The 1912 Prince Edward Island general election was held in the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island on January 3, 1912.
The election was won by the governing Conservatives, led by incumbent Premier John A. Mathieson, nearly sweeping the island's 30 districts and granting the Conservatives their first clear general election victory since the 1886 election.
Mathieson was designated Premier in December 1911 at the behest of the Lieutenant Governor, following the defeat of his predecessor, Liberal Premier H. James Palmer in a by-election, one that ultimately shifted the balance of power in the Legislature from a bare Liberal majority to a situation in the Conservative's favour.
H. James Palmer, having no seat in the Legislature and ultimately having lost the confidence of the Legislature, resigned from politics and did not run in this election. It is therefore unknown if Palmer led the Liberals in this election, though his biography at the PEI Legislative Documents Online archive makes reference to the "Palmer-led Liberals." There is no other listed leader for the Liberals during the election; Assemblyman John Richards led the Liberals as Leader of the Opposition in the 37th Legislature.
Party Standings
PartyParty LeaderSeatsPopular Vote1908Elected#%John A. Mathieson132815,96359.2%LiberalH. James Palmer17210,99440.8%
Members Elected
The Legislature of Prince Edward Island had two levels of membership from 1893 to 1996 - Assemblymen and Councillors. This was a holdover from when the Island had a bicameral legislature, the General Assembly and the Legislative Council.
In 1893, the Legislative Council was abolished and had its membership merged with the Assembly, though the two titles remained separate and were elected by different electoral franchises. Assemblymen were elected by all eligible voters of within a district, while Councillors were only elected by landowners within a district.
Kings
District Assemblyman Party Councillor Party 1st Kings John McLean Conservative John Kickham Conservative 2nd Kings Albert E. Simpson Conservative Aeneas A. Macdonald Conservative 3rd Kings John A. Dewar Conservative John A. MacDonald Conservative 4th Kings Albert P. Prowse Conservative Murdock MacKinnon Conservative 5th Kings Temple W. Macdonald Conservative John Alexander Mathieson Conservative
Prince
District Assemblyman Party Councillor Party 1st Prince Sylvain Gallant Conservative Charles E. Dalton Conservative 2nd Prince John Richards Liberal Alfred McWilliams Liberal 3rd Prince Aubin Edmond Arsenault Conservative Hector Dobie Conservative 4th Prince James Kennedy Conservative Michael C. Delaney Conservative 5th Prince James A. MacNeill Conservative J. Edward Wyatt Conservative
Queens
District Assemblyman Party Councillor Party 1st Queens Murdock Kennedy Conservative John H. Myers Conservative 2nd Queens John Buntain Conservative Louis Jenkins Conservative 3rd Queens George F. Dewar Conservative Henry F. Feehan Conservative 4th Queens John S. Martin Conservative Alexander Macphail Conservative 5th Queens Stephen R. Jenkins Conservative William S. Stewart Conservative
Sources
Further reading