The 1929 Ontario general election was the 18th general election held in the province of Ontario, Canada. It was held on October 30, 1929, to elect the 112 Members of the 18th Legislative Assembly of Ontario ("MLAs").

Campaign

Every party, including the Ontario Prohibition Union and the English Language School League, issued their own manifesto during the campaign, to the extent that the Press called it the "battle of the manifestos".

The Liberals continued to use their strategy from the previous election of coordinating their efforts with other pro-temperance forces in order to minimize vote splits.

Only the Conservatives fielded candidates in all ridings, and eight of them were returned by acclamation. In 21 two-way contests, the Liberals declined to field a candidate in favour of an ally considered more likely to gain votes. There were only 16 three-cornered races and 2 four-way battles.

Riding contests, by number of candidates (1929)
CandidatesConLibProgL-PUFOLabI-ConCommIndProhTotal
188
28665442236172
31616511241248
4222118
Total1128394337528236

Outcome

The Ontario Conservative Party, led by George Howard Ferguson, was elected for a third consecutive term in government with an increased majority in the Legislature.

The Ontario Liberal Party, led by W.E.N. Sinclair, lost one seat, but continued to form the official opposition.

Conservative gains came at the expense of the Progressive Party and the United Farmers of Ontario.

Earl Hutchinson of Kenora is the sole Labour MLA elected.

Results

Elections to the 18th Parliament of Ontario (1929)
Political partyParty leaderMPPsVotes
Candidates1926Dissol.1929±#%± (pp)
ConservativeHoward Ferguson11273729017574,73056.66%0.79
LiberalW.E.N. Sinclair831314112319,48731.50%14.33
ProgressiveWilliam Raney91084630,7953.04%3.26
Liberal–Progressive4543217,9661.77%2.47
United FarmersLeslie Oke3331212,7521.26%0.08
Labour31118,6640.85%0.44
Independent Conservative7122121,9502.16%0.40
Independent Liberal434Did not campaign
Independent Progressive111Did not campaign
Liberal-Prohibitionist111Did not campaign
Prohibitionist825,8072.54%5.52
Communist51,5420.15%New
Independent25870.06%New
Liberal-LabourDid not campaign
Progressive-LiberalDid not campaign
Liberal-Labour-ProhibitionistDid not campaign
Vacant3
Total2361121121121,014,310100.00%
Blank and invalid ballots7,720
Registered voters / turnout1,804,93256.62%7.33

Vote and seat summaries

  • 1926
  • 1929
Seats and popular vote by party
PartySeatsVotesChange (pp)
Conservative90 / 11256.66%0.79
Liberal11 / 11231.50%14.33
█Progressive4 / 1123.04%-3.26
Liberal–Progressive3 / 1121.77%-2.47
United Farmers1 / 1121.26%-0.08
Labour1 / 1120.85%-0.44
█Independent-Conservative2 / 1122.16%0.40
█Prohibitionist0 / 1122.54%-5.52
█Other0 / 1120.22%-3.75

