The 1905 Ontario general election was the 11th general election 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 25, 1905, to elect the 98 Members of the

11th Legislative Assembly of Ontario The 11th Legislative Assembly of Ontario was in session from January 25, 1905, until May 2, 1908, just prior to the 1908 Ontario general election, 1908 general election. The majority party was the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, Ontario ...

("MLAs"). The

Ontario Conservative Party The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (PC; ), often shortened to the Ontario PC Party, or simply the PCs, colloquially known as the Tories, is a centre-right political party in Ontario, Canada. During its uninterrupted governance from 1 ...

, led by Sir James P. Whitney, defeated 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 Sir

George William Ross Sir George William Ross (September 18, 1841 – March 7, 1914) was an educator and politician in the Canadian province of Ontario. He was the fifth premier of Ontario from 1899 to 1905. Early life Born near Nairn, in Middlesex County, Upper Can ...

, bringing to an end the control of the government that the Liberal Party had exercised power for the previous 34 years.

Background

The Liberal Party had been in power in Ontario for the last 34 years. 24 of these were under

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 ...

, who was seen as a popular, moderate leader. The Liberals had been able to stay dominant elections due to Mowat's willingness to compromise and his support from farmers. In 1896, Mowat resigned the position of premier to join the cabinet of Wilfred Laurier. He was replaced by Arthur Hardy, who resigned 3 years later due to poor health, and was replaced by

, the former

Minister of Education An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...

. The Liberals had declined significantly since the retirement of Mowat, losing the popular voting and having a small majority in the 1902 election. Demographic factors had hurt the party. Industrial cities that typically voted Conservative were growing while farmers - a core constituency of the Liberals - were on decline. The dominant Liberal government was also strongly criticised for corruption. In one case,

Francis Clergue Francis Hector Clergue (August 28, 1856 – January 19, 1939) was an American businessman who became the leading industrialist of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada, at the turn of the 20th century. Biography Early life Clergue was born on Augu ...

, a supporter of the Liberal government, was accused of bringing over Americans in Michigan and handing out drinks to get them to vote for Liberals in Sault Ste. Marie. Ross did not have Mowat's reputation of being seen as an "honest Christian man" and so found it harder to defend against the allegations.

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

was also an issue after the

British Privy Council The Privy Council, formally His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its members, known as privy counsellors, are mainly senior politicians who are current or former m ...

declared that provinces had the right to restrict alcohol. Unlike Mowat, Ross was a much more hesitant supporter of Prohibition, believing it would be unpopular. Instead, Ross held a referendum on Prohibition in

1902 Events January * January 1 ** The Nurses Registration Act 1901 comes into effect in New Zealand, making it the first country in the world to require state registration of nurses. On January 10, Ellen Dougherty becomes the world's ...

, in which the motion failed despite "Yes" winning a majority of the vote, due to a 2/3rds majority being needed for it to pass. This angered pro-Prohibition Liberals and divided the party that already held a small majority. Division in the party lead to Ross calling an election in 1905.

Campaign

The main focus of the campaign was on the Conservatives attacking the Liberal "machine" which had dominated elections in the Province, especially between 1898 and 1904, and was involved in numerous instances of bribery and other corrupt practices. This was further highlighted by the fact that no Liberals were prosecuted for this, while Conservatives were involved in fewer such matters but faced numerous convictions. By 1905, this had led to widespread disgust, and one Tory candidate, P.D. Ross in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, declared upon his nomination that every honest man should be a Conservative. '' The Globe'', a newspaper founded by Liberal

George Brown George Brown may refer to: Arts and entertainment * George Loring Brown (1814–1889), American landscape painter * George Douglas Brown (1869–1902), Scottish novelist * George Williams Brown (1894–1963), Canadian historian and editor * Ge ...

, endorsed the Conservatives. The ensuing Conservative victory was overwhelming. Six constituencies returned Tory members for the first time ever since Confederation, plus eight others which had only done so once before. Most cities, other than Ottawa and Kingston, voted Conservative.

Electoral system

had two seats, and

plurality block voting Plurality block voting is a type of block voting method for multi-winner elections. Each voter may cast as many votes as the number of seats to be filled. The candidates with the most votes are elected. The usual result when the candidates div ...

was used. Elsewhere the

first-past-the-post First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or First-preference votes, first-preference, and the cand ...

election system was used.

Results

, - ! colspan=2 rowspan=2 , Political party ! rowspan=2 , Party leader ! colspan=5 , MPPs ! colspan=3 , Votes , - ! Candidates !

! Dissol. !1905 !± !# !% ! ± (pp) , style="text-align:left;", James P. Whitney , 98 , 48 , , 69 , 21 , 237,612 , 53.37% , 5.83 , style="text-align:left;",

, 95 , 50 , , 28 , 22 , 198,595 , 44.61% , 5.04 , style="text-align:left;", , 3 , – , , 1 , 1 , 5,362 , 1.20% , , style="text-align:left;", , 1 , – , – , – , , 95 , 0.02% , 0.36 , style="text-align:left;", , 2 , – , – , – , , 100 , 0.02% , 1.16 , style="text-align:left;", , 2 , – , – , – , , 1,906 , 0.43% , 0.29 , style="text-align:left;", , 7 , – , – , – , , 1,273 , 0.29% , 0.17 , style="text-align:left;", , 2 , – , – , – , , 250 , 0.06% , , style="text-align:left;", , – , – , – , – , , colspan="3", ''Did not campaign'' , colspan="3", , , colspan="5", , -style="background:#E9E9E9;" , colspan="3" style="text-align:left;", Total , 210 , 98 , 98 , 98 , , 445,193 , 100.00% , , - , colspan="8" style="text-align:left;", Blank and invalid ballots , align="right", 3,254 , style="background:#E9E9E9;" colspan="2", , -style="background:#E9E9E9;" , colspan="8" style="text-align:left;", Registered voters / turnout , 616,996 , 72.68% , 1.87

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 : = incumbency arose from prior election result being overturned by the court : = other incumbents renominated : = previously an MP in 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 ...

