The 1914 Ontario general election was the 14th 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 29, 1914, to elect the 111 Members of the 14th 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 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 ...

, won a fourth consecutive term in government. Whitney died three months after the election and was succeeded by

William Howard Hearst Sir William Howard Hearst, (February 15, 1864 – September 29, 1941) was the seventh premier of Ontario from 1914 to 1919. Hearst was born in Bruce County, Ontario. He practiced law in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario before being voted to provin ...

. The Conservatives contested 109 of the 111 ridings, deciding not to have candidates stand in

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 ...

(where the Liberal

Hugh Munro Sir Hugh Thomas Munro, 4th Baronet (16 October 1856 – 19 March 1919), was a British mountaineer best known for his list of mountains in Scotland over 3,000 feet (914.4 m), known as Munros. Born in London, Munro was the fifth child of ...

was acclaimed) and

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 ...

(where the Liberal incumbent Thomas Robert Atkinson was up against a Liberal anti-Temperance candidate). However, dissension within the Tory ranks resulted in a significant number of them campaigning as either independent or temperance candidates. 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

Newton Rowell Newton Wesley Rowell, (November 1, 1867 – November 22, 1941) was a Canadian lawyer, politician and judge, as well as a lay leader in the Methodist Church. Rowell led the Ontario Liberal Party from 1911 to 1917 and put forward a platform ...

, formed the official opposition.

Independent Labour An independent or non-partisan politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent. Some politicians have political views th ...

MLA

Allan Studholme Allan Studholme (8 December 1846 – 28 July 1919) was a Canadian trade unionist and Ontario politician. He served as Labour MLA from 1906 to 1919. Born in England near Birmingham, Studholme worked from his childhood. He moved to Canada in ...

was re-elected in Hamilton East. He had held the seat since a 1906

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

. The campaign was seen to turn more significantly on the matter of

Regulation 17 Regulation 17 (french: Règlement 17) was a regulation of the Government of Ontario, Canada, designed to limit instruction in French-language Catholic separate schools. The regulation was written by the Ministry of Education and was issued in July ...

(which limited instruction in French-language Catholic

separate schools In Canada, a separate school is a type of school that has constitutional status in three provinces (Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan) and statutory status in the three territories ( Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut). In these Canadi ...

), in comparison to

temperance Temperance may refer to: Moderation *Temperance movement, movement to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed *Temperance (virtue), habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion Culture *Temperance (group), Canadian danc ...

issues, and that worked against the Liberals, who placed Prohibition of sales in bars and clubs as a main plank in their platform.

Expansion of the Legislative Assembly

An Act passed prior to the election expanded the number of members from 106 to 111, and the number of ridings from 103 to 107. The following changes were made: :*

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 ...

was spun off from Essex North :* Monck was merged with

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. * Lincoln ...

, and St. Catharines was withdrawn :*

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, ...

was withdrawn from

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 ...

Cochrane Cochrane may refer to: Places Australia *Cochrane railway station, Sydney, a railway station on the closed Ropes Creek railway line Canada * Cochrane, Alberta * Cochrane Lake, Alberta * Cochrane District, Ontario ** Cochrane, Ontario, a town wit ...

was carved out from Timiskaming :* In

Bruce County Bruce County is a county in Southwestern Ontario, Canada comprising eight lower-tier municipalities and with a 2016 population of 66,491. It is named for James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin and 12th Earl of Kincardine, sixth Governor General of the P ...

, the three ridings were reorganized: ::* The Township of Kinloss was withdrawn from Bruce South ::* Bruce North gained the Township of Elderslie, while those of Bruce and Saugeen were withdrawn ::* As a consequence, Bruce Centre was reconstituted as Bruce West :* In

Victoria County Victoria County is the name of several locations: In Australia: *Victoria County, Western Australia * County of Victoria, South Australia In Canada: * Victoria County, New Brunswick * Municipality of the County of Victoria and the eponymous histo ...

, Victoria East and

Victoria West Victoria West is a town in the central Karoo region of South Africa's Northern Cape province. It is situated on the main N12 route, at an elevation of . It is the seat of the Ubuntu Local Municipality within the Pixley ka Seme District Municipal ...

were reorganized into Victoria North and

Victoria South Victoria South 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 Brit ...

:* In

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, the ridings of

Toronto East Toronto East (called East Toronto until 1903) was a federal electoral district (Canada), electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1935. It was located in the city of Toronto in the provinces and territories of ...

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 ...

Toronto South Toronto South was a federal electoral district (Canada), electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1904 to 1935. It was located in the city of Toronto in the provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. T ...

and

Toronto West Toronto West was a federal electoral district in the City of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1904 to 1925. This riding was created in 1903 when West Toronto riding was renamed, and reduced fr ...

were replaced: ::* Toronto Northeast,

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 ...

