1891 North-West Territories general election

The 1891 North-West Territories general election was held on 7 November 1891 to elect 25 members of the Legislative Assembly of the North-West Territories, Canada. It was the second general election in the History of the North-West Territories. The legislature for the first time had no appointed members. It had 25 elected members, four more than in the 1888 election. The assembly had grown by one member -- the three appointed "at large" legal advisors who had sat in the assembly previously were no longer there.

1891 North-West Territories general election

← 1888 7 November 1891 (1891-11-07) 1894 →

25 seats in the North-West Legislative Assembly

Chairman before election

Robert Brett

Chairman after election

Frederick Haultain

Frederick W. A. G. Haultain, the member for Macleod, was the government leader.

The key issue in this election was the French language question. Politicians had spent the previous three years divided on the issues of eliminating the status of the French language as an official language of the territory, and of assimilation of the French-speaking population. The appointed government made French an official language in Section 11 of the North-West Territories Act of 1877 that gained Royal Assent 28 April 1877. Prior to that, French was an official language while the North-West Territories was administered under the Manitoba Act from 1870 to 1875.

The issue was ignited by Lieutenant Governor Joseph Royal reading the Speech from the Throne in French on 31 October 1888. The outcry caused Royal to read his second throne speech in English only. On 28 October 1889, the issue was made dormant when a Record Division was taken on the "Language Resolution", a motion that stated the assembly did not need official recognition of languages. The vote was 17 for 2 against. But this did not last, because the federal government got involved, and warned the Lieutenant Governor Royal to start making speeches in French again, and tried to legislate official bilingualism back in the territory, through the House of Commons of Canada. The bill was defeated on second reading, however.

The interference by the Government of Canada resulted in members being elected to the assembly who favoured English as the only official language. On 19 January 1892 Haultain made a motion that only English would be used in the Assembly. The motion passed on division: 20 for, 4 against.

Electoral system

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Most of the members were elected in single-member districts through First past the post.

In Calgary two members were elected, through Block Voting (although in this instance they were elected by acclamation).

Election results

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The turnout can not be established as no voters lists were in use.

Members were elected on non-partisan basis but decisions were decided by majority vote in the chamber.

Election summary # of candidates Popular vote
Incumbent New # %
Acclaimed candidates 7 4 - -
Elected candidates 7 7 2,500 53.88%
Defeated candidates 5 12 2,140 46.12%
Total 42 4,640 100%

Note: No vote returns, are currently available from the Batoche, St. Albert and Souris districts

Results by riding

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Members elected to the 2nd North-West Legislative Assembly. For complete electoral history, see individual districts

Electoral District First Second Third Incumbent
Banff Robert Brett
Acclamation
New District
Batoche[a] Charles Nolin Charles Eugene Boucher Hilliard Mitchell
Battleford James Clinkskill
168
55.63%
James M. Skelton
134
44.37%
James Clinkskill
Calgary[b] John Lineham
Acclamation

Hugh Cayley
Acclamation

John Lineham
Cannington Samuel Page
Acclamation
New District
Cumberland John Felton Betts
159
51.96%
Philip Turnor
106
34.64%
William Plaxton
41
13.4%
New District
Edmonton Frank Oliver
Acclamation
Herbert Charles Wilson
Kinistino William Frederick Meyers
32
52.46%
George Ellis
29
47.54%
James Hoey
Lethbridge Charles Alexander Magrath
Acclamation
New District
Macleod Frederick W. A. G. Haultain
Acclamation
Frederick W. A. G. Haultain
Medicine Hat Thomas Tweed
Acclamation
Thomas Tweed
Mitchell Hilliard Mitchell
Acclamation
New District
Moose Jaw James Hamilton Ross
232
55.11%
John Gilbert Gordon
189
44.89%
James Hamilton Ross
Moosomin John Ryerson Neff
Acclamation
John Ryerson Neff
North Qu’Appelle William Sutherland
173
50.73%
A. Stewart
168
49.27%
William Sutherland
North Regina David Jelly
229
60.58%
W. Cayley Hamilton
149
39.42%
David Jelly
Prince Albert Thomas McKay
Acclamation
William Plaxton
Red Deer Francis Wilkins
Acclamation
Robert Brett
St. Albert Antonio Prince
210
Daniel Maloney
183
L. Garneau
not shown
New District
Souris George Knowling
Elected
John Wesley Connell
John Gillanders Turriff
South Qu’Appelle George Davidson
320
63.24%
George H. V. Bulyea
186
36.76%
George Davidson
South Regina Daniel Mowat
185
50.82%
John Secord
179
49.18%
John Secord
Wallace Joel Reaman
314
51.06%
Thomas Alfred Patrick
301
48.94%
Joel Reaman
Whitewood Daniel Campbell
197
45.92%
Alexander Thorburn
178
41.49%
John Hawkes
54
12.59%
Alexander Thorburn
Wolseley James Dill
312
59.43%
Benjamin Parkyn Richardson
213
40.57%
Benjamin Parkyn Richardson

Notes

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  1. ^ In 1892 Charles Eugene Boucher was appointed by judicial order, and Charles Nolin was forced to step down.
  2. ^ Two representatives were elected from the district.

References

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Further reading

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  • Lingard, Charles Cecil (1946). Territorial government in Canada: the autonomy question in the old North-West Territories. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. OCLC 577721800.
  • Thomas, Lewis H. (1978). The struggle for responsible government in the North-West Territories, 1870–97 (2nd ed.). Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-0-8020-2287-5.
  • Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan (2009). "North-West Territories: Council and Legislative Assembly, 1876–1905" (PDF). Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
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