1890 Ontario general election explained

The 1890 Ontario general election was the seventh general election held in the Province of Ontario, Canada. It was held on June 5, 1890, to elect the 91 members of the 7th Legislative Assembly of Ontario ("MLAs").

The Assembly had been increased from 90 members after the passage of an Act in 1889 creating Nipissing as a riding.^[1]

The election was a victory for the Ontario Liberal Party, led by Oliver Mowat.^[2] The party won a sixth consecutive term in government, despite losing a small number of seats in the Legislature.

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

This election was held partially using the Limited voting system where each Toronto voter had two votes for the three MPPs in the district. This produced mixed representation in that district and thus a degree of minority representation.^[3]

A key issue in the election was the segregation of schools for Catholic and Protestant students, with the Liberal Party supporting the segregation and the Conservatives opposing it.^[2]

An 1887 Act had renamed the riding of Cornwall and Stormont as Stormont.^[4]

Results

^[5] |-! colspan=2 rowspan=2 | Political party! rowspan=2 | Party leader! colspan=5 | MPPs! colspan=3 | Votes|-! Candidates!1886!Dissol.!1890!±!#!%! ± (pp)|style="text-align:left;"|Oliver Mowat|87|57||53|4|162,118|49.63%|1.22|style="text-align:left;"|William Ralph Meredith|74|32||34|2|130,289|39.88%|7.14|style="text-align:left;"|Conservative-Equal Rights|style="text-align:left;"||14| - | - |2|2|26,154|8.01%||style="text-align:left;"|Liberal-Equal Rights |style="text-align:left;"||2| - | - |2|2|3,352|1.03%|

|style="text-align:left;"||1|1| - | - |1|7| - |0.68|style="text-align:left;"||7| - | - | - ||3,131|0.96%||style="text-align:left;"||1| - | - | - ||1,620|0.50%||style="text-align:left;"||| - | - | - ||colspan="3"|Did not campaign|style="text-align:left;"||| - | - | - ||colspan="3"|Did not campaign|colspan="3"|||colspan="5"||-style="background:#E9E9E9;"|colspan="3" style="text-align:left;"|Total|186|90|90|91||326,671|100.00%||-|colspan="8" style="text-align:left;"|Blank and invalid ballots|align="right"|3,110|style="background:#E9E9E9;" colspan="2"||-style="background:#E9E9E9;"|colspan="8" style="text-align:left;"|Registered voters / turnout|473,853|69.60%|0.09|}

Party !! Seats !! Votes !! colspan="3"

Change (pp)[6]

