The Equal Rights Party was a Canadian political party that ran candidates in elections in Ontario in 1890 and 1891. It ran a joint Liberal-Equal Rights candidate in the

1890 Ontario general election The 1890 Ontario general election was the seventh general election held in the province of Ontario, Canada. It was held on June 5, 1890, to elect the 91 members of the 7th Legislative Assembly of Ontario ("MLAs"). The Assembly had been increase ...

. The party nominated two candidates in the 5 March 1891 federal election. While running in

Durham East Durham East could refer to: * Durham East (federal electoral district) *Durham East (provincial electoral district) Durham East was a provincial electoral district in the Durham Region in Ontario, Canada that elected members to the Legislative Ass ...

riding in

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 ...

, Samuel Grandy won 1,685 of the 3,431 votes cast (49.11% of the popular votes), losing narrowly to Conservative Party candidate Thomas Dixon Craig, who collected 1,746 votes. The other Equal Rights Party candidate, W.H. Lewis, was less successful, collecting only 770 of the 9,450 votes cast (8.15% of the popular vote) in the City of

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 ...

riding, a two-member constituency. The Equal Rights party may have been associated with

Dalton McCarthy Dalton McCarthy (October 10, 1836 – May 11, 1898), or D'Alton McCarthy, was a Canadian lawyer and parliamentarian. He was the leader of the " Orange" or Protestant Irish Canadians, and fiercely fought against Irish Catholics as well as t ...

, leader of the

McCarthyite McCarthyism is a political practice defined by the political repression and persecution of left-wing individuals and a campaign spreading fear of communist and Soviet influence on American institutions and of Soviet espionage in the United St ...

s, a group of 10 candidates who ran in the 1896 election. ''Source:'
Parliament of Canada, History of the Federal Electoral Ridings since 1867

See also