The
Canadian federal election of 1872 was held from July 20 to October 12, 1872, to elect members of the
Canadian House of CommonsThe House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
of the
2nd ParliamentThe 2nd Canadian Parliament was in session from March 5, 1873, until January 2, 1874. The membership was set by the 1872 federal election from July 20 to October 12, 1872, and it changed only somewhat due to resignations and by-elections until it was dissolved prior to the 1874 election.It was...
of
CanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Prime MinisterThe Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
Sir
John A. MacdonaldSir John Alexander Macdonald, GCB, KCMG, PC, PC , QC was the first Prime Minister of Canada. The dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, his political career spanned almost half a century...
's
ConservativesThe Conservative Party of Canada , is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum...
remained in power, defeating the
LiberalsThe Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
.
Edward BlakeDominick Edward Blake, PC, QC , known as Edward Blake, was the second Premier of Ontario, Canada, from 1871 to 1872 and leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 1880 to 1887...
, who had a seat in both the
Canadian House of CommonsThe House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
and the Ontario legislature, resigned as
Premier of OntarioThe Premier of Ontario is the first Minister of the Crown for the Canadian province of Ontario. The Premier is appointed as the province's head of government by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, and presides over the Executive council, or Cabinet. The Executive Council Act The Premier of Ontario...
in order to run in the 1872 federal election as dual mandates had been abolished. Had the Liberals won the election, he likely would have been offered the position of
Prime Minister of CanadaThe Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
. The party had no formal leader as such until 1873 when
Alexander MackenzieAlexander Mackenzie, PC , a building contractor and newspaper editor, was the second Prime Minister of Canada from November 7, 1873 to October 8, 1878.-Biography:...
was given the title after Blake declined due to ill health. Blake was ill during much of the 1872 campaign, and it was Mackenzie who essentially led the Liberal campaign in Ontario, though not outside of the province.
The 1872 election was the first general election participated in by the provinces that had joined the Confederation of Canada after the Canadian federal election of 1867.
ManitobaManitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
(1870) and
British ColumbiaBritish Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
(1871) had held special byelections, shortly after they each joined Canada, to select their Members of Parliament for the
1st Canadian ParliamentThe 1st Canadian Parliament was in session from November 6, 1867 until July 8, 1872. The membership was set by the 1867 federal election from August 7 to September 20, 1867, and it changed only somewhat due to resignations and by-elections until it was prorogued prior to the 1872 election.It was...
.
Voter turn-out: 70.3%
National
| 2nd Parliament |
| Party |
Party leader |
# of candidates |
Seats |
Popular vote |
1867The Canadian federal election of 1867, held from August 7 to September 20, was the first election for the new nation of Canada. It was held to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons, representing electoral districts in the provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario and Quebec in the...
|
Elected |
Change |
# |
% |
Change
|
ConservativeThe Conservative Party of Canada has gone by a variety of names over the years since Canadian Confederation. Initially known as the "Liberal-Conservative Party", it dropped "Liberal" from its name in 1873, although many of its candidates continued to use this name.As a result of World War I and the...
|
Sir John A. MacdonaldSir John Alexander Macdonald, GCB, KCMG, PC, PC , QC was the first Prime Minister of Canada. The dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, his political career spanned almost half a century...
|
92 |
71 |
63 |
-11.3% |
82,024 |
25.76% |
+2.31%
|
Liberal-Conservative1 |
48 |
29 |
36 |
+24.1% |
41,076 |
12.90% |
+1.82%
|
LiberalThe Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
|
none (unofficially, Edward BlakeDominick Edward Blake, PC, QC , known as Edward Blake, was the second Premier of Ontario, Canada, from 1871 to 1872 and leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 1880 to 1887...
