1897 Newfoundland general election
October 28, 1897
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36 seats of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly 19 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 75.30%[1] ( 0.94pp) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1897 Newfoundland general election was held on October 28, 1897 to elect members of the 18th General Assembly of Newfoundland. The Conservative Party led by James Spearman Winter formed the government. On February 15, 1900, the government was defeated following a vote on a motion of no confidence which was supported by the Liberals and several Tories.
Results
| Party | Leader | 1893 | Candidates | Seats won | Seat change | % of seats (% change) |
Popular vote | % of vote (% change) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | James Winter | 12 | 36 | 23 | 11 | 63.89% (30.56%) |
47,581 | 55.89% (10.30%) | |
| Liberal | William Whiteway | 23 | 36 | 13 | 10 | 36.11% (27.78%) |
36,062 | 42.36% (8.32%) | |
| Other | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0.00% ( 2.78%) |
1,490 | 1.75% ( 1.97%) | ||
| Totals | 36 | 76 | 36 | 100% | 85,133[b] | 100% | |||
Results by district
- Names in boldface type represent party leaders.
- † indicates that the incumbent did not run again.
- ‡ indicates that the incumbent ran in a different district.
St. John's
| Electoral district | Candidates | Incumbent | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal (historical) | Conservative (historical) | Other | ||||||
| St. John's East 78.79% turnout |
John P. Fox 1,973 19.06% |
Edward Shea 1,531 14.79% |
Thomas Keating (Independent)[2] 669 6.46% |
John P. Fox | ||||
| Thomas Murphy 1,720 16.62% |
Robert Parsons Jr. 1,478 14.28% |
Charles Hultan† | ||||||
| Lawrence Furlong 1,577 15.24% |
Patrick O'Neil[3] 1,401 13.54% |
Lawrence Furlong | ||||||
| St. John's West 81.99% turnout |
Edward Morris 1,752 19.04% |
Thomas White[3] 1,461 15.88% |
Edward Morris | |||||
| James Tessier 1,610 17.50% |
Charles Ryan[3] 1,418 15.41% |
Patrick Scott‡ (ran in Placentia and St. Mary's) | ||||||
| James Callanan 1,588 17.26% |
Jacob Chafe[3] 1,371 14.90% |
George Tessier† | ||||||
Conception Bay
| Electoral district | Candidates | Incumbent | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal (historical) | Conservative (historical) | Other | ||||||
| Bay de Verde 80.98% turnout |
Henry J. B. Woods 829 22.64% |
Abram Kean 1,035 28.27% |
Henry Woods | |||||
| Michael Knight 784 21.41% |
William Rogerson 1,013 27.67% |
John Ayre† | ||||||
| Carbonear 71.75% turnout |
William Duff 537 51.68% |
Alfred Penney 502 48.32% |
William Duff | |||||
| Harbour Grace 76.00% turnout |
William Horwood 1,073 17.57% |
William Ward[4] 915 14.98% |
D. J. Green (Independent) 247 4.04% |
Henry Dawe | ||||
| Eli Dawe 1,060 17.35% |
Henry Dawe 902 14.77% |
William Whiteway‡ (ran in Trinity Bay) | ||||||
| William Oke 1,050 17.19% |
Graham Munn 861 14.10% |
Eli Dawe | ||||||
| Harbour Main 74.80% turnout |
Frank Morris 687 20.56% |
John St. John 1,038 31.06% |
Frank Morris | |||||
| Richard MacDonnell 599 17.92% |
William Woodford 1,018 30.46% |
William Woodford | ||||||
| Port de Grave 69.18% turnout |
James Clift 390 30.12% |
Charles Dawe 905 69.88% |
Charles Dawe | |||||
Avalon Peninsula
| Electoral district | Candidates | Incumbent | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal (historical) | Conservative (historical) | Other | ||||||
| Ferryland 86.88% turnout |
Michael Cashin 809 32.03% |
George Shea 677 26.80% |
Michael Condon (Independent) 245 9.70% |
Michael Cashin | ||||
| Martin Furlong[5] 512 20.27% |
J. E. White 283 11.20% |
Daniel Greene† | ||||||
| Placentia and St. Mary's 78.32% turnout |
Richard McGrath 1,005 12.55% |
William J. S. Donnelly 1,769 22.09% |
Richard McGrath | |||||
| Patrick Scott 930 11.61% |
Rhodie Callahan 1,707 21.31% |
Michael Tobin† | ||||||
| William O'Reilly[6] 894 11.16% |
