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1905 Ontario general election

Canadian provincial election

Field	Value
election_name	1905 Ontario general election
country	Ontario
flag_year	1868
type	parliamentary
ongoing	no
party_colour	no
party_name	no
previous_election	1902 Ontario general election
previous_year	1902
previous_mps	10th Legislative Assembly of Ontario
next_election	1908 Ontario general election
next_year	1908
elected_members	[elected members](11th-legislative-assembly-of-ontario)
seats_for_election	98 seats in the [11th Legislative Assembly of Ontario](11th-legislative-assembly-of-ontario)
50 seats were needed for a majority
election_date	January 25, 1905
image1	[[Image:James Whitney.jpg	150x150px]]
colour1
leader1	James P. Whitney
leader_since1	1896
party1
leaders_seat1	Dundas
last_election1	48
seats1	69
seat_change1	21
popular_vote1	237,612
percentage1	53.37%
swing1	5.83 pp
image2	[[Image:Honourable GW Ross, Prime Minister for Ontario (HS85-10-12129).jpg	150x150px]]
colour2
leader2	George William Ross
leader_since2	1899
party2
leaders_seat2	Middlesex West
last_election2	50
seats2	28
seat_change2	22
popular_vote2	198,595
percentage2	44.61%
swing2	5.04 pp
title	Premier
posttitle	Premier after election
before_election	George William Ross
before_party
after_election	James P. Whitney
after_party
map	{{Switcher

50 seats were needed for a majority | [[File:1905 Ontario Election by vote share map.png|400px]] | Results by electoral district, shaded by winners' vote share | [[File:1905 Ontario Election by holds and gains.png|400px]] | Results by electoral district, holds and gains}}

The 1905 Ontario general election was the 11th general election held in the province of Ontario, Canada. It was held on January 25, 1905, to elect the 98 Members of the 11th Legislative Assembly of Ontario ("MLAs").

The Ontario Conservative Party, led by Sir James P. Whitney, defeated the Ontario Liberal Party, led by Sir George William Ross, 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, 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 George William Ross, the former Minister of Education.

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, 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 was also an issue after the British Privy Council 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, 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, declared upon his nomination that every honest man should be a Conservative. The Globe, a newspaper founded by Liberal George Brown, 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

Ottawa had two seats, and plurality block voting was used. Elsewhere the first-past-the-post election system was used.

Results

|- ! colspan=2 rowspan=2 | Political party ! rowspan=2 | Party leader ! colspan=5 | MPPs ! colspan=3 | Votes |- ! Candidates 1902 !Dissol. !1905 !± !# !% ! ± (pp) |98 |48 | |69 |21 |237,612 |53.37% |5.83 |95 |50 | |28 |22 |198,595 |44.61% |5.04 |3 |– | |1 |1 |5,362 |1.20% | |1 |– |– |– | |95 |0.02% |0.36 |2 |– |– |– | |100 |0.02% |1.16 |2 |– |– |– | |1,906 |0.43% |0.29 |7 |– |– |– | |1,273 |0.29% |0.17 |2 |– |– |– | |250 |0.06% | |– |– |– |– | | |-style="background:#E9E9E9;" |210 |98 |98 |98 | |445,193 |100.00% | |- |-style="background:#E9E9E9;" |616,996 |72.68% |1.87 |}

