1883 Ontario general election

1883 Ontario general election
← outgoing members
88 seats in the 5th Legislative Assembly of Ontario ; 45 seats were needed for a majority
Premier before election; Oliver Mowat; Liberal	Premier after election ; Oliver Mowat; Liberal

The 1883 Ontario general election was the fifth general election held in the Province of Ontario, Canada, to elect the 88 Members of the 5th Legislative Assembly of Ontario ("MLAs").^[1] Held on February 27, 1883, the fifth Ontario provincial election was until 2025 the only one ever contested in the month of February.^[2]

The Ontario Liberal Party, led by Oliver Mowat, won a fourth consecutive term in government, despite losing nine seats in the Legislature.

The Ontario Conservative Party, led by William Ralph Meredith, won eight additional seats.

Results

Elections to the 5th Parliament of Ontario (1883)^[1]
Political party		Party leader	MNAs				Votes
Political party		Party leader	Candidates	1879	1883	±	#	±	%	± (pp)
	Liberal	Oliver Mowat	87	57	48	9	125,017	5,869	48.20%	0.13
	Conservative	William Ralph Meredith	80	29	37	8	120,853	2,340	46.59%	1.23
	Independent Liberal		3	–	2	2	3,239	3,239	1.25%	New
	Independent		8	–	1	1	3,956	3,071	1.53%	1.73
	Independent Conservative		4	2	–	2	2,354	243	0.91%	0.06
	Labour		3	–	–	–	3,957	3,957	1.53%	New
Total			185	88	88		259,376		100.00%
Rejected ballots							1,722	1,722
Voter turnout							261,098	13,241	67.95	4.73
Registered electors							384,255	7,830
Acclamations			█ Liberal		4
Acclamations			█ Conservative		1

Seats and popular vote by party
Party	Seats	Votes	Change (pp)
█ Liberal	48 / 88	48.20%	0.13	0.13
█ Conservative	37 / 88	46.59%	-1.23
█ Independent Liberal	2 / 88	1.25%	1.25	1.25
█ Independent	1 / 88	1.53%	-1.73
█ Independent Conservative	0 / 88	0.91%	0.06	0.06
█ Labour	0 / 88	1.53%	1.53	1.53

Synopsis of results

Results by riding - 1879 Ontario general election^[1]
Riding	Winning party								Turnout	Votes
Name^{[a 1]}	1879		Party		Votes	Share	Margin #	Margin %		Lib	Con	Lab	I-Lib	I-Con	Ind	Total
Name^{[a 1]}	1879		Party		Votes	Share	Margin #	Margin %								Total

