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1871 Ontario general election

← 1867 March 21, 1871 1875 →
← outgoing members
82 seats in the 2nd Legislative Assembly of Ontario 42 seats were needed for a majority
First party Second party   Leader Edward Blake John Sandfield Macdonald Party Liberal Conservative Leader's seat Bruce South Cornwall Last election 41 41 Seats won 43 38 Seat change 2 3
Premier before election John Sandfield Macdonald Conservative Premier after election Edward Blake Liberal

The 1871 Ontario general election was the second general election held in the Province of Ontario, Canada. It was held on March 21, 1871, to elect the 82 Members of the 2nd Legislative Assembly of Ontario ("MLAs").

The Ontario Liberal Party, led by Edward Blake, won a slim majority of the seats, and formed the government.

The Ontario Conservative Party, led by John Sandfield Macdonald, served as the official opposition.

Electoral reforms

Earlier in 1871, the Legislative Assembly passed an Act to give the courts jurisdiction to rule on petitions dealing with corrupt practices in elections.

In 1872, the Parliament of Canada passed an Act to compel MPs who were also members of a provincial legislature to resign such seats if they wished to stand again in a federal election. Five MLAs in the 1871 election were thus obliged to leave the Legislative Assembly in order to stand in federal ridings in 1872.

Results

Elections to the 2nd Parliament of Ontario (1871)

Political party		Party leader	MLAs				Votes
			Candidates	1867	1871	±	#	±	%	± (pp)
	Liberal		76	41	43	2	68,366	9,323	52.30%	3.54
	Conservative		73	41	38	3	59,926	20,185	45.85%	4.44
	Conservative-Liberal		1	–	1	1	1,116	1,116	0.85%	New
	Independent		9	–	–	–	1,303	220	1.00%	0.04
Total			159	82	88		130,711		100.00%
Voter turnout							130,711	28,612	62.93	10.93
Registered electors							207,717	8,005
Acclamations			█ Liberal		7
			█ Conservative		8
Other candidates receiving nil votes			█ Independent		2

1. one in Halton, and another in Peel

Synopsis of results

1. order is as given in EO reports
2. ^ Edward Blake was elected in two ridings.
3. the incumbent John Stevenson received 914 votes
4. ^ James Wilson (incumbent in Norfolk North) campaigned and lost in two ridings
5. William Anderson had been elected as a Liberal in an 1870 byelection
6. the incumbent William Lount received 655 votes
7. the incumbent Thomas Matchett received 696 votes
8. the incumbent William Beatty received 1,043 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

MLAs elected by region and riding

Party designations are as follows:

Later resignations on campaigning at the federal level

Resignation				New incoming MLA
District	Outgoing MLA		Elected as MP	Winner
1872 federal election
Bruce South		Edward Blake	Y		Rupert Mearse Wells
London		John Carling	Y		William Ralph Meredith
Middlesex West		Alexander Mackenzie	Y		John Watterworth
Monck		Lachlin McCallum	N		Henry Ryan Haney
1873 federal byelection (Durham West)
Brant South		Edmund Burke Wood	Y		Arthur Sturgis Hardy
1874 federal election
Wellington North		Robert McKim	N		George Turner Orton

1. elected in Lambton
2. campaigned in Wellington Centre

See also

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

Notes and references

Notes

1. Election declared void because of corrupt practices. Writ for new election issued. Monk was returned in the subsequent byelection.
2. Election declared void because of corrupt practices. Writ for new election issued. Hamilton was returned in the subsequent byelection.
3. Election declared void because of corrupt practices. Writ for new election issued. James Bethune (Liberal) won the subsequent byelection.
4. Declined the seat in favour of sitting for Bruce South John McLeod (Liberal) won the subsequent byelection.
5. Election declared void because of corrupt practices. Writ for new election issued. James Simeon McCuaig (Conservative) won the subsequent byelection.
6. Election declared void because of corrupt practices. Writ for new election issued. Ardagh was returned in the subsequent byelection.
7. Election declared void because of corrupt practices. Writ for new election issued. Lauder was returned in the subsequent byelection.

References

1. "1871 General Election". Elections Ontario. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
2. The Controverted Elections Act of 1871, S.O. 1870-71, c. 3
3. An Act to compel Members of a Local Legislature in any Province where dual representation is not allowed, to resign their Seats before becoming Candidates in any Seats in the Dominion Parliament, S.C. 1872, c. 15
4. ^ "1871 general election results". Elections Ontario. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
5. ^ Journals of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario. Toronto: Legislative Assembly of Ontario. 1872. pp. 5–15.

v t e Elections and referendums in Ontario
General elections	1867 1871 1875 1879 1883 1886 1890 1894 1898 1902 1905 1908 1911 1914 1919 1923 1926 1929 1934 1937 1943 1945 1948 1951 1955 1959 1963 1967 1971 1975 1977 1981 1985 1987 1990 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2014 2018 2022 next
By-elections	List of Ontario by-elections
Municipal elections	1976 1978 1980 1982 1985 1988 1991 1994 1997 2000 2003 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022
Referendums	1894 1902 1919 1921 1924 2007

• General elections in Ontario
• 1871 elections in Canada
• March 1871 events
• 1871 in Ontario