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").

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.Janet B. Kerr, "Sir Oliver Mowat and the Campaign of 1894," Ontario History, March 1963, Vol. 55 Issue 1, pp 1-13

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.

Ottawa was given a second seat, and plurality block voting was used. Elsewhere the first-past-the-post election system was used. The Toronto district had been 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 increased the size of the Assembly from 91 to 94 seats:

Toronto, a riding that returned three MLAs, was divided into Toronto East, Toronto North, Toronto South and Toronto West. Hamilton, a single-member constituency, was divided into Hamilton East and Hamilton West. Ottawa became a two-member riding.

Results

|style="text-align:left;"|Oliver Mowat |80 |53 | |45 |8 |153,826 |40.99% |8.64

|style="text-align:left;"|William Ralph Meredith |56 |34 | |23 |11 |104,369 |27.81% |12.07

|style="text-align:left;"|Liberal-Patrons |style="text-align:left;"| |26 |– |– |12 |12 |44,029 |11.73% |

|style="text-align:left;"|Conservative–P.P.A. |style="text-align:left;"| |13 |– |– |5 |5 |24,616 |6.56% |

|style="text-align:left;"|Joseph Longford Haycock |7 |– |– |3 |3 |10,465 |2.79% |

|style="text-align:left;"|Conservative-Patrons |style="text-align:left;"| |7 |– |– |2 |2 |11,608 |3.09% |

|style="text-align:left;"|Liberal-P.P.A. |style="text-align:left;"| |2 |– |– |2 |2 |3,649 |0.97%

|style="background-color:#FF8000;"| |style="text-align:left;"|Protestant Protective Association |style="text-align:left;"| |8 |– |– |1 |1 |11,015 |2.94% |

|style="text-align:left;"| |1 |– |– |1 |1 |2,326 |0.62% |

|style="text-align:left;"| |9 |– |– |– | |9,374 |2.50% |

|style="text-align:left;"|Liberal-Equal Rights |style="text-align:left;"| | |2 |– |– |2 |colspan="3"|Did not campaign

|style="text-align:left;"|Conservative-Equal Rights |style="text-align:left;"| | |2 |– |– |2 |colspan="3"|Did not campaign

|colspan="3"| | |colspan="5"| |-style="background:#E9E9E9;" |colspan="3" style="text-align:left;"|Total |209 |91 |91 |94 | |375,277 |100.00%

+ Seats and popular vote by party of major influenceParty Seats Votes Change (pp) 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. Protestant Protective AssociationAssociated 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.

Synopsis of results

1894 Ontario general election

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