The 1871 Quebec general election was held in June and July 1871 to elect members of the Second Legislature for the Province of

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Canada. The Quebec Conservative Party, led by Premier

Pierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau Pierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau (May 30, 1820 – April 4, 1890) was a Canadian lawyer and politician. Chauveau was the first premier of Quebec, following the establishment of Canada in 1867. Appointed to the office in 1867 as the leader of the ...

, was re-elected, defeating the

Quebec Liberal Party The Quebec Liberal Party (QLP; french: Parti libéral du Québec, PLQ) is a provincial political party in Quebec. It has been independent of the federal Liberal Party of Canada since 1955. The QLP has always been associated with the colour red; e ...

, led by

Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière Sir Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière, (December 5, 1829 – November 16, 1908) lawyer, businessman and politician served as the fourth premier of Quebec, a federal Cabinet minister, and the seventh Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia. ...

Franchise and candidacy

Right to vote

The right to vote in elections to the Legislative Assembly was not universal. Only male British subjects (by birth or naturalisation), aged 21 and older, were eligible to vote, and only if they met a property qualification. For residents of cities and towns, the qualification was being the owner, tenant or occupant of real property assessed at three hundred dollars, or at an assessed yearly value of thirty dollars. For residents of townships and parishes, the requirements were either an assessment of two hundred dollars, or an assessed yearly value of twenty dollars.''British North America Act, 1867'', s. 84.
/ref> Women were expressly prohibited from voting, "for any Electoral Division whatever". Judges and many municipal and provincial officials were also barred from voting, particularly officials with duties relating to public revenue. Election officials were also barred from voting.

Qualification for the Legislative Assembly

Candidates for the Legislative Assembly had to meet a significant property qualification. A candidate had to own real property in the

Province of Canada The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British North America, British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham ...

, worth at least £500 in British sterling, over and above any encumbrances on the property.

Electoral map

The Legislative Assembly was composed of sixty-five

single-member constituencies A single-member district is an electoral district represented by a single officeholder. It contrasts with a multi-member district, which is represented by multiple officeholders. Single-member districts are also sometimes called single-winner vot ...

or "ridings". The 1871 election was conducted under the pre-Confederation electoral map of the former

. That map had set the boundaries for the sixty-five constituencies of

Canada East Canada East (french: links=no, Canada-Est) was the northeastern portion of the United Province of Canada. Lord Durham's Report investigating the causes of the Upper and Lower Canada Rebellions recommended merging those two colonies. The new ...

, which became Quebec. The ''British North America Act, 1867'' provided that the pre-Confederation electoral map would continue to be used for Quebec elections until altered by the Legislature of Quebec. The map of the sixty-five constituencies was also to be used in federal elections, until altered by Parliament.

Conduct of the election

The 1867 election was conducted under the election laws of the Province of Canada, which had been continued until altered by the Legislature of Quebec. The electoral process of the Province of Canada in turn had been based on the traditional British electoral process, without a secret ballot. Instead, elections were public affairs, with each voter publicly stating the name of the candidate they voted for. The election process began with writs of election issued by the

Clerk of the Crown in Chancery A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service c ...

, one for each constituency (also called a "riding"). The writ was directed to the

Returning Officer In various parliamentary systems, a returning officer is responsible for overseeing elections in one or more constituencies. Australia In Australia a returning officer is an employee of the Australian Electoral Commission or a state electoral c ...

for each constituency and required the Returning Officer to hold a public nomination of candidates, and if necessary a poll, on days to be chosen by the Returning Officer. On the nomination day, the Returning Officer held a public meeting "in the open air", at a central place in the constituency, and in a place where the public had access, such as in front of a town hall or church in the constituency. The Returning Officer addressed the assembled members of the public from a platform, called a "

husting A husting originally referred to a native Germanic governing assembly, the thing. By metonymy, the term may now refer to any event (such as debates or speeches) during an election campaign where one or more of the candidates are present. Deve ...