Michael Carty 1,704 21.28% |
John Dunphy† | ||||||
Eastern Newfoundland
| Electoral district | Candidates | Incumbent | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal (historical) | Conservative (historical) | |||||
| Bonavista Bay 69.56% turnout |
James Tait 829 8.45% |
Darius Blandford 2,524 25.73% |
Donald Morison† | |||
| Albert Martin[7] 788 8.03% |
John Cowan 2,519 25.68% |
Alfred Morine‡ (ran in Twillingate) | ||||
| James Blandford[7] 767 7.81% |
John A. Robinson 2,384 24.30% |
Darius Blandford | ||||
| Trinity Bay 78.89% turnout |
William Whiteway 1,317 12.19% |
Robert Bremner 2,507 23.20% |
William Horwood‡ (ran in Harbour Grace) | |||
| George Gushue 1,250 11.57% |
Robert Watson 2,317 21.44% |
George Gushue | ||||
| George Johnson 1,229 11.37% |
Levi March 2,186 20.23% |
George Johnson | ||||
Central Newfoundland
| Electoral district | Candidates | Incumbent | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal (historical) | Conservative (historical) | |||||
| Fogo 67.10% turnout |
Charles Earle[7] 464 39.22% |
Thomas Duder 719 60.78% |
Thomas Duder | |||
| Twillingate 78.94% turnout |
Robert Bond 1,865 18.85% |
Alan Goodridge 1,674 16.92% |
Giles Foote† | |||
| Donald Browning 1,688 17.06% |
Alfred Morine 1,606 16.23% |
Augustus Goodridge† | ||||
| George Roberts 1,615 16.32% |
Joshua Taverner 1,447 14.62% |
Michael Knight‡ (ran in Bay de Verde) | ||||
Southern and Western Newfoundland
| Electoral district | Candidates | Incumbent | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal (historical) | Conservative (historical) | Other | ||||||
| Burgeo and LaPoile 69.94% turnout |
James Murray[8][9] 440 40.93% |
Henry Mott 635 59.07% |
Henry Mott | |||||
| Burin 75.39% turnout |
Henry Gear 578 17.85% |
James Winter 1,072 33.10% |
James Pitman‡ (ran in Fortune Bay) | |||||
| William B. Payne 577 17.81% |
John Lake 1,012 31.24% |
Henry Gear | ||||||
| Fortune Bay 64.21% turnout |
James Pitman 474 37.80% |
Henry Hayward 780 62.20% |
Vacant[c] | |||||
| St. Barbe 58.40% turnout |
Alexander A. Parsons 355 36.75% |
Albert Bradshaw 611 63.25% |
Alexander Parsons | |||||
| St. George's 74.57% turnout |
Maurice Devine 447 32.51% |
Michael Gibbs 599 43.56% |
James Hayse[10] (Independent) 329 23.93% |
Michael Carty‡ (ran in Placentia and St. Mary's) | ||||
Notes
- ^ Not the incumbent, but ran in this district and won.
- ^ This figure includes votes cast for more than one candidate in multi-member districts. A total of 49,386 individual votes were cast in this election.[1]
- ^ James Fraser Jr. had been elected in 1893, but he had died while in office on April 22, 1896.
References
- ^ a b A Year Book and Almanac of Newfoundland for 1898 (PDF). St. John's, NL: J. W. Withers. 1897. pp. 18A–18B. Retrieved January 3, 2026.
- ^ "Note from Mr. Keating". Evening Telegram. September 27, 1897. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
- ^ a b c d "Nomination". Evening Telegram. October 18, 1897. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
- ^ "Nomination Day". Harbour Grace Standard. October 22, 1897. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
- ^ "Martin Furlong's Failure". Daily News. October 28, 1897. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
- ^ "The Deadly Parallel! Electors, Read This!". Evening Telegram. October 5, 1897. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
- ^ "Editorial Notes". Evening Telegram. September 13, 1897. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
- ^ "Political Pars". The Daily News. September 14, 1897. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
- ^ "Devine vs. Gibbs: For Whom Shall You Vote". Evening Telegram. October 20, 1897. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
Further reading
- Riggs, Bert (1981). "General Election #18: October 28, 1897". Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, volume 1. St. John's: Harry Cuff Publications Ltd. Retrieved May 26, 2025.