1875 Ontario general election

1875 Ontario general election
← outgoing members
88 seats in the 3rd Legislative Assembly of Ontario ; 45 seats were needed for a majority
Premier before election; Oliver Mowat; Liberal	Premier after election ; Oliver Mowat; Liberal

The 1875 Ontario general election was the third general election held in the Province of Ontario, Canada. It was held on January 18, 1875, to elect the 88 Members of the 3rd Legislative Assembly of Ontario ("MLAs").^[1]

The Ontario Liberal Party, led by Oliver Mowat, increased its majority in the Legislature for its second term in government.

The Ontario Conservative Party, led by Matthew Crooks Cameron lost four of its seats.

Electoral reforms

The Legislative Assembly had passed several pieces of legislation that impacted on the current election:

Members of the House of Commons of Canada were disqualified from holding a provincial seat.^[2]
The prior practice of voting by open declaration was abolished in favour of holding a secret ballot.^[3]^[4]

Redistribution of ridings

The Assembly was increased from 82 to 88 members,^[5] through the following changes:

Abolished ridings	New ridings
Divisions of ridings
Essex	Essex North Essex South
Lambton	Lambton East Lambton West
Creation of riding from parts of others
	Dufferin^{[a 1]}
	Muskoka and Parry Sound^{[a 2]}
Mergers of ridings
Lincoln Niagara	Lincoln
Reorganization of ridings
Grey North Grey South	Grey North Grey East Grey South
Huron North Huron South	Huron East Huron South Huron West
Bothwell Kent	Kent East Kent West
Simcoe North Simcoe South	Simcoe East Simcoe South Simcoe West
Wellington Centre Wellington North Wellington South	Wellington Centre Wellington South Wellington West

^ formed from parts of Cardwell, Grey South, Wellington North, Wellington Centre and Simcoe South
^ taken from Simcoe North

Elections to the 3rd Parliament of Ontario (1875)^[1]
Political party		Party leader	MLAs				Votes
Political party		Party leader	Candidates	1871	1875	±	#	±	%	± (pp)
	Liberal	Oliver Mowat	84	43	49	6	90,809	22,443	47.55%	4.75
	Conservative	Matthew Crooks Cameron	81	38	35	3	87,802	27,876	45.98%	0.13
	Liberal–Conservative	Matthew Crooks Cameron	1	–	1	1	1,553	1,553	0.81%	New
	Independent Conservative		2	–	2	2	2,129	2,129	1.11%	New
	Independent Liberal		1	–	1	1	1,125	1,125	0.59%	New
	Conservative-Liberal		1	1	–	1	791	325	0.41%	0.44
	Independent		11	–	–	–	6,757	5,454	3.54%	2.54
Total			181	82	88		190,966		100.00%
Voter turnout							190,966	60,255	67.95	4.35
Registered electors							283,856	76,139
Acclamations			█ Liberal		8
Acclamations			█ Conservative		1

Seats and popular vote by party
Party	Seats	Votes	Change (pp)
█ Liberal	49 / 88	47.55%	-4.75
█ Conservative	36 / 88	47.20%	0.50	0.5
█ Other	3 / 88	5.25%	4.25	4.25

Synopsis of results

Results by riding - 1875 Ontario general election^[1]
Riding	Winning party								Turnout	Votes
Name^{[a 1]}	1871		Party		Votes	Share	Margin #	Margin %		Lib	Con	LC	CL	I-Lib	I-Con	Ind	Total
Name^{[a 1]}	1871		Party		Votes	Share	Margin #	Margin %									Total

