Ontario general election, 1919

Ontario general election, 1919

October 20, 1919

111 seats in the 15th Legislative Assembly of Ontario 56 seats were needed for a majority   First party Second party   UFO LIB Leader none Hartley Dewart Party United Farmers Liberal Leader since - June 26, 1919 Leader's seat - Toronto Southwest Last election pre-creation 24 Seats won 44 27 Seat change +44 +3 Percentage 21.7% 26.9% Swing +21.7% -11.7%   Third party Fourth party   LAB Leader William Hearst Walter Rollo Party Conservative Labour Leader since 1914 - Leader's seat Sault Ste. Marie (lost re-election) Hamilton West Last election 84 1 Seats won 25 11 Seat change -59 +10 Percentage 34.9% 11.6% Swing -20.4% +10.3%

Premier before election William Hearst Conservative Premier-designate Ernest C. Drury United Farmers

The Ontario general election, 1919 was the 15th general election held in the Province of Ontario, Canada. It was held on October 20, 1919, to elect the 111 Members of the 15th Legislative Assembly of Ontario ("MLAs").

The Ontario Conservative Party, led by Sir William Hearst, was soundly defeated in a bid for a fifth consecutive term in office by the newly formed United Farmers of Ontario.

This election put an end to 14 years of continuous Ontario Conservative Party rule, much of it under James Whitney. Whitney had died in 1914.

The UFO ran in the election without a party leader and with only one incumbent MLA, Beniah Bowman, who had entered the legislature the previous year by winning a by-election in Manitoulan. When they emerged from the vote with the largest bloc of seats, they joined the eleven Labour MLAs to form a coalition and approached Ernest C. Drury to lead the new government as Premier of Ontario. Drury had not been a candidate in the election and had to run in a by-election to enter the legislature following his appointment to the office of Premier. Liberal-UFO MLA David James Taylor of Grey North and "Soldier" MLA Joseph McNamara of Riverdale and Labour-UFO MLA Karl Homuth of Waterloo South were also members of the governing caucus giving Drury's coalition 58 seats in total.

The Ontario Liberal Party, led by Hartley Dewart, was able to maintain and increase its caucus by a small number. It was the Conservative Party that lost the most ground to the UFO and Labour.

Results

	Party	Leader	1914	Elected	% change	Popular vote
%	change
	United Farmers		*	44	*	21.7%	*
	Liberal	Hartley Dewart	24	27	+12.5%	26.9%	-11.7
	Conservative	William Hearst	84	25	-70.2%	34.9%	-20.4%
	Labour	Walter Rollo	1	11	+1000%	11.6%	+10.3%
	Liberal-United Farmers		*	1	*
	Labour-United Farmers		*	1	*
	Soldier		*	1	*
	Liberal Independent		1	1	-
	Liberal-Temperance		1	-	-
Total Seats			111	111	-	100%

Note:

* Party did not nominate candidates in the previous election.

See also

• Politics of Ontario
• List of Ontario political parties
• Premier of Ontario
• Leader of the Opposition (Ontario)