

The election was won by the governing Liberals, led by incumbent Premier Francis Haszard. Haszard had taken over from his predecessor, Arthur Peters, following his death in January 1908.

The incumbent is the current holder of an office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent(s). For example, in the 2017 Hungarian presidential election, János Áder was the incumbent, because he had been the president in the term before the term for which the election sought to determine the president. A race without an incumbent is referred to as an open seat.

In Canada, a premier is the head of government of a province or territory. Though the word is merely a synonym for prime minister, it is employed for provincial prime ministers to differentiate them from the Prime Minister of Canada. There are currently 10 provincial premiers and three territorial premiers. These persons are styled The Honourable only while in office, unless they are admitted to the Queen's Privy Council for Canada, in which case they retain the title even after leaving the premiership.

Francis Haszard Canadian politician

Francis Longworth Haszard was a Prince Edward Island politician and jurist, the tenth Premier of Prince Edward Island. Haszard's family had been United Empire Loyalists moving to PEI from the United States after the American Revolution.

Haszard resigned as Premier in 1911 following appointment to the province's Supreme Court, and he was succeeded as Premier by H. James Palmer. Due to his designation as Premier, Palmer ran in a by-election in his district of 3rd Queens; traditionally, the Opposition does not run a candidate in these triggered by-elections, but the Conservatives did in the December, 1911 by-election and defeated Palmer in his own district.

Herbert James Palmer Canadian politician

H. James Palmer was the 11th Premier of Prince Edward Island and the son of former colonial Premier Edward Palmer.

By-elections, also spelled bye-elections, are used to fill elected offices that have become vacant between general elections.

3rd Queens

3rd Queens was an electoral district in the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, which elected two members to the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island from 1873 to 1993.

The opposition Conservatives, led by John A. Mathieson, gained five seats in this election.

Progressive Conservative Party of Prince Edward Island political party in Prince Edward Island, Canada

The Progressive Conservative Party of Prince Edward Island is one of two major political parties on Prince Edward Island. It and its rival, the Liberals have alternated in power since responsible government was granted in 1851.

John Alexander Mathieson Canadian politician

John Alexander Mathieson was a Prince Edward Island politician and jurist, the 12th Premier.

Party Standings

PartyParty LeaderSeatsPopular Vote
1904Elected#%
  Liberal Francis Haszard 221715,48851.6%
  Conservative John A. Mathieson 81314,54148.4%

Members Elected

The Legislature of Prince Edward Island had two levels of membership from 1893 to 1996 - Assemblymen and Councillors. This was a holdover from when the Island had a bicameral legislature, the General Assembly and the Legislative Council.

In 1893, the Legislative Council was abolished and had its membership merged with the Assembly, though the two titles remained separate and were elected by different electoral franchises. Assembleymen were elected by all eligible voters of within a district, while Councillors were only elected by landowners within a district. [2]

Kings

District Assemblyman Party Councillor Party
1st Kings    John McLean Conservative    Lauchlin MacDonald Liberal
2nd Kings    Robert Cox Liberal    James McInnis Liberal
3rd Kings    Walter A. O. Morson Conservative    John A. MacDonald Conservative
4th Kings    Albert P. Prowse Conservative    Murdock MacKinnon Conservative
5th Kings    Archibald J. MacDonald Conservative    John Alexander Mathieson Conservative

Prince

District Assemblyman Party Councillor Party
1st Prince    Benjamin Gallant Liberal    John Agnew Liberal
2nd Prince    John Richards Liberal    Alfred McWilliams Liberal
3rd Prince    Aubin Edmond Arsenault Conservative    Hector Dobie Conservative
4th Prince    James Kennedy Conservative   
Joseph Read Liberal
5th Prince    James A. MacNeill Conservative    J. Edward Wyatt Conservative

Queens

District Assemblyman Party Councillor Party
1st Queens    Matthew Smith Liberal    Murdock Kennedy Conservative
2nd Queens    William Laird Liberal    John McMillan Liberal
3rd Queens    Herbert James Palmer Liberal    James H. Cummiskey Liberal
4th Queens    David P. Irving Liberal    Francis L. Haszard Liberal
5th Queens    James Warburton Liberal    George E. Hughes Liberal

Sources

  1. "Provincial General Election Results, 1908" (PDF). Elections PEI.
  2. Fred Driscoll. "History and Politics of Prince Edward Island" (PDF). Canadian Parliamentary Review.

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