", and called for nominations. If only one person was nominated, the Returning Officer would close the nominations and declare that person elected. If more than one person was nominated, the Returning Officer would grant a poll, to be held at a future date, chosen by the Returning Officer. On polling day, polls would be held across the constituency. The polls were in held in the open air, or in buildings close to the highways, with free access by the public. It was prohibited to hold a poll in a "tavern or place of public entertainment". The Returning Officer would appoint a Deputy Returning Officer for each polling place, normally the town clerk or other municipal official. Each Deputy Returning Officer would have a poll book. Qualified voters would appear before the Deputy Returning Officer and declare how they voted. The Deputy Returning Officer would record each voter's vote in the poll book. At the close of the polls, the Deputy Returning Officers would deliver the poll books to the Returning Officer. The Returning Officer would then total all of the polls in public, at the place where the nominations had occurred, declare which candidate was elected, and issue a proclamation declaring the election closed. The Returning Officer would then send a report of the election with the return of the writ to the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery, within fifteen days after the closing of the election. The elections for the sixty-five provincial constituencies were not all conducted on the same day. The writs of election for each constituency gave the Returning Officer the discretion to set the original nomination day, and the subsequent date for the polling, if more than one candidate were nominated. The 1867 election was spread across the months of August and September.Quebec National Assembly: Les élections générales.
/ref>

Results

The election resulted in a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

victory. The Conservatives were maintained in office with a strong majority, although a somewhat reduced seat count. The Liberals improved their standings from twelve seats to nineteen. , - ! colspan=2 rowspan=2 , Political party ! rowspan=2 , Party leader ! colspan=4 , MLAs ! colspan=3 , Votes , - ! Candidates27 were acclaimed: 22 Conservatives, 5 Liberals ! 1867 !1871 !+/- !# !% !+/- , style="text-align:left;",

, 59 , 51 , 46 , 5 , 31,168 , 51.69% , 1.78 , style="text-align:left;",

, 37 , 12 , 19 , 7 , 23,760 , 39.41% , 3.96 , style="text-align:left;", , 2 , 1 , – , 1 , 823 , 1.36% ,

Pierre-Alexis Tremblay Pierre-Alexis "Pitre" Tremblay (December 27, 1827 – January 4, 1879) was a surveyor and Quebec political figure. He was a Liberal Member of Parliament from 1867 to 1875 and 1878 to 1879. He was born in La Malbaie, Lower Canada, in 1827 an ...

Chicoutimi-Saguenay Chicoutimi-Saguenay (or Chicoutimi et Saguenay) was a former provincial electoral district in the province of Quebec, Canada. It was created for the 1867 election (and an electoral district of that name existed earlier in the Legislative Assemb ...

had previously been acclaimed, and was subsequently re-elected as a Liberal. , style="text-align:left;", , 11 , – , – , , 4,545 , 7.54% , 1.90 , style="text-align:left;", , – , – , – , , colspan="3", ''Did not campaign'' , style="text-align:left;", , , 1 , – , 1 , colspan="3", , -style="background:#E9E9E9;" , colspan="3" style="text-align:left;", Total , 109 , 65 , 65 , , 60,296 , 100.00% , , -style="background:#E9E9E9;" , colspan="7" style="text-align:left;", Registered voters / turnoutin the ridings without acclaimed candidates, the effective turnout was 58.89% , 172,369 , 34.98% , 11.86

Seats that changed hands

There were 12 seats that changed allegiance in the election: ; Conservative to Liberal * Berthier * Chambly *

Charlevoix Charlevoix ( , ) is a cultural and natural region in Quebec, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River as well as in the Laurentian Mountains area of the Canadian Shield. This dramatic landscape includes rolling terrain, fjords, headlands ...

* Drummond et Arthabaska * Maskinongé * Montréal Centre * Shefford *

Verchères Verchères is an off-island suburb of Montreal, in Montérégie, Quebec, located on the south bank of the Saint Lawrence River. The population as of the Canada 2011 Census was 5,692. History In the 17th century, the settlement at Verchères w ...

;Liberal to Conservative *

Bonaventure Bonaventure ( ; it, Bonaventura ; la, Bonaventura de Balneoregio; 1221 – 15 July 1274), born Giovanni di Fidanza, was an Italian Catholic Franciscan, bishop, cardinal, scholastic theologian and philosopher. The seventh Minister G ...

* Yamaska ;Independent to Liberal * Chicoutimi et Saguenay ;Vacant to Conservative * Kamouraska

References

{{Quebec elections Quebec general election Elections in Quebec

General election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

Quebec general election Quebec general election