List of elections in the Province of Canada

General elections were held in the Province of Canada eight times between 1841 and 1863 for the purpose of electing members to the lower house of its legislature, the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada, a British colony that existed between 1841 and 1867. Furthermore, between 1856 and 1864, elections were held every two years for the purpose of electing a quarter of the members to the upper house, the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada on a rotation basis.

The Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada was the primary representative body in the government of the Province of Canada. The first general election was held between February and April of 1841, following the formation of the province from unification of two British Colonies, Upper Canada and Lower Canada. The province held its last general election in June 1863, as the province was dissolved upon Canadian Confederation on July 1, 1867. The eight elections respectively elected members to the 1st Parliament to the 8th Parliament of the Province of Canada. The first four elections elected fourth-two members in each of the two component parts of the province for a total of eighty-four members, while the last four elections elected sixty-five in each for a total of 130 members.

In the first few years of the province's existence, even though its executive council was dependent on the confidence of the legislature, it answered primarily to the colonial Governor General, who was not bound by constitutional restraints and may choose to play a hands-on role in steering the government. That changed upon the election of 1848, which returned a super-majority of Reformers in opposition to the incumbent government. Upon the government's resignation, Lord Elgin, a Tory peer sent by a Whig ministry with instruction to put constitutional government into practice in the colony, invited leaders of the Reform Party to form a partisan ministry that would assume full accountability of the government, making responsible government a reality in the province.

While the political division of this period is often generalized as rivalry between the Conservative and Reform parties, the dynamic cannot be understood simply by applying modern political lens to those labels or by applying simplistic left vs right, status quo vs reform categorizations. Partisanship in this era was neither formal nor clearly defined. Allegiances of members of the legislature were influenced by many factors other than partisan affiliation. The main parties often split into multiple factions due to internal disagreement over particularly issues.

Language and religious divides both add additional complexity to the electoral and governing dynamic of the province and led to the adoptions of the principal of double majority, which required majority support not only from the legislature as a whole but of members of each of the two component parts for any major initiative. The requirement led to governing impasse and frequent collapsed of government. The instability and stalemate pushed the Conservatives led by John A. Macdonald and George-Étienne Cartier (by then united under the banner of "Liberal-Conservative Party") and the various Reform and Liberal factions led by George Brown into the Great Coalition that produced a new sovereign state known today as Canada.

Due to the fragmentation and frequent shifts of political allegiance, transition of powers between rival ministries only occasionally aligned with electoral cycle during this period.

Partisanship

General elections held in the Province of Canada

Key dates for general elections

Year Incumbent ministryWrit of election issued Return of Writ dueResulting parliament#Convened1841 SydenhamMarch – April 18411st1844 DraperOct. – Nov. 18442nd1847-48 SherwoodDec. 1847 – Jan. 18483rd1851 Hincks-MorinNov. 25 – Dec. 20, 18514th1854 Hincks-MorinJuly 8 – August 7, 18545th Macdonald–Cartier IDec 10, 1857 – Jan 14, 18586th1861 Macdonald–Cartier IIJuly 1–16, 18617th1863 Sandfield Macdonald–DorionJune 11 – July 2, 18638th Dates for each elections were primarily sourced from the journal of the assembly.

Specific elections

The elections listed below are divided into "Left" or "Reformer" camps, and "Right" or "Conservative" camps.

1841 The general election of members of the Legislative Assembly began on March 8, 1841, and continued into early April.Irving Martin Abella, "The 'Sydenham Election' of 1841" (1966), 47 Canadian History Review 326, at p. 337. [Subscription required.]

Four major parties contested the 1841 election. The Reformers were a group of pro-democracy, radical reformers in Canada West who wanted to reduce the power of the conservative government. The Family Compact were rich Tories in Canada West interested in the preservation of their power and the status quo. Canada East had two similar groups -- Les Patriotes, a reformist group consisting largely of French Canadians, and Tories, mostly English conservatives interested in preservation of the status quo. Movement Canada West Canada East Total Seats ReformLeft-Wing Reform – 29 Patriotes – 21 50 ConservativeRight-Wing Family Compact – 10 Tories – 17 27 Non-AlignedIndependent Independent – 1 Independent – 4 5

1844 By 1841, the Family Compact had started calling itself Tories as well. This election also saw the creation of the Liberal Party, made up of pro-Patriot members from Canada East, who spoke English. Movement Canada West Canada East Total Seats ConservativeRight-Wing Tories – 28 Tories – 13 41 ReformLeft-Wing Reform – 12 Patriotes – 23 Liberal-5 40 Non-AlignedIndependent Independent – 1 Independent – 1 2

1848 By 1848, the Reformers were popular once more in Canada West. Movement Canada West Canada East Total Seats ReformLeft-Wing Reform – 23 Patriotes – 23 Liberal – 9 55 ConservativeRight-Wing Tories – 18 Tories – 6 24 Non-AlignedIndependent Independent – 1 Independent – 1 2

Due to the problems of the last parliament, the Governor General was ordered to sign everything that came from this legislature, marking the birth of responsible government in Canada. This was the celebrated Ministry of Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine and Robert Baldwin.

