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1902 Ontario general election
← outgoing members
98 seats in the 10th Legislative Assembly of Ontario ; 50 seats were needed for a majority
Premier before election; George William Ross; Liberal	Premier after election ; George William Ross; Liberal

The 1902 Ontario general election was the tenth general election held in the Province of Ontario, Canada. It was held on May 29, 1902, to elect the 98 Members of the 10th Legislative Assembly of Ontario ("MLAs").^[1]

The Ontario Liberal Party, led by Sir George William Ross, formed the government for a ninth consecutive term, although with only a very slim, two-seat majority in the legislature.

The Ontario Conservative Party, led by Sir James P. Whitney formed the official opposition.

Expansion of the Legislative Assembly

The number of electoral districts was increased from 93 to 97, under an Act passed in 1902. Ottawa in both cases was entitled to elect two members, and thus 98 MLAs would now be elected to the legislature.^[2] The following electoral changes were made:

Algoma West was divided into Fort William and Lake of the Woods and Port Arthur and Rainy River
Algoma East was divided into Algoma, Manitoulin and Sault Ste. Marie
Nipissing was divided into Nipissing East and Nipissing West

Notable candidates

Margaret Haile, a Canadian Socialist League candidate in Toronto North, made history as the first woman ever to run for political office in Canada.^[3]

Results

Elections to the 10th Parliament of Ontario (1902)^[1]
Political party		Party leader	MPPs					Votes
Political party		Party leader	Candidates	1898	Dissol.	1902	±	#	%	± (pp)
	Liberal	George William Ross	94	51		50	1	206,709	47.54%	0.25
	Conservative	James P. Whitney	97	42		48	6	215,883	49.65%	1.96
	Independent Conservative		2	1		–	1	1,646	0.38%	0.03
	Independent		4	–	–	–		5,133	1.18%	3.42
	Prohibitionist		6	–	–	–		3,126	0.72%	New
	Socialist		9	–	–	–		1,993	0.46%	New
	Socialist Labour		4	–	–	–		277	0.06%	New
	Labour		1	–	–	–		Did not campaign
	Vacant
Total			216	94	94	98		434,767	100.00%
Blank and invalid ballots								4,021
Registered voters / turnout								588,570	74.55%	7.50

Seats and popular vote by party
	Seats	Votes	Change (pp)
Liberal	50 / 94	47.54%	0.25	0.25
Conservative	48 / 94	49.65%	1.96	1.96
Other	0 / 94	2.81%	-2.21

Synopsis of results

Results by riding - 1902 Ontario general election^[1]
Riding^{[a 1]}	Winning party								Turnout	Votes
Name^{[a 2]}	1898		Party		Votes	Share	Margin #	Margin %		Lib	Con	I-Con	Ind	Oth	Total
Name^{[a 2]}	1898		Party		Votes	Share	Margin #	Margin %							Total

