1874 Canadian federal election

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox election The 1874 Canadian federal election was held on January 22, 1874, to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada 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 Tories were unable to recover from the scandal and lost the next election.

The Liberals under Mackenzie had formed a government on November 7 and then called an election for January.

The election was the first general election after Prince Edward Island's entry into Confederation.

Mackenzie was a reformer, and the 1874 election was the first Canadian election to use secret ballots. He promised to reform election laws in other ways too, including the introduction of simultaneous voting (all seats filled at once instead of successively in a long-drawn-out election period), judicial consideration of contested elections, and extension of the franchise. He also made most important pledges concerning railway projects.<ref>James W. Daschuk, Fear and Loathing at the Geologic Survey (1991 M.A. thesis), p. 54. accessed online Jan. 3, 2025</ref>

Louis Riel, former leader of the Red River rebellion, was elected as an Independent in Manitoba in 1874 but never took his seat.

National results

File:1874 Canadian parliament.svg

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 Template:Webarchive, Detailed riding results Template:Webarchive

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	QC	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