1886 Ontario general election

← 1883

December 28, 1886

1890 →

90 seats in the 6th Legislative Assembly of Ontario
46 seats were needed for a majority

	First party	Second party

Leader	Oliver Mowat	William Ralph Meredith
Party	Liberal	Conservative
Leader since	1872	1879
Leader's seat	Oxford North	London
Last election	48	37
Seats won	57	32
Seat change	9	5

Premier before election

Oliver Mowat
Liberal

Premier after election

Oliver Mowat
Liberal

The 1886 Ontario general election was the sixth general election held in the Province of Ontario, Canada. It was held on December 28, 1886, to elect the 90 Members of the 6th Legislative Assembly of Ontario ("MLAs").^[1] The election results were characterized a "crushing defeat for the Conservatives.^[2]

The Ontario Liberal Party, led by Oliver Mowat, won a fifth consecutive term in government and an increased majority in the Legislature.

The Ontario Conservative Party, led by William Ralph Meredith lost five of its seats.

In Toronto, this and the next election (1890) were held under the Limited Vote system wherein Toronto voters had two votes for the three MPPs in their district. This allowed a degree of minority representation.^[3]

Redistribution of ridings

The Assembly was increased from 88 to 90 members,^[4] through the following changes:

Abolished ridings	New ridings
Divisions of ridings
Algoma	Algoma East Algoma West
Muskoka and Parry Sound	Muskoka Parry Sound
Mergers of ridings
Cornwall Stormont	Cornwall and Stormont
Toronto East Toronto West	Toronto^{[a 1]}
Reorganization of ridings
Bruce North Bruce South	Bruce Centre Bruce North Bruce South
Grenville South Leeds North and Grenville North Leeds South	Grenville Leeds
Simcoe East Simcoe South Simcoe West	Simcoe Centre Simcoe East Simcoe West
Victoria North Victoria South	Victoria East Victoria West

^ Returning three members. Each elector had two votes to cast.

Results

Elections to the 6th Parliament of Ontario (1886)^[1]
Political party		Party leader	MPPs					Votes
Political party		Party leader	Candidates	1883	Dissol.	1886	±	#	%	± (pp)
	Liberal	Oliver Mowat	88	48		57	9	153,282	48.41%	0.21
	Conservative	William Ralph Meredith	83	37		32	5	148,969	47.05%	0.46
	Independent		5	1		1		2,145	0.68%	0.85
	Independent-Liberal			2		–	2	Did not campaign
	Labour		5	–	–	–		12,196	3.85%	2.32
	Temperance		1	–	–	–		14	–	New
	Independent-Conservative			–	–	–		Did not campaign
	Vacant
Total			182	88	88	90		316,606	100.00%
Blank and invalid ballots								3,622
Registered voters / turnout								459,495	69.69%	6.23

Seats and popular vote by party
	Seats	Votes	Change (pp)
Liberal	57 / 90	48.41%	0.21	0.21
Conservative	32 / 90	47.05%	0.46	0.46
Labour	0 / 90	3.85%	2.32	2.32
Other	1 / 90	0.69%	-2.99

Synopsis of results

Results by riding - 1886 Ontario general election^[1]
Riding^{[a 1]}	Winning party								Turnout	Votes
Name^{[a 2]}	1883		Party		Votes	Share	Margin #	Margin %		Lib	Con	Lab	Tmp	Ind	Total
Name^{[a 2]}	1883		Party		Votes	Share	Margin #	Margin %							Total