Party	Seats	Votes	Change (pp)
		{{bartable	5.83	-5	1em	background:green}}

Synopsis of results

Ridingexcluding Ottawa, a multi-member constituency	Winning party	Turnout	Votes	Nameorder is as given in EO reports	[1902](1902-ontario-general-election)	Party	Votes	Share	Margin
#	Margin
%	Con	Lib	I-Lib	I-Con	Ind	Oth	Total
Addington		Con		Con	1,384	64.58%	625	29.16%	49.56%	1,384	759	–	–	–	–	2,143
Algoma		Con		Con	2,064	55.22%	390	10.43%	57.46%	2,064	1,674	–	–	–	–	3,738
Brant North		Lib		Con	1,242	51.34%	65	2.69%	83.58%	1,242	1,177	–	–	–	–	2,419
Brant South		Lib		Lib	3,091	51.26%	152	2.52%	86.28%	2,939	3,091	–	–	–	–	6,030
Brockville		Lib		Lib	2,201	52.00%	169	3.99%	80.74%	2,032	2,201	–	–	–	–	4,233
Bruce Centre		Con		Con	1,982	53.47%	257	6.93%	80.79%	1,982	1,725	–	–	–	–	3,707
Bruce North		Lib		Lib	2,162	50.94%	80	1.89%	71.83%	2,082	2,162	–	–	–	–	4,244
Bruce South		Lib		Con	1,890	50.97%	72	1.94%	78.65%	1,890	1,818	–	–	–	–	3,708
Cardwell		Con		Con	1,902	65.25%	889	30.50%	54.23%	1,902	1,013	–	–	–	–	2,915
Carleton		Con		Con	1,617	78.69%	1,179	57.37%	42.74%	1,617	438	–	–	–	–	2,055
Dufferin		Con		Con	2,027	53.88%	292	7.76%	65.39%	2,027	–	–	–	–	1,735	3,762
Dundas		Con		Con	2,293	57.87%	624	15.75%	75.63%	2,293	1,669	–	–	–	–	3,962
Durham East		Con		Con	1,665	65.60%	792	31.21%	60.41%	1,665	873	–	–	–	–	2,538
Durham West		Lib		Con	1,690	52.02%	131	4.03%	88.82%	1,690	1,559	–	–	–	–	3,249
Elgin East		Con		Con	2,249	51.42%	124	2.83%	85.65%	2,249	2,125	–	–	–	–	4,374
Elgin West		Con		Con	3,129	53.02%	536	9.08%	79.02%	3,129	2,593	–	–	–	180	5,902
Essex North		Con		Con	3,385	57.04%	836	14.09%	68.70%	3,385	2,549	–	–	–	–	5,934
Essex South		Lib		Lib	2,828	51.26%	139	2.52%	76.39%	2,689	2,828	–	–	–	–	5,517
Fort William and Lake of the Woods		Lib		Con	1,536	55.57%	308	11.14%	45.06%	1,536	1,228	–	–	–	–	2,764
Frontenac		Con		Con	1,616	55.46%	318	10.91%	62.29%	1,616	1,298	–	–	–	–	2,914
Glengarry		Con		Lib	2,214	53.17%	264	6.34%	74.28%	1,950	2,214	–	–	–	–	4,164
Grenville		Con		Con	2,010	57.89%	548	15.78%	62.92%	2,010	–	1,462	–	–	–	3,472
Grey Centre		Con		Con	2,160	70.11%	1,239	40.21%	50.62%	2,160	921	–	–	–	–	3,081
Grey North		Lib		Lib	3,268	52.16%	271	4.33%	77.42%	2,997	3,268	–	–	–	–	6,265
Grey South		Con		Con	2,372	54.73%	410	9.46%	71.57%	2,372	1,962	–	–	–	–	4,334
Haldimand		Lib		Lib	2,019	57.50%	527	15.01%	86.11%	1,492	2,019	–	–	–	–	3,511
Halton		Lib		Con	2,522	55.62%	510	11.25%	82.70%	2,522	2,012	–	–	–	–	4,534
Hamilton East		Con		Con	3,273	54.48%	538	8.95%	79.39%	3,273	2,735	–	–	–	–	6,008
Hamilton West		Con		Con	3,089	53.68%	424	7.37%	80.78%	3,089	2,665	–	–	–	–	5,754
Hastings East		Lib		I-Lib	2,125	53.42%	272	6.84%	86.32%	1,853	–	2,125	–	–	–	3,978
Hastings North		Con		Con	2,327	74.51%	1,531	49.02%	44.02%	2,327	796	–	–	–	–	3,123
Hastings West		Con		Con	2,018	57.46%	524	14.92%	68.93%	2,018	1,494	–	–	–	–	3,512
Huron East		Lib		Lib	2,212	51.66%	142	3.32%	86.22%	2,070	2,212	–	–	–	–	4,282
Huron South		Con		Con	2,688	54.14%	411	8.28%	88.60%	2,688	2,277	–	–	–	–	4,965
Huron West		Lib		Lib	2,435	50.02%	2	0.04%	83.44%	2,433	2,435	–	–	–	–	4,868
Kent East		Lib		Con	2,714	50.52%	56	1.04%	76.12%	2,714	2,658	–	–	–	–	5,372
Kent West		Lib		Lib	4,073	51.05%	167	2.09%	83.46%	3,906	4,073	–	–	–	–	7,979
Kingston		Lib		Lib	2,238	50.22%	20	0.45%	91.13%	2,218	2,238	–	–	–	–	4,456
Lambton East		Lib		Con	2,587	51.94%	193	3.87%	85.17%	2,587	2,394	–	–	–	–	4,981
Lambton West		Con		Con	4,201	54.01%	624	8.02%	80.75%	4,201	3,577	–	–	–	–	7,778
Lanark North		Lib		Con	1,810	57.59%	477	15.18%	75.61%	1,810	1,333	–	–	–	–	3,143
Lanark South		Con		Con	1,565	69.90%	891	39.79%	39.61%	1,565	674	–	–	–	–	2,239
Leeds		Con		Con	1,983	64.89%	910	29.78%	55.59%	1,983	1,073	–	–	–	–	3,056
Lennox		Con		Con	1,597	51.09%	68	2.18%	81.95%	1,597	1,529	–	–	–	–	3,126
Lincoln		Con		Con	3,287	56.58%	765	13.17%	78.68%	3,287	2,522	–	–	–	–	5,809
London		Con		Con	4,783	52.27%	566	6.19%	86.19%	4,783	4,217	–	–	–	150	9,150
Manitoulin		Con		Con	1,277	56.43%	448	19.80%	42.66%	1,277	829	–	–	–	157	2,263
Middlesex East		Lib		Con	2,463	51.46%	140	2.93%	85.15%	2,463	2,323	–	–	–	–	4,786
