1886 Ontario general election

The 1886 Ontario general election was the sixth general election held in the province of Ontario, Canada. It was held on December 28, 1886, to elect the 90 Members of the 6th Legislative Assembly of Ontario ("MLAs").^[1] The election results were characterized a "crushing defeat for the Conservatives.^[2]

1886 Ontario general election

← 1883 December 28, 1886 1890 →
← outgoing members
90 seats in the 6th Legislative Assembly of Ontario 46 seats were needed for a majority
First party Second party   Leader Oliver Mowat William Ralph Meredith Party Liberal Conservative Leader since 1872 1879 Leader's seat Oxford North London Last election 48 37 Seats won 57 32 Seat change 9 5
Premier before election Oliver Mowat Liberal Premier after election Oliver Mowat Liberal

The Ontario Liberal Party, led by Oliver Mowat, won a fifth consecutive term in government and an increased majority in the Legislature.

The Ontario Conservative Party, led by William Ralph Meredith lost five of its seats.

In Toronto, this and the next election (1890) were held under the Limited Vote system wherein Toronto voters had two votes for the three MPPs in their district. This allowed a degree of minority representation.^[3]

Redistribution of ridings

The Assembly was increased from 88 to 90 members,^[4] through the following changes:

Abolished ridings	New ridings
Divisions of ridings
Algoma	Algoma East Algoma West
Muskoka and Parry Sound	Muskoka Parry Sound
Mergers of ridings
Cornwall Stormont	Cornwall and Stormont
Toronto East Toronto West	Toronto[a 1]
Reorganization of ridings
Bruce North Bruce South	Bruce Centre Bruce North Bruce South
Grenville South Leeds North and Grenville North Leeds South	Grenville Leeds
Simcoe East Simcoe South Simcoe West	Simcoe Centre Simcoe East Simcoe West
Victoria North Victoria South	Victoria East Victoria West

1. Returning three members. Each elector had two votes to cast.

Results

^[1]

Elections to the 6th Parliament of Ontario (1886)

Political party		Party leader	MPPs					Votes
			Candidates	1883	Dissol.	1886	±	#	%	± (pp)
	Liberal	Oliver Mowat	88	48		57	9	153,282	48.41%	0.21
	Conservative	William Ralph Meredith	83	37		32	5	148,969	47.05%	0.46
	Independent		5	1		1		2,145	0.68%	0.85
	Independent-Liberal			2		–	2	Did not campaign
	Labour		5	–	–	–		12,196	3.85%	2.32
	Temperance		1	–	–	–		14	–	New
	Independent-Conservative			–	–	–		Did not campaign
	Vacant
Total			182	88	88	90		316,606	100.00%
Blank and invalid ballots								3,622
Registered voters / turnout								463,025	68.85	0.90

Seats and popular vote by party

Party		Seats	Votes	Change (pp)
	Liberal	57 / 90	48.41%	0.21
	Conservative	32 / 90	47.05%	0.46
	Labour	0 / 90	3.85%	2.32
	Other	1 / 90	0.69%	-2.99

Synopsis of results

Results by riding - 1886 Ontario general election^[1]

