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1894 Ontario general election
Canadian provincial election From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The 1894 Ontario general election was the eighth general election held in the province of Ontario, Canada. It was held on June 26, 1894, to elect the 94 Members of the 8th Legislative Assembly of Ontario ("MLAs").[1]
The main issues were the Liberals' "Ontario System", as well as French language schools, farmer interests, support for Toronto business, woman suffrage, the temperance movement, and the demands of labour unions.[2]
The Ontario Liberal Party, led by Oliver Mowat, formed the government for the seventh consecutive parliament, even though some of its members were elected under joint banners: either with the Patrons of Industry or the Protestant Protective Association.
The Ontario Conservative Party, led by William Ralph Meredith, formed the official opposition.
The Patrons of Industry, a farmers' organization formed in 1890, cooperated with the urban labour movement to address the political frustrations of both groups with big business. Sixteen members of the Legislative Assembly were elected with Patrons of Industry support—12 Liberals, one Conservative, and three who ran only under the "Patrons of Industry" banner.
The Protestant Protective Association (PPA) was an anti-Catholic group, associated with the Orange Order. It campaigned against the rights of Catholics and French-Canadians, and argued that Roman Catholics were attempting to take over Ontario. Nine candidates were elected with PPA support, 6 Conservatives, 1 Liberal and 2 who ran only under the PPA banner. The PPA worked most closely with the Conservative opposition.
Ottawa was given a second seat, and plurality block voting was used. Elsewhere the first-past-the-post election system was used. The Toronto district had been divided into separate single member districts, as part of the expansion of the Assembly
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Expansion of the Legislative Assembly
An Act passed just prior to the election[3] increased the size of the Assembly from 91 to 94 seats:
- Toronto, a riding that returned three MLAs, was divided into Toronto East, Toronto North, Toronto South and Toronto West.
- Hamilton, a single-member constituency, was divided into Hamilton East and Hamilton West.
- Ottawa became a two-member riding.
Results
Summarize
Perspective
- Straight party support only. Other MLAs sponsored by Patrons of Industry, PPA or Equal Rights Party are allocated to the latter, to show extent of influence.
- Associated with the Orange Order.
Before the Legislature's first session opened, four by-elections were called. William Ralph Meredith (London) resigned to accept appointment as a judge, while the elections of James M. Savage (Algoma West), John Senn (Haldimand) and Edward H. Smythe (Kingston) were overturned on appeal. The Liberals won all four Conservative seats, thus securing a majority in the Assembly. That, together with the inability of the Patrons of Industry and the Conservatives to combine on any issue, ensured the Liberals' hold on power.[4]
Synopsis of results
- excluding Ottawa, a multi-member constituency
- order is as given in EO reports
- the Patrons of Industry incumbent Daniel McNaughton, who was elected in an 1893 byelection
- two Conservative candidates
- 1 PPA, plus the Conservative incumbent Joseph Rorke.
- Peter Duncan McCallum, elected as an Independent Conservative in an 1893 byelection
- the incumbent William Arnson Willoughby was the winning candidate
- the incumbent John Francis Dowling received 1,571 votes
- 1 Liberal; 1 Conservative
- George Ryerson was previously elected as a Conservative in an 1893 byelection.
- the incumbent John Douglas Moore was the winning candidate
- = 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
- = joint Conservative candidate
- = joint Independent Conservative candidate
- = joint Liberal candidate
- = joint Labour candidate
- = previously an MP in the House of Commons of Canada
- = multiple candidates
- plurality for third winning candidate
Analysis
- excluding Ottawa seats
MLAs elected by region and riding
Party designations are as follows:
Liberal
Conservative
Patrons of Industry and allied candidates
Protestant Protective Association and allied candidates
Northern Ontario Ottawa Valley Saint Lawrence Valley Central Ontario |
Georgian Bay Wentworth/Halton/Niagara Midwestern Ontario |
Southwestern Ontario Peel/York/Ontario
|
Division of ridings
The newly created ridings returned the following MLAs:
Seats that changed hands
Of the constituencies that were not altered, there were 38 seats that changed allegiance in the election:
Liberal to Conservative Liberal to Liberal/Patrons of Industry Liberal to Conservative/PPA Liberal to Patrons of Industry Liberal to Independent-Conservative/PPA Conservative to Liberal |
Conservative to Liberal/Patrons of Industry Conservative to Conservative/PPA Conservative to Patrons of Industry Conservative to Conservative/Patrons of Industry Conservative to Liberal/PPA Conservative to PPA Liberal/Equal Rights to Liberal Liberal/Equal Rights to Conservative Conservative/Equal Rights to Conservative Conservative/Equal Rights to Patrons of Industry
|
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See also
Notes and references
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