Addington		Lib		Con	1,739	52.78%	183	5.55%	76.31%	1,556	1,739	–	–	–	–	3,295
Algoma		Lib		Lib	1,625	51.82%	114	3.64%	n/a	1,625	1,511	–	–	–	–	3,136
Brant North		Lib		Lib	acclaimed
Brant South		Lib		Lib	1,563	60.89%	559	21.78%	54.74%	1,563	1,004	–	–	–	–	2,567
Brockville		Lib		Lib	1,516	56.40%	344	12.80%	61.63%	1,516	–	–	–	1,172	–	2,688
Bruce North		Lib		I-Lib	1,186	52.66%	120	5.33%	44.23%	1,066	–	–	1,186	0	–	2,252
Bruce South		Lib		Lib	acclaimed
Cardwell		Lib		Con	1,500	50.68%	40	1.35%	80.17%	1,460	1,500	–	–	–	–	2,960
Carleton		Con		Con	1,302	55.86%	820	35.18%	51.72%	237	1,784^{[a 2]}	–	–	–	310	2,331
Cornwall		Lib		Con	710	51.49%	41	2.97%	70.33%	669	710	–	–	–	–	1,379
Dufferin		Con		Con	1,051	47.13%	369	16.55%	50.18%	–	1,051	–	–	1,179^{[a 3]}	–	2,230
Dundas		Con		Con	1,798	52.21%	152	4.41%	77.32%	1,646	1,798	–	–	–	–	3,444
Durham East		Con		Con	1,496	53.85%	214	7.70%	65.33%	1,282	1,496	–	–	–	–	2,778
Durham West		Lib		Lib	1,480	52.63%	148	5.26%	73.79%	1,480	1,332	–	–	–	–	2,812
Elgin East		Lib		Con	2,416	50.95%	90	1.90%	66.03%	2,326	2,416	–	–	–	–	4,742
Elgin West		Lib		Lib	1,324	51.26%	65	2.52%	72.26%	1,324	1,259	–	–	–	–	2,583
Essex North		Con		Con	1,537	55.93%	326	11.86%	59.60%	1,211	1,537^{[a 4]}	–	–	–	–	2,748
Essex South		Con		Lib	1,705	50.50%	34	1.01%	77.77%	1,705	1,671^{[a 4]}	–	–	–	–	3,376
Frontenac		Con		Con	1,103	54.25%	173	8.51%	75.81%	930	1,103	–	–	–	–	2,033
Glengarry		Con		Lib	1,436	52.07%	114	4.13%	74.18%	1,436	1,322	–	–	–	–	2,758
Grenville South		Con		Con	1,194	51.20%	56	2.40%	73.19%	1,138	1,194	–	–	–	–	2,332
Grey East		Con		Con	1,548	52.85%	167	5.70%	62.00%	–	1,548	–	–	–	1,381	2,929
Grey North		Con		Con	2,048	51.97%	155	3.93%	70.14%	1,893	2,048	–	–	–	–	3,941
Grey South		Lib		Con	1,596	52.97%	179	5.94%	74.62%	1,417	1,596	–	–	–	–	3,013
Haldimand		Lib		Lib	1,708	50.91%	61	1.82%	78.88%	1,708	1,647	–	–	–	–	3,355
Halton		Lib		Con	2,004	51.93%	149	3.86%	68.06%	1,855	2,004	–	–	–	–	3,859
Hamilton		Lib		Lib	2,077	39.78%	155	2.97%	63.07%	2,077	1,922	1,222	–	–	–	5,221
Hastings East		I-Con		Con	1,426	51.39%	77	2.77%	77.60%	1,349	1,426	–	–	–	–	2,775
Hastings North		Con		Con	1,324	54.26%	208	8.52%	64.93%	1,116	1,324	–	–	–	–	2,440
Hastings West		Con		Lib	1,217	50.48%	23	0.95%	61.06%	1,217	1,194	–	–	–	–	2,411
Huron East		Lib		Lib	1,994	50.52%	41	1.04%	75.58%	1,994	1,953	–	–	–	–	3,947
Huron South		Lib		Lib	1,962	51.74%	132	3.48%	71.07%	1,962	1,830	–	–	–	–	3,792
Huron West		Lib		Lib	2,061	52.11%	167	4.22%	67.56%	2,061	1,894	–	–	–	–	3,955
Kent East		Lib		Lib	1,947	52.61%	193	5.21%	63.36%	1,947	1,754	–	–	–	–	3,701
Kent West		Lib		Con	2,299	55.12%	427	10.24%	58.10%	1,872	2,299	–	–	–	–	4,171
Kingston		Con		Con	951	52.69%	108	5.98%	59.93%	843	951	–	–	–	3	1,805
Lambton East		Lib		Lib	2,017	51.44%	113	2.88%	71.80%	2,017	1,904	–	–	–	–	3,921
Lambton West		Lib		Lib	1,943	55.26%	370	10.52%	57.62%	1,943	1,573	–	–	–	–	3,516
Lanark North		Lib		Lib	1,247	54.19%	193	8.39%	72.68%	1,247	1,054	–	–	–	–	2,301
Lanark South		I-Con		Ind	1,089	46.56%	29	1.24%	61.79%	1,188	–	–	–	–	1,151^{[a 5]}	2,339
Leeds North and Grenville North		Con		Con	837	49.94%	1	0.06%	60.18%	836	837	–	–	3	–	1,676
Leeds South		Con		Con	1,553	55.09%	287	10.18%	69.08%	1,266	1,553	–	–	–	–	2,819
Lennox		Lib		Con	1,502	53.06%	173	6.11%	73.09%	1,329	1,502	–	–	–	–	2,831
Lincoln		Lib		Lib	acclaimed
London		Con		Con	acclaimed