Addington		Con		Con	1,711	60.14%	577	20.28%	59.37%	1,134	1,711	–	–	–	2,845
Algoma	New			Con	1,753	53.46%	227	6.92%	53.53%	1,526	1,753	–	–	–	3,279
Brant North		Lib		Lib	1,205	53.37%	152	6.73%	78.47%	1,205	1,053	–	–	–	2,258
Brant South		Lib		Lib	2,727	53.32%	340	6.65%	75.97%	2,727	2,387	–	–	–	5,114
Brockville		Lib		Lib	2,192	54.69%	376	9.38%	76.05%	2,192	1,816	–	–	–	4,008
Bruce Centre		Lib		Con	1,836	50.07%	5	0.14%	75.19%	1,831	1,836	–	–	–	3,667
Bruce North		Lib		Lib	2,477	52.86%	268	5.72%	76.85%	2,477	2,209	–	–	–	4,686
Bruce South		Lib		Lib	1,932	50.84%	64	1.68%	74.67%	1,932	1,868	–	–	–	3,800
Cardwell		Con		Con	2,003	62.63%	808	25.27%	56.50%	1,195	2,003	–	–	–	3,198
Carleton		I-Con		Con	1,971	72.57%	1,226	45.14%	54.68%	745	1,971	–	–	–	2,716
Dufferin		Con		Con	2,242	71.40%	1,344	42.80%	50.78%	–	2,242	–	–	898	3,140
Dundas		Con		Con	2,470	55.68%	504	11.36%	80.83%	1,966	2,470	–	–	–	4,436
Durham East		Con		Con	1,833	61.47%	684	22.94%	68.76%	1,149	1,833	–	–	–	2,982
Durham West		Con		Lib	1,706	51.32%	88	2.65%	86.05%	1,706	1,618	–	–	–	3,324
Elgin East		Con		Con	2,177	51.32%	112	2.64%	78.74%	2,065	2,177	–	–	–	4,242
Elgin West		Con		Con	3,027	50.63%	502	8.40%	77.19%	2,525	3,027	–	–	427	5,979
Essex North		Lib		Con	2,940	52.95%	328	5.91%	66.69%	2,612	2,940	–	–	–	5,552
Essex South		Lib		Lib	2,847	54.67%	486	9.33%	72.92%	2,847	2,361	–	–	–	5,208
Fort William and Lake of the Woods	New			Lib	1,483	56.95%	362	13.90%	52.78%	1,483	1,121	–	–	–	2,604
Frontenac		Con		Con	1,774	50.82%	57	1.63%	73.76%	1,717	1,774	–	–	–	3,491
Glengarry		Con		Con	2,128	56.42%	484	12.83%	69.14%	1,644	2,128	–	–	–	3,772
Grenville		Con		Con	2,261	61.74%	860	23.48%	61.11%	1,401	2,261	–	–	–	3,662
Grey Centre		Con		Con	acclaimed
Grey North		Con		Lib	2,930	50.04%	5	0.09%	78.08%	2,930	2,925	–	–	–	5,855
Grey South		Con		Con	2,503	54.79%	438	9.59%	73.37%	2,065	2,503	–	–	–	4,568
Haldimand		Lib		Lib	1,705	52.27%	148	4.54%	71.72%	1,705	–	1,557	–	–	3,262
Halton		Lib		Lib	2,365	50.17%	16	0.34%	83.90%	2,365	2,349	–	–	–	4,714
Hamilton East		Con		Con	2,576	47.85%	143	2.66%	77.75%	2,433	2,576	–	–	375	5,384
Hamilton West		Con		Con	2,422	48.67%	152	3.05%	77.67%	2,270	2,422	89	–	195	4,976
Hastings East		Lib		Lib	1,962	50.46%	36	0.93%	82.69%	1,962	1,926	–	–	–	3,888
Hastings North		Con		Con	2,643	53.18%	316	6.36%	69.43%	2,327	2,643	–	–	–	4,970
Hastings West		Con		Con	1,884	54.66%	321	9.31%	64.34%	1,563	1,884	–	–	–	3,447
Huron East		Lib		Lib	2,299	55.63%	465	11.25%	78.18%	2,299	1,834	–	–	–	4,133
