The 1923 Ontario general election was the 16th 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 June 25, 1923, to elect the 111 Members of the 16th Legislative Assembly of Ontario ("MLAs"). 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

George Howard Ferguson George Howard Ferguson, PC (June 18, 1870 – February 21, 1946) was the ninth premier of Ontario, from 1923 to 1930. He was a Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1905 to 1930 who represented the eastern provinc ...

, was elected to power with a

majority A majority, also called a simple majority or absolute majority to distinguish it from #Related terms, related terms, is more than half of the total.Dictionary definitions of ''majority'' aMerriam-Webster United Farmers of Ontario The United Farmers of Ontario (UFO) was an agrarian and populist provincial political party in Ontario, Canada. It was the Ontario provincial branch of the United Farmers movement of the early part of the 20th century. History Foundation and r ...

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

coalition government of

Ernest C. Drury Ernest Charles Drury (January 22, 1878 – February 17, 1968) was a farmer, politician and writer who served as the eighth premier of Ontario, from 1919 to 1923 as the head of a United Farmers of Ontario– Labour coalition government ...

Campaign

Voter turnout

The election saw a voter turnout of just 54.7%, the lowest voter turnout in Ontario history until the 2007 election. The low election turn-out was in part caused by the worst wind, rain and lightning storm in years inundating the western part of the province. The electrical storm and hurricane began shortly after the polls closed, resulting in massive disruption of telegraph and telephone communications, which hampered the reporting of results.

Results

The 1923 election was plagued by low turn-out, and all the parties took fewer voters than they had in 1919. The UFO actually took a larger proportion of the vote than it had in 1919 but took just a fraction of the seats it had taken in 1919 due to much of the anti-UFO vote concentrating behind Conservative Party candidates. The UFO had held power by virtue of a coalition with Labour and three other MLAs. Together they had received 34 percent of the votes cast in 1919. The Conservatives after the 1923 election took majority government based on taking 34 percent of the vote by that one party alone. 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

Wellington Hay Francis Wellington Hay (November 17, 1864 – April 1, 1932) was a grain merchant and Canadian politician. Hay was born in Listowel, Canada West, the son of William G. Hay. He worked for the Federal Bank for three years before entering the famil ...

, lost close to half its caucus in the Conservative landslide. Labour (the Independent Labour Party) too lost most of its MLAs in this turn-around election. The Conservative party was the most popular, taking 34 percent of the vote. Its candidate was the leading one in a large proportion of the districts, giving it a large majority of seats in the legislature (more than its due proportionally) under the

First past the post In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast their ...

system in use at the time. In the election, the UFO again did not run candidates where a Labour candidate was running - and also not in 20 other districts as well. The UFO received the third-most number of votes overall but only ran in about two-thirds of the districts so its vote count likely does not measure its actual support. Together Labour and the UFO ran in 93 seats so the two did not cover all the districts in the province. The UFO did not receive as many votes as it had in 1919 but still got fairly good numbers considering it did not run candidates in a third of the districts. As the 1923 election was plagued by low turn-out, the UFO received a higher percentage of votes cast than it had received in 1919. Prior to the election, the UFO government had introduced bills to re-distribute the ridings, and to introduce

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...

and the

single transferable vote Single transferable vote (STV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which voters cast a single vote in the form of a ranked-choice ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vote may be transferred according to alternate p ...

, but withdrew them after vehement opposition from the Conservative MLAs, and it was found that even some government members were ambivalent. Under

, the UFO received about a third of the seats that it was due proportionally overall. Looking at the 71 districts where the UFO ran candidates, it received about half the votes there so was due 35 of those seats but received only eight. In many districts, Conservative candidates took rural seats away from incumbent UFO MLAs by taking just a few hundred more votes than them in each district. In Prince Edward, Conservative candidate Horace Stanley Colliver took just 17 more votes than his closest contender to win the seat.Canadian Parliamentary Guide 1925 , - ! colspan=2 rowspan=2 , Political party ! rowspan=2 , Party leader ! colspan=5 , MPPs ! colspan=3 , Votes , - ! Candidates !

1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off the c ...

! Dissol. !1923 !± !# !% ! ± (pp) , style="text-align:left;",

Howard Ferguson George Howard Ferguson, PC (June 18, 1870 – February 21, 1946) was the ninth premier of Ontario, from 1923 to 1930. He was a Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1905 to 1930 who represented the eastern provincia ...

, 103 , 25 , 24 , 75 , 50 , 471,196 , 49.56% , 15.47 , style="text-align:left;", E.C. Drury , 71 , 44 , 44 , 17 , 27 , 200,762 , 21.11% , 0.14 , style="text-align:left;",

, 78 , 27 , 27 , 14 , 13 , 203,079 , 21.36% , 4.15 , style="text-align:left;",

Walter Rollo Walter Ritchie Rollo (November 25, 1875 – March 13, 1957) was a Canadian trade unionist and politician in the early 20th century, and was a cabinet Minister in the United Farmers of Ontario - Labour coalition government from 1919 to 1923. Ea ...

