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The 1891 Canadian federal election was held on March 5, 1891, to elect members of the 
The main issue of the 1891 campaign was Macdonald's
Notes:
* Party did not nominate candidates in the previous election.
1 One Nationalist candidate was elected by acclamation.
2 The Parliamentary website identifies two candidates in Nova Scotia as being "Progressives". This may be an error.
Acclamations:
The following Members of Parliament were elected by acclamation;
* British Columbia: 1 Conservative, 1 Liberal-Conservative
* Manitoba: 1 Conservative
* Ontario: 1 Conservative
* Quebec: 1 Conservative, 2 Liberal, 1 Nationalist
The Election of 1891: A Question of Loyalty, by James Marsh
{{election canada Federal 1891 March 1891 events
House of Commons of Canada
The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada.
The House of Common ...
of the 7th Parliament of Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. It was won by the Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
of Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
Sir John A. Macdonald
Sir John Alexander Macdonald (January 10 or 11, 1815 – June 6, 1891) was the first prime minister of Canada, serving from 1867 to 1873 and from 1878 to 1891. The dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, he had a political career that sp ...
.
The main issue of the 1891 campaign was Macdonald's National Policy
The National Policy was a Canadian economic program introduced by John A. Macdonald's Conservative Party in 1876. After Macdonald led the Conservatives to victory in the 1878 Canadian federal election, he began implementing his policy in 1879. The ...
, a policy of protective tariffs. The Liberals supported reciprocity (free trade) with the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.
Macdonald led a Conservative campaign emphasizing stability, and retained the Conservatives' majority in the House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
. It was a close election and he campaigned hard. Macdonald died a few months after the election, which led to his succession by four different Conservative Prime Ministers until the 1896 election.
It was Wilfrid Laurier
Sir Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier, ( ; ; November 20, 1841 – February 17, 1919) was a Canadian lawyer, statesman, and politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911. The first French Canadian prime minis ...
's first election as leader of the Liberals. Although he lost the election, he increased the Liberals' support. He returned in 1896 to win a solid majority, despite losing the popular vote.
Canadian voters would return to the issue of free trade 20 years later in the 1911 federal election.
National results
Notes:
Results by province
See also
*List of Canadian federal general elections
This article provides a summary of results for Canadian general elections (where all seats are contested) to the House of Commons, the elected lower half of Canada's federal bicameral legislative body, the Parliament of Canada. The number of ...
*List of political parties in Canada
This article lists political parties in Canada.
Federal parties
In contrast with the political party systems of many nations, Canadian parties at the federal level are often only loosely connected with parties at the provincial level, despite ha ...
*7th Canadian Parliament
The 7th Canadian Parliament was in session from April 29, 1891, until April 24, 1896. The membership was set by the 1891 federal election on March 5, 1891. It was dissolved prior to the 1896 election.
It was controlled by a Conservative/Liberal- ...
Notes
References
Further reading
*External links
The Election of 1891: A Question of Loyalty, by James Marsh
{{election canada Federal 1891 March 1891 events