1897 Nova Scotia general election

The 1897 Nova Scotia general election was held from 13 April to 20 April 1897 to elect members of the 32nd House of Assembly of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It was won by the Liberal party.

1897 Nova Scotia general election

← 1894 April 13–20, 1897 1901 →
← outgoing members members →
38 seats of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly 20 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   Con Leader George Henry Murray William MacKay Party Liberal Liberal-Conservative Leader since 1896 1894 Leader's seat Victoria Cape Breton (Lost re-election) Last election 26 12 Seats won 35 3 Seat change 9 9 Popular vote 84,888 67,254 Percentage 55.57% 44.03% Swing 3.52pp 3.30pp
Premier before election George Henry Murray Liberal Premier after election George Henry Murray Liberal

Results

Results by party

↓

35	3
Liberal	Liberal-Conservative

Official results ^[1][2]

Party		Party leader	# of candidates	Seats				Popular vote
				1894	Dissolution	Elected	Change	#	%	Change (pp)
	Liberal	George Henry Murray	40	26	28	35	+9	84,888	55.57%	+3.52%
	Liberal-Conservative	William MacKay	36	12	10	3	-9	67,254	44.03%	-3.30%
	Independent/Other		1	0	0	0	0	605	0.40%	-0.22%
	Vacant				0
Total valid votes								152,747	100.00%	–
Blank and invalid ballots								0	0.00%	–
Total			77	38	38	38	–	152,747	100.00%	–

Popular vote Liberal   55.57% Liberal-Conservative   44.03% Independent/Other   0.40%

Seats summary Liberal   92.11% Liberal-Conservative   7.89%

Retiring incumbents

Liberal

• Richard Hunt, Queens
• Daniel H. MacKinnon, Guysborough
• Joseph Matheson, Richmond
• Firman McClure, Colchester
• Allan Moreash, Lunenburg
• William Roche, Halifax

Liberal-Conservative

• William Anderson Black, Halifax
• Alexander Grant, Pictou

Nominated candidates

1897 Nova Scotia Provincial Election^[3]

Legend
bold denotes party leader
† denotes an incumbent who is not running for re-election or was defeated in nomination contest

Valley

Electoral district	Candidates						Incumbent
	Liberal		Liberal-Conservative		Independent/Other
Annapolis		James Wilberforce Longley 1,871 26.38%		Thomas R. Jones 1,680 23.69%				James Wilberforce Longley
		Joseph A. Bancroft 1,878 26.48%		C. S. Harrington 1,664 23.46%				Joseph A. Bancroft
Digby		Angus Morrison Gidney 1,498 31.14%		Frank E. Comeau 940 19.54%				Angus Morrison Gidney
		Ambroise-Hilaire Comeau 1,512 31.43%		M.R. Timpany 860 17.88%				Ambroise-Hilaire Comeau
Hants		William McDonald Douglas 1,707 24.35%		Charles Smith Wilcox 1,746 24.91%				Charles Smith Wilcox
		Arthur Drysdale 1,839 26.24%		James A. Thompson 1,717 24.50%				Arthur Drysdale
Kings		Brenton Dodge 2,354 33.08%		Peter Innis 1,460 20.52%				Brenton Dodge
		Harry H. Wickwire 2,195 30.85%		Leander Rand 1,107 15.56%				Harry H. Wickwire

South Shore

Electoral district	Candidates						Incumbent
	Liberal		Liberal-Conservative		Independent/Other
Lunenburg		John Drew Sperry 2,581 25.52%		A.J. Wolff 2,512 24.84%				Allan Moreash†
		Charles Edward Church 2,514 24.86%		Emanuel Hebb 2,507 24.78%				Charles Edward Church
Queens		Edward Matthew Farrell 876 26.38%		John Hutt 666 20.05%				Edward Matthew Farrell
		R. R. McLeod 184 5.54%
		Thomas Keillor 712 21.44%		T. H. Siddell 179 5.39%				Richard Hunt†
		John Millard 704 21.20%
Shelburne		Thomas Johnston Acclaimed						Thomas Robertson
		Thomas Robertson Acclaimed						Thomas Johnston
Yarmouth		William Law 1,501 29.14%		Joseph R. Wyman 958 18.60%		E. C. Simonson (Prohibitionist-Temperance) 605 11.74%		William Law
		Henry S. LeBlanc 1,473 28.60%		Albert A. Pothier 614 11.92%				Albert A. Pothier

Fundy-Northeast

Electoral district	Candidates						Incumbent
	Liberal		Liberal-Conservative		Independent/Other
Colchester		Alfred Dickie 2,240 24.22%		Thomas McMullen 2,363 25.55%				Firman McClure†
		Frederick Andrew Laurence 2,358 25.50%		Wilbert David Dimock 2,286 24.72%				Frederick Andrew Laurence
Cumberland		Thomas Reuben Black 3,487 29.14%		A.A. McKinnon 2,689 22.47%				Thomas Reuben Black
		Alexander E. Fraser 3,251 27.16%		J. C. McDougall 2,541 21.23%				Alexander E. Fraser

Halifax

Electoral district	Candidates						Incumbent
	Liberal		Liberal-Conservative		Independent/Other
Halifax		William Bernard Wallace 5,101 17.36%		Miner T. Foster 4,754 16.18%				William Bernard Wallace
		David McPherson 5,307 18.06%		John Fitzwilliam Stairs 4,563 15.53%				William Roche†
		George Mitchell 5,312 18.07%		T. W. Walsh 4,350 14.80%				William Anderson Black†

Central Nova

Electoral district	Candidates						Incumbent
	Liberal		Liberal-Conservative		Independent/Other
Antigonish		Angus McGillivray 1,263 27.77%		Charles B. Whidden 1,123 24.69%				Angus McGillivray
		Christopher P. Chisholm 1,176 25.86%		Hugh MacDonald 986 21.68%				Christopher P. Chisholm
Guysborough		William Akins Fergusson 1,525 29.90%		C. Ernest Gregory 1,065 20.88%				Daniel H. MacKinnon†
		John Howard Sinclair 1,523 29.86%		Charles S. Elliott 987 19.35%				John Howard Sinclair
Pictou		James Drummond McGregor 3,456 17.24%		William Cameron 3,262 16.28%				William Cameron
		Edward Mortimer Macdonald 3,422 17.07%		Charles Elliott Tanner 3,289 16.41%				Charles Elliott Tanner
		John McIntosh 3,299 16.46%		Matthew Henry Fitzpatrick 3,314 16.54%				Alexander Grant†

Cape Breton

Electoral district	Candidates						Incumbent
	Liberal		Liberal-Conservative		Independent/Other
Cape Breton		Arthur Samuel Kendall 3,705 29.35%		William MacKay 2,669 21.14%				William MacKay
		Alexander Johnston 3,559 28.19%		John McCormick 2,691 21.32%				John McCormick
Inverness		James MacDonald 2,646 32.94%		John H. Jameison 1,537 19.13%				John H. Jameison
		Moses J. Doucet 2,501 31.13%		Alexander Campbell 1,350 16.80%				Alexander Campbell
Richmond		Simon Joyce 958 25.86%		John Morrison 910 24.57%				Simon Joyce
		Duncan Finlayson 1,034 27.92%		Remi Benoit 802 21.65%				Joseph Matheson†
Victoria		George Henry Murray 1,273 36.59%		John A. McDonald 651 18.71%				George Henry Murray
		John Gillis Morrison 1,093 31.42%		A. G. McLeod 462 13.28%				John Gillis Morrison