Synopsis of results

Results by riding - 1890 Ontario general election

Riding[7]	Winning party								Turnout	Votes
Name[8]	1886		Party		Votes	Share	Margin #	Margin %		Lib	Con				Total
Addington		Con		Con	1,498	51.48%	86	2.96%	62.05%	1,412	1,498	–	–	–	2,910
Algoma East		Lib		Con	1,569	50.97%	60	1.95%	110.54%	1,509	1,569	–	–	–	3,078
Algoma West		Lib		Lib	786	51.95%	59	3.90%	116.85%	786	727	–	–	–	1,513
Brant North		Lib		Lib	1,178	64.20%	521	28.39%	66.55%	1,178	657	–	–	–	1,835
Brant South		Lib		Lib	2,067	59.06%	634	18.11%	65.02%	2,067	1,433	–	–	–	3,500
Brockville		Lib		Lib	1,781	52.37%	161	4.73%	62.44%	1,781	–	–	1,620	–	3,401
Bruce Centre		Lib		Lib	1,860	54.56%	311	9.12%	69.74%	1,860	–	1,549	–	–	3,409
Bruce North		Con		Con	1,835	50.23%	17	0.47%	70.83%	1,818	1,835	–	–	–	3,653
Bruce South		Lib		Lib	2,179	64.41%	975	28.82%	64.86%	2,179	1,204	–	–	–	3,383
Cardwell		Con		Con	1,183	50.97%	45	1.94%	41.81%	–	2,321[9]	–	–	–	2,321
Carleton		Con		Con	1,145	50.20%	9	0.39%	45.56%	1,136	1,145	–	–	–	2,281
Stormont		Lib		Lib	2,262	54.27%	356	8.54%	68.38%	2,262	1,906	–	–	–	4,168
Dufferin		Con		C-ER	1,333	54.70%	730	29.95%	40.18%	603	–	1,834[10]	–	–	2,437
Dundas		Lib		Con	2,104	51.92%	156	3.85%	78.15%	1,948	2,104	–	–	–	4,052
Durham East		Con		C-ER	1,314	50.19%	10	0.38%	55.35%	–	1,304	1,314	–	–	2,618
Durham West		Lib		Lib	1,694	50.76%	51	1.53%	73.21%	1,694	1,643	–	–	–	3,337
Elgin East		Lib		Con	2,038	51.49%	118	2.98%	74.29%	1,920	2,038	–	–	–	3,958
Elgin West		Con		Con	2,384	52.02%	185	4.04%	67.70%	2,199	2,384	–	–	–	4,583
Essex North		Lib		Con	1,901	47.90%	635	16.00%	58.22%	2,068[11]	1,901	–	–	–	3,969
Essex South		Lib		Lib	2,505	52.15%	207	4.31%	73.61%	2,505	2,298	–	–	–	4,803
Frontenac		Con		Con	1,258	52.03%	98	4.05%	65.67%	1,160	1,258	–	–	–	2,418
Glengarry		Lib		Lib	1,756	53.96%	258	7.93%	66.38%	1,756	1,498	–	–	–	3,254
Grenville		Con		Con	1,611	57.33%	412	14.66%	48.87%	–	2,810[12]	–	–	–	2,810
Grey Centre		Con		Con	1,513	52.48%	143	4.96%	48.76%	1,370	1,513	–	–	–	2,883
Grey North		Con		Lib	2,312	54.44%	377	8.88%	67.88%	2,312	1,935	–	–	–	4,247
Grey South		Con		Lib	2,156	51.73%	144	3.45%	72.98%	2,156	2,012	–	–	–	4,168
Haldimand		Lib		Lib	2,000	54.54%	333	9.08%	81.00%	2,000	1,667	–	–	–	3,667
Halton		Con		Con	2,377	51.98%	181	3.96%	78.53%	2,196	2,377	–	–	–	4,573
Hamilton		Lib		Con	4,111	50.53%	86	1.06%	78.54%	4,025	4,111	–	–	–	8,136
Hastings East		Con		Con	1,801	50.13%	9	0.25%	79.49%	1,792	1,801	–	–	–	3,593
Hastings North		Con		Con	acclaimed
Hastings West		Con		Lib	1,678	52.11%	136	4.22%	64.41%	1,678	1,542	–	–	–	3,220
Huron East		Lib		Lib	2,256	56.27%	503	12.55%	73.87%	2,256	1,753	–	–	–	4,009
Huron South		Lib		Lib	2,144	51.91%	158	3.83%	68.23%	2,144	1,986	–	–	–	4,130
Huron West		Lib		Lib	2,125	51.35%	112	2.71%	64.60%	2,125	2,013	–	–	–	4,138
Kent East		Lib		Lib	2,347	53.99%	633	14.56%	88.46%	4,061[13]	–	286	–	–	4,347
Kent West		Con		Con	2,823	50.37%	41	0.73%	65.34%	2,782	2,823	–	–	–	5,605
Kingston		Con		Con	1,629	50.45%	29	0.90%	58.16%	1,600	1,629	–	–	–	3,229
Lambton East		Lib		Lib	2,203	52.40%	462	10.99%	73.65%	2,203	1,741	260	–	–	4,204
Lambton West		Lib		Lib	2,748	55.46%	713	14.39%	56.04%	2,748	2,035	172	–	–	4,955
Lanark North		Lib		L-ER	1,525	53.30%	189	6.61%	71.27%	–	1,336	1,525[14]	–	–	2,861
Lanark South		Con		Con	1,509	58.17%	431	16.62%	54.29%	1,078	1,509	–	–	7	2,594
Leeds		Con		Con	1,813	57.10%	451	14.20%	57.69%	1,362	1,813	–	–	–	3,175
