1908 Ontario general election

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1908 Ontario general election
Flag of Ontario.svg
  1905 June 8, 1908 1911  

106 seats in the 12th Legislative Assembly of Ontario
54 seats were needed for a majority
 First partySecond party
  James Whitney.jpg Alexander Grant MacKay.jpg
Leader James P. Whitney Alexander Grant MacKay
Party Conservative Liberal
Leader since18961907
Leader's seat Dundas Grey North
Last election6928
Seats won8619
Seat changeIncrease2.svg17Decrease2.svg9

Premier before election

James P. Whitney
Conservative

Premier after election

James P. Whitney
Conservative

The 1908 Ontario general election was the 12th general election held in the Province of Ontario, Canada. It was held on June 8, 1908, to elect the 106 Members of the 12th Legislative Assembly of Ontario ("MLAs"). [1]

Contents

The Ontario Conservative Party, led by Sir James P. Whitney, was elected for a second term in government, increasing its majority in the Legislature significantly.

The Ontario Liberal Party, led by Alexander Grant MacKay, continued to lose seats.

Allan Studholme became the province's first Labour MLA as the result of a 1906 Hamilton East by-election. He was re-elected in the 1908 general election and would remain in the legislature until his death in 1919.

The four Toronto districts each elected two members in this election. Each seat was contested separately, with each voter in the district allowed to vote for a candidate in each contest.

Expansion of the Legislative Assembly

The number of electoral districts was increased from 97 to 102, under an Act passed in 1902, returning a total of 106 MLAs. [2] The following electoral changes were made:

Electoral system

The eight Toronto MPPs were elected in two-seat districts. Plurality block voting was used in these districts.

The other 94 MPPs were elected through First-past-the-post voting in single-member districts.

Results

[1]

Elections to the 12th Parliament of Ontario (1908)
Political partyParty leaderMLAsVotes
Candidates 1905 1908±#±%± (pp)
Conservative James P. Whitney 105698617Increase2.svg246,3248,712Increase2.svg54.68%1.31Increase2.svg
Liberal Alexander Grant MacKay 9028199Decrease2.svg177,71920,876Decrease2.svg39.45%5.16Decrease2.svg
Labour 811Increase2.svg7,5557,555Increase2.svg1.68%New
Independent Liberal211Decrease2.svg1,4703,892Decrease2.svg0.33%0.87Decrease2.svg
Independent Conservative67,9777,882Increase2.svg1.77%1.75Increase2.svg
Socialist 133,1291,856Increase2.svg0.69%0.40Increase2.svg
Independent 63,0912,991Increase2.svg0.69%0.67Increase2.svg
Prohibitionist12,187281Increase2.svg0.49%0.06Increase2.svg
Liberal-Temperance11,0171,017Increase2.svg0.23%New
Total23298106450,469100.00%
Voter turnout457,20910,006Increase2.svg73.420.54Decrease2.svg
Registered electors622,75118,085Increase2.svg
Acclamations   Conservative 6
Seats and popular vote by party
PartySeatsVotesChange (pp)
Conservative
86 / 106
54.68%
1.311.31
 
Liberal
19 / 106
39.45%
-5.16
 
Labour
1 / 106
1.68%
1.681.68
 
Other
0 / 106
4.19%
2.172.17
 

Synopsis of results

Results by riding - 1908 Ontario general election [1]
RidingWinning partyTurnoutVotes
Name [a 1] 1905 PartyVotesShareMargin
#
Margin
%
ConLibLabI-ConI-LibSocProhL-TmpIndTotal
 