Huron South		Con		Con	2,497	50.54%	53	1.07%	83.44%	2,444	2,497	–	–	–	4,941
Huron West		Lib		Lib	2,458	50.21%	21	0.43%	80.84%	2,458	2,437	–	–	–	4,895
Kent East		Lib		Lib	2,468	50.81%	276	5.68%	66.62%	2,468	2,192	–	197	–	4,857
Kent West		Lib		Lib	3,714	51.63%	235	3.27%	76.49%	3,714	3,479	–	–	–	7,193
Kingston		Lib		Lib	2,043	51.72%	136	3.44%	86.38%	2,043	1,907	–	–	–	3,950
Lambton East		Lib		Lib	2,530	51.05%	104	2.10%	81.33%	2,530	2,426	–	–	–	4,956
Lambton West		Lib		Con	3,847	51.01%	152	2.02%	77.13%	3,695	3,847	–	–	–	7,542
Lanark North		Lib		Lib	1,811	51.13%	80	2.26%	81.79%	1,811	1,731	–	–	–	3,542
Lanark South		Con		Con	2,098	63.60%	897	27.19%	83.98%	1,201	2,098	–	–	–	3,299
Leeds		Con		Con	2,062	57.04%	509	14.08%	65.19%	1,553	2,062	–	–	–	3,615
Lennox		Lib		Con	1,566	50.05%	3	0.10%	77.89%	1,563	1,566	–	–	–	3,129
Lincoln		Con		Con	3,199	54.34%	695	11.81%	81.07%	2,504	3,199	–	–	184	5,887
London		Lib		Con	3,445	45.06%	131	1.71%	82.15%	3,314	3,445	–	–	887	7,646
Manitoulin	New			Con	1,214	51.90%	339	14.49%	44.31%	875	1,214	–	250	–	2,339
Middlesex East		Con		Lib	2,469	50.03%	21	0.43%	80.96%	2,469	2,448	–	–	18	4,935
Middlesex North		Lib		Lib	2,173	52.44%	202	4.87%	79.07%	2,173	1,971	–	–	–	4,144
Middlesex West		Lib		Lib	2,172	58.07%	604	16.15%	73.32%	2,172	1,568	–	–	–	3,740
Monck		Lib		Lib	1,876	55.14%	350	10.29%	78.25%	1,876	1,526	–	–	–	3,402
Muskoka		Lib		Lib	2,089	51.05%	86	2.10%	72.15%	2,089	2,003	–	–	–	4,092
Nipissing East	New			Lib	1,218	54.57%	204	9.14%	50.26%	1,218	1,014	–	–	–	2,232
Nipissing West	New			Lib	1,185	55.69%	242	11.37%	51.26%	1,185	943	–	–	–	2,128
Norfolk North		Lib		Con	1,704	50.34%	23	0.68%	80.13%	1,681	1,704	–	–	–	3,385
Norfolk South		Lib		Lib	1,723	51.11%	75	2.22%	83.15%	1,723	1,648	–	–	–	3,371
Northumberland East		Lib		Con	2,538	52.95%	283	5.90%	78.02%	2,255	2,538	–	–	–	4,793
Northumberland West		Lib		Lib	1,606	53.50%	210	7.00%	82.64%	1,606	1,396	–	–	–	3,002
Ontario North		Con		Con	2,219	52.17%	185	4.35%	82.20%	2,034	2,219	–	–	–	4,253
Ontario South		Con		Lib	2,632	51.29%	132	2.57%	82.99%	2,632	2,500	–	–	–	5,132
Oxford North		Lib		Lib	2,254	50.79%	1,124	25.33%	65.26%	2,254	1,054	–	1,130	–	4,438
Oxford South		Lib		Con	2,043	52.21%	173	4.42%	58.76%	1,870	2,043	–	–	–	3,913
Parry Sound		Lib		Lib	2,490	53.40%	317	6.80%	41.45%	2,490	2,173	–	–	–	4,663
Peel		Lib		Lib	2,296	51.38%	123	2.75%	81.64%	2,296	2,173	–	–	–	4,469
Perth North		Lib		Con	3,292	50.02%	2	0.03%	83.90%	3,290	3,292	–	–	–	6,582
