Ontario general election, 1919

The Ontario general election, 1919 was the 15th general election held in the Province of Ontario, Canada. It was held on October 20, 1919, to elect the 111 Members of the 15th Legislative Assembly of Ontario ("MLAs").

The Ontario Conservative Party, led by Sir William Hearst, was soundly defeated in a bid for a fifth consecutive term in office by the newly formed United Farmers of Ontario.

This election put an end to 14 years of continuous Ontario Conservative Party rule, much of it under James Whitney. Whitney had died in 1914.

The UFO ran in the election without a party leader and with only one incumbent MLA, Beniah Bowman, who had entered the legislature the previous year by winning a by-election in Manitoulan. When they emerged from the vote with the largest bloc of seats, they joined the eleven Labour MLAs to form a coalition and approached Ernest C. Drury to lead the new government as Premier of Ontario. Drury had not been a candidate in the election and had to run in a by-election to enter the legislature following his appointment to the office of Premier. Liberal-UFO MLA David James Taylor of Grey North and "Soldier" MLA Joseph McNamara of Riverdale and Labour-UFO MLA Karl Homuth of Waterloo South were also members of the governing caucus giving Drury's coalition 58 seats in total.

The Ontario Liberal Party, led by Hartley Dewart, was able to maintain and increase its caucus by a small number. It was the Conservative Party that lost the most ground to the UFO and Labour.

Results

Note:

* Party did not nominate candidates in the previous election.

See also

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