The 1902 Ontario general election was the tenth general election held in the Province of

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. It was held on May 29, 1902, to elect the 98 Members of the

10th Legislative Assembly of Ontario The 10th Legislative Assembly of Ontario was in session from May 29, 1902, until December 13, 1904, just prior to the 1905 general election. The majority party was the Ontario Liberal Party led by George William Ross. William Andrew Charlton ser ...

("MLAs"). The

Ontario Liberal Party The Ontario Liberal Party (OLP; french: Parti libéral de l'Ontario, PLO) is a political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. The party has been led by interim leader John Fraser (Ontario MPP), John Fraser since August 2022. The party esp ...

, led by Sir

George William Ross Sir George William Ross (September 18, 1841 – March 7, 1914) was an educator and politician in the Canadian province of Ontario. He was the fifth premier of Ontario from 1899 to 1905. Early life Born near Nairn, in Middlesex County, Upper Cana ...

, formed the government for a ninth consecutive term, although with only a very slim, two-seat majority in the Legislature. The

Ontario Conservative Party The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (french: Parti progressiste-conservateur de l'Ontario), often shortened to the Ontario PC Party or simply the PCs, colloquially known as the Tories, is a centre-right political party in Ontario, Canada ...

, led by Sir

James P. Whitney Sir James Pliny Whitney (October 2, 1843 – September 25, 1914) was a Canadian politician and lawyer in the province of Ontario. He served as Conservative member of the legislature for Dundas from 1888 and as the sixth premier of Ontario from ...

formed the

official opposition Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term ''government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ''th ...

Expansion of the Legislative Assembly

The number of electoral districts was increased from 93 to 97, under an Act passed in 1902.

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

in both cases was entitled to elect two members, and thus 98 MLAs would now be elected to the Legislature. The following electoral changes were made: :*

Algoma West Algoma West was a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1904 to 1968. It was created in 1903 from parts of Algoma riding. The west riding of Algoma was defined to consist of ...

was divided into

Fort William and Lake of the Woods A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

and

Port Arthur and Rainy River A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

Algoma East Algoma East was a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1904 to 1968. It was created in 1903 from parts of Algoma riding. It initially consisted of the territorial district ...

was divided into Algoma,

Manitoulin Manitoulin District is a district in Northeastern Ontario within the Canadian province of Ontario. It was created in 1888 from part of the Algoma District. The district seat is in Gore Bay. It comprises Manitoulin Island primarily, as well as a ...

and Sault Ste. Marie :* Nipissing was divided into

Nipissing East Nipissing East was a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of Ontario, active from 1902 to 1908. Due to population growth, the district of Nipissing was divided into Nipissing East and Nipissing West for the 1902 election. By 1 ...

and

Nipissing West Nipissing West was a provincial electoral district (Canada), electoral district in the Canada, Canadian province of Ontario, active from 1902 to 1908. Due to population growth, the district of Nipissing (provincial electoral district), Nipissing ...

Results

, - ! colspan=2 rowspan=2 , Political party ! rowspan=2 , Party leader ! colspan=5 , MPPs ! colspan=3 , Votes , - ! Candidates !

1898 Events January–March * January 1 – New York City annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York as the world's second largest. The city is geographically divided into five boroughs: Manhattan, B ...