Middlesex East		Con		Lib	2,702	50.80%	85	1.60%	66.01%	2,702	2,617	–	–	–	–	5,319
Middlesex North		Lib		Lib	1,946	50.47%	36	0.93%	75.05%	1,946	1,910	–	–	–	–	3,856
Middlesex West		Lib		Con	1,835	51.21%	87	2.43%	77.21%	1,748	1,835	–	–	–	–	3,583
Monck		Lib		Lib	1,574	52.17%	131	4.34%	77.93%	1,574	1,443	–	–	–	–	3,017
Muskoka and Parry Sound		Lib		Con	2,278	52.30%	200	4.59%	66.47%^[a]	2,078	2,278	–	–	–	–	4,356
Norfolk North		Lib		Lib	1,633	57.54%	428	15.08%	69.29%	1,633	1,205	–	–	–	–	2,838
Norfolk South		Con		Con	1,492	50.49%	29	0.98%	73.68%	1,463	1,492	–	–	–	–	2,955
Northumberland East		Lib		Lib	2,156	50.91%	77	1.82%	77.37%	2,156	2,079	–	–	–	–	4,235
Northumberland West		Lib		Con	1,506	50.96%	57	1.93%	71.97%	1,449	1,506	–	–	–	–	2,955
Ontario North		Lib		Lib	2,412	50.25%	24	0.50%	73.11%	2,412	2,388	–	–	–	–	4,800
Ontario South		Lib		Lib	1,743	53.06%	201	6.12%	66.17%	1,743	1,542	–	–	–	–	3,285
Ottawa		Con		Con	1,363	48.49%	528	18.78%	51.65%	835	1,363	–	–	–	613	2,811
Oxford North		Lib		Lib	acclaimed
Oxford South		Lib		Lib	1,640	53.77%	230	7.54%	52.71%	1,640	1,410	–	–	–	–	3,050
Peel		Lib		Lib	1,521	51.40%	83	2.81%	76.40%	1,521	1,438	–	–	–	–	2,959
Perth North		Lib		Con	2,642	51.14%	118	2.28%	72.78%	2,524	2,642	–	–	–	–	5,166
Perth South		Lib		Lib	1,712	53.35%	215	6.70%	69.88%	1,712	1,497	–	–	–	–	3,209
Peterborough East		Lib		Lib	1,265	59.11%	390	18.22%	71.04%	1,265	875	–	–	–	–	2,140
Peterborough West		Con		Con	1,262	51.76%	86	3.53%	63.78%	1,176	1,262	–	–	–	–	2,438
Prescott		Con		Lib	1,292	50.63%	32	1.25%	73.22%	2,552^{[a 6]}	–	–	–	–	–	2,552
Prince Edward		Lib		I-Lib	2,045	50.47%	38	0.94%	77.94%	2,007	–	–	2,045	–	–	4,052
Renfrew North		Lib		Lib	1,108	54.10%	168	8.20%	71.40%	1,108^{[a 7]}	940	–	–	–	–	2,048
Renfrew South		Lib		Lib	934	52.83%	100	5.66%	69.17%	934	834	–	–	–	–	1,768
Russell		Lib		Con	1,265	46.47%	322	11.83%	63.68%	959	1,265	–	–	–	498	2,722
Simcoe East		Lib		Lib	1,403	50.38%	21	0.75%	65.70%	1,403	1,382	–	–	–	–	2,785
Simcoe South		Con		Con	1,214	53.72%	168	7.43%	66.99%	1,046	1,214	–	–	–	–	2,260
Simcoe West		Con		Lib	1,699	50.52%	35	1.04%	64.51%	1,699	1,664	–	–	–	–	3,363
Stormont		Con		Con	1,145	56.21%	253	12.42%	74.67%	892	1,145	–	–	–	–	2,037
Toronto East		Con		Con	2,135	47.93%	124	2.78%	50.44%	2,011	2,135	308	–	–	–	4,454
Toronto West		Con		Con	2,634	52.05%	207	4.09%	44.83%	–	2,634	2,427	–	–	–	5,061
Victoria North		Lib		Con	1,189	55.95%	253	11.91%	71.16%	936	1,189	–	–	–	–	2,125
Victoria South		Lib		Lib	1,609	50.55%	35	1.10%	72.40%	1,609	1,574	–	–	–	–	3,183
Waterloo North		Lib		Lib	1,569	65.16%	730	30.32%	61.85%	1,569	839	–	–	–	–	2,408
Waterloo South		Lib		Lib	1,606	51.16%	73	2.33%	73.03%	1,606	1,533	–	–	–	–	3,139
Welland		Con		Lib	2,070	50.67%	55	1.35%	67.82%	2,070	2,015	–	–	–	–	4,085
Wellington Centre		Lib		Lib	1,569	59.89%	518	19.77%	58.83%	1,569	1,051	–	–	–	–	2,620
Wellington South		Lib		Lib	1,348	50.62%	33	1.24%	68.02%	1,348	1,315	–	–	–	–	2,663
Wellington West		Lib		Lib	2,103	56.28%	469	12.55%	64.73%	2,103	1,634	–	–	–	–	3,737
Wentworth North		Lib		Lib	1,430	52.77%	150	5.54%	72.14%	1,430	1,280	–	–	–	–	2,710
Wentworth South		Con		Lib	1,410	50.50%	28	1.00%	76.12%	1,410	1,382^{[a 8]}	–	–	–	–	2,792
York East		Lib		Lib	2,022	53.20%	243	6.39%	71.39%	2,022	1,779	–	–	–	–	3,801
York North		Lib		Lib	2,328	61.23%	854	22.46%	66.79%	2,328	1,474	–	–	–	–	3,802
York West		Lib		Con	1,553	50.50%	31	1.01%	66.33%	1,522	1,553	–	–	–	–	3,075

