The 1875 Ontario general election was the third

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

held in the province of

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada. It was held on January 18, 1875, to elect the 88 Members of the 3rd Legislative Assembly of Ontario ("MLAs"). The

Ontario Liberal Party The Ontario Liberal Party (OLP; , PLO) is a political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. The party has been led by Bonnie Crombie since December 2023. The party espouses the principles of liberalism, with their rival the Progressive Co ...

, led by

Oliver Mowat Sir Oliver Mowat (July 22, 1820 – April 19, 1903) was a Canadians, Canadian lawyer, politician, and Ontario Liberal Party leader. He served for nearly 24 years as the third premier of Ontario. He was the eighth lieutenant governor of Ontario ...

, increased its majority in the Legislature for its second term in government. The Ontario Conservative Party, led by

Matthew Crooks Cameron Sir Matthew Crooks Cameron, (2 October 1822 – 25 June 1887) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1867 to 1878. He represented the riding of Toronto East. He served ...

lost four of its seats.

Electoral reforms

The Legislative Assembly had passed several pieces of legislation that impacted on the current election: * Members of the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

were disqualified from holding a provincial seat. * The prior practice of voting by open declaration was abolished in favour of holding a

secret ballot The secret ballot, also known as the Australian ballot, is a voting method in which a voter's identity in an election or a referendum is anonymous. This forestalls attempts to influence the voter by intimidation, blackmailing, and potential vote ...

Redistribution of ridings

The Assembly was increased from 82 to 88 members, through the following changes: , - ! colspan=2 rowspan=2 , Political party ! rowspan=2 , Party leader ! colspan=4 , MLAs ! colspan=4 , Votes , - ! Candidates !

1871 Events January–March * January 3 – Franco-Prussian War: Battle of Bapaume – Prussians win a strategic victory. * January 18 – Proclamation of the German Empire: The member states of the North German Confederation and the sout ...

!1875 !± !# ! ± !% ! ± (pp) , style="text-align:left;",

, 84 , , 43 , , 49 , , 6 , , 90,809 , , 22,443 , , 47.55% , , 4.75 , rowspan="2" style="text-align:left;",

, 81 , , 38 , , 35 , , 3 , , 87,802 , , 27,876 , , 45.98% , , 0.13 , 1 , , – , , 1 , , 1 , , 1,553 , , 1,553 , , 0.81% , , New , , , 2 , , – , , 2 , , 2 , , 2,129 , , 2,129 , , 1.11% , , New , , , 1 , , – , , 1 , , 1 , , 1,125 , , 1,125 , , 0.59% , , New , , , 1 , , 1 , , – , , 1 , , 791 , , 325 , , 0.41% , , 0.44 , , , 11 , , – , , – , , – , , 6,757 , , 5,454 , , 3.54% , , 2.54 , - ! colspan="3" style="text-align:left;" , Total , 181, , 82 ! " colspan="2", 88 ! " colspan="2", 190,966 ! " colspan="2", 100.00% , - , colspan="7" style="text-align:left;" , Voter turnout , 190,966 , 60,255 , 67.28 , 4.35 , - , colspan="7" style="text-align:left;" , Registered electors , 283,856 , 76,139 , colspan="2", , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2" colspan="3" ,

Acclamation An acclamation is a form of election that does not use a ballot. It derives from the ancient Roman word ''acclamatio'', a kind of ritual greeting and expression of approval towards imperial officials in certain social contexts. Voting Voice vot ...

s , style="text-align:left;" colspan="2" , , , 8 , - , style="text-align:left;" colspan="2" , , , 1

Synopsis of results

: = 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

: = multiple candidates

Analysis

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 * * * * * * * * *

Controverted elections

The following constituencies had elections which were declared void, for which writs of election were issued and elections held prior to the opening of the first session of the new Legislature:

Notes and references

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ontario General Election, 1875

1875 Events January * January 1 – The Midland Railway of England abolishes the Second Class passenger category, leaving First Class and Third Class. Other British railway companies follow Midland's lead during the rest of the year (Third C ...

1875 elections in Canada 1875 in Ontario January 1875