1919 Ontario general election

The parties tended to have a targeted approach in fielding their candidates:

Toronto was divided into four districts, each with two seats and two separate contests.

Toronto Northeast A saw a Conservative elected by acclamation. Toronto Northeast B saw a four-way fight. Toronto Northwest saw two two-candidate fights. Toronto Southeast had two two-candidate fights. The Toronto Southwest A contest was a two-candidate fight. Toronto Southeast B saw a three-way fight.

Acclamation victories occurred in the Toronto Northeast A contest, as well as in the Addington, Hasting North and Kingston contests.

It was the first election in which women could vote and run for office.^[b] Election day was also held on the same day as the scheduled referendum on prohibition.^[2]

Of the 111 seats, 103 were from single-member constituencies elected through first-past-the-post voting. The remaining eight came from four dual-member ridings in Toronto, each of which had parallel contests voting separately for seat A and seat B, each under FPTP.

(* - on recount; ‡ - recount requested but subsequently abandoned)

  = incumbent re-elected under the same party banner

  = returned by acclamation

  = incumbency arose from byelection gain

  = incumbent switched allegiance for 1919 nomination

  = not incumbent; had been previously elected to the Legislature

  = other incumbents renominated

The robustness of the margins of victory for each party can be summarized in electoral pendulums. These are not necessarily a measure of the volatility of the respective riding results. The following tables show the margins over the various 2nd-place contenders, for which one-half of the value represents the swing needed to overturn the result. Actual seat turnovers to the opposition parties in the 1919 election are noted for reference.

  = seats that opposition parties gained in the election

The result was highly skewed as a result of the way the ridings were drawn up. The Ottawa Journal noted, "The arrangement of electoral districts in Ontario (and throughout Canada) is such that a farmer’s vote has practically twice the effect of the vote of any person resident in cities or large towns. Ottawa, for instance, with 110,000 population elects two members to the Ontario Legislature; Carleton County on one side with 20,000 people elects one member; Russell County on the other side has a population of 40,000 and elects one member."^[17]

The UFO emerged from the vote with the largest bloc of seats, joining the eleven Labour MLAs to form a coalition government. Liberal-UFO MLA David James Taylor of Grey North, "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, a slight majority.

The Ontario Liberal Party, led by Hartley Dewart, increased the size of its caucus by a small number, despite turning over more than half the seats held. The Conservative Party lost ground to all other parties, despite receiving the most votes.

The election had several sweeping results:^[7]

• only about two dozen MPPs from the previous Legislative Assembly were re-elected;
• notably, Conservative William Hearst was defeated by a Labour candidate;
• Beck and Proudfoot were also defeated by Labour candidates, despite the decision of the Conservatives and Liberals not to contest the seats;
• three clergymen were elected;
• eighteen returned soldiers were elected; and
• all anti-Prohibition candidates were defeated.

Upon hearing the news of the Conservative defeat, Hearst noted:

I will not make any prophecy as to what will take place. I thought the Government was going to sweep the country, and I was not alone in that, for a great many Liberals who were supporting me thought so, too. The Temperance Act no doubt had a great deal to do with my defeat, but I did what I felt was right, and if I had it to do over again, I would do the same thing.^[18]

Three days after the election, James J. Morrison, Secretary of the UFO, reported on the way he had addressed the need to form a working majority in the chamber. He released the following statement:

The members-elect of the United Farmers of Ontario, after due consideration of the matter, have decided that it would be unwise for them to enter into alliance with either of the old Parties as parties. They are prepared to assume the fullest share of responsibility and form a Government in co-operation with such members of other parties as are in sympathy with their platform and principles and are free to give support thereto. In the formation of a Cabinet full consideration will be given to the various interests of the Province.^[19]

Ernest C. Drury agreed to lead the new government as Premier of Ontario,^[19][20] and a UFO-Labour coalition cabinet was formed.^[21] Although he was vice-president of the UFO,^[8] Drury had not been a candidate in the election^[8] and had to run in a by-election to enter the legislature following his appointment to the office of Premier.