Prince Edward Island general election, 1912

Prince Edward Island general election, 1912

January 3, 1912

All 30 seats in the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island 16 seats needed for a majority   First party Second party   Leader John A. Mathieson H. James Palmer Party Conservative Liberal Leader since 1903 1911 Leader's seat 5th Kings did not run Last election 13 seats, 48.4% 17 seats, 51.6% Seats won 28 2 Seat change +15 -15 Popular vote 15,963 10,994 Percentage 59.2% 40.8% Swing +10.8pp -10.8pp

Premier before election John A. Mathieson Conservative Premier-designate John A. Mathieson Conservative

The 37th Prince Edward Island general election was held in the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island on January 3, 1912.^[1]

The election was won by the governing Conservatives, led by incumbent Premier John A. Mathieson, nearly sweeping the island's 30 districts and granting the Conservatives their first clear general election victory since the 1886 election.

Mathieson was designated Premier in December 1911 at the behest of the Lieutenant Governor, following the defeat of his predecessor, Liberal Premier H. James Palmer in a by-election, one that ultimately shifted the balance of power in the Legislature from a bare Liberal majority to a situation in the Conservative's favour.

H. James Palmer, having no seat in the Legislature and ultimately having lost the confidence of the Legislature, resigned from politics and did not run in this election. It is therefore unknown if Palmer led the Liberals in this election, though his biography at the PEI Legislative Documents Online archive makes reference to the "Palmer-led Liberals." There is no other listed leader for the Liberals during the election; Assemblyman John Richards led the Liberals as Leader of the Opposition in the 37th Legislature.

Party Standings

Party		Party Leader	Seats		Popular Vote
			1908	Elected	#	%
	Conservative	John A. Mathieson	13	28	15,963	59.2%
	Liberal	H. James Palmer	17	2	10,994	40.8%

Members Elected

The Legislature of Prince Edward Island had two levels of membership from 1893 to 1996 - Assemblymen and Councillors. This was a holdover from when the Island had a bicameral legislature, the General Assembly and the Legislative Council.

In 1893, the Legislative Council was abolished and had its membership merged with the Assembly, though the two titles remained separate and were elected by different electoral franchises. Assembleymen were elected by all eligible voters of within a district, while Councillors were only elected by landowners within a district.^[2]

Kings

District	Assemblyman		Party	Councillor		Party
1st Kings		John McLean	Conservative		John Kickham	Conservative
2nd Kings		Albert E. Simpson	Conservative		Aeneas A. Macdonald	Conservative
3rd Kings		John A. Dewar	Conservative		John A. MacDonald	Conservative
4th Kings		Albert P. Prowse	Conservative		Murdock MacKinnon	Conservative
5th Kings		Temple W. Macdonald	Conservative		John Alexander Mathieson	Conservative

Prince

District	Assemblyman		Party	Councillor		Party
1st Prince		Sylvain Gallant	Conservative		Charles E. Dalton	Conservative
2nd Prince		John Richards	Liberal		Alfred McWilliams	Liberal
3rd Prince		Aubin Edmond Arsenault	Conservative		Hector Dobie	Conservative
4th Prince		James Kennedy	Conservative		Michael C. Delaney	Conservative
5th Prince		James A. MacNeill	Conservative		J. Edward Wyatt	Conservative

Queens

District	Assemblyman		Party	Councillor		Party
1st Queens		Murdock Kennedy	Conservative		John H. Myers	Conservative
2nd Queens		John Buntain	Conservative		Louis Jenkins	Conservative
3rd Queens		George F. Dewar	Conservative		Henry F. Feehan	Conservative
4th Queens		John S. Martin	Conservative		Alexander Macphail	Conservative
5th Queens		Stephen R. Jenkins	Conservative		William S. Stewart	Conservative

Sources

1. "Provincial General Election Results, 1912" (PDF). Elections PEI.
2. Fred Driscoll. "History and Politics of Prince Edward Island" (PDF). Canadian Parliamentary Review.