Bothwell (Canadian electoral district)

Bothwell
Ontario electoral district
Defunct federal electoral district
LegislatureHouse of Commons
District created1867
District abolished1903
First contested1867
Last contested1900

Bothwell was a federal electoral district in the Canadian province of Ontario, which was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1904. It is sometimes also considered one of Ontario's historic counties, as it was listed in some post-Confederation census records as a county of residence.

District

At its creation in 1867, Bothwell consisted of the Kent County townships of Bothwell, Camden, Dresden, Howard, Orford, Ridgetown, Thamesville and Zone, and the Lambton County townships of Dawn, Euphemia and Sombra. In 1882, the Townships of Euphemia, Orford and Howard were excluded from the riding, and the township of Chatham, the villages of Wallaceburg, Dresden and Thamesville, and the town of Bothwell were added to the riding.

The electoral district was abolished in 1903 when it was redistributed between Kent East, Kent West, Simcoe East and Simcoe South ridings.


Members of Parliament

This riding elected the following members of the House of Commons of Canada:

Parliament Years Member Party
1st  1867–1872     David Mills Liberal
2nd  1872–1874
3rd  1874–1876
 1876–1878
4th  1878–1882
5th  1882–1884     John Joseph Hawkins Liberal–Conservative
 1884–1887     David Mills Liberal
6th  1887–1891
7th  1891–1896
8th  1896–1900     James Clancy Conservative
9th  1900–1904
Riding dissolved into Kent East, Kent West, Simcoe East and Simcoe South


Election results

1867 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes
Liberal David Mills 1,333
Conservative David Glass 1,224
Source: Canadian Elections Database[1]
1872 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes
Liberal David Mills 1,727
Unknown C. R. Atkinson 1,135
1874 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes
Liberal David Mills 1,600
Unknown ? Dobbyn 1,137

Mr. David Mills was appointed Minister of the Interior and Superintendent General of Indian Affairs, 24 October 1876:

By-election on 15 November 1876
Party Candidate Votes
Liberal David Mills 1,650
Unknown James Dawson 1,142


1878 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes
Liberal David Mills 1,852
Liberal–Conservative John Joseph Hawkins
1882 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes
Liberal–Conservative John Joseph Hawkins 1,520
Liberal David Mills 1,504

Election declared void Mr. J.J. Hawkins was declared not duly elected and was unseated by judgement of Supreme Court. The seat was awarded to his opponent, 25 February 1884:

By-election on 25 February 1884
Party Candidate Votes
Liberal David Mills acclaimed


1887 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes
Liberal David Mills 2,182
Conservative Geo. M. D. Mitchell 2,161
1891 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes
Liberal David Mills 2,006
Conservative G. R. Langford 1,456
Unknown A. McLartey 1,088
1896 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes
Conservative James Clancy 2,587
Liberal David Mills 2,528
1900 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes
Conservative James Clancy 2,547
Liberal David A. Gordon 2,430

  1. ^ Sayers, Anthony M. "1867 Federal Election". Canadian Elections Database. Archived from the original on 22 January 2024.