Synopsis of results

Results by riding - 1929 Ontario general election
RidingWinning partyTurnoutVotes
#Name1926PartyVotesShareMargin #Margin %ConLibProgProhI-ConL-ProgUFOLabourCommIndTotal
001AddingtonConCon4,27367.47%2,21334.94%61.09%4,2732,0606,333
002AlgomaConCon4,56567.49%2,36634.98%63.45%4,5652,1996,764
003Brant CountyProgProg3,83153.42%4906.83%71.65%3,3413,8317,172
004BrantfordConCon7,74057.93%2,11915.86%65.98%7,7405,62113,361
005BrockvilleConCon4,63360.73%1,63721.46%61.22%4,6332,9967,629
006Bruce NorthLibLib4,52052.09%3624.17%70.52%4,1584,5208,678
007Bruce SouthProgLib4,98353.04%5716.08%69.43%4,4124,9839,395
008CarletonConCon3,78167.16%1,93234.32%47.76%3,7811,8495,630
009Cochrane NorthConCon3,12143.60%5878.20%63.76%3,1211,2982,5342057,158
010Cochrane SouthConCon5,68652.76%5945.51%57.02%5,6865,09210,778
011DufferinProgProg3,77850.30%450.60%76.42%3,7333,7787,511
012DundasL-ProhCon3,36244.31%99913.17%73.23%3,3621,8622,3637,587
013DurhamLibLib5,86050.04%100.09%71.73%5,8505,86011,710
014Elgin EastLibCon4,06851.83%2883.67%76.56%4,0683,7807,848
015Elgin WestConCon6,57956.17%1,44512.34%63.29%6,5795,13411,713
016Essex NorthConCon8,04355.97%1,71511.93%63.61%8,0436,32814,371
017Essex SouthLibCon4,54853.09%5296.17%65.84%4,5484,0198,567
018Fort WilliamConCon5,46758.73%1,62617.47%62.52%5,4673,8419,308
019Frontenac—LennoxLibCon4,41954.77%7699.53%66.19%4,4193,6508,069
020GlengarryConLib3,29050.34%450.69%61.20%3,2453,2906,535
021GrenvilleConCon4,45264.81%2,03529.63%65.93%4,4522,4176,869
022Grey NorthProgProg6,91252.15%5714.31%68.85%6,3416,91213,253
023Grey SouthUFOUFO6,60753.07%7646.14%71.06%5,8436,60712,450
024HaldimandLibCon4,99350.14%280.28%74.85%4,9934,9659,958
025HaltonConL-Prog5,69650.32%720.64%68.70%5,6245,69611,320
026Hamilton CentreConCon7,56875.54%5,11751.07%46.44%7,5682,45110,019
027Hamilton EastConCon8,28762.64%3,81828.86%53.20%8,2874,46947313,229
028Hamilton WestConCon6,97475.93%4,76351.86%51.54%6,9742,2119,185
029Hastings EastConConacclaimed
030Hastings NorthConConacclaimed
031Hastings WestConCon5,30466.20%2,59632.40%56.13%5,3042,7088,012
032Huron NorthLibLib5,79557.18%1,45514.36%69.69%4,3405,79510,135
033Huron SouthProgProg4,78550.17%320.34%66.20%4,7534,7859,538
034Kent EastProgCon3,15738.56%4355.31%69.32%3,1572,7222,3098,188
035Kent WestConCon6,91150.81%2211.62%58.71%6,9116,69013,601
036KenoraConLab3,52853.04%4046.07%68.32%3,1243,5286,652
037KingstonConConacclaimed
038Lambton EastUFOCon4,63243.93%7757.35%68.67%4,6322,0563,85710,545
039Lambton WestConCon5,72454.97%1,0359.94%61.88%5,7244,68910,413
040Lanark NorthConCon4,03856.64%94713.28%73.69%4,0383,0917,129
041Lanark SouthConCon4,30857.40%1,11114.80%67.06%4,3083,1977,505
042LeedsConCon3,75549.27%1,55020.34%73.69%3,7552,2051,6617,621
043LincolnProgCon3,55743.42%6688.15%71.09%3,5572,8891,7468,192
044London NorthConCon6,22168.04%3,29936.08%47.12%6,2212,9229,143
045London SouthConCon6,80158.48%1,97216.96%52.76%6,8014,82911,630
046ManitoulinUFOCon2,29150.03%30.07%74.57%2,2912,2884,579
047Middlesex NorthI-ProgCon5,28850.80%1671.60%70.40%5,2885,12110,409
048Middlesex WestProgCon3,37134.81%1861.92%72.71%3,3713,1293,1859,685
049MuskokaConConacclaimed
050Niagara FallsConCon6,71364.94%3,08829.87%45.50%6,7133,62510,338
051NipissingConCon4,85957.99%1,33915.98%62.41%4,8593,5208,379
052NorfolkConCon7,20655.39%1,40310.78%78.42%7,2065,80313,009
053NorthumberlandLibCon7,10852.52%6835.05%70.09%7,1086,42513,533
054Ontario NorthProgCon3,07247.33%87613.50%71.69%3,0721,2222,1966,490
055Ontario SouthLibLib9,79153.80%1,3837.60%65.35%8,4089,79118,199
