1894 Ontario general election

Ontario general election, 1894

June 26, 1894
94 seats in the 8th Legislative Assembly of Ontario 48 seats were needed for a majority
First party Second party   Leader Oliver Mowat William Ralph Meredith Party Liberal Conservative Leader since 1872 1879 Leader's seat Oxford North London Last election 53 34 Seats won 45 23 Seat change -8 -9
Premier before election Oliver Mowat Liberal Premier-designate Oliver Mowat Liberal

The Ontario general election, 1894 was the eighth general election held in the Province of Ontario, Canada. It was held on June 26, 1894, to elect the 94 Members of the 8th Legislative Assembly of Ontario ("MLAs").

The main issues were the Liberals' "Ontario System", as well as French language schools, farmer interests, support for Toronto business, woman suffrage, the temperance movement, and the demands of labour unions.

The Ontario Liberal Party, led by Oliver Mowat, formed the government for the seventh consecutive parliament, even though some of its members were elected under joint banners: either with the Patrons of Industry or the Protestant Protective Association.

The Ontario Conservative Party, led by William Ralph Meredith, formed the official opposition.

The Patrons of Industry, a farmers' organization formed in 1890, cooperated with the urban labour movement to address the political frustrations of both groups with big business. Sixteen members of the Legislative Assembly were elected with Patrons of Industry support—12 Liberals, one Conservative, and three who ran only under the "Patrons of Industry" banner.

The Protestant Protective Association (PPA) was an anti-Catholic group, associated with the Orange Order. It campaigned against the rights of Catholics and French-Canadians, and argued that Roman Catholics were attempting to take over Ontario. Nine candidates were elected with PPA support, 6 Conservatives, 1 Liberal and 2 who ran only under the PPA banner. The PPA worked most closely with the Conservative opposition.

Results

	Party	Leader	1890	Elected	% change
	Liberal	Oliver Mowat	53	45	-15.1%
	Liberal-Patron		*	12	*
	Liberal-P.P.A.		*	1	*
	Liberal-Equal Rights		2	-
	Conservative	William Ralph Meredith	34	23	-32.4%
	Conservative–P.P.A.		*	6	*
	Conservative-Patron		*	1	*
	Conservative-Equal Rights		2	-	-
	Patrons of Industry		*	3	*
	Protestant Protective		*	2	*
	Independent		1	1	-
Total Seats			91	94	+3.3%

Note: * Party did not nominate candidates in previous election

See also

• Politics of Ontario
• List of Ontario political parties
• Premier of Ontario
• Leader of the Opposition (Ontario)