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1885 Newfoundland general election

Election in Canada

Field	Value
election_name	1885 Newfoundland general election
country	Dominion of Newfoundland
type	parliamentary
party_colour	no
party_name	no
previous_election	1882 Newfoundland general election
previous_year	1882
previous_mps	[Outgoing members](14th-general-assembly-of-newfoundland-members-of-the-assembly)
election_date	October 31, 1885
elected_mps	[Elected members](15th-general-assembly-of-newfoundland-members-of-the-assembly)
next_election	1889 Newfoundland general election
next_year	1889
seats_for_election	36 seats of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly
majority_seats	19
image1	[[File:Rthorburn.jpg	x160px]]
colour1	000077
leader1	Robert Thorburn
leader_since1	1885
party1	Reform
leaders_seat1	Trinity Bay
last_election1	5
seats1	21
seat_change1	16
popular_vote1	12,213
percentage1	39.78%
swing1	11.17%
image2
colour2	E62020
leader2	Ambrose Shea
leader_since2	1885
party2	Liberal
leaders_seat2	St. John's East
last_election2	26
seats2	13
seat_change2	13
popular_vote2	11,983
percentage2	39.03%
swing2	26.49%
title	Premier
before_election	Robert Thorburn
before_party	Reform
after_election	Robert Thorburn
posttitle	Premier after election
after_party	Reform
ongoing	No

The 1885 Newfoundland general election was held on October 31, 1885 to elect members of the 15th General Assembly of Newfoundland in the Newfoundland Colony. The denominationally unified Whiteway government had fallen as supporters of the Orange Order abandoned him following the Harbour Grace Affray. Members of the opposition New Party aligned themselves with Protestant members of Whiteway's administration to create the Reform Party. Led by Robert Thorburn, a former member of the Legislative Council, the Reform Party ran on a platform of "Protestant rights." The Roman Catholic caucus within Whiteway's administration formed the Liberal led by Ambrose Shea, who had also turned against the Whiteway government. Many candidates who continued to support Whiteway ran as independents, which provided the opposition in some of the most denominationally skewed districts. Thorburn's new party swept to power, but it soon turned away from its sectarian agenda by inviting Catholic Liberals into the Executive Council.

Results

	Party	Leader	[1882](1882-newfoundland-general-election)	Candidates	Seats won	Seat change	% of seats
(% change)	Popular vote	% of vote
(% change)	Totals	33	50	36	3	100%	30,702	100%
Reform	Robert Thorburn	5	22	21	16	58.33%
(43.18%)	12,213	39.78%
(11.17%)	Liberal	Ambrose Shea	26	14	13	13	36.11%
(42.68%)	11,983	39.03%
(26.49%)

Results by district

Names in boldface type represent party leaders.
† indicates that the incumbent did not run again.
‡ indicates that the incumbent ran in a different district.

St. John's

|- || |Robert Kent 1,738 28.70% | |Robert Parsons Jr. (Independent) 635 10.49% ||

Robert Kent

Ambrose Shea
1,711
28.26%

| |John Dearin (Independent) 437 7.22% ||

John Dearin

Michael O'Mara
1,498
24.74%

| |Thomas Mitchell (Independent) 36 0.59% ||

Robert Parsons Jr.

Patrick Scott
1,250
26.44%
1,651
34.92%

Patrick Scott
-

James Callanan
1,013
21.43%

Philip White†
-

| |James Furlong 814 17.22% || |James Callanan |}

Conception Bay

|- || |Stephen March 850 40.81% | | | |Levi Garland (Independent) 350 16.80% ||

Levi Garland

A. J. W. McNeilly
765
36.73%

| | | |Beverly Somerville (Independent) 118 5.66% ||

New seat

Alfred Penney
Won by acclamation

| | | | ||

Alfred Penney

James Winter
1,183
31.33%

| | | |Joseph Russell (Independent) 276 7.31% || |Ambrose Shea‡ (ran in St. John's East) |- || |Charles Dawe 1,077 28.52% | | 232 6.14% ||

Charles Dawe

Joseph Godden
1,008
26.69%

| | ||

New seat

| | || |John Veitch 711 42.91% 291 17.56% ||

Joseph Little†

| | || |Richard MacDonnell 655 39.53% ||

Richard MacDonnell

George Hutchings
Won by acclamation

| | | | || |John Bartlett† |}

Avalon Peninsula

|- | | || |Daniel Greene Won by acclamation ||

Daniel Greene

| | || |George Shea Won by acclamation || |Augustus Goodridge‡ (ran in Twillingate) |- 504 16.27% || |James McGrath 940 30.35% ||

William Donnelly

William Donnelly
922
29.77%

Albert Bradshaw‡
(ran in St. Barbe)
-

George Emerson
731
23.60%

Michael Tobin†
}

Eastern Newfoundland

|- || |James Noonan 1,064 23.88% | |George Skelton (Independent) 770 17.28% ||

James Noonan

Abram Kean
957
21.48%
724
16.25%

George Skelton
-

Frederick White
941
21.12%

Francis Winton†
-

Robert Thorburn
Won by acclamation

| | ||

William Whiteway†

Walter Grieve
Won by acclamation

| | ||

Joseph Boyd†

Ellis Watson
Won by acclamation

| | || |Robert Bond‡ (ran in Fortune Bay) |- |}

Central Newfoundland

|- || |James Rolls Won by acclamation | | ||

New district

Augustus Goodridge
1,095
32.78%
577
17.28%

Smith McKay
Twillingate and Fogo
-

Smith McKay
1,058
31.68%

Richard Rice†
Twillingate and Fogo
-

Michael Knight
610
18.26%

Jabez Thompson
Twillingate and Fogo
}

Southern and Western Newfoundland

|- || |Alexander Mackay Won by acclamation | | | | ||

Alexander Mackay

John Peters
574
38.01%

| | 409 27.09% || |James Winter‡ (ran in Harbour Grace) |- || |Henry LeMessurier 527 34.90% | | ||

John Peters

| | | | || |Robert Bond (Independent) Won by acclamation ||

James Fraser†

Albert Bradshaw
Won by acclamation

| | | | || |Vacant White Bay |- | | || |Michael Carty Won by acclamation | | ||

Michael Carty
}

Notes

References

(7 October 1885). "Sir Ambrose's Election: An Analysis of the Resolution". [[The Telegram.
(28 October 1885). "To the Electors of St. John's East". [[The Telegram.
(3 October 1885). "Editorial Notes". [[The Telegram.
(26 September 1889). "To the Free and Independent Electors of St. John's West". [[The Telegram.
(27 October 1885). "From Western Bay". [[The Telegram.
(23 October 1885). "Politics in Harbor Grace: A Strong Opposition to Mr. James S. Winter". [[The Telegram.
(26 October 1885). "Latest from Harbor Grace". Evening Mercury.
(28 October 1885). "Editorial Notes". [[The Telegram.
(30 October 1885). "Editorial Notes". [[The Telegram.

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