056Ottawa EastI-LibCon7,81357.72%2,08915.43%50.47%7,8135,72413,537
057Ottawa NorthConCon5,19867.64%2,71135.28%29.30%5,1982,4877,685
058Ottawa SouthConConacclaimed
059Oxford NorthL-ProgL-Prog5,44950.47%1020.94%70.82%5,3475,44910,796
060Oxford SouthL-ProgLib5,21752.49%4954.98%72.03%4,7225,2179,939
061Parry SoundConCon4,50756.48%1,03412.96%61.37%4,5073,4737,980
062PeelConCon6,73754.27%1,0608.54%69.65%6,7375,67712,414
063Perth NorthConCon7,27353.04%8346.08%66.36%7,2736,43913,712
064Perth SouthLibCon3,42844.73%1,24616.26%71.07%3,4282,1822,0537,663
065Peterborough CityConCon5,93151.97%4503.94%69.89%5,9315,48111,412
066Peterborough CountyLibCon3,11750.23%290.47%70.71%3,1173,0886,205
067Port ArthurConConacclaimed
068PrescottI-LibI-Con3,99643.15%96810.45%76.93%3,0282,2363,9969,260
069Prince EdwardProgCon4,45753.72%6177.44%80.37%4,4573,8408,297
070Rainy RiverConI-Con3,14251.96%2373.92%78.05%2,9053,1426,047
071Renfrew NorthConConacclaimed
072Renfrew SouthConLib4,99050.44%870.88%67.43%4,9034,9909,893
073RussellI-LibCon6,19051.20%2912.41%65.03%6,1905,89912,089
074St. CatharinesI-ConCon5,56253.99%8227.98%49.54%5,5624,74010,302
075Sault Ste. MarieConCon6,21677.52%4,41355.03%51.55%6,2161,8038,019
076Simcoe CentreConLib5,19951.08%2202.16%77.06%4,9795,19910,178
077Simcoe EastConCon7,98061.63%3,01123.25%70.75%7,9804,96912,949
078Simcoe SouthwestL-ProgCon6,21354.44%1,0138.88%69.56%6,2135,20011,413
079StormontConCon6,54676.82%4,57153.64%52.29%6,5461,9758,521
080Sturgeon FallsI-LibCon3,05158.92%92417.84%67.64%3,0512,1275,178
081SudburyConConacclaimed
082TemiskamingConCon4,88858.21%1,37916.42%62.70%4,8883,5098,397
083Victoria NorthL-ProgL-Prog3,13950.25%310.50%72.72%3,1083,1396,247
084Victoria SouthL-ProgCon4,60755.38%89510.76%72.91%4,6073,7128,319
085Waterloo NorthConLib6,08036.92%3952.40%56.76%5,6856,0804,70416,469
086Waterloo SouthLabCon7,70755.77%1,59511.54%62.88%7,7076,11213,819
087WellandConCon6,66371.54%4,01243.07%52.08%6,6632,6519,314
088Wellington NortheastLibLib6,28863.95%2,74427.91%71.75%3,5446,2889,832
089Wellington SouthConCon7,55455.39%1,47110.79%67.84%7,5546,08313,637
090Wentworth NorthConCon4,75056.31%1,37216.27%31.83%4,7503,3783078,435
091Wentworth SouthConCon8,46071.59%5,10243.17%51.49%8,4603,35811,818
092Windsor EastConCon6,22465.25%3,24734.84%36.98%6,2242,9773379,538
093Windsor WestConCon6,41964.11%2,82538.94%37.71%6,4193,59410,013
094BeachesConCon8,03475.55%5,43451.10%40.40%8,0342,60010,634
095WoodbineConCon6,83979.56%5,08259.12%35.55%6,8391,7578,596
096GreenwoodConCon5,78379.04%4,24958.07%35.97%5,7831,5347,317
097RiverdaleConCon5,60472.70%3,50045.41%36.98%5,6042,1047,708
098EglintonConCon10,00959.30%3,14018.60%47.39%10,0096,86916,878
099St. DavidConCon7,19974.60%4,74849.20%36.97%7,1992,4519,650
100St. GeorgeConCon6,45068.76%3,52037.53%33.04%6,4502,9309,380
101St. PatrickConCon4,47366.77%3,23148.23%46.22%4,4731,2428591256,699
102St. AndrewsConCon3,43663.64%1,47327.28%37.71%3,4361,9635,399
103BellwoodsConCon5,11474.40%3,74954.54%35.11%5,1141,3653956,874
104BracondaleConCon7,10870.54%4,35243.19%42.79%7,1082,75621210,076
105DovercourtConCon4,31666.94%2,18433.87%43.98%4,3162,1326,448
106BrocktonConCon8,73171.06%5,17642.13%40.42%8,7313,55512,286
107ParkdaleConCon6,20370.48%3,98745.30%45.52%6,2032,2163828,801
108High ParkConCon8,44764.39%3,77528.78%48.30%8,4474,67213,119
109York EastConCon9,61964.42%4,30728.85%42.86%9,6195,31214,931
110York NorthLibCon5,44850.91%1951.82%75.67%5,4485,25310,701
111York SouthConCon7,86268.64%4,27037.28%36.85%7,8623,59211,454
112York WestConCon8,29665.29%3,88530.57%44.67%8,2964,41112,707

