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2nd Parliament of Ontario
The Second Parliament of Ontario (or the 2nd Legislature of Ontario, as it was known then) was the legislature of Ontario that consisted of representative elected in the Ontario general election held on March 21, 1871, and held office until December 23, 1874, just prior to the 1875 general election. It is now generally accepted that that the Ontario Liberals led by Edward Blake have won a majority of the eighty-two seats in this legislature.
During the course of this legislature, the Edward Blake and his Liberal ministry replaced incumbent Premier John Sandfield Macdonald and his Patent Combination ministry in December 1871, effecting the province very first transition of power. The Blake ministry governed the province for only ten months. Blake and his finance minister Alexander Mackenzie, who later served as Prime Minister of Canada, along with a few key members of the on the Conservative side, resigned in late 1872 in order to contest the 1872 dominion election (as federal election was then known as). Blake however persuaded Oliver Mowat, a former member of a number of pre-confederation ministries, to resign his judicial role and succeed him as premier. The Mowat ministry, consisted of some members who served in the Blake ministry and some new members, took office on October 25, 1872. Accordingly, the first three Ontario Premiers – Macdonald, Blake, and Mowat – held office during the course of this parliament.
Richard William Scott served as speaker for the assembly until he was named to cabinet on December 21, 1871. James George Currie succeeded Scott as speaker, serving until his resignation on March 29, 1873. Rupert Mearse Wells then succeeded Currie as speaker.
There were 82 seats in the second legislature, 58 in the Liberal strongholds of Western, Central, and Northern Ontario, and 24 in much more conservative Eastern Ontario.
Even though the election was held in March 1871, its results was not reflected in the make up of the Ontario government until December that year. While it is now generally accepted that that the Ontario Liberals led by Edward Blake secured a slim edge over the incumbent Conservatives led by Premier John Sandfield Macdonald, such an understanding was partially developed with the benefit of hindsight on a period during which the Liberals' ousted the Sandfield Macdonald ministry, commenced the building of a far more expansive administration, and within a year carried out an orderly transition of its party and the government leadership while largely remained stable and united, in doing so ushering in the longest-tenured ministry in the province's history. Few would have predicted the decades of stable government in the early months of this parliament, however, as the event followed the election harkened back to the disputes and gridlocks that plagued the government of the Province of Ontario before confederation.
The results, as reported in formal records compiled in years by the Legislative Assembly and made available to the public (and in more recent years also reproduced by Elections Ontario) were as follows.
Partisan affiliations were not recorded in contemporaneous formal elections record. Affiliations presented are the party affiliations as recorded in various resources maintained by the Legislative Assembly, which were not all compiled contemporaneously. Even contemporaneous affiliations data were a mixture of both formal undisputed declaration (made by the candidates or the parties), assessments by third parties such as the press, and presumptions from other events such as acceptance of specific offices. Such data inevitably contains some uncertainties, time lags, or inaccuracies, reflecting the lesser formality and permanence in partisan affiliation in that era.
Following the election, the incumbent Conservatives refused to concede and clung on to power for nine months until December 19, 1871. It claimed to commend the confidence of new parliament, but avoided testing that confidence by delaying the convocation of the new parliament seven times. While its reasoning were less than credible, the government was able to resisted calls for its resignation by leaning on uncertainties provided through a combination of factors.
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2nd Parliament of Ontario
The Second Parliament of Ontario (or the 2nd Legislature of Ontario, as it was known then) was the legislature of Ontario that consisted of representative elected in the Ontario general election held on March 21, 1871, and held office until December 23, 1874, just prior to the 1875 general election. It is now generally accepted that that the Ontario Liberals led by Edward Blake have won a majority of the eighty-two seats in this legislature.
During the course of this legislature, the Edward Blake and his Liberal ministry replaced incumbent Premier John Sandfield Macdonald and his Patent Combination ministry in December 1871, effecting the province very first transition of power. The Blake ministry governed the province for only ten months. Blake and his finance minister Alexander Mackenzie, who later served as Prime Minister of Canada, along with a few key members of the on the Conservative side, resigned in late 1872 in order to contest the 1872 dominion election (as federal election was then known as). Blake however persuaded Oliver Mowat, a former member of a number of pre-confederation ministries, to resign his judicial role and succeed him as premier. The Mowat ministry, consisted of some members who served in the Blake ministry and some new members, took office on October 25, 1872. Accordingly, the first three Ontario Premiers – Macdonald, Blake, and Mowat – held office during the course of this parliament.
Richard William Scott served as speaker for the assembly until he was named to cabinet on December 21, 1871. James George Currie succeeded Scott as speaker, serving until his resignation on March 29, 1873. Rupert Mearse Wells then succeeded Currie as speaker.
There were 82 seats in the second legislature, 58 in the Liberal strongholds of Western, Central, and Northern Ontario, and 24 in much more conservative Eastern Ontario.
Even though the election was held in March 1871, its results was not reflected in the make up of the Ontario government until December that year. While it is now generally accepted that that the Ontario Liberals led by Edward Blake secured a slim edge over the incumbent Conservatives led by Premier John Sandfield Macdonald, such an understanding was partially developed with the benefit of hindsight on a period during which the Liberals' ousted the Sandfield Macdonald ministry, commenced the building of a far more expansive administration, and within a year carried out an orderly transition of its party and the government leadership while largely remained stable and united, in doing so ushering in the longest-tenured ministry in the province's history. Few would have predicted the decades of stable government in the early months of this parliament, however, as the event followed the election harkened back to the disputes and gridlocks that plagued the government of the Province of Ontario before confederation.
The results, as reported in formal records compiled in years by the Legislative Assembly and made available to the public (and in more recent years also reproduced by Elections Ontario) were as follows.
Partisan affiliations were not recorded in contemporaneous formal elections record. Affiliations presented are the party affiliations as recorded in various resources maintained by the Legislative Assembly, which were not all compiled contemporaneously. Even contemporaneous affiliations data were a mixture of both formal undisputed declaration (made by the candidates or the parties), assessments by third parties such as the press, and presumptions from other events such as acceptance of specific offices. Such data inevitably contains some uncertainties, time lags, or inaccuracies, reflecting the lesser formality and permanence in partisan affiliation in that era.
Following the election, the incumbent Conservatives refused to concede and clung on to power for nine months until December 19, 1871. It claimed to commend the confidence of new parliament, but avoided testing that confidence by delaying the convocation of the new parliament seven times. While its reasoning were less than credible, the government was able to resisted calls for its resignation by leaning on uncertainties provided through a combination of factors.