Riding[a 1]	Winning party								Turnout	Votes
Name[a 2]	1883		Party		Votes	Share	Margin #	Margin %		Lib	Con	Lab	Tmp	Ind	Total
Addington		Con		Con	1,712	53.42%	219	6.83%	70.69%	1,493	1,712	–	–	–	3,205
Algoma East	New			Lib	acclaimed
Algoma West	New			Lib	acclaimed
Brant North		Lib		Lib	1,025	60.87%	366	21.73%	55.41%	1,025	659	–	–	–	1,684
Brant South		Lib		Lib	1,881	60.58%	657	21.16%	57.84%	1,881	1,224	–	–	–	3,105
Brockville		Lib		Lib	1,844	54.19%	285	8.37%	71.33%	1,844	1,559	–	–	–	3,403
Bruce Centre	New			Lib	1,753	50.45%	31	0.89%	71.55%	1,753	1,722	–	–	–	3,475
Bruce North		I-Lib		Con	1,738	51.77%	119	3.54%	68.33%	1,619	1,738	–	–	–	3,357
Bruce South		Lib		Lib	2,024	54.69%	347	9.38%	74.63%	2,024	1,677	–	–	–	3,701
Cardwell		Con		Con	1,805	59.71%	587	19.42%	57.66%	1,218	1,805	–	–	–	3,023
Carleton		Con		Con	1,824	75.40%	1,229	50.81%	45.79%	595	1,824	–	–	–	2,419
Cornwall and Stormont	New			Lib	2,068	54.48%	340	8.96%	69.39%	2,068	1,728	–	–	–	3,796
Dufferin		Con		Con	acclaimed
Dundas		Con		Lib	1,977	50.32%	25	0.64%	81.54%	1,977	1,952	–	–	–	3,929
Durham East		Con		Con	1,696	56.36%	383	12.73%	63.53%	1,313	1,696	–	–	–	3,009
Durham West		Lib		Lib	1,672	50.04%	3	0.09%	73.78%	1,672	1,669	–	–	–	3,341
Elgin East		Con		Lib	1,873	51.23%	90	2.46%	67.51%	1,873	1,783	–	–	–	3,656
Elgin West		Lib		Con	2,315	50.47%	43	0.94%	69.49%	2,272	2,315	–	–	–	4,587
Essex North		Con		Lib	1,729	51.17%	79	2.34%	58.70%	1,729	1,650	–	–	–	3,379
Essex South		Lib		Lib	2,497	53.80%	353	7.61%	77.51%	2,497	2,144	–	–	–	4,641
Frontenac		Con		Con	1,218	58.53%	355	17.06%	58.79%	863	1,218	–	–	–	2,081
Glengarry		Lib		Lib	1,723	50.47%	32	0.94%	76.91%	1,723	1,691	–	–	–	3,414
Grenville	New			Con	1,978	57.84%	550	16.08%	63.64%	1,428	1,978	–	14	–	3,420
Grey Centre		Con		Con	1,485	44.29%	112	3.34%	59.07%	1,373	1,980[a 3]	–	–	–	3,353
Grey North		Con		Con	2,076	50.22%	18	0.44%	67.75%	2,058	2,076	–	–	–	4,134
Grey South		Con		Con	2,087	53.23%	253	6.45%	71.17%	1,834	2,087	–	–	–	3,921
Haldimand		Lib		Lib	1,936	53.67%	265	7.35%	72.77%	1,936	1,671	–	–	–	3,607
Halton		Con		Con	2,277	51.38%	122	2.75%	73.07%	2,155	2,277	–	–	–	4,432
Hamilton		Lib		Lib	3,068	44.53%	435	6.31%	63.12%	3,068	2,633	1,188	–	–	6,889
Hastings East		Con		Con	1,784	51.53%	106	3.06%	84.87%	1,678	1,784	–	–	–	3,462
Hastings North		Con		Con	1,863	62.88%	763	25.75%	63.71%	1,100	1,863	–	–	–	2,963
Hastings West		Lib		Con	1,681	51.83%	119	3.67%	64.50%	1,562	1,681	–	–	–	3,243
Huron East		Lib		Lib	2,306	55.31%	443	10.63%	73.33%	2,306	1,863	–	–	–	4,169
Huron South		Lib		Lib	2,313	56.15%	507	12.31%	66.45%	2,313	1,806	–	–	–	4,119
Huron West		Lib		Lib	2,358	53.85%	337	7.70%	68.25%	2,358	2,021	–	–	–	4,379
Kent East		Lib		Lib	2,302	57.21%	580	14.41%	58.00%	2,302	1,722	–	–	–	4,024
Kent West		Con		Con	2,208	50.17%	15	0.34%	57.03%	2,193	2,208	–	–	–	4,401
Kingston		Con		Con	1,853	53.57%	247	7.14%	66.03%	1,606	1,853	–	–	–	3,459
Lambton East		Lib		Lib	2,270	52.78%	239	5.56%	70.43%	2,270	2,031	–	–	–	4,301
Lambton West		Lib		Lib	2,541	54.88%	452	9.76%	60.90%	2,541	–	2,089	–	–	4,630
Lanark North		Lib		Lib	1,392	51.71%	92	3.42%	67.24%	1,392	1,300	–	–	–	2,692
Lanark South		Ind		Con	1,836	56.44%	419	12.88%	72.99%	1,417	1,836	–	–	–	3,253
Leeds	New			Con	1,964	54.86%	348	9.72%	70.27%	1,616	1,964	–	–	–	3,580