Perth South		Lib		Lib	2,486	50.72%	71	1.45%	81.35%	2,486	2,415	–	–	–	4,901
Peterborough East		Lib		Lib	2,067	56.00%	443	12.00%	76.07%	2,067	1,624	–	–	–	3,691
Peterborough West		Lib		Lib	2,849	63.25%	1,194	26.51%	79.43%	2,849	1,655	–	–	–	4,504
Port Arthur and Rainy River	New			Lib	1,124	66.55%	559	33.10%	46.06%	1,124	565	–	–	–	1,689
Prescott		Lib		Lib	2,341	59.51%	748	19.01%	64.13%	2,341	1,593	–	–	–	3,934
Prince Edward		Con		Lib	2,273	51.31%	116	2.62%	82.05%	2,273	2,157	–	–	–	4,430
Renfrew North		Con		Lib	2,565	54.91%	459	9.83%	82.46%	2,565	2,106	–	–	–	4,671
Renfrew South		Lib		Lib	2,676	59.76%	874	19.52%	69.19%	2,676	1,802	–	–	–	4,478
Russell		Lib		Lib	2,536	59.46%	807	18.92%	53.44%	2,536	1,729	–	–	–	4,265
Sault Ste. Marie	New			Con	1,359	53.95%	199	7.90%	51.69%	1,160	1,359	–	–	–	2,519
Simcoe Centre		Con		Lib	1,857	50.60%	44	1.20%	75.49%	1,857	1,813	–	–	–	3,670
Simcoe East		Con		Lib	3,365	53.56%	447	7.11%	78.41%	3,365	2,918	–	–	–	6,283
Simcoe West		Con		Con	1,734	69.89%	987	39.78%	46.15%	–	1,734	–	–	747	2,481
Stormont		Con		Lib	2,807	53.59%	376	7.18%	75.10%	2,807	2,431	–	–	–	5,238
Toronto East		Con		Con	3,136	54.07%	922	15.90%	56.73%	2,214	3,136	–	–	450	5,800
Toronto North		Con		Con	3,838	51.19%	282	3.76%	56.62%	–	3,838	–	3,556	104	7,498
Toronto South		Con		Con	5,072	52.41%	730	7.54%	59.15%	4,342	5,072	–	–	263	9,677
Toronto West		Con		Con	4,267	58.19%	1,545	21.07%	51.24%	2,722	4,267	–	–	344	7,333
Victoria East		Con		Con	2,390	56.81%	573	13.62%	77.02%	1,817	2,390	–	–	–	4,207
Victoria West		Con		Con	2,234	51.13%	99	2.27%	78.23%	2,135	2,234	–	–	–	4,369
Waterloo North		Con		Con	2,848	52.45%	266	4.90%	74.34%	2,582	2,848	–	–	–	5,430
Waterloo South		Con		Con	2,782	50.90%	98	1.79%	72.48%	2,684	2,782	–	–	–	5,466
Welland		Lib		Lib	2,851	51.00%	112	2.00%	77.12%	2,851	2,739	–	–	–	5,590
Wellington East		Lib		Lib	2,071	56.16%	454	12.31%	70.49%	2,071	1,617	–	–	–	3,688
Wellington South		Lib		Con	2,341	48.09%	227	4.66%	75.87%	2,114	2,341	–	–	413	4,868
Wellington West		Con		Con	1,786	51.48%	103	2.97%	74.28%	1,683	1,786	–	–	–	3,469
Wentworth North		Con		Lib	1,410	50.87%	48	1.73%	71.32%	1,410	1,362	–	–	–	2,772
Wentworth South		Lib		Lib	1,526	53.66%	299	10.51%	78.83%	1,526	1,227	–	–	91	2,844
York East		Lib		Lib	1,905	54.62%	322	9.23%	67.28%	1,905	1,583	–	–	–	3,488
York North		Lib		Lib	2,828	51.90%	207	3.80%	84.94%	2,828	2,621	–	–	–	5,449
York West		Lib		Con	2,802	54.04%	419	8.08%	76.55%	2,383	2,802	–	–	–	5,185

