The 1905 Ontario general election was the 11th general election held in the Province of Ontario, Canada. It was held on January 25, 1905, to elect the 98 Members of the 11th Legislative Assembly of Ontario ("MLAs"). The Ontario Conservative Party, led by Sir James P. Whitney, defeated the Ontario Liberal Party, led by Sir George William Ross, bringing to an end the control of the government that the Liberal Party had exercised power for the previous 34 years.

Campaign

The main focus of the campaign was on the Conservatives attacking the Liberal "machine" which had dominated elections in the Province, especially between 1898 and 1904, and was involved in numerous instances of bribery and other corrupt practices. This was further highlighted by the fact that no Liberals were prosecuted for this, while Conservatives were involved in fewer such matters but faced numerous convictions. By 1905, this had led to widespread disgust, and one Tory candidate, P.D. Ross in Ottawa, declared upon his nomination that every honest man should be a Conservative. The ensuing Conservative victory was overwhelming. Six constituencies returned Tory members for the first time ever since Confederation, plus eight others which had only done so once before. Most cities, other than Ottawa and Kingston, voted Conservative.

Results

! colspan=2 rowspan=2 | Political party ! rowspan=2 | Party leader ! colspan=5 | MPPs ! colspan=3 | Votes ! Candidates ! Dissol. !1905 !± !# !% ! ± (pp)

Synopsis of results

! colspan=2 | Political party ! Candidate ! Votes ! % ! Elected ! Incumbent !colspan="3" style="text-align:right;"|Majority !colspan="3" style="text-align:right;"|Turnout !colspan="3" style="text-align:right;"|Registered voters

Analysis

MLAs elected by region and riding

Party designations are as follows: {{legend|#EA6D6A|Liberal}} {{legend|#9999FF|Conservative}} {{legend|#DCDCDC|Independent Liberal}}

Seats that changed hands

There were 32 seats that changed allegiance in the election:

Notes and references