Lennox		Con		Con	1,627	51.63%	103	3.27%	74.89%	1,524	1,627	–	–	–	3,151
Lincoln		Lib		Lib	2,242	50.17%	15	0.34%	63.58%	2,242	2,227	–	–	–	4,469
London		Con		Con	1,679	53.56%	223	7.11%	40.48%	–	1,679	1,456	–	–	3,135
Middlesex East		Lib		Con	2,621	51.04%	107	2.08%	70.38%	2,514	2,621	–	–	–	5,135
Middlesex North		Lib		Lib	2,044	50.88%	71	1.77%	74.22%	2,044	1,973	–	–	–	4,017
Middlesex West		Con		Lib	2,021	52.53%	195	5.07%	72.05%	2,021	1,826	–	–	–	3,847
Monck		Lib		Lib	1,643	51.78%	113	3.56%	72.06%	1,643	1,530	–	–	–	3,173
Muskoka	New			Con	1,565	53.84%	223	7.67%	72.90%	1,342	1,565	–	–	–	2,907
Norfolk North		Lib		Lib	1,640	56.51%	378	13.03%	70.14%	1,640	1,262	–	–	–	2,902
Norfolk South		Con		Con	1,528	52.11%	124	4.23%	78.29%	1,404	1,528	–	–	–	2,932
Northumberland East		Lib		Con	2,204	50.59%	51	1.17%	72.55%	2,153	2,204	–	–	–	4,357
Northumberland West		Con		Lib	1,710	58.06%	475	16.13%	69.90%	1,710	1,235	–	–	–	2,945
Ontario North		Lib		Lib	2,006	51.86%	144	3.72%	72.89%	2,006	1,862	–	–	–	3,868
Ontario South		Lib		Lib	2,651	52.30%	233	4.60%	69.31%	2,651	2,418	–	–	–	5,069
Ottawa		Con		Lib	1,815	53.97%	277	8.24%	53.32%	1,815	1,538	–	–	10	3,363
Oxford North		Lib		Lib	1,981	63.31%	833	26.62%	49.29%	1,981	1,148	–	–	–	3,129
Oxford South		Lib		Lib	2,216	54.23%	590	14.44%	65.85%	2,460[a 4]	1,626	–	–	–	4,086
Parry Sound	New			Ind	1,199	51.88%	87	3.76%	58.48%	–	1,112	–	–	1,199	2,311
Peel		Lib		Lib	2,102	52.76%	220	5.52%	73.63%	2,102	1,882	–	–	–	3,984
Perth North		Con		Con	2,445	50.43%	42	0.87%	69.96%	2,403	2,445	–	–	–	4,848
Perth South		Lib		Lib	2,385	55.26%	454	10.52%	72.27%	2,385	1,931	–	–	–	4,316
Peterborough East		Lib		Lib	1,438	56.15%	340	13.28%	67.49%	1,438	1,098	–	–	25	2,561
Peterborough West		Con		Lib	1,555	50.54%	33	1.07%	73.94%	1,555	1,522	–	–	–	3,077
Prescott		Lib		Lib	1,665	52.24%	143	4.49%	69.25%	3,187[a 5]	–	–	–	–	3,187
Prince Edward		I-Lib		Lib	2,155	50.96%	81	1.92%	72.58%	2,155	2,074	–	–	–	4,229
Renfrew North		Lib		Lib	1,515	51.46%	86	2.92%	72.90%	1,515	1,429	–	–	–	2,944
Renfrew South		Lib		Lib	1,050	45.85%	9	0.39%	59.20%	2,091[a 6]	199	–	–	–	2,290
Russell		Con		Lib	1,908	51.41%	148	3.99%	61.05%	1,908	1,760	–	–	43	3,711
Simcoe Centre	New			Lib	1,366	54.10%	207	8.20%	62.48%	1,366	1,159	–	–	–	2,525
Simcoe East		Lib		Lib	1,805	53.15%	214	6.30%	62.16%	1,805	1,591	–	–	–	3,396
Simcoe West		Lib		Con	1,498	56.70%	354	13.40%	56.82%	1,144	1,498	–	–	–	2,642
Victoria East	New			Con	1,733	55.16%	324	10.31%	67.66%	1,409	1,733	–	–	–	3,142
Victoria West	New			Con	1,438	50.17%	10	0.35%	65.49%	1,428	1,438	–	–	–	2,866
Waterloo North		Lib		Lib	acclaimed
Waterloo South		Lib		Lib	2,353	55.27%	449	10.55%	n/a	2,353	1,904	–	–	–	4,257
Welland		Lib		Lib	2,462	53.16%	293	6.33%	68.00%	2,462	2,169	–	–	–	4,631
Wellington East		Lib		Lib	acclaimed
Wellington South		Lib		Lib	2,120	59.40%	671	18.80%	62.34%	2,120	1,449	–	–	–	3,569
Wellington West		Lib		Lib	1,633	55.00%	297	10.00%	62.08%	1,633	1,336	–	–	–	2,969
Wentworth North		Lib		Lib	1,480	59.82%	486	19.64%	67.13%	1,480	994	–	–	–	2,474
Wentworth South		Lib		Lib	1,476	51.92%	109	3.83%	82.48%	1,476	1,367	–	–	–	2,843
York East		Lib		Lib	1,633	65.29%	765	30.59%	56.51%	1,633	–	–	–	868	2,501
York North		Lib		Lib	2,220	62.41%	883	24.82%	56.54%	2,220	1,337	–	–	–	3,557
York West		Con		Lib	1,539	53.12%	181	6.25%	62.51%	1,539	1,358	–	–	–	2,897