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 ...

and Toronto Southwest were constituted as two-member constituencies ::* Parkdale and Riverdale were created as single-member constituencies The Patricia Portion acquired in 1912 was divided between Cochrane and

Kenora Kenora (), previously named Rat Portage (french: Portage-aux-Rats), is a city situated on the Lake of the Woods in Ontario, Canada, close to the Manitoba boundary, and about east of Winnipeg by road. It is the seat of Kenora District. The his ...

Results

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

1911 A notable ongoing event was the Comparison of the Amundsen and Scott Expeditions, race for the South Pole. Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory ...

! Dissol. !1914 !± !# !% ! ± (pp) , style="text-align:left;",

, 109 , 82 , , 84 , 2 , 268,548 , 54.02% , 1.57 , style="text-align:left;",

, 90 , 22 , , 24 , 2 , 186,168 , 37.45% , 1.06 , style="text-align:left;", , 4 , 1 , , 1 , , 6,535 , 1.31% , 1.12 , style="text-align:left;", , 2 , – , – , 1 , 1 , 2,236 , 0.45% , , - , style="background:#FF00FF;" rowspan="4", , style="text-align:left;", Temperance , style="text-align:left;", , 9 , – , – , – , , 13,064 , 2.63% , , - , style="text-align:left;", Liberal-Temperance , style="text-align:left;", , 1 , – , – , 1 , 1 , 2,733 , 0.55% , , - , style="text-align:left;", Conservative-Temperance , style="text-align:left;", , 2 , – , – , – , , 2,222 , 0.45% , 0.02 , - , style="text-align:left;", Prohibitionist , style="text-align:left;", , 1 , – , – , – , , 1,302 , 0.26% , , style="text-align:left;", , , 1 , , – , 1 , colspan="3", ''Did not campaign'' , style="text-align:left;", , 5 , – , – , – , , 4,837 , 0.97% , 0.07 , style="text-align:left;", , 12 , – , – , – , , 4,532 , 0.91% , 0.04 , style="text-align:left;", , 4 , – , – , – , , 4,270 , 0.86% , 0.11 , style="text-align:left;", , 1 , – , – , – , , 691 , 0.14% , , colspan="3", , , colspan="5", , -style="background:#E9E9E9;" , colspan="3" style="text-align:left;", Total , 240 , 106 , 106 , 111 , , 497,138 , 100.00% , , - , colspan="8" style="text-align:left;", Blank and invalid ballots , align="right", 7,304 , style="background:#E9E9E9;" colspan="2", , -style="background:#E9E9E9;" , colspan="8" style="text-align:left;", Registered voters / turnout , 697,935 , 72.28% , 8.02

Results summary by region

Reorganization of ridings

The newly created ridings returned the following MLAs:

Seats that changed hands

There were 20 seats that changed allegiance in the election: ;Liberal to Conservative * Bruce South *

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 ...

* Haldimand *

Lambton East Lambton East was a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1882 to 1935. It was located in the province of Ontario. This riding was created from Lambton riding. The East Riding of the county of Lambton was ...

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 ...

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 ...

* Wentworth North * ;Liberal to Independent-Liberal * Prescott ; Liberal-Conservative to Conservative * Rainy River ; Conservative to Liberal * Brant *

Brant South Brant South was a federal and provincial electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1904, and in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1867 to 1923. It was also called the South ...

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 ...

Middlesex North Middlesex North was a federal electoral district (Canada), electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1917. It was created by the British North America Act of 1867 which divided the ...

Ottawa East Old Ottawa East or just Ottawa East (''Vieil Ottawa Est'' in French) is a neighbourhood in Capital Ward in central Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is located south of Nicholas Street and between the Rideau Canal and the Rideau River, with Avenue Road ...

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 ...

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 ...

* Prince Edward ; Conservative to Liberal-Temperance *

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 ...

Acclamations

When nominations closed, three candidates were acclaimed. A later withdrawal in

enabled the acclamation of Harold Arthur Clement Machin.

Forbes Godfrey Forbes Elliott Godfrey (March 31, 1867 – January 6, 1932) was an Ontario physician and political figure. He represented York West in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a Conservative member from 1907 to 1932. Background He was born in ...

(

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 ...

) was acclaimed because the Liberal candidate was held to have missed the deadline by one minute. In Wellington East, the Liberals opted not to press a similar case against the Conservative candidate, whose nomination papers were filed 90 minutes after the deadline.

Expansion of the Legislative Assembly

Results

Results summary by region

Reorganization of ridings

Seats that changed hands

Acclamations

See also

References

Further reading