Middlesex North		Lib		Con	2,069	50.69%	56	1.37%	84.68%	2,069	2,013	–	–	–	–	4,082
Middlesex West		Lib		Lib	2,043	51.42%	113	2.84%	84.00%	1,930	2,043	–	–	–	–	3,973
Monck		Lib		Lib	1,766	51.11%	77	2.23%	82.77%	1,689	1,766	–	–	–	–	3,455
Muskoka		Lib		Con	2,122	63.46%	900	26.91%	59.12%	2,122	1,222	–	–	–	–	3,344
Nipissing East		Lib		Con	1,524	49.48%	63	2.05%	58.63%	1,524	1,461	–	95	–	–	3,080
Nipissing West		Lib		Con	1,533	58.62%	451	17.25%	44.50%	1,533	1,082	–	–	–	–	2,615
Norfolk North		Con		Lib	1,969	55.36%	381	10.71%	88.14%	1,588	1,969	–	–	–	–	3,557
Norfolk South		Lib		Con	1,711	50.19%	13	0.38%	91.67%	1,711	1,698	–	–	–	–	3,409
Northumberland East		Con		Con	2,644	59.47%	842	18.94%	75.38%	2,644	1,802	–	–	–	–	4,446
Northumberland West		Lib		Lib	1,510	54.91%	270	9.82%	81.64%	1,240	1,510	–	–	–	–	2,750
Ontario North		Con		Con	2,258	52.10%	182	4.20%	85.32%	2,258	2,076	–	–	–	–	4,334
Ontario South		Lib		Con	2,720	51.05%	112	2.10%	87.48%	2,720	2,608	–	–	–	–	5,328
Oxford North		Lib		Lib	2,885	54.82%	507	9.63%	75.82%	2,378	2,885	–	–	–	–	5,263
Oxford South		Con		Con	2,713	52.04%	213	4.09%	82.73%	2,713	2,500	–	–	–	–	5,213
Parry Sound		Lib		Con	2,243	52.37%	374	8.73%	43.75%	2,243	1,869	–	–	–	171	4,283
Peel		Lib		Lib	2,269	50.36%	32	0.71%	86.86%	2,237	2,269	–	–	–	–	4,506
Perth North		Con		Con	3,712	52.21%	314	4.42%	88.18%	3,712	3,398	–	–	–	–	7,110
Perth South		Lib		Con	2,555	50.58%	59	1.17%	87.11%	2,555	2,496	–	–	–	–	5,051
Peterborough East		Lib		Lib	1,371	52.25%	118	4.50%	64.81%	1,253	1,371	–	–	–	–	2,624
Peterborough West		Lib		Con	2,967	62.33%	1,174	24.66%	73.55%	2,967	1,793	–	–	–	–	4,760
Port Arthur and Rainy River		Lib		Lib	1,285	50.27%	14	0.55%	53.77%	1,271	1,285	–	–	–	–	2,556
Prescott		Lib		Lib	2,093	50.01%	1	0.02%	67.64%	–	4,185the incumbent Alfred Évanturel received 2,092 votes	–	–	–	–	4,185
Prince Edward		Lib		Lib	2,270	50.06%	5	0.11%	85.84%	2,265	2,270	–	–	–	–	4,535
Renfrew North		Lib		Con	2,791	67.48%	1,446	34.96%	73.03%	2,791	1,345	–	–	–	–	4,136
Renfrew South		Lib		Con	2,457	54.55%	410	9.10%	70.65%	2,457	2,047	–	–	–	–	4,504
Russell		Lib		Lib	2,557	59.55%	820	19.10%	54.87%	1,737	2,557	–	–	–	–	4,294
Sault Ste. Marie		Con		Lib	1,396	52.05%	110	4.10%	55.73%	1,286	1,396	–	–	–	–	2,682
Simcoe Centre		Lib		Con	2,201	57.26%	558	14.52%	79.10%	2,201	1,643	–	–	–	–	3,844
Simcoe East		Lib		Lib	3,284	51.92%	243	3.84%	77.68%	3,041	3,284	–	–	–	–	6,325
Simcoe West		Con		Con	2,129	59.60%	686	19.20%	65.33%	2,129	1,443	–	–	–	–	3,572
Stormont		Lib		Con	2,679	49.93%	37	0.69%	79.90%	2,723George Kerr was the winning candidate	2,642	–	–	–	–	5,365
Toronto East		Con		Con	3,573	72.08%	2,373	47.87%	55.23%	3,573	1,200	–	–	–	184	4,957
Toronto North		Con		Con	5,189	57.00%	1,485	16.31%	70.74%	5,189	3,704	–	–	–	211	9,104
Toronto South		Con		Con	5,380	68.48%	3,072	39.10%	57.89%	5,380	2,308	–	–	–	168	7,856
Toronto West		Con		Con	4,998	70.26%	3,223	45.31%	53.88%	4,998	–	1,775	–	28	313	7,114
Victoria East		Con		Con	2,128	67.02%	1,081	34.05%	58.99%	2,128	1,047	–	–	–	–	3,175
Victoria West		Con		Con	2,211	51.61%	138	3.22%	78.33%	2,211	2,073	–	–	–	–	4,284
Waterloo North		Con		Con	3,021	52.51%	361	6.27%	74.87%	3,021	2,660	–	–	72	–	5,753
Waterloo South		Con		Con	2,862	54.19%	443	8.39%	73.89%	2,862	2,419	–	–	–	–	5,281
Welland		Lib		Con	3,328	52.29%	291	4.57%	79.15%	3,328	3,037	–	–	–	–	6,365
Wellington East		Lib		Con	1,910	52.36%	172	4.71%	74.39%	1,910	1,738	–	–	–	–	3,648
Wellington South		Con		Con	2,640	51.18%	282	5.47%	80.29%	2,640	2,358	–	–	–	160	5,158
Wellington West		Con		Con	1,863	53.20%	224	6.40%	79.89%	1,863	1,639	–	–	–	–	3,502
Wentworth North		Lib		Lib	1,612	50.44%	28	0.88%	80.53%	1,584	1,612	–	–	–	–	3,196
Wentworth South		Lib		Lib	1,490	54.01%	221	8.01%	78.50%	1,269	1,490	–	–	–	–	2,759
York East		Lib		Con	2,228	55.33%	429	10.65%	73.50%	2,228	1,799	–	–	–	–	4,027
York North		Lib		Con	2,827	52.49%	268	4.98%	87.60%	2,827	2,559	–	–	–	–	5,386
York WestEO error re party affiliations corrected		Con		Con	3,276	64.07%	1,439	28.14%	61.08%	3,276	1,837	–	–	–	–	5,113