Addington		Con		Con	1,712	53.42%	219	6.83%	70.69%	1,493	1,712	–	–	–	3,205
Algoma East	New			Lib	acclaimed
Algoma West	New			Lib	acclaimed
Brant North		Lib		Lib	1,025	60.87%	366	21.73%	55.41%	1,025	659	–	–	–	1,684
Brant South		Lib		Lib	1,881	60.58%	657	21.16%	57.84%	1,881	1,224	–	–	–	3,105
Brockville		Lib		Lib	1,844	54.19%	285	8.37%	71.33%	1,844	1,559	–	–	–	3,403
Bruce Centre	New			Lib	1,753	50.45%	31	0.89%	71.55%	1,753	1,722	–	–	–	3,475
Bruce North		I-Lib		Con	1,738	51.77%	119	3.54%	68.33%	1,619	1,738	–	–	–	3,357
Bruce South		Lib		Lib	2,024	54.69%	347	9.38%	74.63%	2,024	1,677	–	–	–	3,701
Cardwell		Con		Con	1,805	59.71%	587	19.42%	57.66%	1,218	1,805	–	–	–	3,023
Carleton		Con		Con	1,824	75.40%	1,229	50.81%	45.79%	595	1,824	–	–	–	2,419
Cornwall and Stormont	New			Lib	2,068	54.48%	340	8.96%	69.39%	2,068	1,728	–	–	–	3,796
Dufferin		Con		Con	acclaimed
Dundas		Con		Lib	1,977	50.32%	25	0.64%	81.54%	1,977	1,952	–	–	–	3,929
Durham East		Con		Con	1,696	56.36%	383	12.73%	63.53%	1,313	1,696	–	–	–	3,009
Durham West		Lib		Lib	1,672	50.04%	3	0.09%	73.78%	1,672	1,669	–	–	–	3,341
Elgin East		Con		Lib	1,873	51.23%	90	2.46%	67.51%	1,873	1,783	–	–	–	3,656
Elgin West		Lib		Con	2,315	50.47%	43	0.94%	69.49%	2,272	2,315	–	–	–	4,587
Essex North		Con		Lib	1,729	51.17%	79	2.34%	58.70%	1,729	1,650	–	–	–	3,379
Essex South		Lib		Lib	2,497	53.80%	353	7.61%	77.51%	2,497	2,144	–	–	–	4,641
Frontenac		Con		Con	1,218	58.53%	355	17.06%	58.79%	863	1,218	–	–	–	2,081
Glengarry		Lib		Lib	1,723	50.47%	32	0.94%	76.91%	1,723	1,691	–	–	–	3,414
Grenville	New			Con	1,978	57.84%	550	16.08%	63.64%	1,428	1,978	–	14	–	3,420
Grey Centre		Con		Con	1,485	44.29%	112	3.34%	59.07%	1,373	1,980^{[a 3]}	–	–	–	3,353
Grey North		Con		Con	2,076	50.22%	18	0.44%	67.75%	2,058	2,076	–	–	–	4,134
Grey South		Con		Con	2,087	53.23%	253	6.45%	71.17%	1,834	2,087	–	–	–	3,921
Haldimand		Lib		Lib	1,936	53.67%	265	7.35%	72.77%	1,936	1,671	–	–	–	3,607
Halton		Con		Con	2,277	51.38%	122	2.75%	73.07%	2,155	2,277	–	–	–	4,432
Hamilton		Lib		Lib	3,068	44.53%	435	6.31%	63.12%	3,068	2,633	1,188	–	–	6,889
Hastings East		Con		Con	1,784	51.53%	106	3.06%	84.87%	1,678	1,784	–	–	–	3,462
Hastings North		Con		Con	1,863	62.88%	763	25.75%	63.71%	1,100	1,863	–	–	–	2,963
Hastings West		Lib		Con	1,681	51.83%	119	3.67%	64.50%	1,562	1,681	–	–	–	3,243
Huron East		Lib		Lib	2,306	55.31%	443	10.63%	73.33%	2,306	1,863	–	–	–	4,169
Huron South		Lib		Lib	2,313	56.15%	507	12.31%	66.45%	2,313	1,806	–	–	–	4,119
Huron West		Lib		Lib	2,358	53.85%	337	7.70%	68.25%	2,358	2,021	–	–	–	4,379
Kent East		Lib		Lib	2,302	57.21%	580	14.41%	58.00%	2,302	1,722	–	–	–	4,024
Kent West		Con		Con	2,208	50.17%	15	0.34%	57.03%	2,193	2,208	–	–	–	4,401
Kingston		Con		Con	1,853	53.57%	247	7.14%	66.03%	1,606	1,853	–	–	–	3,459
Lambton East		Lib		Lib	2,270	52.78%	239	5.56%	70.43%	2,270	2,031	–	–	–	4,301
Lambton West		Lib		Lib	2,541	54.88%	452	9.76%	60.90%	2,541	–	2,089	–	–	4,630
Lanark North		Lib		Lib	1,392	51.71%	92	3.42%	67.24%	1,392	1,300	–	–	–	2,692
Lanark South		Ind		Con	1,836	56.44%	419	12.88%	72.99%	1,417	1,836	–	–	–	3,253
Leeds	New			Con	1,964	54.86%	348	9.72%	70.27%	1,616	1,964	–	–	–	3,580
Lennox		Con		Con	1,627	51.63%	103	3.27%	74.89%	1,524	1,627	–	–	–	3,151