Lennox		Con		Con	1,441	50.38%	22	0.77%	70.54%	1,419	1,441	–	–	–	2,860
Lincoln		Lib		Con	2,424	51.63%	153	3.26%	67.51%	2,271	2,424	–	–	–	4,695
London		Con		Con	acclaimed
Middlesex East		Con		Con	2,508	50.58%	58	1.17%	74.07%	2,450	2,508	–	–	–	4,958
Middlesex North		Lib		Lib	2,060	51.05%	85	2.11%	78.04%	2,060	1,975	–	–	–	4,035
Middlesex West		Lib		Lib	1,950	51.64%	124	3.28%	80.35%	1,950	1,826	–	–	–	3,776
Monck		Lib		Lib	1,765	56.83%	424	13.65%	71.30%	3,106[15]	0	–	–	–	3,106
Muskoka		Con		Con	1,565	51.46%	89	2.93%	77.76%	1,476	1,565	–	–	–	3,041
Nipissing	New			Lib	881	67.25%	452	34.50%	64.56%	881	429	–	–	–	1,310
Norfolk North		Lib		Lib	1,601	55.30%	307	10.60%	72.46%	1,601	1,294	–	–	–	2,895
Norfolk South		Con		Lib	1,563	51.06%	65	2.12%	76.54%	1,563	1,498	–	–	–	3,061
Northumberland East		Con		Con	2,185	53.36%	275	6.72%	83.74%	1,910	2,185[16]	–	–	–	4,095
Northumberland West		Lib		Lib	1,453	57.82%	393	15.64%	65.90%	1,453	1,060	–	–	–	2,513
Ontario North		Lib		Con	1,869	51.07%	78	2.13%	70.38%	1,791	1,869	–	–	–	3,660
Ontario South		Lib		Lib	2,460	51.38%	132	2.76%	73.43%	2,460	2,328	–	–	–	4,788
Ottawa		Lib		Lib	3,379	63.24%	1,415	26.48%	58.66%	3,379	–	1,964	–	–	5,343
Oxford North		Lib		Lib	acclaimed
Oxford South		Lib		Lib	1,764	64.69%	801	29.37%	44.21%	1,764	–	963	–	–	2,727
Parry Sound		Ind		Lib	1,387	52.06%	110	4.13%	n/a	1,387	1,277	–	–	–	2,664
Peel		Lib		Lib	2,059	51.54%	123	3.08%	74.33%	2,059	–	1,936	–	–	3,995
Perth North		Con		Lib	2,729	50.86%	92	1.71%	72.44%	2,729	2,637	–	–	–	5,366
Perth South		Lib		Lib	2,241	58.19%	631	16.39%	61.55%	2,241	–	1,610	–	–	3,851
Peterborough East		Lib		Lib	1,421	51.43%	79	2.86%	70.40%	1,421	–	1,342	–	–	2,763
Peterborough West		Lib		Lib	1,925	58.58%	564	17.16%	70.65%	1,925	–	1,361	–	–	3,286
Prescott		Lib		Lib	acclaimed
Prince Edward		Lib		Lib	2,040	50.09%	7	0.17%	71.71%	2,040	2,033	–	–	–	4,073
Renfrew North		Lib		Con	1,843	51.22%	88	2.45%	75.64%	1,755	1,843	–	–	–	3,598
Renfrew South		Lib		Lib	1,470	49.71%	229	7.74%	63.02%	2,711[17]	–	246	–	–	2,957
Russell		Lib		Lib	2,223	61.56%	835	23.12%	57.36%	2,223	1,388	–	–	–	3,611
Simcoe Centre		Lib		Lib	1,559	57.72%	417	15.44%	60.03%	1,559	–	1,142	–	–	2,701
Simcoe East		Lib		Con	2,092	51.96%	158	3.92%	62.59%	1,934	2,092	–	–	–	4,026
Simcoe West		Con		Con	1,318	61.56%	495	23.12%	44.95%	823	1,318	–	–	–	2,141
Victoria East		Con		Con	1,459	51.26%	72	2.53%	55.05%	1,387	1,459	–	–	–	2,846
Victoria West		Con		L-ER	1,827	56.70%	432	13.41%	66.13%	–	1,395	1,827	–	–	3,222
Waterloo North		Lib		Lib	2,205	59.79%	722	19.58%	66.67%	2,205	1,483	–	–	–	3,688
Waterloo South		Lib		Lib	2,161	55.34%	417	10.68%	66.42%	2,161	1,744	–	–	–	3,905
Welland		Lib		Con	2,345	50.77%	71	1.54%	71.83%	2,274	2,345	–	–	–	4,619
Wellington East		Lib		Lib	1,562	58.61%	459	17.22%	53.37%	1,562	1,103	–	–	–	2,665
Wellington South		Lib		Lib	2,098	59.20%	652	18.40%	61.76%	2,098	1,446	–	–	–	3,544
Wellington West		Lib		Lib	1,495	55.70%	306	11.40%	58.64%	1,495	1,189	–	–	–	2,684
Wentworth North		Lib		Lib	1,469	55.43%	288	10.87%	72.58%	1,469	1,181	–	–	–	2,650
Wentworth South		Lib		Lib	1,472	50.88%	51	1.76%	81.96%	1,472	1,421	–	–	–	2,893
York East		Lib		Lib	1,705	58.94%	517	17.87%	63.29%	1,705	–	1,188	–	–	2,893
York North		Lib		Lib	1,875	61.29%	691	22.59%	47.87%	1,875	–	1,184	–	–	3,059
York West		Lib		Lib	1,789	50.87%	61	1.73%	94.73%	1,789	–	1,728	–	–	3,517