Addington		Lib		Lib	1,453	60.77%	515	21.54%	67.91%	1,453	938	–	–	–	–	–	2,391
Algoma		Con		Lib	510	64.31%	227	28.63%	91.25%	510	283	–	–	–	–	–	793
Brant North		Lib		Lib	747	54.17%	115	8.34%	62.54%	747	632	–	–	–	–	–	1,379
Brant South		Con		Lib	acclaimed
Brockville		Con		Lib	1,247	51.51%	73	3.02%	71.35%	1,247	1,174	–	–	–	–	–	2,421
Bruce North		Lib		Lib	1,232	55.95%	262	11.90%	68.75%	1,232	–	–	–	–	–	970	2,202
Bruce South		Lib		Lib	1,864	65.87%	898	31.73%	49.26%	1,864	966	–	–	–	–	–	2,830
Cardwell		CL		Con	1,208	52.80%	128	5.59%	66.82%	1,080	1,208	–	–	–	–	–	2,288
Carleton		Con		Con	acclaimed
Cornwall		Con		Con	499	50.25%	5	0.50%	68.44%	494	499	–	–	–	–	–	993
Dufferin	New			Con	982	46.06%	255	11.96%	66.23%	33	2,099	–	–	–	–	–	2,132
Dundas		Lib		Con	1,458	51.67%	94	3.33%	74.99%	1,364	1,458	–	–	–	–	–	2,822
Durham East		Con		Con	1,454	55.22%	275	10.44%	69.73%	1,179	1,454	–	–	–	–	–	2,633
Durham West		Lib		Lib	1,257	53.95%	184	7.90%	71.52%	1,257	1,073	–	–	–	–	–	2,330
Elgin East		Lib		Lib	1,924	50.31%	24	0.63%	73.85%	1,924	1,900	–	–	–	–	–	3,824
Elgin West		Lib		Con	1,101	50.23%	10	0.46%	78.01%	1,091	1,101	–	–	–	–	–	2,192
Essex North	New			Con	1,209	61.56%	454	23.12%	54.37%	–	1,209	–	–	–	–	755	1,964
Essex South	New			Con	1,014	51.19%	47	2.37%	69.61%	967	1,014	–	–	–	–	–	1,981
Frontenac		Con		Con	884	59.61%	285	19.22%	55.92%	599	884	–	–	–	–	–	1,483
Glengarry		Con		I-Lib	1,125	51.07%	47	2.13%	74.08%	1,078	–	–	–	1,125	–	–	2,203
Grenville South		Con		Lib	1,136	53.36%	143	6.72%	71.04%	1,136	993	–	–	–	–	–	2,129
Grey East	New			Con	1,297	67.55%	674	35.10%	53.42%	623	1,297	–	–	–	–	–	1,920
Grey North		Con		Con	1,431	53.40%	182	6.79%	67.59%	1,249	1,431	–	–	–	–	–	2,680
Grey South		Con		Lib	1,017	46.27%	293	13.33%	69.29%	1,017	457	–	–	–	–	724	2,198
Haldimand		Lib		Lib	1,476	53.87%	212	7.74%	75.84%	1,476	1,264	–	–	–	–	–	2,740
Halton		Lib		Lib	1,609	52.58%	158	5.16%	68.18%	1,609	1,451	–	–	–	–	–	3,060
Hamilton		Lib		Lib	acclaimed
Hastings East		Con		I-Con	1,064	63.37%	493	29.36%	58.20%	–	615	–	–	–	1,064	–	1,679
Hastings North		Con		Con	960	55.14%	179	10.28%	74.62%	781	960	–	–	–	–	–	1,741
Hastings West		Con		Con	720	36.87%	102	5.22%	65.94%	615	720	–	–	–	–	618	1,953