Lincoln		Lib		Lib	2,242	50.17%	15	0.34%	63.58%	2,242	2,227	–	–	–	4,469
London		Con		Con	1,679	53.56%	223	7.11%	40.48%	–	1,679	1,456	–	–	3,135
Middlesex East		Lib		Con	2,621	51.04%	107	2.08%	70.38%	2,514	2,621	–	–	–	5,135
Middlesex North		Lib		Lib	2,044	50.88%	71	1.77%	74.22%	2,044	1,973	–	–	–	4,017
Middlesex West		Con		Lib	2,021	52.53%	195	5.07%	72.05%	2,021	1,826	–	–	–	3,847
Monck		Lib		Lib	1,643	51.78%	113	3.56%	72.06%	1,643	1,530	–	–	–	3,173
Muskoka	New			Con	1,565	53.84%	223	7.67%	72.90%	1,342	1,565	–	–	–	2,907
Norfolk North		Lib		Lib	1,640	56.51%	378	13.03%	70.14%	1,640	1,262	–	–	–	2,902
Norfolk South		Con		Con	1,528	52.11%	124	4.23%	78.29%	1,404	1,528	–	–	–	2,932
Northumberland East		Lib		Con	2,204	50.59%	51	1.17%	72.55%	2,153	2,204	–	–	–	4,357
Northumberland West		Con		Lib	1,710	58.06%	475	16.13%	69.90%	1,710	1,235	–	–	–	2,945
Ontario North		Lib		Lib	2,006	51.86%	144	3.72%	72.89%	2,006	1,862	–	–	–	3,868
Ontario South		Lib		Lib	2,651	52.30%	233	4.60%	69.31%	2,651	2,418	–	–	–	5,069
Ottawa		Con		Lib	1,815	53.97%	277	8.24%	53.32%	1,815	1,538	–	–	10	3,363
Oxford North		Lib		Lib	1,981	63.31%	833	26.62%	49.29%	1,981	1,148	–	–	–	3,129
Oxford South		Lib		Lib	2,216	54.23%	590	14.44%	65.85%	2,460^{[a 4]}	1,626	–	–	–	4,086
Parry Sound	New			Ind	1,199	51.88%	87	3.76%	58.48%	–	1,112	–	–	1,199	2,311
Peel		Lib		Lib	2,102	52.76%	220	5.52%	73.63%	2,102	1,882	–	–	–	3,984
Perth North		Con		Con	2,445	50.43%	42	0.87%	69.96%	2,403	2,445	–	–	–	4,848
Perth South		Lib		Lib	2,385	55.26%	454	10.52%	72.27%	2,385	1,931	–	–	–	4,316
Peterborough East		Lib		Lib	1,438	56.15%	340	13.28%	67.49%	1,438	1,098	–	–	25	2,561
Peterborough West		Con		Lib	1,555	50.54%	33	1.07%	73.94%	1,555	1,522	–	–	–	3,077
Prescott		Lib		Lib	1,665	52.24%	143	4.49%	69.25%	3,187^{[a 5]}	–	–	–	–	3,187
Prince Edward		I-Lib		Lib	2,155	50.96%	81	1.92%	72.58%	2,155	2,074	–	–	–	4,229
Renfrew North		Lib		Lib	1,515	51.46%	86	2.92%	72.90%	1,515	1,429	–	–	–	2,944
Renfrew South		Lib		Lib	1,050	45.85%	9	0.39%	59.20%	2,091^{[a 6]}	199	–	–	–	2,290
Russell		Con		Lib	1,908	51.41%	148	3.99%	61.05%	1,908	1,760	–	–	43	3,711
Simcoe Centre	New			Lib	1,366	54.10%	207	8.20%	62.48%	1,366	1,159	–	–	–	2,525
Simcoe East		Lib		Lib	1,805	53.15%	214	6.30%	62.16%	1,805	1,591	–	–	–	3,396
Simcoe West		Lib		Con	1,498	56.70%	354	13.40%	56.82%	1,144	1,498	–	–	–	2,642
Victoria East	New			Con	1,733	55.16%	324	10.31%	67.66%	1,409	1,733	–	–	–	3,142
Victoria West	New			Con	1,438	50.17%	10	0.35%	65.49%	1,428	1,438	–	–	–	2,866
Waterloo North		Lib		Lib	acclaimed
Waterloo South		Lib		Lib	2,353	55.27%	449	10.55%	n/a	2,353	1,904	–	–	–	4,257
Welland		Lib		Lib	2,462	53.16%	293	6.33%	68.00%	2,462	2,169	–	–	–	4,631
Wellington East		Lib		Lib	acclaimed
Wellington South		Lib		Lib	2,120	59.40%	671	18.80%	62.34%	2,120	1,449	–	–	–	3,569
Wellington West		Lib		Lib	1,633	55.00%	297	10.00%	62.08%	1,633	1,336	–	–	–	2,969
Wentworth North		Lib		Lib	1,480	59.82%	486	19.64%	67.13%	1,480	994	–	–	–	2,474
Wentworth South		Lib		Lib	1,476	51.92%	109	3.83%	82.48%	1,476	1,367	–	–	–	2,843
York East		Lib		Lib	1,633	65.29%	765	30.59%	56.51%	1,633	–	–	–	868	2,501
York North		Lib		Lib	2,220	62.41%	883	24.82%	56.54%	2,220	1,337	–	–	–	3,557
York West		Con		Lib	1,539	53.12%	181	6.25%	62.51%	1,539	1,358	–	–	–	2,897