1851 Before the 1851 election, the Patriotes changed their name to Ministeralists. After being popular and in power for so long, they began to somewhat favour the status quo, and began to lose their "radical" roots. The remaining Patriotes, became "Rouges", or "Reds" in English. Movement Canada West Canada East Total Seats Status Quo ReformLeft-of-Center Reform – 20 Ministeralists – 23 Liberal-9 52 ConservativeRight-Wing Tories – 20 Tories – 3 23 Radical ReformLeft-Wing None Rouges – 4 4 Non-AlignedIndependent Independent – 1 Independent – 3 4

1854 1854 was unique, seeing a new group rise. Some reformers were unhappy with the slow pace of reforms, and began to oppose the reformist government. They called themselves "Clear Grits" in Canada West, and gained the support of the Liberals and Rouges in Canada East. Also, around this time, the Tories began to refer to their group as the "Conservative Party". Movement Canada West Canada East Total Seats Status Quo ReformCentrist Reform – 19 Ministeralists – 35 54 Radical ReformLeft-Wing Clear Grits – 14 Left-wing Reform – 6 Rouges & Liberals – 19 39 ConservativeRight-Wing Conservative – 25 Conservative – 9 34 Non-AlignedIndependent Independent – 1 None 1

To stay in government, the moderate reformers formed a coalition with the Conservatives. The better-formed Conservative party, led by Sir John A. Macdonald, took over the Reform Party, and the remaining Reformers left for the Clear Grits, renaming the party, the Liberal Party. The Liberal Party is still known as the 'Grits' in most of English speaking Canada today.

1858 1858 saw the birth of the "Bleu" movement in Quebec. Former Ministeralists became French-Canadian Tories, and took on the name "Bleu" or Blue, to oppose the Rouges. The "new" politics were more Liberal vs. Conservative than Reform vs. the status quo as many former Reformers began to sit with the Conservatives. This Ministry was headed by George Brown. Movement Canada West Canada East Total Seats LiberalLeft-Wing Liberal – 34 Rouges – 10 Liberal – 5 49 ConservativeRight-Wing Conservative – 24 Conservative – 15 39 Former ReformerCentrist Moderate Reformer – 5 Bleu – 33 38 Non-AlignedIndependent Independent – 1 None 1

1861 The election of 1861 saw the Liberal party finally become united. This election is notable as 29 Liberals were equally elected from each half of the Province of Canada, and 35 MPs supportive of the Conservative/Centrist movements were equally elected from each half, which created a regionally balanced government. Movement Canada West Canada East Total Seats LiberalLeft-Wing Liberal – 29 Liberal – 29 58 ConservativeRight-Wing Conservative – 29 Conservative – 8 37 Former ReformerCentrist Moderate Reformer – 6 Bleu – 27 33 Non-AlignedIndependent None None None

1863 The final election for the Province of Canada took place in 1863. By this time, most liberals and conservatives were in favour of representation by population and confederation. George Brown led a group of Upper Canadian liberals to form a coalition with the Upper Canadian conservatives and the Lower Canadian Bleus, and began a discussion on confederation of all of the British North America colonies. The confederation project received wide support from Upper Canada, general opposition from the maritimes and Lower Canada was divided. Confederation was eventually achieved when 3 of the 6 colonies joined together to become the first four provinces of Canada. Movement Canada West Canada East Total Seats LiberalLeft-Wing Liberal – 41 Liberal – 25 66 ConservativeRight-Wing Conservative – 24 Conservative – 11 35 Former ReformerCentrist Moderate Reformer – 2 Bleu – 25 27 Non-AlignedIndependent None Independent – 1 1

This election was followed by the first federal election, the 1867 Canadian federal election, and later on the first provincial elections. 1867 marked the beginning of two founding myths: the founding of the Canadian nation in English Canada and the pact between two founding peoples in French Canada.

When Canada became a Dominion of the British Empire, the Conservatives and Liberals retained their names, while the former Reformers became Liberal-Conservatives, and continued to work very closely with the Conservative Party.

List of elections in the Province of Canada

Bron en licentie