Huron East	New			Lib	1,530	52.92%	169	5.85%	70.89%	1,530	1,361	–	–	–	–	–	2,891
Huron South		Lib		Lib	1,440	51.39%	78	2.78%	72.53%	1,440	1,362	–	–	–	–	–	2,802
Huron West	New			Lib	1,595	51.48%	92	2.97%	68.59%	1,595	1,503	–	–	–	–	–	3,098
Kent East	New			Lib	1,425	51.76%	97	3.52%	66.27%	1,425	1,328	–	–	–	–	–	2,753
Kent West	New			Con	1,440	52.67%	146	5.34%	58.64%	1,294	1,440	–	–	–	–	–	2,734
Kingston		Con		Con	935	54.17%	144	8.34%	64.55%	–	935	–	791	–	–	–	1,726
Lambton East	New			Lib	1,443	53.35%	181	6.69%	70.74%	1,443	1,262	–	–	–	–	–	2,705
Lambton West	New			Lib	1,372	64.53%	618	29.07%	57.23%	1,372	754	–	–	–	–	–	2,126
Lanark North		Lib		Con	913	50.72%	26	1.44%	80.07%	887	913	–	–	–	–	–	1,800
Lanark South		Con		Con	1,234	53.68%	169	7.35%	72.57%	1,065	1,234	–	–	–	–	–	2,299
Leeds North and Grenville North		Con		Con	1,035	61.57%	389	23.14%	66.63%	–	1,035	–	–	–	–	646	1,681
Leeds South		Con		Con	1,481	58.70%	439	17.40%	79.87%	1,042	1,481	–	–	–	–	–	2,523
Lennox		Con		I-Con	1,065	54.36%	555	28.33%	53.47%	510	–	–	–	–	1,065	384	1,959
Lincoln	New			Lib	2,065	51.38%	111	2.76%	75.25%	2,065	1,954	–	–	–	–	–	4,019
London		Con		Con	1,311	52.84%	141	5.68%	60.39%	1,170	1,311	–	–	–	–	–	2,481
Middlesex East		Con		Con	2,185	53.11%	256	6.22%	72.87%	1,929	2,185	–	–	–	–	–	4,114
Middlesex North		Lib		Con	1,565	54.89%	279	9.79%	72.77%	1,286	1,565	–	–	–	–	–	2,851
Middlesex West		Lib		Lib	1,415	54.30%	224	8.60%	71.36%	1,415	1,191	–	–	–	–	–	2,606
Monck		Con		Lib	1,412	56.21%	312	12.42%	74.47%	1,412	1,100	–	–	–	–	–	2,512
Muskoka and Parry Sound	New			Lib	839	58.63%	247	17.26%	65.52%	839	592	–	–	–	–	–	1,431
Norfolk North		Lib		Lib	1,417	52.19%	119	4.38%	75.77%	1,417	1,298	–	–	–	–	–	2,715
Norfolk South		Lib		Con	1,293	58.27%	367	16.54%	64.71%	–	1,293	–	–	–	–	926	2,219
Northumberland East		Lib		Lib	1,551	48.27%	103	3.21%	74.62%	1,765^{[a 2]}	1,448	–	–	–	–	–	3,213
Northumberland West		Lib		Lib	1,251	52.59%	123	5.17%	70.78%	1,251	1,128	–	–	–	–	–	2,379
Ontario North		Lib		Lib	1,858	51.84%	132	3.68%	68.24%	1,858	1,726	–	–	–	–	–	3,584
Ontario South		Lib		Con	1,614	50.52%	33	1.03%	72.91%	1,581	1,614	–	–	–	–	–	3,195
Ottawa		Lib		Lib	852	35.35%	52	2.16%	54.25%	1,652^{[a 3]}	758	–	–	–	–	–	2,410