= 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/Equal Rights candidate

= joint Liberal/Equal Rights candidate

= previously an MP in the House of Commons of Canada

= multiple candidates

^[5] |-! colspan=2 | Political party! Candidate! Votes! %! Elected! Incumbent|-|style="text-align:left;"|Edward Frederick Clarke|5,862 ||18.81|style="text-align:center;"||style="text-align:center;"||-|style="text-align:left;"|Henry Edward Clarke|5,542 ||17.78|style="text-align:center;"||style="text-align:center;"||-|style="text-align:left;"|Joseph Tait|5,359 ||17.20|style="text-align:center;"||-|style="text-align:left;"|Alfred McDougall|5,197 ||16.68|-|style="background-color:#B8BFFE;"||style="text-align:left;"|Conservative/Equal Rights|style="text-align:left;"|E.D. Armour|4,502 ||14.45|-|style="background-color:#B8BFFE;"||style="text-align:left;"|Conservative/Equal Rights|style="text-align:left;"|Robert Bell|4,001 ||12.84|-|style="background-color:#FF8000;"||style="text-align:left;"|Equal Rights|style="text-align:left;"|Frank Moses|703 ||2.26|-!colspan="3" style="text-align:right;"|Majority^[18] |162 ||0.52|-!colspan="3" style="text-align:right;"|Turnout|31,287 ||72.31|-!colspan="3" style="text-align:right;"|Registered voters|43,265|}

Analysis

Party candidates in 2nd place^[19]

Party in 1st place		Party in 2nd place						Total
			Lib	Con	C-ER	Ind-L	ER
2	3	35	10	1	1	52
2	28	2				32
	C-ER		1	1				2
	L-ER			2				2
Total		4	32	40	10	1	1	88

