1869 Newfoundland general election
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November 13, 1869
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30 seats of the Newfoundland House of Assembly 16 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1869 Newfoundland general election was held on November 13, 1869 to elect members of the 10th General Assembly of Newfoundland in the Newfoundland Colony. The Anti-Confederates led by Charles Fox Bennett formed the government.
The election was dominated by the issue of Newfoundland's potential union with the new Dominion of Canada. The incumbent Conservative coalition administration, led by Frederick Carter, supported Confederation. Terms of union were drafted by local confederates and they were passed after much debate within the Newfoundland House of Assembly. When the terms were ratified by the Canadian Parliament, Carter thought it best to put the decisive issue to a vote through a general election. Those opposed to Newfoundland's union with Canada coalesced under Bennett, a St. John's merchant who argued that Confederation would bring about increased taxation.
The Anti-Confederate campaign was vigorous and hard-fought. Bennett conducted a colony-wide tour across many outport communities, alleging that Newfoundlanders would be drafted into the Canadian Army if they voted for the incumbent government. By contrast, the Conservative opposition was unprepared to deal with the campaign, countering that Bennett was primarily concerned in protecting his personal interests rather than the well-being of the public. With the decisive Anti-Confederate victory, the Conservatives thereafter abandoned the issue of Confederation, and the debate was settled for the moment.
Henry Renouf ran in both St. John's West and Placentia and St. Mary's. After this election, no person ran in more than one seat until the 2025 Newfoundland and Labrador general election.[1][2]
Results
| Party | Leader | 1865 | Candidates | Seats won | Seat change | % of seats (% change) |
Popular vote[d] | % of vote (% change) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anti-Confederation | Charles Fox Bennett | 8[f] | 28 | 21[c] |  13
|
70.00% ( 43.33%)
|
11,289 | 80.77% ( 36.19%)
| |
| Conservative (Confederation) |
Frederick Carter | 22 | 20 | 9 |  13
|
30.00% ( 43.33%)
|
2,688 | 19.23% ( 36.19%)
| |
| Totals | 30 | 48 | 30 | 
|
100% | 13,977[g] | 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 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative (historical) | Anti-Confederation | |||||
| St. John's East | W. T. Parsons 412 9.45% |
William Walsh 1,327 30.42% |
John Kavanagh† | |||
| James Jordan 1,325 30.38% |
John Kent† | |||||
| Robert Parsons Sr. 1,298 29.76% |
Robert Parsons Sr. | |||||
| St. John's West | Peter Brennan Won by acclamation |
Peter Brennan | ||||
| Thomas Talbot Won by acclamation |
Thomas Talbot | |||||
| Henry Renouf[h] Won by acclamation |
Henry Renouf | |||||
Conception Bay
| Electoral district | Candidates | Incumbent | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative (historical) | Anti-Confederation | |||||
| Bay de Verde | John Bemister Majority of 400 votes[3] |
Robert Reader At least 29 votes[4] |
John Bemister | |||
| Carbonear[i] | John Rorke | Francis Taylor | John Rorke | |||
| Harbour Grace[i] | John Munn | James Prendergast | Vacant[j] | |||
| William Green | Robert Dawe[5] | William Green | ||||
| Harbour Main | Joseph Little Won by acclamation |
Joseph Little | ||||
| John Kennedy Won by acclamation |
Charles Furey† | |||||
| Port de Grave | Robert Pinsent 101 12.11% |
James Woods 733 87.89% |
Robert Pinsent | |||
Avalon Peninsula
| Electoral district | Candidates | Incumbent | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative (historical) | Anti-Confederation | |||||
| Ferryland | Thomas Glen Won by acclamation |
Thomas Glen | ||||
| Thomas Battcock Won by acclamation |
Michael Kearney† | |||||
| Placentia and St. Mary's | Thomas O'Reilly 103 3.54% |
Charles Fox Bennett 882 30.34% |
Ambrose Shea | |||
| Ambrose Shea 100 3.44% |
Henry Renouf 872 30.00% |
Pierce Barron | ||||
| Pierce Barron 90 3.10% |
Robert Parsons Jr. 860 29.58% |
Thomas O'Reilly | ||||
Eastern and Central Newfoundland
| Electoral district | Candidates | Incumbent | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative (historical) | Anti-Confederation | |||||
| Bonavista Bay | John Warren 539 14.99% |
James Noonan 697 19.39% |
John Warren | |||
| John Burton 537 14.94% |
Francis Winton 657 18.28% |
John Burton | ||||
| Michael Carroll 515 14.33% |
William Barnes 650 18.08% |
John Oakley† | ||||
| Trinity Bay[i] | Stephen Rendell | Robert Alsop Won by 22 votes[6] |
Stephen Rendell | |||
| Thomas H. Ridley | Stephen March | Robert Alsop | ||||
| Ellis Watson | Frederick Wyatt† | |||||
| Twillingate and Fogo | William Whiteway 208 8.74% |
Smith McKay 1,063 44.68% |
William Whiteway | |||
| Thomas Knight 83 3.49% |
Charles Duder 1,025 43.09% |
Thomas Knight | ||||
Southern Newfoundland
| Electoral district | Candidates | Incumbent | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative (historical) | Anti-Confederation | |||||
| Burgeo and LaPoile | Prescott Emerson Won by acclamation |
D. W. Prowse† | ||||
| Burin[k] | Frederick Carter Majority of 2 or 3 votes |
Henry LeMessurier[7] | Frederick Carter | |||
| Edward Evans Majority of 2 or 3 votes |
John Woods[7] | Edward Evans | ||||
| Fortune Bay | Thomas Bennett Won by acclamation |
Thomas Bennett | ||||
Notes
- ^ Not the incumbent, but stood in this district and won.