^ excluding Ottawa, a multi-member constituency
^ order is as given in EO reports

= open seat

= turnout is above provincial average

= winning candidate was in previous Legislature

= incumbent had switched allegiance

= previously incumbent in another riding

= not incumbent; was previously elected to the Legislature

= incumbency arose from byelection gain

= incumbency arose from prior election result being overturned by the court

= other incumbents renominated

= previously an MP in the House of Commons of Canada

= multiple candidates

Results for Ottawa (2 seats)^[1]
Political party		Candidate	Votes	%	Elected	Incumbent
	Conservative	Dennis Murphy	5,770	27.15	Y
	Conservative	Charles Berkeley Powell	5,633	26.50	Y	Y
	Liberal	S. Bingham	5,154	24.25
	Liberal	Alexander Lumsden	4,698	22.10	N	Y
Majority^{[a 1]}			479	2.25
Turnout			11,247	71.85
Registered voters			15,653

^ plurality for third winning candidate

Analysis

Party candidates in 2nd place^[1]^{[a 1]}
Party in 1st place		Party in 2nd place						Total
Party in 1st place		Accl	Lib	Con	I-Con	Proh	Ind	Total
	Liberal			48	1		1	50
	Conservative	1	42			2	1	46
Total		1	42	48	1	2	2	96

^ excluding Ottawa seats

Candidates ranked 1st to 4th place, by party^[1]
Parties	Accl	1st	2nd	3rd	4th
█ Liberal		50	42	1	1
█ Conservative	1	46	49	1
█ Prohibitionist			2	4
█ Independent			2	2
█ Independent Conservative			1		1
█ Socialist				8	1
█ Socialist Labour					4

Resulting composition of the 10th Legislative Assembly of Ontario^[1]
Source		Party
Source		Lib	Con	Total
Seats retained	Incumbents returned	30	23	53
	Returned by acclamation		1	1
	Open seats held	5	4	9
	Byelection losses reversed	1	1	2
	Ouster of incumbent changing allegiance		2	2
Seats changing hands	Incumbents defeated	6	8	14
	Open seats gained	2	3	5
	Byelection gains held	2		2
	Incumbent changing allegiance		1	1
Ottawa seats	New MLA		1	1
Ottawa seats	Incumbent defeated		1	1
New seats	New MLA	3	2	5
New seats	Previously incumbent in another riding	1	1	2
Total		50	48	98

MLAs elected by region and riding

Party designations are as follows:

Liberal

Conservative

Northern Ontario

Algoma: William Ross Smyth
Fort William and Lake of the Woods: Douglas Colin Cameron
Manitoulin: Robert Roswell Gamey
Nipissing East: Michael James
Nipissing West: Joseph Michaud
Port Arthur and Rainy River: James Conmee
Sault Ste. Marie: Andrew Miscampbell^[a]

Ottawa Valley

Carleton: George Nelson Kidd
Lanark North: William Clyde Caldwell
Lanark South: Arthur James Matheson
Ottawa: Dennis Murphy
Ottawa: Charles Berkeley Powell
Prescott: Alfred Évanturel
Renfrew North: John W. Munro^[b]
Renfrew South: Francis Robert Latchford
Russell: Onésime Guibord

Saint Lawrence Valley

Central Ontario

Addington: James Reid
Durham East: Josiah Johnston Preston
Durham West: William Rickard
Frontenac: John S. Gallagher
Hastings East: Samuel Russell
Hastings North: Josiah Williams Pearce
Hastings West: Marshall Bidwell Morrison
Lennox: Thomas George Carscallen
Northumberland East: William Arnson Willoughby
Northumberland West: Samuel Clarke
Peterborough East: William A. Anderson
Peterborough West: James Robert Stratton
Prince Edward: Morley Currie
Victoria East: John Hilliard Carnegie
Victoria West: Samuel John Fox

Georgian Bay

Bruce North: Charles Martin Bowman
Grey North: Alexander Grant MacKay^[c]
Muskoka: Samuel Bridgeland
Parry Sound: Joseph Milton Carr
Simcoe Centre: David Davidson
Simcoe East: James Brockett Tudhope
Simcoe West: James Stoddart Duff

Wentworth/Halton/Niagara

Halton: John Roaf Barber
Hamilton East: Henry Carscallen
Hamilton West: John Strathearn Hendrie
Lincoln: Elisha Jessop
Monck: Richard Harcourt
Welland: John Franklin Gross
Wentworth North: Robert Adam Thompson
Wentworth South: John Dickenson