! Dissol. !1902 !± !# !% ! ± (pp) , style="text-align:left;",

, 94 , 51 , , 50 , 1 , 206,709 , 47.54% , 0.25 , style="text-align:left;",

, 97 , 42 , , 48 , 6 , 215,883 , 49.65% , 1.96 , style="text-align:left;", , 2 , 1 , , – , 1 , 1,646 , 0.38% , 0.03 , style="text-align:left;", , 4 , – , – , – , , 5,133 , 1.18% , 3.42 , style="text-align:left;", , 6 , – , – , – , , 3,126 , 0.72% , , style="text-align:left;", , 9 , – , – , – , , 1,993 , 0.46% , , style="text-align:left;", , 4 , – , – , – , , 277 , 0.06% , , style="text-align:left;", , 1 , – , – , – , , colspan="3", ''Did not campaign'' , colspan="3", , , colspan="5", , -style="background:#E9E9E9;" , colspan="3" style="text-align:left;", Total , 216 , 94 , 94 , 98 , , 434,767 , 100.00% , , - , colspan="8" style="text-align:left;", Blank and invalid ballots , align="right", 4,021 , style="background:#E9E9E9;" colspan="2", , -style="background:#E9E9E9;" , colspan="8" style="text-align:left;", Registered voters / turnout , 588,570 , 74.55% , 7.50

Division of ridings

The newly created ridings returned the following MLAs:

Seats that changed hands

Of the constituencies that were not altered, there were 23 seats that changed allegiance in the election: ;Liberal to Conservative * Bruce Centre * Essex North *

Lambton West Lambton West was a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1883 to 1968. It was located in the province of Ontario. This riding was created from parts of Lambton riding. The West Riding of the county of ...

* Lennox *

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Norfolk North Norfolk North was a federal electoral district (Canada), electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1904. It was located in the provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. It was created by the Br ...

Northumberland East Northumberland East was a federal electoral district (Canada), electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1917. It was located in the provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. It was created by ...

(2nd MLA) *

Oxford South Oxford South was a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1935. It was located in the province of Ontario. It was created by the British North America Act of 1867. In 1882, the South Riding of the co ...

Perth North Perth North was a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1935. It was located in the province of Ontario. It was created by the British North America Act of 1867 which divided the County of Perth ...

Wellington South Wellington South was a Canadian federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1968. It was located in the province of Ontario. It was created by the British North America Act of 1867 as the "South Riding o ...

York West York is a cathedral city with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many hist ...

; Conservative to Liberal *

Durham West Durham West was a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1904. It was located in the province of Ontario. It was created by the British North America Act of 1867 which divided the county of Durham ...

Grey North Grey North was a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1968. It was located in the province of Ontario. It was created by the British North America Act of 1867, which divided the County of Grey in ...

Middlesex East Middlesex East was a former federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1968. It was created by the British North America Act of 1867, which divided the County of Middlesex into th ...

Ontario South Ontario South was a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1925. It was located in the province of Ontario. It was created by the British North America Act of 1867. The South riding consisted initi ...

* Prince Edward *

Renfrew North Renfrew North (also known as Renfrew North—Nipissing East) was a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1979. It was located in the province of Ontario. It was created by the British North Americ ...

Simcoe Centre Simcoe Centre was a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1988 to 1997. This riding was created in 1987 from parts of Grey—Simcoe, Simcoe South and Wellington—Dufferin—S ...

Simcoe East Simcoe East was a federal electoral district in the province of Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1882 to 1968. This riding was created in 1882 from parts of Muskoka riding. The "East Riding of the cou ...

* Stormont * Wentworth North ; Independent-Conservative to Conservative * Carleton

Notable candidates

Margaret Haile Margaret Haile () was a Canadian socialist in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a teacher and journalist by profession. She was active in the socialist movements in both Canada and the United States. Frederic Heath's "Socialism in ...

, a

Canadian Socialist League The Canadian Socialist League (CSL) was the first nationwide socialist organization founded in Canada. It originated in Montreal in 1898, but was strongest in Ontario and British Columbia. The leaders espoused a moderate socialism based on Chris ...

candidate in

Toronto North Toronto North was a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1904 to 1925. It was located in the city of Toronto in the province of Ontario. This riding was created in 1903 from parts of Toronto Centre, West To ...

, made history as the first woman ever to run for political office in Canada.Janice Newton
The feminist challenge to the Canadian Left, 1900-1918

Expansion of the Legislative Assembly

Results

Division of ridings

Seats that changed hands

Notable candidates

See also

References

Further reading