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The
Canadian federal election of 1878 was held on September 17 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
4th ParliamentThe 4th Canadian Parliament was in session from February 13, 1879 until May 18, 1882. The membership was set by the 1878 federal election on September 17, 1878, and it changed only somewhat due to resignations and by-elections until it was dissolved prior to the 1882 election.It was controlled by...
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...
. It resulted in the end of
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...
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:...
's
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...
government after only one term in office.
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...
suffered an economic depression during Mackenzie's term, and his party was punished by the voters for it. The Liberals' policy of
free tradeUnder a free trade policy, prices emerge from supply and demand, and are the sole determinant of resource allocation. 'Free' trade differs from other forms of trade policy where the allocation of goods and services among trading countries are determined by price strategies that may differ from...
also hurt their support with the business establishment in
TorontoToronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
and
MontrealMontreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
.
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...
and his
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...
/Liberal-Conservative party was returned to office after having been defeated five years before amidst
scandalsThe Pacific Scandal was a political scandal in Canada involving allegations of bribes being accepted by the Conservative government in the attempts of private interests to influence the bidding for a national rail contract...
over the building of the
Canadian Pacific RailwayThe Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
.
Voter turn-out: 69.1%
National results
| Party |
Party leader |
# of candidates |
Seats |
Popular vote |
1874The Canadian federal election of 1874 was held on January 22, 1874, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 3rd Parliament of Canada. Sir John A...
|
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...
|
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...
|
101 |
38 |
85 |
+118.4% |
143,192 |
26.28% |
+7.80%
|
Liberal-Conservative |
60 |
26 |
49 |
+76.9% |
85,999 |
15.78% |
+3.50%
|
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...
|
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:...
|
121 |
126 |
63 |
-54.8% |
180,074 |
33.05% |
-7.74%
|
Independent |
|
11 |
4 |
5 |
+25% |
14,783 |
2.71% |
-0.48%
|
Independent Conservative |
|
2 |
2 |
2 |
- |
1,001 |
0.18% |
-0.76%
|
Unknown |
|
117 |
- |
|
|
114,043 |
20.93% |
-1.93%
|
Independent Liberal |
|
4 |
1 |
1 |
+100% |
5,388 |
0.99% |
-
|
Nationalist Conservative The label Nationalist Conservative was used by several Quebec Members of the Canadian Parliament and several unsuccessful candidates. They used this label in order to distinguish themselves from the British imperialist reputation of the Conservative Party or as a result of disputes with the...
|
|
1 |
* |
1 |
* |
401 |
0.07% |
* |
| Total |
417 |
197 |
206 |
+3.6% |
|
100.0% |
- |
| Sources: http://www.elections.ca -- History of Federal Ridings since 1867 |
Note:
* Party did not nominate candidates in the previous election.
Acclamations
The following Members of Parliament were elected by acclamation;
- British Columbia: 1 Conservative, 1 Liberal-Conservative
- Manitoba: 2 Conservatives, 1 Liberal-Conservative
- Quebec: 1 Conservative, 2 Liberal-Conservatives, 1 Liberal
- New Brunswick: 1 Liberal, 1 Independent
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...
|
MBManitoba 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...
|
ONOntario 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....
|
QCQuebec 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....
|
NBNew 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...
|
NSNova 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...
|
PEPrince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...
|
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 |
2 |
37 |
33 |
1 |
8 |
3 |
85
|
Popular vote (%): |
- |
49.6 |
25.5 |
35.0 |
5.9 |
21.7 |
31.6 |
26.3
|
Liberal-Conservative |
Seats: |
2 |
1 |
23 |
12 |
3 |
6 |
2 |
49
|
Vote (%): |
39.6 |
- |
15.8 |
13.2 |
14.3 |
22.7 |
12.0 |
15.8
|
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 |
|
27 |
17 |
9 |
7 |
1 |
63
|
Vote (%): |
- |
|
36.3 |
21.7 |
48.2 |
34.9 |
37.2 |
33.1
|
Independent |
Seats: |
1 |
|
1 |
1 |
2 |
- |
|
5
|
Vote (%): |
12.2 |
|
1.5 |
1.6 |
13.1 |
4.3 |
|
2.7
|
Independent Conservative |
Seats: |
|
1 |
|
1 |
|
|
|
2
|
Vote (%): |
|
50.4 |
|
0.7 |
|
|
|
0.2
|
Unknown |
Seats: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Vote (%): |
48.2 |
|
19.9 |
27.4 |
14.8 |
14.7 |
19.3 |
20.9
|
Independent Liberal |
Seats: |
|
|
|
|
1 |
- |
|
1
|
Vote (%): |
|
|
1.0 |
|
3.7 |
1.7 |
|
1.0
|
Nationalist Conservative |
Seats: |
|
|
|
1 |
|
- |
|
1
|
Vote (%): |
|
|
|
0.3 |
|
|
|
0.1 |
| Total seats |
6 |
4 |
88 |
65 |
16 |
21 |
6 |
206 |
See also
- List of Canadian federal general elections
- 4th Canadian Parliament
The 4th Canadian Parliament was in session from February 13, 1879 until May 18, 1882. The membership was set by the 1878 federal election on September 17, 1878, and it changed only somewhat due to resignations and by-elections until it was dissolved prior to the 1882 election.It was controlled by...