1902 Ontario general election

The 1902 Ontario general election was the tenth general election held in the Province of Ontario, Canada. It was held on May 29, 1902, to elect the 98 Members of the 10th Legislative Assembly of Ontario ("MLAs").[1]

1902 Ontario general election
May 29, 1902
98 seats in the 10th Legislative Assembly of Ontario
50 seats were needed for a majority
  First party Second party
 
Leader George William Ross James P. Whitney
Party Liberal Conservative
Leader since 1899 1896
Leader's seat Middlesex West Dundas
Last election 51 42
Seats won 50 48
Seat change Decrease1 Increase6
Premier before election

George William Ross
Liberal

 Premier after election

George William Ross
Liberal

The Ontario Liberal Party, led by Sir George William Ross, formed the government for a ninth consecutive term, although with only a very slim, two-seat majority in the Legislature.

The Ontario Conservative Party, led by Sir James P. Whitney formed the official opposition.

Expansion of the Legislative Assembly

The number of electoral districts was increased from 93 to 97, under an Act passed in 1902. Ottawa in both cases was entitled to elect two members, and thus 98 MLAs would now be elected to the Legislature.[2] The following electoral changes were made:

Results
Elections to the 10th Parliament of Ontario (1902)
Political party Party leader MPPs Votes
Candidates 1898 Dissol. 1902 ± # % ± (pp)
Liberal George William Ross 94 51 50 1Decrease 206,709 47.54% 0.25Increase
Conservative James P. Whitney 97 42 48 6Increase 215,883 49.65% 1.96Increase
Independent-Conservative 2 1 – 1Decrease 1,646 0.38% 0.03Decrease
Independent 4 – – – 5,133 1.18% 3.42Decrease
Prohibitionist 6 – – – 3,126 0.72% New
Socialist 9 – – – 1,993 0.46% New
Socialist-Labour 4 – – – 277 0.06% New
Labour 1 – – – Did not campaign
Vacant
Total 216 94 94 98 434,767 100.00%
Blank and invalid ballots 4,021
Registered voters / turnout 588,570 74.55% 7.50Decrease
Seats and popular vote by party
PartySeatsVotesChange (pp)
Liberal
50 / 94
47.54%
0.25 0.25
 
Conservative
48 / 94
49.65%
1.96 1.96
 
Other
0 / 94
2.81%
-2.21
 

Division of ridings
Voters go to the polls in Ottawa East

The newly created ridings returned the following MLAs:

1898 1902
Riding Party Riding Party
Algoma West █ Liberal Fort William and Lake of the Woods █ Liberal
Port Arthur and Rainy River █ Liberal
Algoma East █ Liberal Algoma █ Conservative
Manitoulin █ Conservative
Sault Ste. Marie █ Conservative
Nipissing █ Liberal Nipissing East █ Liberal
Nipissing West █ Liberal

Seats that changed hands
Elections to the 8th Parliament of Ontario – unaltered seats won/lost by party, 1898–1902
Party 1898 Gain from (loss to) 1902
Lib Con I-Con
Liberal 4810(12)46
Conservative 4212(10)145
Independent-Conservative 1(1)–
Total9112(10)10(13)1–91

Of the constituencies that were not altered, there were 23 seats that changed allegiance in the election:

Notable candidates
Margaret Haile

Margaret Haile, a Canadian Socialist League candidate in Toronto North, made history as the first woman ever to run for political office in Canada.[3]

See also

References
  1. "1902 General Election". Elections Ontario. Elections Ontario. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  2. An Act respecting the Representation of the People in the Legislative Assembly, R.S.O. 1897, c. 6 , as amended by An Act to amend the Act respecting the Representation of the People in the Legislative Assembly, S.O. 1902, c. 4
  3. Janice Newton, The feminist challenge to the Canadian Left, 1900-1918.

Further reading
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