1894 Ontario general election

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]

1894 Ontario general election
June 26, 1894
94 seats in the 8th Legislative Assembly of Ontario
48 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 53 34
Seats won 45 23
Seat change Decrease8 Decrease9
Premier before election

Oliver Mowat
Liberal

 Premier after election

Oliver Mowat
Liberal

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.

Unlike the previous two elections, this election strictly used First past the post to elect the members. The Toronto district was divided into separate single member districts, as part of the expansion of the Assembly.

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:

Results
Elections to the 8th Parliament of Ontario (1894)
Political party Party leader MPPs Votes
Candidates 1890 Dissol. 1894 ± # % ± (pp)
Liberal Oliver Mowat 80 53 45 8Decrease 153,826 40.99% 8.64Decrease
Conservative William Ralph Meredith 56 34 23 11Decrease 104,369 27.81% 12.07Decrease
  Liberal-Patrons 26 – – 12 12Increase 44,029 11.73% New
  Conservative–P.P.A. 13 – – 5 5Increase 24,616 6.56% New
Patrons of Industry Joseph Longford Haycock 7 – – 3 3Increase 10,465 2.79% New
  Conservative-Patrons 7 – – 2 2Increase 11,608 3.09% New
  Liberal-P.P.A. 2 – – 2 2Increase 3,649 0.97% New
Protestant Protective Association 8 – – 1 1Increase 11,015 2.94% New
Independent-Conservative-PPA 1 – – 1 1Increase 2,326 0.62% New
Independent 9 – – – 9,374 2.50% New
  Liberal-Equal Rights 2 – – 2Decrease Did not campaign
  Conservative-Equal Rights 2 – – 2Decrease Did not campaign
Vacant
Total 209 91 91 94 375,277 100.00%
Blank and invalid ballots 3,886
Registered voters / turnout 539,358 70.30% 0.70Increase
Seats and popular vote by party of major influence
PartySeatsVotesChange (pp)
Liberal[a 1]
45 / 94
40.99%
-8.64
 
Conservative[a 1]
23 / 94
27.81%
-12.07
 
Patrons of Industry
17 / 94
17.61%
17.61 17.61
 
Protestant Protective Association[a 2]
9 / 94
11.09%
11.09 11.09
 
Equal Rights
0 / 94
0.00%
-10.00
 
Other
0 / 94
3.12%
2.01 2.01
 
  1. 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.
  2. 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]

Division of ridings

The newly created ridings returned the following MLAs:

1890 1894
Riding Party MLAs Riding Party MLAs
Toronto █ Conservative 2 Toronto East █ Conservative-PPA 1
Toronto North █ Conservative 1
█ Liberal 1 Toronto South █ Conservative 1
Toronto West █ Conservative 1
Hamilton █ Liberal 1 Hamilton East █ Liberal 1
Hamilton West █ Liberal 1
Ottawa █ Liberal 1 converted to dual-member riding █ Liberal 2

Seats that changed hands
Elections to the 8th Parliament of Ontario – unaltered seats won/lost by party, 1890–1894
Party 1890 Gain from (loss to) 1894
Lib Con Lib-P C-PPA POI Con-P L-PPA PPA ICP L-ER C-ER
Liberal 506(4)(7)(3)(1)(1)141
Conservative 324(6)(5)(1)(1)(2)(2)(1)1120
  Liberal-Patrons –7512
  Conservative–P.P.A. –314
Patrons of Industry –1113
  Conservative-Patrons –22
  Liberal-P.P.A. –22
Protestant Protective Association –11
Independent-Conservative-PPA –11
Liberal-Equal Rights 2(1)(1)–
Conservative-Equal Rights 2(1)(1)–
Total8616(7)18(6)–(12)–(4)–(3)–(2)–(2)–(1)–(1)2–2–86

Of the constituencies that were not altered, there were 38 seats that changed allegiance in the election:

See also

References
  1. "1894 General Election". Elections Ontario. Elections Ontario. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  2. Janet B. Kerr, "Sir Oliver Mowat and the Campaign of 1894," Ontario History, March 1963, Vol. 55 Issue 1, pp 1-13
  3. An Act respecting Representation of certain Cities in the Legislative Assembly, S.O. 1894, c. 2
  4. Romney, Paul (1994). "Mowat, Sir Oliver". In Cook, Ramsay; Hamelin, Jean (eds.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. XIII (1901–1910) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.
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