Manitoba general election, 1870

Manitoba's first general election (held on December 27, 1870) resulted in a victory for Lieutenant Governor Adams George Archibald's governing coalition. Archibald had previously been appointed as the province's Lieutenant Governor by George-Étienne Cartier, and promoted a model of "consensus government," which included members of the province's different ethnic, religious, and linguistic groups.

The only organized opposition in the province was the Canadian Party of John Christian Schultz, which demanded swifter retribution against the leaders of Louis Riel's Red River Rebellion. Archibald's coalition won 17 seats, Schultz's party only 5. There were also two Independent MLAs: Thomas Bunn (who seems to have tacitly supported Archibald) and George Klyne (who does not appear to have played a major role in parliament). Edward Hay subsequently became Leader of the Opposition.

Formal party politics had not yet arrived in Manitoba, although some candidates were associated with the Liberal and Conservative parties at the national level.

Riding results

Baie St. Paul:

Headingly:

High Bluff:

Kildonan:

Lake Manitoba:

Popular Point:

Portage la Prairie:

Ste. Agathe:

St. Andrews North:

St. Andrews South:

Ste. Anne:

St. Boniface East:

St. Boniface West:

St. Charles:

St. Clements:

St. Francois Xavier East:

St. Francois Xavier West:

St. James:

St. Norbert North:

St. Norbert South:

St. Pauls:

St. Peters:

St. Vital:

[Note: Louis Riel had been requested to run here; he declined.]

Winnipeg and St. John:

post-election changes:

On March 30, 1871, John Taylor's victory in Headingly was overturned and James Cunningham was declared elected. One of Taylor's votes had been cast too late; the tie-breaking vote was also disqualified.

Winnipeg and St. John (res. Donald Alexander Smith, January 1874), April 1874:

The government was dominated by the Lieutenant Governors (Archibald and his successor, Alexander Morris) until July 1874, when Joseph Dubuc's francophone bloc joined forces with the Opposition members to bring down the government. Marc-Amable Girard then served as Premier from July to November 1874, at which time he was replaced by Robert A. Davis.

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