= turnout is above provincial average

= incumbent re-elected under the same party banner

= incumbent switched allegiance for the election

= incumbency arose from byelection gain

= other incumbents renominated

Resulting composition of the 18th Legislative Assembly of Ontario
SourceParty
ConLibProgL-PUFOLabI-ConTotal
Seats retainedIncumbents returned47442158
Open seats held11112
Acclamation88
Seats changing handsIncumbents defeated18211123
Open seats gained3317
Byelection gain held11
Ouster of byelection gain by third party11
Change in affiliation22
Total901143112112

Seats that changed hands

Elections to the 18th Parliament of Ontario – seats won/lost by party, 1926–1929
Party1926Gain from (loss to)1929
ConLibProL-ProUFOLabI-LibI-ConI-ProL-Prb
Conservative738(4)52(1)21(1)31(1)1190
Liberal134(8)1111
Progressive10(5)(1)4
Liberal–Progressive51(2)(1)3
United Farmers3(2)1
Labour11(1)1
Independent-Liberal4(3)(1)
Independent-Conservative11(1)12
Independent-Progressive1(1)
Liberal-Prohibitionist1(1)
Total1127(24)8(6)63(1)21(1)41(2)11112

There were 35 seats that changed allegiance in the election:

Conservative to Liberal Glengarry Renfrew South Simcoe Centre Waterloo North Conservative to Liberal-Progressive Halton Conservative to Labour Kenora Conservative to Independent-Conservative Rainy River Liberal to Conservative Elgin East Essex South Frontenac—Lennox Haldimand Northumberland Perth South Peterborough County York North Progressive to Conservative Kent East Lincoln Middlesex West Ontario North Prince Edward Progressive to Liberal Bruce SouthLiberal-Progressive to Conservative Simcoe Southwest Victoria South Liberal-Progressive to Liberal Oxford South UFO to Conservative Lambton East Manitoulin Labour to Conservative Waterloo South Independent-Liberal to Conservative Ottawa East Russell Sturgeon Falls Independent-Liberal to Independent-Conservative Prescott Independent-Conservative to Conservative St. Catharines Independent-Progressive to Conservative Middlesex North Liberal-Prohibitionist to Conservative Dundas

Notes

See also

Further reading

  • . Toronto: The Annual Review Company. 1930.