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The Second Parliament of Ontario was in session from March 21, 1871, until December 23, 1874, just prior to the 1875 general election.

The majority party was the Ontario Liberal Party led by Edward Blake, whose Cabinet succeeded as Government when incumbent John Sandfield Macdonald and his Patent Combination Ministry fell December 20, 1871; Oliver Mowat replaced Blake as premier in October 25, 1872, after an act was passed by the Ontario Parliament which prohibited a member from holding a seat in the Legislative Assembly while holding a seat in the Dominion Parliament, a so-called "dual mandate". Blake chose to serve as federal Leader of the Opposition instead of remaining as Premier. Mowat's Cabinet was largely similar to Blake's in composition.

Richard William Scott served as speaker for the assembly until he was named to cabinet on December 21, 1871. James George Currie succeeded Scott as speaker, serving until his resignation on March 29, 1873. Rupert Mearse Wells then succeeded Currie as speaker.

There were 82 seats in the second legislature, 56 in the Liberal stronghold of Western Ontario, and 26 in much more conservative Eastern Ontario.

Western Ontario

Eastern Ontario

Notes

1. ^ Member resigned seat to keep a seat in the federal parliament
2. Robert Gibbons resigned his seat in 1872 to accept an appointment as sheriff
3. George Perry gave up his seat in 1872 to allow Oliver Mowat a seat in the legislature
4. John Coyne died in 1873
5. Thomas McCulloch Fairbairn died in 1874
6. Thomas Roberts Ferguson resigned his seat in 1873 due to health problems
7. Robert McKim resigned to compete (unsuccessfully) in the 1874 federal election
8. John Sandfield Macdonald died in 1872
9. Mcneil Clarke died in 1872
10. Daniel Galbraith resigned his seat in 1872 to run federally
11. Herbert Stone Macdonald resigned in 1873 to accept an appointment as judge
12. Richard William Scott resigned in 1873 to accept federal cabinet post
13. Andrew Monteith was elected to the federal parliament in 1874
14. James Simeon McCuaig resigned his seat in 1872 to run for a federal seat
15. William Colquhoun's election was appealed

References

• A History of Ontario : its resources and development., Alexander Fraser

1. "Speakers of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario". Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Archived from the original on 2014-08-01. Retrieved 2014-08-29.

• Terms of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
• 1871 establishments in Ontario
• 1874 disestablishments in Ontario