1. excluding Toronto, a multi-member constituency
2. order is as given in EO reports
3. the incumbent Neil McColman received 495 votes
4. the incumbent George Atwell Cooke received 244 votes
5. Alfred Évanturel was the winning candidate
6. the incumbent John Francis Dowling received 1,041 votes

  = 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

Results for Toronto (3 seats)^[5]

Political party		Candidate	Votes	%	Elected	Incumbent
	Conservative	Edward Frederick Clarke	7,032	26.28	Y
	Conservative	Henry Edward Clarke	6,883	25.72	Y	Y
	Liberal	John Leys	5,380	20.11	Y
	Labour	Charles March	4,055	15.15
	Labour	John Roney	3,408	12.74
Majority[a 1]			1,325	4.96
Turnout[a 2]			14,916	44.80
Registered voters			33,296

1. plurality for third winning candidate
2. actual number of voters per returns

Analysis

Party candidates in 2nd place^{[1][a 1]}

Party in 1st place		Party in 2nd place					Total
		Accl	Lib	Con	Lab	Ind
	Liberal	4	2	48	1	1	56
	Conservative	1	28		1		30
	Independent			1			1
Total		5	30	49	2	1	87

1. excluding Toronto seats

Candidates ranked 1st to 5th place, by party^[1]

Parties	Accl	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th
█ Liberal	4	52	30	2
█ Conservative	1	30	50	2
█ Independent		1	1	3
█ Labour			2	1	1	1
█ Temperance				1

Resulting composition of the 2nd Legislative Assembly of Ontario^[1]

Source		Party
		Lib	Con	Ind	Total
Seats retained	Incumbents returned	30	13		44
	Returned by acclamation	2	1		3
	Open seats held	7	2		9
	Byelection loss reversed		1		1
	Defeated by same-party candidate	2	1		3
Seats changing hands	Incumbents defeated	3	3		6
	Open seats gained	6	3		9
	Byelection gains held	1			1
	Incumbent changed allegiance		1		1
New seats	Acclaimed	2			2
	New MLAs	2	2	1	5
	Previously incumbent in another riding	1	3		4
Toronto seats	MLA returned		1		1
	New MLAs	1	1		2
Total		57	32	1	90