Midwestern Ontario

Brant North: Daniel Burt
Brant South: Thomas Hiram Preston
Bruce Centre: Hugh Clark^[d]
Bruce South: Reuben Eldridge Truax
Dufferin: John Barr
Grey Centre: Isaac Benson Lucas
Grey South: David Jamieson
Haldimand: Joseph William Holmes
Huron East: Archibald Hislop
Huron South: Henry Eilber
Huron West: Malcolm Graeme Cameron
Norfolk North: Frederick Snider^[e]
Norfolk South: William Andrew Charlton
Oxford North: Andrew Pattulo
Oxford South: Donald Sutherland
Perth North: John C. Monteith^[f]
Perth South: Valentine Stock
Waterloo North: Henry George Lackner
Waterloo South: William Abram Kribs
Wellington East: John Morison Gibson
Wellington South: Joseph Patrick Downey
Wellington West: James Tucker

Southwestern Ontario

Elgin East: Charles Andrew Brower
Elgin West: Findlay George MacDiarmid
Essex North: Joseph Octave Reaume
Essex South: John Allan Auld
Kent East: John Lee
Kent West: Thomas Letson Pardo
Lambton East: Henry John Pettypiece
Lambton West: William John Hanna
London: Adam Beck
Middlesex East: George Albert Routledge
Middlesex North: William Taylor
Middlesex West: George William Ross

Peel/York/Ontario

Toronto

Toronto East: Robert Allan Pyne
Toronto North: William Beattie Nesbitt
Toronto South: J.J. Foy
Toronto West: Thomas Crawford

Division of ridings

The newly created ridings returned the following MLAs:

1898			1902
Riding	Party	Riding	Party
Algoma West	█ Liberal	Fort William and Lake of the Woods	█ Liberal
Algoma West	█ Liberal	Port Arthur and Rainy River	█ Liberal
Algoma East	█ Liberal	Algoma	█ Conservative
		Manitoulin	█ Conservative
		Sault Ste. Marie	█ Conservative
Nipissing	█ Liberal	Nipissing East	█ Liberal
Nipissing	█ Liberal	Nipissing West	█ Liberal

Seats that changed hands

Elections to the 8th Parliament of Ontario – unaltered seats won/lost by party, 1898–1902
Party		1898	Gain from (loss to)						1902
Party		1898	Lib		Con		I-Con		1902
	Liberal	48			10	(12)			46
	Conservative	42	12	(10)			1		45
	Independent-Conservative	1				(1)			–
Total		91	12	(10)	10	(13)	1	–	91

Of the constituencies that were not altered, there were 23 seats that changed allegiance in the election:

Liberal to Conservative

Conservative to Liberal

Independent-Conservative to Conservative

Carleton

Notes and references

Notes

^ Election declared void because of corrupt practices. Writ for new election issued. Charles Napier Smith (Liberal) was reelected in the subsequent byelection.^[4]
^ Munro died two days after Election Day. Writ for new election issued. Edward Arunah Dunlop (Conservative) was elected in the subsequent byelection.^[4]
^ Election declared void because of corrupt practices. Writ for new election issued. McKay was reelected in the subsequent byelection.^[5]
^ Election declared void because of corrupt practices. Writ for new election issued. Clark was reelected in the subsequent byelection.^[5]
^ Election declared void because of corrupt practices. Writ for new election issued. Archibald Little (Liberal) was elected in the subsequent byelection.^[5]
^ Election determined to have ended in a tie vote, and was thus declared void. Writ for new election issued. John Brown (Liberal) was elected in the subsequent byelection.^[5]
^ Davis resigned in exchange for withdrawal of election petition. Writ for new election issued. He was reelected in the subsequent byelection.^[5]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "1902 General Election". Elections Ontario. Elections Ontario. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
^ An Act respecting the Representation of the People in the Legislative Assembly, R.S.O. 1897, c. 6 , as amended by An Act to amend the Act respecting the Representation of the People in the Legislative Assembly, S.O. 1902, c. 4
^ Janice Newton, The feminist challenge to the Canadian Left, 1900-1918.
^ ^a ^b Journals of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario. Vol. XXXVIII. Toronto: Legislative Assembly of Ontario. 1904. pp. 2–4.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Journals of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario. Vol. XXXVII. Toronto: Legislative Assembly of Ontario. 1903. pp. 41–44, 64.