, 23 , 11 , 11 , 4 , 7 , 45,213 , 4.76% , 4.33 , style="text-align:left;", , 12 , – , – , 1 , 1 , 15,426 , 1.62% , 2.45 , style="text-align:left;", , 2 , 1 , 1 , – , 1 , 5,041 , 0.53% , 0.08 , style="text-align:left;", , 3 , – , – , – , – , 10,122 , 1.06% , , style="text-align:left;", , – , 1 , 1 , – , 1 , colspan="3", ''Did not campaign'' , style="text-align:left;", , – , 1 , 1 , – , 1 , colspan="3", ''Did not campaign'' , style="text-align:left;", , – , 1 , 1 , – , 1 , colspan="3", ''Did not campaign'' , colspan="3", , 1 , colspan="5", , -style="background:#E9E9E9;" , colspan="3" style="text-align:left;", Total , 292 , 111 , 111 , 111 , , 950,839 , 100.00% , , - , colspan="8" style="text-align:left;", Blank and invalid ballots , align="right", 8,886 , style="background:#E9E9E9;" colspan="2", , -style="background:#E9E9E9;" , colspan="8" style="text-align:left;", Registered voters / turnout , 1,662,160 , 57.74% , 27.79

Detailed analysis

Incumbents not running for reelection

Sixteen MLAs chose not to stand for re-election:

Seats that changed hands

There were 64 seats that changed allegiance in the election. ; UFO to Conservative * Carleton * Dufferin *

Dundas Dundas may refer to: Places Australia * Dundas, New South Wales * Dundas, Queensland, a locality in the Somerset Region * Dundas, Tasmania * Dundas, Western Australia * Fort Dundas, a settlement in the Northern Territory 1824–1828 * Shire of ...

* Durham East *

Elgin East Elgin East 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 which divided the county of Elgin in ...

Elgin West Elgin West 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 Elgin into ...

Essex South ''For the defunct provincial electoral district, see Essex South (provincial electoral district).'' Essex South was a federal and provincial electoral district (Canada), electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1882 to ...

Grey South Grey South was a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1876 to 1917. 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 into ...

* Haldimand * Halton *

Hastings East Hastings East 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 which divided the County of Hasti ...

Huron South Huron South was a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1935. It was created by the British North America Act of 1867 which divided the County of Huron into two ridings ...

* Lambton West *

Lanark North Lanark North was a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1917. It was located in the province of Ontario. It was created by the British North America Act of 1867 which divided the County of Lanark ...

* Lanark South * Middlesex North * Norfolk South *

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 ...

* Oxford South *

Perth South Perth 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, which divided the County of Perth ...

* Peterborough East *

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 c ...

Simcoe South Simcoe South was a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1925, and from 1979 to 1988. It was located north of Toronto in the province of Ontario. It was initially created by the British North Amer ...

* Victoria North * Victoria South * Wellington West * Wentworth South ; UFO to Liberal * Essex North *

Glengarry The Glengarry bonnet is a traditional Scots cap made of thick-milled woollen material, decorated with a toorie on top, frequently a rosette cockade on the left side, and ribbons hanging behind. It is normally worn as part of Scottish military ...

; Liberal to Conservative *

Brockville Brockville, formerly Elizabethtown, is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada, in the Thousand Islands region. Although it is the seat of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, it is politically Independent city, independent of the county. It i ...

* Nipissing *

Parry Sound Parry Sound is a sound or bay of Georgian Bay on Lake Huron, in Ontario, Canada. It is highly irregularly shaped with many deep bays and islands. Killbear Provincial Park is located on the large peninsula that separates the sound from Georgian B ...

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 Pert ...

* Prince Edward * Stormont *

Toronto Northwest Toronto Northwest was a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1925 to 1935. It was located in the city of Toronto in the province of Ontario. This riding was created in 1924 from parts of Parkdale, Toronto ...

- B *

Toronto Southeast Toronto Southeast was an Ontario provincial electoral district that existed from 1914 to 1926. It occupied an area south of College and Gerrard between University and Logan Ave. In 1926 there was a major redistribution of Ontario seats which result ...

- A *

- B * Toronto Southwest - A * Toronto Southwest - B *

Welland Welland is a city in the Regional Municipality of Niagara in Southern Ontario, Canada. As of 2021, it had a population of 55,750. The city is in the centre of Niagara and located within a half-hour driving distance to Niagara Falls, Niagara-o ...

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

; Liberal to UFO * Bruce South *

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

* Oxford North ; Liberal to Independent * Prescott ; Labour to Conservative * Fort William * Hamilton East * Hamilton West * Huron Centre *

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 ...

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Falls, ...

Peterborough West Peterborough West was a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1953. It was located in the province of Ontario. It was created by the British North America Act of 1867 which divided the County of Pe ...

* Sault Ste. Marie * St. Catharines ; Independent-Liberal to Conservative *

Waterloo North Waterloo 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 entitled each of north and s ...

; Farmer-Labour to Labour *

Waterloo South Waterloo South was a federal electoral district and a provincial electoral district in Canada. Federally, it was 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 Bri ...

; Farmer-Liberal to UFO *

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 ...

; Soldier to Conservative * Riverdale ; Conservative to Liberal * Lennox *

Ottawa West Ottawa West was a federal and provincial electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1935 to 1997 and in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1908 to 1926 and from 1955 to 1999. It cover ...

; Conservative to Labour * Rainy River

Campaign

Voter turnout

Results

Detailed analysis

Incumbents not running for reelection

Seats that changed hands

Notable groups of candidates

See also

Notes

References

Further reading