: = multiple candidates , - ! colspan=2 , Political party ! Candidate ! Votes ! % ! Elected ! Incumbent , - , style="text-align:left;", Donald Joseph McDougal , 6,053 , , 26.06 , style="text-align:center;", , - , style="text-align:left;", George Samuel May , 5,904 , , 25.42 , style="text-align:center;", , - , style="text-align:left;", Dennis Murphy , 5,675 , , 24.43 , style="text-align:center;", , style="text-align:center;", , - , style="text-align:left;", P.D. Ross , 5,596 , , 24.09 , - !colspan="3" style="text-align:right;", Majorityplurality for second winning candidate , 229 , , 0.99 , - !colspan="3" style="text-align:right;", Turnout , 11,726 , , 74.01 , - !colspan="3" style="text-align:right;", Registered voters , 15,844

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 * * * * * * * Toronto * * * *

Seats that changed hands

There were 32 seats that changed allegiance in the election: Liberal to Conservative * Brant *

Bruce South Bruce South could refer to: * Bruce South (federal electoral district) *Bruce South (provincial electoral district) Bruce South was an electoral riding in Ontario, Canada. It was created in 1867 at the time of confederation A confederatio ...

* Durham West * Fort William and Lake of the Woods * Halton * Kent East *

Lambton East Lambton East was a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1882 to 1935. It was located in the province of Ontario. This riding was created from Lambton riding. The East Riding of the county of Lambton ...

Lanark North Lanark North was a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1917. It was located in the province of Ontario. It was created by the British North America Act 1867 which divided the County of Lanark i ...

* Middlesex East *

Middlesex North Middlesex North could refer to * Middlesex North (federal electoral district) *Middlesex North (provincial electoral district) Middlesex North was an electoral riding in Ontario, Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Pro ...

* Muskoka *

Nipissing East Nipissing East was a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of Ontario, active from 1902 to 1908. Due to population growth, the district of Nipissing was divided into Nipissing East and Nipissing West for the 1902 election. By 1 ...

Nipissing West Nipissing West was a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of Ontario, active from 1902 to 1908. Due to population growth, the district of Nipissing was divided into Nipissing West and Nipissing East for the 1902 election. By ...

* Norfolk South *

Ontario South Ontario South was a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1925. It was located in the province of Ontario. It was created by the British North America Act 1867. The South riding consisted initia ...

Parry Sound Parry Sound is a Sound (geography), sound or bay of Georgian Bay on Lake Huron, in Ontario, Canada. It is highly irregularly shaped with many deep bays and islands. Killbear Provincial Park is located on the large peninsula that separates the sou ...

Perth South Perth South was a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1935. It was located in the province of Ontario. It was created by the British North America Act 1867, which divided the County of Perth in ...

Peterborough West Peterborough West was a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1953. It was located in the province of Ontario. It was created by the British North America Act 1867 which divided the County of Pet ...

Renfrew South Renfrew South was a federal riding represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1968. It was located in the province of Ontario. The federal riding was created by the British North America Act 1867 and was abolished in 1966, wi ...

Simcoe Centre Simcoe Centre was a federal electoral district (Canada), electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1988 to 1997. This riding was created in 1987 from parts of Grey—Simcoe, Simcoe Sou ...

* Stormont *

Welland Welland is a city in the Regional Municipality of Niagara in Southern Ontario, Canada. As of 2021, it had a population of 55,750. The city is in the centre of Niagara and located within a half-hour driving distance to Niagara Falls, Niagara-on ...

* Wellington East * York East *

York North York North was a federal riding in Ontario, Canada, that was in the House of Commons of Canada from Confederation in 1867 until 2004. The federal riding was eliminated in 2003 when it was redistributed between two new ridings of Newmarket� ...

York West York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

Liberal to Independent-Liberal *

Hastings East Hastings East was a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1925. It was located in the province of Ontario. It was created by the British North America Act 1867 which divided the County of Hastin ...

Conservative to Liberal *

Glengarry The Glengarry bonnet is a traditional Scots cap made of thick-milled woollen material, decorated with a toorie on top, frequently a rosette cockade on the left side, and ribbons hanging behind. It is normally worn as part of Scottish military ...

Norfolk North Norfolk North was a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1904. It was located in the province of Ontario. It was created by the British North America Act 1867, which divided the county of Norfolk ...

(both MLAs) *

Sault Ste. Marie Sault Ste. Marie may refer to: People * Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, a Native American tribe in Michigan Places * Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada ** Sault Ste. Marie (federal electoral district), a Canadian federal electora ...

Background

Campaign

Electoral system

Results

Synopsis of results

Analysis

MLAs elected by region and riding

Seats that changed hands

See also

Notes and references

Notes

References

Further reading