^ order is as given in EO reports
^ the incumbent George William Monk was the winning candidate
^ the incumbent William Jelly ran as an Independent Conservative, getting 682 votes
^ ^a ^b Solomon White campaigned in two ridings
^ the incumbent William Lees ran and won as an Independent candidate
^ the incumbent Albert Peter Hagar, having won in an 1881 byelection, was the winning candidate
^ Thomas Murray had won in Renfrew South in 1879, but had resigned his seat to unsuccessfully contest a federal seat in Pontiac in the 1878 election.
^ Franklin Metcalfe Carpenter had previously won in 1879, but his election was overturned on petition to the court.

= 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

Analysis

Party candidates in 2nd place^[1]
Party in 1st place		Party in 2nd place						Total
Party in 1st place		Accl	Lib	Con	I-Con	Lab	Ind	Total
	Liberal	4	1	42	1			48
	Conservative	1	32	1	1	1	1	37
	Independent Liberal		2					2
	Independent		1					1
Total		5	36	43	2	1	1	88

Candidates ranked 1st to 5th place, by party^[1]
Parties	Accl	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th
█ Liberal	4	44	36	1	2
█ Conservative	1	36	43
█ Independent Liberal		2	1
█ Independent		1	1	3	2	1
█ Independent Conservative			2	2
█ Labour			1	2

Resulting composition of the 2nd Legislative Assembly of Ontario^[1]
Source		Party
Source		Lib	Con	I-Lib	Ind	Total
Seats retained	Incumbents returned	32	13			45
	Returned by acclamation	4	1			5
	Open seats held	3	6			9
	Byelection loss reversed	1				1
	Ouster of incumbent changing allegiance		1			1
Seats changing hands	Incumbents defeated	1	14	1		16
	Open seats gained	3	2	1		6
	Byelection gains held	3				3
	Incumbent changing allegiance				1	1
	Retention of seat overturned in previous election	1				1
Total		48	37	2	1	88

MLAs elected by region and riding

Party designations are as follows:

Liberal

Conservative

Independent Liberal

Independent

Northern Ontario

Algoma: Robert Adam Lyon

Ottawa Valley

Carleton: George William Monk
Lanark North: William Clyde Caldwell
Lanark South: William Lees (Ind)
Ottawa: Patrick Baskerville
Prescott: Albert Peter Hagar
Renfrew North: Thomas Murray
Renfrew South: John Francis Dowling^[b]
Russell: Honoré Robillard

Saint Lawrence Valley

Brockville: Christopher Finlay Fraser
Cornwall: Alexander Peter Ross
Dundas: Andrew Broder
Glengarry: James Rayside
Grenville South: Frederick John French
Kingston: James Henry Metcalfe
Leeds North and Grenville North: Henry Merrick
Leeds South: Robert Henry Preston
Stormont: Joseph Kerr

Central Ontario

Addington: George Denison
Durham East: Charles Herbert Brereton
Durham West: James Wellington McLaughlin
Frontenac: Henry Wilmot
Hastings East: William Parker Hudson
Hastings North: Alpheus Field Wood
Hastings West: Ephraim George Sills
Lennox: Alexander Hall Roe
Northumberland East: James Marshall Ferris
Northumberland West: Robert Mulholland
Peterborough East: Thomas Blezard
Peterborough West: John Carnegie
Prince Edward: James Hart (I-Lib)
Victoria North: John Fell
Victoria South: Duncan John McIntyre

Georgian Bay

Bruce North: John Gillies (I-Lib)
Grey North: David Creighton
Muskoka and Parry Sound: Frederick G. Fauquier^[c]
Simcoe East: Charles Alfred Drury
Simcoe South: George Prevost McKay
Simcoe West: Orson James Phelps^[d]