MLAs elected by region and riding

Party designations are as follows:

  Liberal

  Conservative

  Independent

Northern Ontario   Algoma East: Robert Adam Lyon   Algoma West: James Conmee Ottawa Valley   Carleton: George William Monk   Lanark North: Daniel Hilliard   Lanark South: William Lees   Ottawa: Erskine Henry Bronson   Prescott: Alfred Évanturel   Renfrew North: Thomas Murray   Renfrew South: John Alfred McAndrew   Russell: Alexander Robillard Saint Lawrence Valley   Brockville: Christopher Finlay Fraser   Cornwall and Stormont: William Mack   Dundas: Theodore F. Chamberlain[a]   Glengarry: James Rayside   Grenville: Frederick John French   Kingston: James Henry Metcalfe   Leeds: Robert Henry Preston Central Ontario   Addington: John Stewart Miller   Durham East: Thomas Dixon Craig   Durham West: James Wellington McLaughlin   Frontenac: Henry Wilmot   Hastings East: William Parker Hudson   Hastings North: Alpheus Field Wood   Hastings West: Gilbert Wellington Ostrom   Lennox: Walter William Meacham   Northumberland East: William Arnson Willoughby[b]   Northumberland West: Corelli Collard Field   Peterborough East: Thomas Blezard   Peterborough West: James Robert Stratton   Prince Edward: John Allison Sprague   Victoria East: John Fell   Victoria West: John Saunders Cruess

Georgian Bay   Bruce North: John Walter Scott Biggar   Grey North: David Creighton   Muskoka: George Frederick Marter   Parry Sound: Samuel Armstrong   Simcoe Centre: Orson James Phelps   Simcoe East: Charles Alfred Drury   Simcoe West: Thomas Wylie Wentworth/Halton/Niagara   Halton: William Kerns   Hamilton: John Morison Gibson   Lincoln: William Garson   Monck: Richard Harcourt   Welland: James E. Morin   Wentworth North: James McMahon   Wentworth South: Nicholas Awrey Midwestern Ontario   Brant North: William Bruce Wood   Brant South: Arthur Sturgis Hardy   Bruce Centre: Walter MacMorris Dack   Bruce South: Hamilton Parke O'Connor   Bruce South: Hamilton Parke O'Connor   Dufferin: Falkner Cornwall Stewart   Grey Centre: Joseph Rorke   Grey South: John Blythe   Haldimand: Jacob Baxter   Huron East: Thomas Gibson   Huron South: Archibald Bishop   Huron West: Alexander McLagan Ross   Norfolk North: John Bailey Freeman   Norfolk South: William Morgan   Oxford North: Oliver Mowat   Oxford South: Angus McKay   Perth North: John George Hess   Perth South: Thomas Ballantyne   Waterloo North: Elias Weber Bingeman Snider   Waterloo South: Isaac Master   Wellington East: Charles Clarke   Wellington South: Donald Guthrie   Wellington West: Absalom Shade Allan

Southwestern Ontario   Elgin East: Thomas McIntyre Nairn   Elgin West: Andrew B. Ingram   Essex North: Gaspard Pacaud   Essex South: William Douglas Balfour   Kent East: Robert Ferguson   Kent West: James Clancy   Lambton East: Peter Graham   Lambton West: Timothy Blair Pardee   London: William Ralph Meredith   Middlesex East: Richard Tooley   Middlesex North: John Waters   Middlesex West: George William Ross Peel/York/Ontario   Cardwell: William Henry Hammell   Ontario North: Isaac James Gould   Ontario South: John Dryden   Peel: Kenneth Chisholm   Toronto: Edward Frederick Clarke   Toronto: Henry Edward Clarke   Toronto: John Leys   York East: George Byron Smith   York North: Joseph Henry Widdifield   York West: John Taylor Gilmour

See also

• Politics of Ontario
• List of Ontario political parties
• Premier of Ontario
• Leader of the Opposition (Ontario)