1878 Canadian federal election

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox election The 1878 Canadian federal election was held on September 17, 1878, to elect members of the House of Commons of the 4th Parliament of Canada. It resulted in the end of Prime Minister Alexander Mackenzie's Liberal government after only one term in office. Canada suffered an economic depression during Mackenzie's term, and his party was punished by voters for it. The Liberals' policy of free trade also hurt their support with the business establishment in Toronto and Montreal.

Sir John A. Macdonald and his Conservative Party were returned to power after having been defeated four years before amidst scandals over the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway.

National results

File:1878 Canadian parliament.svg

Party		Party leader	# of candidates	Seats			Popular vote
				1874	Elected	Change	#	%	Change	Conservative	John A. Macdonald	101	38	85	+118.4%	143,192	26.28%	+7.80pp	Liberal-Conservative	60	26	49	+76.9%	85,999	15.78%	+3.50pp	Liberal	Alexander Mackenzie	121	126	63	-54.8%	180,074	33.05%	-7.74pp	Independent		11	4	5	+25%	14,783	2.71%	-0.48pp	Independent Conservative		2	2	2	-	1,001	0.18%	-0.76pp	Unknown		117	-			114,043	20.93%	-1.93pp	Independent Liberal		4	1	1	+100%	5,388	0.99%	-	Nationalist Conservative		1	*	1	*	401	0.07%	*
Total			417	197	206	+3.6%	544,881	100.0%	-
Sources: http://www.elections.ca -- History of Federal Ridings since 1867

Note:

* Party did not nominate candidates in the previous election.

Acclamations

The following Members of Parliament were elected by acclamation;

• British Columbia: 1 Conservative, 1 Liberal-Conservative
• Manitoba: 2 Conservatives, 1 Liberal-Conservative
• Quebec: 1 Conservative, 2 Liberal-Conservatives, 1 Liberal
• New Brunswick: 1 Liberal, 1 Independent

Results by province

Party name			BC	MB	ON	QC	NB	NS	PE	Total	Conservative	Seats:	1	2	37	33	1	8	3	85	Popular vote (%):	-	49.6	25.5	35.0	5.9	21.7	31.6	26.3	Liberal-Conservative	Seats:	2	1	23	12	3	6	2	49	Vote (%):	39.6	-	15.8	13.2	14.3	22.7	12.0	15.8	Liberal	Seats:	2		27	17	9	7	1	63	Vote (%):	-		36.3	21.7	48.2	34.9	37.2	33.1	Independent	Seats:	1		1	1	2	-		5	Vote (%):	12.2		1.5	1.6	13.1	4.3		2.7	Independent Conservative	Seats:		1		1				2	Vote (%):		50.4		0.7				0.2	Unknown	Seats:									Vote (%):	48.2		19.9	27.4	14.8	14.7	19.3	20.9	Independent Liberal	Seats:					1	-		1	Vote (%):			1.0		3.7	1.7		1.0	Nationalist Conservative	Seats:				1		-		1	Vote (%):				0.3				0.1
Total seats			6	4	88	65	16	21	6	206

Further reading

• Template:Cite book pp. 69-90.

See also

• List of Canadian federal general elections
• 4th Canadian Parliament