Addington ConConacclaimed
Algoma ConCon2,13460.95%76721.91%80.70%2,1341,3673,501
Brant North ConCon1,85054.69%3179.37%89.15%1,8501,5333,383
Brant South LibCon2,81551.83%1993.66%86.91%2,8152,6165,431
Brockville LibCon2,19556.59%51113.17%85.09%2,1951,6843,879
Bruce Centre ConCon1,94055.05%35610.10%88.48%1,9401,5843,524
Bruce North LibLib2,28253.99%3377.97%80.85%1,9452,2824,227
Bruce South ConLib1,77451.39%962.78%86.02%1,6781,7743,452
Carleton ConCon1,35262.22%53124.44%51.67%1,3528212,173
Dufferin ConCon2,22950.48%420.95%84.37%2,2292,1874,416
Dundas ConCon2,26062.67%91425.35%75.78%2,2601,3463,606
Durham East ConConacclaimed
Durham West ConCon1,57551.04%642.07%85.30%1,5751,5113,086
Elgin East ConCon2,28956.09%49712.18%86.70%2,2891,7924,081
Elgin West ConCon3,34755.00%60910.01%76.88%3,3472,7386,085
Essex North ConCon2,98863.63%1,28027.26%51.74%2,9881,7084,696
Essex South LibCon2,61850.76%781.51%83.62%2,6182,5405,158
Fort William NewCon1,31761.06%47722.11%67.38%1,3178402,157
Frontenac ConCon1,57653.05%1816.09%67.46%1,5761,3952,971
Glengarry LibCon2,17053.07%2516.14%77.41%2,1701,9194,089
Grenville ConCon1,92350.30%230.60%75.72%1,9231,9003,823
Grey Centre ConCon2,25364.54%1,01529.07%62.54%2,2531,2383,491
Grey North LibLib3,02650.59%711.19%70.93%2,9553,0265,981
Grey South ConCon2,18753.04%2516.09%73.16%2,1871,9364,123
Haldimand LibLib1,97754.81%3479.62%96.22%1,6301,9773,607
Halton ConCon2,44953.86%3517.72%86.86%2,4492,0984,547
Hamilton East ConLab2,71740.91%751.13%72.45%2,6421,2582,717246,641
Hamilton West ConCon3,12163.22%1,55831.56%69.65%3,1211,5632534,937
Hastings East I-LibCon2,20161.76%83823.51%75.90%2,2011,3633,564
Hastings North ConCon2,22565.42%1,04930.84%64.19%2,2251,1763,401
Hastings West ConCon1,88252.41%1734.82%81.15%1,8821,7093,591
Huron Centre LibLib2,05152.11%1664.22%78.68%1,8852,0513,936
Huron North LibCon2,29251.94%1713.87%93.11%2,2922,1214,413
Huron South ConCon2,36554.41%3838.81%89.97%2,3651,9824,347
Kenora NewCon1,07856.00%23112.00%41.23%1,0788471,925
Kent East ConCon2,52450.83%821.65%78.54%2,5242,4424,966
Kent West LibCon3,92652.98%4415.95%83.47%3,9263,4857,411
Kingston LibCon2,21554.48%3939.67%96.27%2,2151,822294,066
Lambton East ConLib2,40452.57%2355.14%93.46%2,1692,4044,573
Lambton West ConCon3,84154.45%6288.90%79.98%3,8413,2137,054
Lanark North ConCon2,01756.61%47113.22%90.11%2,0171,5463,563
Lanark South ConConacclaimed
Leeds ConCon2,10252.35%1894.71%89.98%2,1021,9134,015
Lennox ConCon1,47750.29%170.58%89.40%1,4771,4602,937
Lincoln ConCon3,46359.56%1,11219.13%78.67%3,4632,3515,814
London ConCon5,08458.00%1,40316.01%78.42%5,0843,6818,765
Manitoulin ConCon1,41466.73%70933.46%58.48%1,4147052,119
Middlesex East ConCon2,36356.44%53912.87%79.28%2,3631,8244,187
Middlesex North ConLib2,17251.29%1092.57%91.10%2,0632,1724,235
Middlesex West LibLib1,77560.29%60620.58%82.91%1,7751,1692,944
Monck LibCon1,81650.49%350.97%90.23%1,8161,7813,597
Muskoka ConConacclaimed
Nipissing NewCon1,65459.09%50918.19%67.63%1,6541,1452,799
Norfolk North LibCon1,72051.08%732.17%94.01%1,7201,6473,367
Norfolk South ConCon1,49052.04%1174.09%92.48%1,4901,3732,863
Northumberland East ConCon2,58256.30%57812.60%82.12%2,5822,0044,586
Northumberland West LibLib1,59153.44%2056.89%92.38%1,3861,5912,977
Ontario North ConCon2,23055.62%45111.25%85.39%2,2301,7794,009
Ontario South ConCon2,77352.90%3045.80%85.46%2,7732,4695,242