Candidates ranked 1st to 5th place, by party

Parties	Accl	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th
	2	50	32	2	1
	2	31	41
		2	10			1
		2
			1	5
			1
				1

Source !!colspan="5"

Party
align="center"	Lib	align="center"	Con	C-ER	L-ER	Total
Seats retained	Incumbents returned	36	14			50
	Returned by acclamation	2	2			4
	Open seats held	6	3			9
	Byelection loss reversed		2			2
	Defeated by same-party candidate		1			1
Seats changing hands	Incumbents defeated	5	9		1	15
	Open seats gained	2		2		4
	Byelection gains held		1			1
	Incumbent changed allegiance				1	1
New seat	New MLAs	1				1
Toronto seats	MLA returned		2			2
	New MLAs	1				1
Total		53	34	2	2	91

MLAs elected by region and riding

Party designations are as follows:

Northern Ontario

Ottawa Valley

Saint Lawrence Valley

Central Ontario

Georgian Bay

Wentworth/Halton/Niagara

Midwestern Ontario

Southwestern Ontario

Peel/York/Ontario

Seats that changed hands

In its first election, Nipissing returned the Liberal candidate John Loughrin as its MLA.

Elections to the 18th Parliament of Ontario – seats won/lost by party, 1886–1890

Party		1886	Gain from (loss to)										1890
			Lib		Con		Con-ER		Lib-ER		Ind
57			5	(10)				(1)	1		52
32	10	(5)				(2)		(1)			34
-			2								2
-	1		1								2
1		(1)									-
Total		90	11	(6)	8	(10)	-	(2)	-	(2)	1	-	90

In the election, 20 seats changed their allegiance.

Liberal to Conservative

• Algoma East
• Dundas
• Elgin East
• Essex North
• Hamilton
• Lincoln
• Ontario North
• Renfrew North
• Simcoe East
• Welland

Liberal to Liberal-Equal Rights

• Lanark North

Conservative to Liberal

• Grey North
• Grey South
• Hastings West
• Norfolk South
• Perth North

Conservative to Conservative-Equal Rights

• Dufferin
• Durham East

Conservative to Liberal-Equal Rights

• Victoria West

Independent to Liberal

• Parry Sound

See also

• Politics of Ontario
• List of Ontario political parties
• Premier of Ontario
• Leader of the Opposition (Ontario)

Notes and references

References

Notes and References

1. An Act to give Representation in the Legislative Assembly to the District of Nipissing. S.O.. 1889. 2. https://archive.org/details/statutesofprovin1889onta/page/8/mode/2up.
2. Dunning. Wm. A.. 1890. Record of Political Events. Political Science Quarterly. 5. 4. 741. 10.2307/2139551. 2139551.
3. 1921 Special House of Commons Committee on pro-rep. report, p. 12
4. An Act to give early effect to certain amendments of the Law recommended by the Statute Commissioners. S.O.. 1887. 8. https://archive.org/details/statutesofprovin1887onta/page/30/mode/2up., Schedule
5. Web site: 1890 general election results. . Elections Ontario. November 22, 2023.
6. Straight party support only. Other MLAs sponsored by Equal Rights Party are allocated to the latter, to show extent of influence.
7. excluding Toronto, a multi-member constituency
8. order is as given in EO reports
9. the incumbent William Henry Hammell was the winning candidate
10. [John Barr (Canadian politician)|John Barr]
11. the incumbent Gaspard Pacaud received 1,266 votes
12. the incumbent Frederick John French received 1,199 votes
13. the incumbent Robert Ferguson was the winning candidate
14. the Liberal incumbent William Clyde Caldwell ran as a Liberal/Equal Rights candidate
15. the incumbent Richard Harcourt was the winning candidate
16. [William Arnson Willoughby]
17. the winning candidate John Francis Dowling had been previously elected to the Legislature
18. plurality for third winning candidate
19. excluding Toronto seats