Wentworth/Halton/Niagara

Midwestern Ontario

Brant North: James Young
Brant South: Arthur Sturgis Hardy
Bruce South: Hamilton Parke O'Connor
Dufferin: Robert McGhee
Grey East: Abram William Lauder
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: Adam Crooks
Perth North: John George Hess
Perth South: Thomas Ballantyne
Waterloo North: Elias Weber Bingeman Snider
Waterloo South: Isaac Master
Wellington Centre: Charles Clarke
Wellington South: James Laidlaw
Wellington West: Robert McKim

Southwestern Ontario

Elgin East: Charles Oaks Ermatinger
Elgin West: John Cascaden
Essex North: Solomon White
Essex South: William Douglas Balfour
Kent East: Daniel McCraney
Kent West: James Clancy
Lambton East: Peter Graham
Lambton West: Timothy Blair Pardee
London: William Ralph Meredith
Middlesex East: Donald MacKenzie
Middlesex North: John Waters
Middlesex West: Alexander Johnston^[e]

Peel/York/Ontario

Notes and references

Notes

^ Part of the district was unorganized territory, for which voter's lists were not prepared. Total valid ballots were 4,356 of which 1,815 came from such territory. Net amount was 2,541 plus 16 rejected ballots giving 2,557 net turnout. Compared to 3,847 registered voters, this gives a turnout of 66.47%.^[3]
^ Election declared void because of corrupt practices. Writ for new election issued. Dowling was returned in the subsequent byelection.^[4]
^ Election declared void because of corrupt practices. Writ for new election issued after appeal dismissed. Jacob William Dill (Liberal) won the subsequent byelection.^[5]
^ Election declared void because of corrupt practices. Writ for new election issued. Phelps was returned in the subsequent byelection.^[4]
^ Election declared void because of corrupt practices. Writ for new election issued. George William Ross (Liberal) won the subsequent byelection.^[4]
^ Election declared void because of corrupt practices. Writ for new election issued. Hammell was returned in the subsequent byelection.^[4]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "1883 general election results". Elections Ontario. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
^ "Ontario Political History 101". January 6, 2010. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
^ "Sessional Paper No. 1". Sessional Papers (Vol. XVI–Part I). Toronto: Legislative Assembly of Ontario. 1884. pp. 48–49.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Journals of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario. Vol. XVII. Toronto: Legislative Assembly of Ontario. 1884. pp. 20–23.
^ Journals of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario. Vol. XVIII. Toronto: Legislative Assembly of Ontario. 1885. pp. 9–12.

[3] rder is as given in EO reports

[4] the incumbent George William Monk was the winning candidate

[5] the incumbent William Jelly ran as an Independent Conservative, getting 682 votes

[White-6] Solomon White campaigned in two ridings

[7] the incumbent William Lees ran and won as an Independent candidate

[10] the incumbent Albert Peter Hagar, having won in an 1881 byelection, was the winning candidate

[11] Thomas Murray had won in Renfrew South in 1879, but had resigned his seat to unsuccessfully contest a federal seat in Pontiac in the 1878 election.

[12] Franklin Metcalfe Carpenter had previously won in 1879, but his election was overturned on petition to the court.

[9] Part of the district was unorganized territory, for which voter's lists were not prepared. Total valid ballots were 4,356 of which 1,815 came from such territory. Net amount was 2,541 plus 16 rejected ballots giving 2,557 net turnout. Compared to 3,847 registered voters, this gives a turnout of 66.47%.^[3]

[14] Election declared void because of corrupt practices. Writ for new election issued. Dowling was returned in the subsequent byelection.^[4]

[16] Election declared void because of corrupt practices. Writ for new election issued after appeal dismissed. Jacob William Dill (Liberal) won the subsequent byelection.^[5]

[17] Election declared void because of corrupt practices. Writ for new election issued. Phelps was returned in the subsequent byelection.^[4]

[18] Election declared void because of corrupt practices. Writ for new election issued. George William Ross (Liberal) won the subsequent byelection.^[4]

[19] Election declared void because of corrupt practices. Writ for new election issued. Hammell was returned in the subsequent byelection.^[4]

[EOData-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "1883 general election results". Elections Ontario. Retrieved November 8, 2023.

[2] "Ontario Political History 101". January 6, 2010. Retrieved August 6, 2020.

[8] "Sessional Paper No. 1". Sessional Papers (Vol. XVI–Part I). Toronto: Legislative Assembly of Ontario. 1884. pp. 48–49.

[Journals1884-13] Journals of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario. Vol. XVII. Toronto: Legislative Assembly of Ontario. 1884. pp. 20–23.

[15] Journals of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario. Vol. XVIII. Toronto: Legislative Assembly of Ontario. 1885. pp. 9–12.

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