^ excluding Toronto, a multi-member constituency
^ order is as given in EO reports
^ the incumbent Neil McColman received 495 votes
^ the incumbent George Atwell Cooke received 244 votes
^ Alfred Évanturel was the winning candidate
^ the incumbent John Francis Dowling received 1,041 votes

= 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

Results for Toronto (3 seats)^[5]
Political party		Candidate	Votes	%	Elected	Incumbent
	Conservative	Edward Frederick Clarke	7,032	26.28	Y
	Conservative	Henry Edward Clarke	6,883	25.72	Y	Y
	Liberal	John Leys	5,380	20.11	Y
	Labour	Charles March	4,055	15.15
	Labour	John Roney	3,408	12.74
Majority^{[a 1]}			1,325	4.96
Turnout^{[a 2]}			14,916	44.80
Registered voters			33,296

^ plurality for third winning candidate
^ actual number of voters per returns

Analysis

Party candidates in 2nd place^[1]^{[a 1]}
Party in 1st place		Party in 2nd place					Total
Party in 1st place		Accl	Lib	Con	Lab	Ind	Total
	Liberal	4	2	48	1	1	56
	Conservative	1	28		1		30
	Independent			1			1
Total		5	30	49	2	1	87

^ excluding Toronto seats

Candidates ranked 1st to 5th place, by party^[1]
Parties	Accl	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th
█ Liberal	4	52	30	2
█ Conservative	1	30	50	2
█ Independent		1	1	3
█ Labour			2	1	1	1
█ Temperance				1

Resulting composition of the 2nd Legislative Assembly of Ontario^[1]
Source		Party
Source		Lib	Con	Ind	Total
Seats retained	Incumbents returned	30	13		44
	Returned by acclamation	2	1		3
	Open seats held	7	2		9
	Byelection loss reversed		1		1
	Defeated by same-party candidate	2	1		3
Seats changing hands	Incumbents defeated	3	3		6
	Open seats gained	6	3		9
	Byelection gains held	1			1
	Incumbent changed allegiance		1		1
New seats	Acclaimed	2			2
	New MLAs	2	2	1	5
	Previously incumbent in another riding	1	3		4
Toronto seats	MLA returned		1		1
Toronto seats	New MLAs	1	1		2
Total		57	32	1	90

MLAs elected by region and riding

Party designations are as follows:

Liberal

Conservative

Independent

Northern Ontario

Algoma East: Robert Adam Lyon
Algoma West: James Conmee

Ottawa Valley

Carleton: George William Monk
Lanark North: Daniel Hilliard
Lanark South: William Lees
Ottawa: Erskine Henry Bronson
Prescott: Alfred Évanturel
Renfrew North: Thomas Murray
Renfrew South: John Alfred McAndrew
Russell: Alexander Robillard