Oxford North		Lib		Lib	acclaimed
Oxford South		Lib		Lib	1,305	44.27%	43	1.46%	66.05%	1,305	1,262	–	–	–	–	381	2,948
Peel		Con		Lib	1,349	51.98%	103	3.97%	72.95%	1,349	1,246	–	–	–	–	–	2,595
Perth North		Con		Lib	1,847	51.69%	140	3.92%	68.16%	1,847	1,726^{[a 4]}	–	–	–	–	–	3,573
Perth South		Con		Lib	1,508	53.23%	183	6.46%	70.98%	1,508	1,325	–	–	–	–	–	2,833
Peterborough East		Con		Con	759	52.13%	62	4.26%	67.47%	697	759	–	–	–	–	–	1,456
Peterborough West		Lib		Lib	970	51.19%	45	2.37%	71.27%	970	925	–	–	–	–	–	1,895
Prescott		Con		Con	988	62.57%	397	25.14%	59.61%	591	988	–	–	–	–	–	1,579
Prince Edward		Lib		Lib	1,762	50.91%	63	1.82%	77.90%	1,762	1,699	–	–	–	–	–	3,461
Renfrew North		Con		Con	894	53.44%	115	6.87%	76.71%	779	894	–	–	–	–	–	1,673
Renfrew South		Con		Lib	acclaimed
Russell		Con		Con	1,066	61.30%	393	22.60%	49.10%	673	1,066	–	–	–	–	–	1,739
Simcoe East	New			Con	1,133	54.00%	168	8.01%	73.90%	965	1,133	–	–	–	–	–	2,098
Simcoe South		Con		Con	1,057	58.17%	297	16.35%	67.15%	760	1,057	–	–	–	–	–	1,817
Simcoe West	New			Con	1,353	51.15%	61	2.31%	67.63%	1,292	1,353	–	–	–	–	–	2,645
Stormont		Con		Lib	948	53.77%	133	7.54%	77.19%	948	815	–	–	–	–	–	1,763
Toronto East		Con		Con	1,849	53.83%	270	7.86%	54.42%	1,579	1,849	–	–	–	–	–	3,435
Toronto West		Lib		Con	2,145	50.71%	60	1.42%	55.31%	2,085	2,145	–	–	–	–	–	4,230
Victoria North		Con		Lib	724	50.14%	4	0.28%	68.60%	724	720	–	–	–	–	–	1,444
Victoria South		Lib		Lib	1,326	56.38%	300	12.76%	68.29%	1,326	1,026	–	–	–	–	–	2,352
Waterloo North		Lib		Lib	1,363	67.71%	713	35.42%	70.31%	1,363	650	–	–	–	–	–	2,013
Waterloo South		Lib		Lib	acclaimed
Welland		Lib		Lib	1,719	51.16%	78	2.32%	69.48%	1,719	1,641	–	–	–	–	–	3,360
Wellington Centre		Lib		Lib	acclaimed
Wellington South		Lib		Lib	acclaimed
Wellington West	New			L-Con	1,553	51.63%	98	3.26%	73.82%	1,455	–	1,553	–	–	–	–	3,008
Wentworth North		Lib		Con	1,222	50.48%	23	0.95%	73.72%	1,199	1,222	–	–	–	–	–	2,421
Wentworth South		Lib		Lib	944	71.14%	561	42.28%	44.70%	944	383	–	–	–	–	–	1,327
York East		Lib		Lib	1,266	54.26%	199	8.53%	63.16%	1,266	1,067	–	–	–	–	–	2,333
York North		Con		Lib	1,835	57.69%	489	15.37%	65.36%	1,835	–	–	–	–	–	1,346	3,181
York West		Lib		Lib	acclaimed