: = 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 : = multiple candidates

|- ! colspan=2 | Political party ! Candidate ! Votes ! % ! Elected ! Incumbent |- |6,053 ||26.06 |- |5,904 ||25.42 |- |5,675 ||24.43 |- |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

Party in 1st place	Party in 2nd place	Total	Con	Lib	I-Lib
	66	2	1	69
25	1			26
1				1
Total	26	67	2	1	96

1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th
69	26	2	1
27	68
1	2
	1	1
		7
		1	1
		1		1
		1

Source	Party	Total
align="center"	Con	align="center"	Lib	align="center"	I-Lib
Seats retained	Incumbents returned	37
Open seats held	5	5
Byelection losses reversed	2
Seats changing hands	Incumbents defeated	16
Open seats gained	8	1
Byelection gains held	1	1
Ottawa seats	New MLA
Incumbent defeated		1
Total	69	28

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

Party	1902	Gain from (loss to)	1905	Con	Lib	I-Lib
48			26	(5)
50	5	(26)				(1)
Total	98	6	(26)	26	(5)	–

There were 32 seats that changed allegiance in the election:

Liberal to Conservative

Brant
Bruce South
Durham West
Fort William and Lake of the Woods
Halton
Kent East
Lambton East
Lanark North
Middlesex East
Middlesex North
Muskoka
Nipissing East
Nipissing West
Norfolk South
Ontario South
Parry Sound
Perth South
Peterborough West
Renfrew South
Simcoe Centre
Stormont
Welland
Wellington East
York East
York North
York West

Liberal to Independent-Liberal

Hastings East

Conservative to Liberal

Glengarry
Norfolk North
Ottawa (both MLAs)
Sault Ste. Marie

References

Randall, White. (1985). "Ontario, 1610-1985: A Political and Economic History". Dundurn Press.
"1905 General Election".
. (1906). ["Journals of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario"](https://archive.org/details/journalsoflegisl40ontauoft/page/12/mode/2up). *Legislative Assembly of Ontario*.

Info: Wikipedia Source

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