Ottawa East NewLib2,79854.54%4669.08%78.11%2,3322,7985,130
Ottawa West NewCon4,80655.04%88010.08%71.86%4,8063,9268,732
Oxford North LibLib2,89354.03%4328.07%81.25%2,4612,8935,354
Oxford South ConLib2,67150.42%440.83%88.55%2,6272,6715,298
Parry Sound ConCon2,87962.05%1,26327.22%53.88%2,8791,6161454,640
Peel LibCon2,85254.78%4989.57%87.79%2,8522,3545,206
Perth North ConCon3,68851.87%2663.74%88.65%3,6883,4227,110
Perth South ConLib2,45350.58%561.15%93.18%2,3972,4534,850
Peterborough East LibCon1,97861.14%72122.29%78.99%1,9781,2573,235
Peterborough West ConCon2,56154.56%4289.12%76.14%2,5612,1334,694
Port Arthur NewCon1,24155.16%38016.89%71.64%1,2418611482,250
Prescott LibCon1,94450.09%70.18%66.02%1,9441,9373,881
Prince Edward LibCon2,22151.53%1323.06%86.70%2,2212,0894,310
Rainy River NewCon94454.95%1709.90%78.65%9447741,718
Renfrew North ConLib2,27452.28%1984.55%86.47%2,0762,2744,350
Renfrew South ConCon2,62352.39%2394.77%77.82%2,6232,3845,007
Russell LibLib2,64258.72%78517.45%59.61%1,8572,6424,499
Sault Ste. Marie LibCon1,40654.69%2419.37%61.43%1,4061,1652,571
Simcoe Centre ConCon1,97255.08%36410.17%75.97%1,9721,6083,580
Simcoe East LibLib3,10551.49%1802.99%75.37%2,9253,1056,030
Simcoe South ConConacclaimed
Simcoe West ConCon1,92165.38%90430.77%61.18%1,9211,0172,938
Stormont ConLib2,32750.09%80.17%70.96%2,3192,3274,646
Sturgeon Falls NewCon95952.92%1065.85%82.42%9598531,812
Sudbury NewCon1,49262.69%60425.38%64.29%1,4928882,380
Timiskaming NewCon1,64955.00%54918.31%48.21%1,6491,1002492,998
Toronto East - AConCon4,39376.51%1,98834.62%48.59%4,3931,0033465,742
Toronto East – BNewCon2,69543.03%2904.63%53.00%2,6959751882,4056,263
Toronto North - AConCon6,78988.44%2,91938.03%53.92%6,7895443437,676
Toronto North – BNewCon4,50252.40%6327.36%60.40%4,5023,8702208,592
Toronto South - AConCon5,20274.69%3,10344.55%47.61%5,2021,4732906,965
Toronto South – BNewCon4,94767.67%2,84838.95%49.94%4,9472,0992657,311
Toronto West - AConCon6,19070.58%3,97545.32%47.86%6,1901,87756301297498,770
Toronto West – BNewCon4,16047.41%1,94522.17%47.88%4,1602,2153801,8701508,775
Victoria East ConConacclaimed
Victoria West ConCon2,06150.50%982.40%94.00%2,0611,963574,081
Waterloo North ConCon3,06349.42%3325.36%76.73%3,0632,7314046,198
Waterloo South ConCon2,35363.49%1,00026.98%54.01%2,3531,3533,706
Welland ConCon3,72956.57%86613.14%77.32%3,7292,8636,592
Wellington East ConCon1,89853.06%2196.12%82.09%1,8981,6793,577
Wellington South ConCon2,78752.12%3997.46%78.67%2,7872,3881725,347
Wellington West ConLib1,66550.53%351.06%83.14%1,6301,6653,295
Wentworth North LibCon1,60050.60%1193.76%90.98%1,6001,481813,162
Wentworth South LibLib1,58253.72%2197.44%85.19%1,3631,5822,945
York East ConCon2,99856.84%72213.69%65.47%2,9982,2765,274
York North ConCon2,91854.00%4327.99%92.95%2,9182,4865,404
York West ConCon3,24161.80%1,45327.71%54.81%3,2411,7882155,244
  1. order is as given in EO reports
  = open seat
  = turnout is above provincial average
  = winning candidate was in previous Legislature
  = incumbent had switched allegiance
  = previously incumbent in another riding
  = not incumbent; was previously elected to the Legislature
  = incumbency arose from byelection gain
  = incumbency arose from prior election result being overturned by the court
  = other incumbents renominated
  = previously an MP in the House of Commons of Canada
  = multiple candidates