^ order is as given in EO reports
^ the incumbent William Wilson Webb received 214 votes
^ the incumbent Daniel John O'Donoghue was returned
^ the incumbent Thomas Mayne Daly received 1,707 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

= other incumbents renominated

= previously an MP in the House of Commons of Canada

= multiple candidates

Analysis

Party candidates in 2nd place^[1]
Party in 1st place		Party in 2nd place					Total
Party in 1st place		Accl	Lib	Con	Ind	Con-L	Total
	Liberal	8	1	37	3		49
	Conservative	1	28	1	4	1	35
	Independent Conservative		1	1			2
	Liberal–Conservative		1				1
	Independent Liberal		1				1
Total		9	32	39	7	1	88

Candidates ranked 1st to 5th place, by party^[1]
Parties	Accl	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th
█ Liberal	8	41	32	2	1
█ Conservative	1	34	39	6		1
█ Independent Conservative		2
█ Liberal–Conservative		1
█ Independent Liberal		1
█ Independent			7	3	1
█ Conservative-Liberal			1

Resulting composition of the 2nd Legislative Assembly of Ontario^[1]
Source		Party
Source		Lib	Con	L-Con	I-Con	I-Lib	Total
Seats retained	Incumbents returned	20	9				29
	Returned by acclamation	6	1
	Open seats held	1	8				9
	Byelection loss reversed	2	1				3
Seats changing hands	Incumbents defeated	3	7				10
	Open seats gained	4	2		1	1	8
	Byelection gains held	5					5
	Incumbent changing allegiance				1		2
	Returned by acclamation	1					1
New seats	New MLAs	4	5				9
New seats	Previously incumbent in another riding	3	2	1			6
Total		49	35	1	2	1	88

MLAs elected by region and riding

Party designations are as follows:

Liberal

Conservative

Liberal-Conservative

Independent Conservative

Independent Liberal

Northern Ontario

Algoma: Simon James Dawson

Ottawa Valley

Saint Lawrence Valley

Brockville: Wilmot Howard Cole
Cornwall: Alexander Fraser McIntyre
Dundas: Andrew Broder
Glengarry: Alexander James Grant (I-Lib)
Grenville South: Christopher Finlay Fraser
Kingston: William Robinson
Leeds North and Grenville North: Henry Merrick
Leeds South: Robert Henry Preston
Stormont: James Bethune

Central Ontario

Addington: Hammel Madden Deroche
Durham East: John Rosevear
Durham West: John McLeod
Frontenac: Peter Graham
Hastings East: Nathaniel Stephen Appleby (I-Con)
Hastings North: George Henry Boulter
Hastings West: Thomas Wills
Lennox: John Thomas Grange (I-Con)
Northumberland East: James Marshall Ferris
Northumberland West: William Hargraft
Peterborough East: John C. O'Sullivan
Peterborough West: George Albertus Cox
Prince Edward: Gideon Striker
Victoria North: John David Smith
Victoria South: Samuel Casey Wood

Georgian Bay

Bruce North: Donald Sinclair
Grey North: Thomas Scott
Muskoka and Parry Sound: John Classon Miller
Simcoe East: John Kean
Simcoe South: D'Arcy Edward Boulton
Simcoe West: Thomas Long

Wentworth/Halton/Niagara

Midwestern Ontario

Brant North: Hugh Finlayson
Brant South: Arthur Sturgis Hardy
Bruce South: Rupert Mearse Wells
Dufferin: John Barr
Grey East: Abram William Lauder
Grey South: James Hill Hunter
Haldimand: Jacob Baxter
Huron East: Thomas Gibson
Huron South: Archibald Bishop
Huron West: Alexander McLagan Ross
Norfolk North: John Fitzgerald Clarke
Norfolk South: Richard Richardson
Oxford North: Oliver Mowat
Oxford South: Adam Oliver
Perth North: David Davidson Hay
Perth South: Thomas Ballantyne
Waterloo North: Moses Springer
Waterloo South: John Fleming
Wellington Centre: Charles Clarke
Wellington South: Peter Gow
Wellington West: John McGowan (Lib-Con)

Southwestern Ontario

Elgin East: John Henry Wilson
Elgin West: M.G. Munroe^[a]
Essex North: James Colebrooke Patterson
Essex South: Lewis Wigle
Kent East: Archibald McKellar
Kent West: Alexander Coutts
Lambton East: Peter Graham
Lambton West: Timothy Blair Pardee
London: William Ralph Meredith
Middlesex East: Richard Tooley
Middlesex North: John McDougall
Middlesex West: John Watterworth

