1874 Canadian federal election

Canadian federal election, 1874

January 22, 1874
206 seats in the 3rd Canadian Parliament 104 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   Leader Alexander Mackenzie John A. Macdonald Party Liberal Conservative Leader since March 6, 1873 July 1, 1867 Leader's seat Lambton Kingston Last election 95 99 Seats won 129 65 Seat change +34 –34 Popular vote 128,455 97,925 Percentage 39.49% 30.11% Swing +4.77pp –8.36pp
Prime Minister before election Alexander Mackenzie Liberal Prime Minister after election Alexander Mackenzie Liberal

The Canadian parliament after the 1874 election

The Canadian federal election of 1874 was held on January 22, 1874, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 3rd Parliament of Canada. Sir John A. Macdonald, who had recently been forced out of office as prime minister, and his Conservatives were defeated by the Liberal Party under their new leader Prime Minister Alexander Mackenzie.

Macdonald's government had been forced to resign on November 5, 1873 because of allegations of corruption relating to the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway (see the Pacific Scandal). The Liberals under Mackenzie formed a government two days later with an election called for January. The Tories were unable to recover from the scandal and lost the election as a result.

The election was the first to occur following Prince Edward Island's entry into Confederation, and the first to use secret ballots in Canada.

Voter turn-out: 69.6%

National results

3rd Parliament
Party		Party leader	# of candidates	Seats			Popular vote
				1872	Elected	Change	#	%	Change	Liberal	Alexander Mackenzie	140	95	129	+35.8%	128,455	39.49%	+4.77pp	Conservative	John A. Macdonald	65	63	39	-38.1%	57,691	17.74%	-8.02pp	Liberal-Conservative1	38	36	26	-27.8%	40,234	12.37%	-0.53pp	Conservative Labour		1	1	-	-100%	1,515	0.47%	+0.02pp	Independents		7	1	4	+300%	10,453	3.21%	+1.58pp	Independent Liberal		5	2	5	+300%	6,541	2.01%	+0.37pp	Independent Conservative		3	2	3	+50%	2,360	0.73%	+0.03pp	Unknown		104	-	-	-	78,008	23.98%	+1.78pp
Total			355	200	206	+3.0%	325,247	100%
Source: Parliamentary website, Detailed riding results

Notes:

¹ Liberal-Conservatives sat with the Conservative caucus in the House of Commons.

Acclamations

The following Members of Parliament were elected by acclamation;

• Ontario: 1 Liberal-Conservative, 13 Liberals
• Quebec: 10 Conservatives, 4 Liberal-Conservatives, 15 Liberals
• New Brunswick: 1 Conservative, 3 Liberals, 1 Independent Liberal
• Nova Scotia: 5 Liberals
• Prince Edward Island: 2 Liberals

Results by province

Party name			BC	MB	ON	QU	NB	NS	PEI	Total	Liberal	Seats	3	1	61	34	10	15	5	129	Popular vote	34.1	47.0	39.6	34.8	47.1	38.1	56.8	39.5	Conservative	Seats	1	1	15	17	2	2	1	39	Vote	4.5	13.8	19.5	17.6	6.8	17.8	17.5	17.7	Liberal-Conservative	Seats	1		10	12	1	2	-	26	Vote	16.9		10.4	14.9	8.6	19.2	15.4	12.4	Conservative Labour	Seats			-					-	Vote			0.9					0.5	Unknown	Seats									Vote	29.2	13.8	27.2	27.5	19.9	9.0	10.3	24.0	Independent	Seats		1	-	-	2	1		4	Vote		9.5	0.8	2.3	17.6	7.7		3.2	Independent Liberal	Seats	1		2		1	1		5	Vote	15.4		1.7			8.2		2.0	Independent Conservative	Seats		1		2				3	Vote		15.9		2.9				0.7
Total seats			6	4	88	65	16	21	6	206

See also

• List of Canadian federal general elections

For a list of candidates elected in the 1874 election, see 3rd Canadian Parliament.