- ^ As the Opposition Party
- ^ a b This figure includes Henry Renouf's double election in the districts of Placentia and St. Mary's and St. John's West.
- ^ a b c Note that this does not include the vote totals for the districts of Bay de Verde, Burin, Carbonear, Harbour Grace, and Trinity Bay, as the full results of those contests are not available.
- ^ a b Based on incomplete figures from the previous election
- ^ As the Opposition Party
- ^ Given that the majorities are known for the districts of Bay de Verde and Burin, it is evident that at least 14,414 votes were cast in this election.
- ^ As Renouf had also been elected in the district of Placentia and St. Mary's, he chose to resign his seat in St. John's West, triggering a by-election.
- ^ a b c Returns are not available for this district.
- ^ John Hayward had been elected in 1865, but he resigned his office on August 7, 1868 to accept an appointment as an assistant judge in the Supreme Court of Newfoundland.
- ^ Carter and Evans were initially declared the victors, but the results were challenged by LeMessurier and Woods. They charged that five voters from Frenchman's Cove had voted for Carter and Evans by proxy before changing their minds at the polling booth and declaring themselves for LeMessurier and Woods. These verbal votes were accepted by the returning officer at first, but they were later rejected, and Carter and Evans were returned for the district.
References
- ^ "Coffin Not First Candidate to Run in Two Separate Districts". VOCM. Stingray Group. September 23, 2025. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
- ^ Kilfoy, Cameron (September 24, 2025). "Why former NDP leader Alison Coffin is running for two seats as an independent in NL provincial election". The Telegram. Postmedia Network. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
- ^ "Responding to the Courier". Newfoundland Express. November 20, 1869. Retrieved June 8, 2025.
- ^ "Responding to the Courier". Newfoundland Express. November 30, 1869. Retrieved June 8, 2025.
- ^ "Nomination Day". Morning Courier. November 10, 1869. Retrieved June 8, 2025.
- ^ Senior, Elinor (1972). "Alsop, Robert". In Hayne, David (ed.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. X (1871–1880) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
- ^ a b "The Burin Election". Newfoundland Express. November 23, 1869. Retrieved June 8, 2025.
Further reading
- Blake, Raymond B. “Newfoundland and Canada: Confederation and the Search for Stability.” in Reconsidering Confederation: Canada’s Founding Debates, 1864-1999, edited by Daniel Heidt, (U of Calgary Press, 2018), pp. 237–62. online
- Blake, Raymond B., and Melvin Baker, Where Once They Stood: Newfoundland's Rocky Road to Confederation (U of Regina Press, 2019) ch. 1.
- Cadigan, Sean. Newfoundland and Labrador: A History (2009) pp. 131–136.
- Hiller, James K. (1997). "The Confederation Election of 1869". Heritage Newfoundland and Labrador. Retrieved June 8, 2025.
- Killer, James. “Confederation Defeated: The Newfoundland Election of 1869.” in Newfoundland in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries: Essays in Interpretation, edited by James Killer and Peter Neary, (University of Toronto Press, 1980, pp). 67–94 online
- Mayo, H. B. “Newfoundland and Confederation in the Eighteen-Sixties,” Canadian Historical Review 29#2 (1948): 125–42. online
- Riggs, Bert (1981). "General Election #10: November 13, 1869". Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, volume 1. St. John's: Harry Cuff Publications Ltd. Retrieved June 8, 2025.
- "The Debate: Confederation Rejected, 1864–1869" Heritage Newfoundland & Labrador (1997) online with attached video