Peel/York/Ontario

Cardwell: John Flesher
Ontario North: Thomas Paxton
Ontario South: Nicholas W. Brown
Peel: Kenneth Chisholm
Toronto East: Matthew Crooks Cameron
Toronto West: Robert Bell
York East: John Lane
York North: Joseph Henry Widdifield
York West: Peter Patterson

Controverted elections

The following constituencies had elections which were declared void, for which writs of election were issued and elections held prior to the opening of the first session of the new Legislature:

New elections held upon previous results declared void^[6]
Voided result			Subsequent outcome
District	Candidate		Date writ returned	Winner
Cornwall		Alexander Fraser McIntyre	September 20, 1875		John Goodall Snetsinger
Dundas		Andrew Broder	September 28, 1875	Reelected
Essex South		Lewis Wigle	September 24, 1875	Reelected
Grey North		Thomas Scott	November 3, 1875		David Creighton
Halton		William Barber	November 8, 1875		William Durie Lyon
Kent East		Archibald McKellar	September 22, 1875		Daniel McCraney
Monck		Henry Ryan Haney	June 28, 1875	Reelected
Northumberland East		James Marshall Ferris	November 18, 1875	Reelected
Ontario North		Thomas Paxton	October 30, 1875	Reelected
Oxford South		Adam Oliver	September 14, 1875		Adam Crooks^{[a 1]}
Peterborough East		John C. O'Sullivan	September 28, 1875	Reelected
Peterborough West		George Albertus Cox	October 30, 1875		William Hepburn Scott
Russell		Adam Jacob Baker	August 21, 1875	Reelected
Simcoe South		D'Arcy Edward Boulton	June 3, 1875		William McDougall
Victoria North		John David Smith	September 29, 1875		Duncan McRae
Welland		James George Currie	July 8, 1875	Reelected
Wellington West		John McGowan	October 4, 1875	Reelected
Wentworth North		Thomas Stock	November 3, 1875		James McMahon

^ formerly MLA for Toronto West

Notes and references

Notes

^ Election overturned on petition to the court. Thomas Hodgins (Liberal) was declared elected.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "1875 general election results". Elections Ontario. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
^ An Act to render Members of the House of Commons of Canada ineligible as Members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, S.O. 1871-72, c. 4
^ An Act to provide for voting by Ballot at Elections to the Legislative Assembly, S.O. 1874 (1st session), c. 5
^ "Voting in Ontario Provincial Elections" (PDF). Elections Ontario. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 27, 2011. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
^ An Act to re-adjust the Representation in the Legislative Assembly, S.O. 1874 (2nd session), c. 2
^ Journals of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario. Toronto: Legislative Assembly of Ontario. 1876. pp. 25–30.

[6] rmed from parts of Cardwell, Grey South, Wellington North, Wellington Centre and Simcoe South

[7] taken from Simcoe North

[8] rder is as given in EO reports

[9] the incumbent William Wilson Webb received 214 votes

[10] the incumbent Daniel John O'Donoghue was returned

[11] the incumbent Thomas Mayne Daly received 1,707 votes

[14] rmerly MLA for Toronto West

[12] Election overturned on petition to the court. Thomas Hodgins (Liberal) was declared elected.

[EOData-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "1875 general election results". Elections Ontario. Retrieved November 11, 2023.

[2] An Act to render Members of the House of Commons of Canada ineligible as Members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, S.O. 1871-72, c. 4

[3] An Act to provide for voting by Ballot at Elections to the Legislative Assembly, S.O. 1874 (1st session), c. 5

[4] "Voting in Ontario Provincial Elections" (PDF). Elections Ontario. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 27, 2011. Retrieved July 10, 2011.

[5] An Act to re-adjust the Representation in the Legislative Assembly, S.O. 1874 (2nd session), c. 2

[13] Journals of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario. Toronto: Legislative Assembly of Ontario. 1876. pp. 25–30.

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