The
1891 Canadian federal election was held on March 5, 1891, to elect members of the
House of Commons of Canada of the 7th Parliament of Canada. It was won by the Conservative Party of Prime Minister Sir John MacDonald.
The 1891 campaign revolved around two key issues: MacDonald's developmentalist and protectionist National Policy, and MacDonald's refusal in 1885 to commute the death sentence of Louis Riel. MacDonald's campaign emphasized stability and the economic benefits of the National Policy, while Liberal leader Wilfred Laurier proposed a policy of free trade with the United States and attacked MacDonald for allowing the execution of Riel.
It was a close election, and Laurier made strong gains in Quebec on the back of the Riel controversy. MacDonald narrowly retained his majority, but went on to die later in the year. He was succeeded first by John Abbott and then by John Thompson the following year.
Despite losing the election, Laurier remained as the leader of the Liberals until he led the party to a second defeat four years later.
Canadian voters would ultimately reject free trade as the Conservative government embraced Austen Chamberlain's policy of Imperial Preference in 1904.
The
1895 Canadian federal election was held on June 23, 1895, to elect members of the
House of Commons of Canada of the 7th Parliament of Canada. It was won by the Conservative Party of Prime Minister Sir John Thompson. Thompson had become Prime Minister in December 1892, after the resignation of John Abbott due to ill health. The first Catholic Prime Minister, he was forced to deal with the continued fallout of the Manitoba Schools question and Riel's execution.
Thompson was relatively popular, and called an early election. The campaign was dominated by the Manitoba Schools question, and despite Thompson's personal popularity, his party was deeply divided over the issue. Meanwhile,
Liberal leader Wilfred Laurier stuck to his party's support for free trade but focused on the schools issue. Thompson argued that the National Policy was greatly beneficial to Canadian industrial development and was aided by the support of the powerful business interests of Toronto and Montreal, though his party remained fractured over the schools.
Ultimately, the Conservatives won another term in government, in large part due to Thompson's strong performances in Quebec and Ontario, but with 107 seats, the slimmest majority possible, his government was very fragile. The Liberals were hurt in the west and in Ontario by the Orange Liberals, an anti-Catholic, anti-French party founded by a group of like-minded Liberals and Conservatives. As a result of the election, Laurier resigned as leader, while Thompson would be defeated in the 1898 elections after the failure of a proposed Manitoba compromise.