Analysis

Party candidates in 2nd place [1] [a 1]
Party in 1st placeParty in 2nd placeTotal
AcclConLibLabI-ConI-LibIndL-TmpProh
Conservative 6694411186
Liberal 18119
Labour 11
Total61969441111106
  1. excluding Ottawa seats
Candidates ranked 1st to 5th place, by party [1]
PartiesAccl1st2nd3rd4th5th
  Conservative 68019
  Liberal 19692
  Labour 14111
 Independent Conservative42
  Independent 131
 Independent Liberal11
 Prohibitionist1
 Liberal-Temperance1
  Socialist 1021
Resulting composition of the 10th Legislative Assembly of Ontario [1]
SourceParty
ConLibLabTotal
Seats retainedIncumbents returned49756
Acclamations66
Open seats held235
Seats changing handsIncumbents defeated6612
Open seats gained9211
Byelection gains held112
New seatsNew MLAs99
Previously incumbent in the Legislature415
Total86191106

MLAs elected by region and riding

Party designations are as follows:

  Conservative
  Liberal
  Labour

    Division and reorganization of ridings

    The newly created ridings returned the following MLAs:

    19051908
    RidingPartyRidingParty
    Fort William and Lake of the Woods   Conservative Fort William   Conservative
    Kenora   Conservative
    Port Arthur and Rainy River   Liberal Port Arthur   Conservative
    Rainy River   Conservative
    Nipissing East   Conservative Nipissing   Conservative
    Timiskaming   Conservative
    Nipissing West   Conservative Sudbury   Conservative
    Sturgeon Falls   Conservative
    Ottawa   Liberal
    (2 MLAs)
    Ottawa East   Liberal
    Ottawa West   Conservative
    Toronto East   Conservative Seat A  Conservative
    Seat B  Conservative
    Toronto North   Conservative Seat A  Conservative
    Seat B  Conservative
    Toronto South   Conservative Seat A  Conservative
    Seat B  Conservative
    Toronto West   Conservative Seat A  Conservative
    Seat B  Conservative
    Huron East   Liberal Huron North   Conservative
    Huron West   Liberal Huron Centre   Liberal

    Seats that changed hands

    Elections to the 12th Parliament of Ontario – unaltered seats won/lost by party, 1905–1908
    Party1905Gain from (loss to)1908
    ConLibI-LibLab
    Conservative 6214(8)1(1)68
    Liberal 238(14)17
    Independent-Liberal1(1)
    Labour 11
    Total869(15)14(8)1(1)86

    Of the unaltered seats, there were 24 that changed allegiance in the election:

    See also

    Notes and references

    Notes

    1. Resigned before the opening of the first session, in order to stand and win in Algoma East in the 1908 federal election. Albert Grigg (Conservative) won the subsequent byelection.

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    References

    1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "1908 General Election". Elections Ontario. Elections Ontario. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
    2. The Representation Act, 1908 , S.O. 1908, c. 2

    Further reading