) |
111 |
62 |
95 |
+53.2% |
110,556 |
34.72% |
+12.05%
|
Independents |
4 |
- |
1 |
|
5,213 |
1.64% |
+1.25%
|
Independent Conservative |
3 |
- |
2 |
|
2,220 |
0.70% |
+0.70%
|
Independent Liberal |
4 |
- |
2 |
|
5,232 |
1.64% |
+0.98%
|
Conservative Labour Conservative Labour was the label used by Canadian Conservative Party politician Henry Buckingham Witton as a candidate in Hamilton, Ontario from 1872 to 1875. Witton may have added "Labour" to the Conservative Party name because Hamilton is a largely industrial city...
|
|
1 |
- |
1 |
|
1,422 |
0.45% |
+0.45%
|
Unknown |
104 |
- |
- |
- |
70,704 |
22.20% |
-11.64% |
| Total |
367 |
180 |
200 |
+11.1% |
320,037 |
100% |
|
| Source: http://www.parl.gc.ca |
Note:
1 Though identifying themselves as Liberal-Conservatives, these MPs were led by Conservative Party leader Sir John A. Macdonald and sat with the Conservatives in the House of Commons.
Acclamations
The following MPs were acclaimed:
- British Columbia: 3 Liberal-Conservatives
- Manitoba: 1 Liberal-Conservative
- Ontario: 3 Conservatives, 3 Liberal-Conservatives, 10 Liberals
- Quebec: 9 Conservatives, 5 Liberal-Conservatives, 5 Liberals
- New Brunswick: 6 Liberals
- Nova Scotia: 1 Conservative, 4 Liberal-Conservatives, 2 Liberals
Results by province
| Party name |
BC British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
|
ManitobaManitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
|
OntarioOntario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
|
QuebecQuebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
|
NB New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
|
NS Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
|
Total
|
ConservativeThe Conservative Party of Canada has gone by a variety of names over the years since Canadian Confederation. Initially known as the "Liberal-Conservative Party", it dropped "Liberal" from its name in 1873, although many of its candidates continued to use this name.As a result of World War I and the...
|
Seats |
1 |
1 |
26 |
26 |
2 |
7 |
63
|
Popular vote |
4.5 |
29.7 |
25.9 |
31.5 |
8.4 |
23.5 |
25.8
|
Liberal-Conservative |
Seats |
3 |
1 |
12 |
11 |
3 |
6 |
36
|
Vote |
|
|
11.9 |
10.5 |
17.8 |
19.8 |
12.9
|
LiberalThe Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
|
Seats |
2 |
1 |
48 |
27 |
9 |
8 |
95
|
Vote |
83.7 |
35.6 |
35.3 |
32.6 |
46.8 |
28.1 |
34.7
|
Conservative Labour Conservative Labour was the label used by Canadian Conservative Party politician Henry Buckingham Witton as a candidate in Hamilton, Ontario from 1872 to 1875. Witton may have added "Labour" to the Conservative Party name because Hamilton is a largely industrial city...
|
Seats |
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
1
|
Vote |
|
|
0.9 |
|
|
|
0.4
|
Unknown |
Seats |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
-
|
Vote |
11.8 |
14.9 |
23.4 |
21.5 |
26.9 |
16.4 |
22.2
|
Independent |
Seats |
|
|
- |
- |
1 |
- |
1
|
Vote |
|
|
0.8 |
1.7 |
|
6.1 |
1.6
|
Independent Liberal |
Seats |
|
|
1 |
|
1 |
|
2
|
Vote |
|
|
1.7 |
|
|
6.1 |
1.6
|
Independent Conservative |
Seats |
|
1 |
|
1 |
|
|
2
|
Vote |
|
19.8 |
|
2.2 |
|
|
0.7 |
| Total seats |
6 |
4 |
88 |
65 |
16 |
21 |
200 |
For a list of candidates elected in the 1872 election, including by-elections held before 1874, see
2nd Canadian parliamentThe 2nd Canadian Parliament was in session from March 5, 1873, until January 2, 1874. The membership was set by the 1872 federal election from July 20 to October 12, 1872, and it changed only somewhat due to resignations and by-elections until it was dissolved prior to the 1874 election.It was...
.
See also
- List of Canadian federal general elections