Saint Lawrence Valley

Brockville: Christopher Finlay Fraser
Cornwall and Stormont: William Mack
Dundas: Theodore F. Chamberlain^[a]
Glengarry: James Rayside
Grenville: Frederick John French
Kingston: James Henry Metcalfe
Leeds: Robert Henry Preston

Central Ontario

Addington: John Stewart Miller
Durham East: Thomas Dixon Craig
Durham West: James Wellington McLaughlin
Frontenac: Henry Wilmot
Hastings East: William Parker Hudson
Hastings North: Alpheus Field Wood
Hastings West: Gilbert Wellington Ostrom
Lennox: Walter William Meacham
Northumberland East: William Arnson Willoughby^[b]
Northumberland West: Corelli Collard Field
Peterborough East: Thomas Blezard
Peterborough West: James Robert Stratton
Prince Edward: John Allison Sprague
Victoria East: John Fell
Victoria West: John Saunders Cruess

Georgian Bay

Bruce North: John Walter Scott Biggar
Grey North: David Creighton
Muskoka: George Frederick Marter
Parry Sound: Samuel Armstrong
Simcoe Centre: Orson James Phelps
Simcoe East: Charles Alfred Drury
Simcoe West: Thomas Wylie

Wentworth/Halton/Niagara

Halton: William Kerns
Hamilton: John Morison Gibson
Lincoln: William Garson
Monck: Richard Harcourt
Welland: James E. Morin
Wentworth North: James McMahon
Wentworth South: Nicholas Awrey

Midwestern Ontario

Brant North: William Bruce Wood
Brant South: Arthur Sturgis Hardy
Bruce Centre: Walter MacMorris Dack
Bruce South: Hamilton Parke O'Connor
Bruce South: Hamilton Parke O'Connor
Dufferin: Falkner Cornwall Stewart
Grey Centre: Joseph Rorke
Grey South: John Blythe
Haldimand: Jacob Baxter
Huron East: Thomas Gibson
Huron South: Archibald Bishop
Huron West: Alexander McLagan Ross
Norfolk North: John Bailey Freeman
Norfolk South: William Morgan
Oxford North: Oliver Mowat
Oxford South: Angus McKay
Perth North: John George Hess
Perth South: Thomas Ballantyne
Waterloo North: Elias Weber Bingeman Snider
Waterloo South: Isaac Master
Wellington East: Charles Clarke
Wellington South: Donald Guthrie
Wellington West: Absalom Shade Allan

Southwestern Ontario

Elgin East: Thomas McIntyre Nairn
Elgin West: Andrew B. Ingram
Essex North: Gaspard Pacaud
Essex South: William Douglas Balfour
Kent East: Robert Ferguson
Kent West: James Clancy
Lambton East: Peter Graham
Lambton West: Timothy Blair Pardee
London: William Ralph Meredith
Middlesex East: Richard Tooley
Middlesex North: John Waters
Middlesex West: George William Ross

Peel/York/Ontario

Cardwell: William Henry Hammell
Ontario North: Isaac James Gould
Ontario South: John Dryden
Peel: Kenneth Chisholm
Toronto: Edward Frederick Clarke
Toronto: Henry Edward Clarke
Toronto: John Leys
York East: George Byron Smith
York North: Joseph Henry Widdifield
York West: John Taylor Gilmour

Notes and references

Notes

^ Election declared void because of corrupt practices. Writ for new election issued. James Pliny Whitney (Conservative) was elected in the subsequent byelection.^[6]
^ Election declared void because of corrupt practices. Writ for new election issued. Richard Clark (Liberal) was elected in the subsequent byelection.^[6]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "1886 general election results". Elections Ontario. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
^ Rambaut, Thomas D. (1887). "The Hudson's Bay Half-Breeds and Louis Riel's Rebellions". Political Science Quarterly. 2 (1): 135–167. doi:10.2307/2139321. JSTOR 2139321.
^ 1921 Special House of Commons Committee on pro-rep. report, p. 12
^ The Franchise and Representation Act, 1885, S.O. 1885, c. 2, s. 8, 10
^ "Sessional Paper No. 13". Sessional Papers (Vol. XIX–Part III). Toronto: Legislative Assembly of Ontario. 1887. pp. 82–83.
^ ^a ^b Journals of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario. Vol. XXI. Toronto: Legislative Assembly of Ontario. 1888. pp. 4–6, 31, 33.