Electoral history of Wilfrid Laurier

This article is the Electoral history of Sir Wilfrid Laurier, the seventh Prime Minister of Canada.

A Liberal, he was Canada's fourth longest-serving Prime Minister, with the longest consecutive time in office (over fifteen years, from 1896 to 1911). He won four general elections and lost three. He was succeeded by Sir Robert Borden. He died in 1919, having been the Leader of the Official Opposition for eight years.

Summary

Laurier was the fourth-longest serving Prime Minister, serving from 1896 to 1911. His term in office of 15 years and 86 days (July 11, 1896 to October 6, 1911) remains the longest unbroken term of a Canadian Prime Minister.^[1]

He led the Liberals in seven general elections, winning four (1896, 1900, 1904, and 1908) and losing three (1891, 1911, 1917). He is in a three-way tie with Sir John A. Macdonald and Mackenzie King for the number of general elections he contested as leader of a party.

His streak of four consecutive majority governments (1896, 1900, 1904, and 1908) is tied with Macdonald's identical record as the longest streak of general election victories at the federal level.

Laurier was the second of eight prime ministers from Quebec, the others being Sir John Abbott, Louis St. Laurent, Pierre Trudeau, Brian Mulroney, Jean Chrétien, Paul Martin and Justin Trudeau. He was also the first of five francophone prime ministers, the others being St. Laurent, Pierre Trudeau, Chrétien, and Justin Trudeau.

Laurier stood for election to the House of Commons of Canada 20 times, in 1874, 1877 (twice), 1878, 1878, 1882, 1887, 1891 (twice), 1896 (three times), 1900, 1904 (twice), 1908 (twice), 1911 (twice), and 1917 (twice), although some of those were multiple elections in the same general election, as was permitted at that time. He won seventeen of the elections and was defeated three times.

Laurier was elected as a member of the House of Commons for six different constituencies, and at various times sat in the Commons for three different constituencies (Drummond—Arthabaska, Quebec East, Quebec; and Soulanges, Quebec. He served in the Commons for a total of 44 years, 10 months, 17 days, continuously from the 3rd Parliament, elected in 1874, to his death in 1919.^[2]

Laurier served briefly in the Legislative Assembly of Quebec from 1871 to 1874, when he resigned to enter federal politics in the general election of 1874.

Federal General Elections, 1891 to 1917

Laurier led the Liberals in seven general elections, winning four (1896, 1900, 1904, and 1908) and losing three (1891, 1911, 1917).

Federal election, 1891

The 1891 election was Laurier's first election as leader of the Liberals. His opponent in the 1891 election was Sir John A. Macdonald, in his last election. Macdonald, aged 76, again led the Conservatives to victory, albeit with a reduced majority. Laurier remained the Leader of the Official Opposition after the election.

More information Party, Leaders ...

Canadian Federal Election, 1891 – Parties, Leaders, Seats Won and Popular Vote
Party		Leaders	Seats Won	Popular Vote
	Conservative	Sir John A. Macdonald¹	97	43.0%
		Sir John A. Macdonald¹
	Liberal-Conservative	20	5.6%
	Liberal	Wilfrid Laurier²	90	45.2%
	Independent Conservative	–	3	1.9%
	Independent	–	2	0.8%
	Independent Liberal	–	1	0.7%
	Nationalist Conservative	–	1	0.2%
	Nationalist	–	1	0.0%³
	Equal Rights	–	0	0.3%
	Progressive	–	0	0.1%
	Unknown⁴	–	0	2.2%
Total			215	100.0%
Source: Library of Parliament – History of Federal Ridings since 1867

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¹ Prime Minister when election was called; Prime Minister after the election.
² Leader of the Opposition when election was called; Leader of the Opposition after the election.
³ Acclaimed.
⁴ Election returns in 1887 did not require candidates to declare party affiliation. Many candidates did not list a party affiliation.

Federal election, 1896

Laurier won his second general election, defeating the Conservatives led by Prime Minister Charles Tupper. The main issue was the Manitoba Schools Question, which had divided the country on linguistic and religious lines. Although Tupper and the Conservatives won the popular vote, Laurier and the Liberals won the majority of seats and formed the government, the first time at the federal level that the party with the greatest popular vote support did not form the government.

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Canadian Federal Election, 1896 – Parties, Leaders, Seats Won and Popular Vote
Party		Leaders	Seats Won	Popular Vote
	Liberal	Wilfrid Laurier¹	117	41.4%
	Conservative	Charles Tupper²	71	44.4%
		Charles Tupper²
	Liberal-Conservative	15	3.8%
	Independent Conservative	–	4	1.3%
	Patrons of Industry	–	2	3.9%
	McCarthyite	Dalton McCarthy	2	1.3%
	Independent	–	1	1.4%
	Independent Liberal	–	1	0.2%
	Nationalist	–	0	1.5%
	Protestant Protective Association	–	0	0.6%
	Unknown³	–	0	0.2%
Total			213	100.0%
Source: Library of Parliament – History of Federal Ridings since 1867

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¹ Leader of the Opposition when election was called; Prime Minister after the election.
² Prime Minister shortly after election was called; Leader of the Opposition after the election.
³ Election returns in 1896 did not require candidates to declare party affiliation. Some candidates did not list a party affiliation.

Federal election, 1900

Laurier again faced Tupper in the general election of 1900. Laurier and the Liberals increased both their popular vote and seats won. Tupper retired from public life, the last of the Fathers of Confederation to leave Canadian politics.

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Canadian Federal Election, 1900 – Parties, Leaders, Seats Won and Popular Vote
Party		Leaders	Seats Won	Popular Vote
	Liberal	Wilfrid Laurier¹	128	50.3%
	Conservative	Charles Tupper²	69	43.2%
		Charles Tupper²
	Liberal-Conservative	10	2.9%
	Independent	–	3	1.4%
	Independent Conservative	–	1	1.1%
	Independent Liberal	–	1	0.5%
	Independent Labour	–	1	0.4%
	Labour	–	0	0.3%
	Unknown³	–	0	0.0%⁴
Total			213	100.1%⁵
Source: Library of Parliament – History of Federal Ridings since 1867

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¹ Prime Minister when election was called; Prime Minister after the election.
² Leader of the Opposition when election was called; Leader of the Opposition after the election.
³ Election returns in 1900 did not require candidates to declare party affiliation. Some candidates did not list a party affiliation.
⁴ "Unknown" candidates only received 27 votes nationally.
⁵ Rounding error.

Federal election, 1904

Laurier again led the Liberals in the 1904 general election. His opponent this time was Robert Laird Borden, who had replaced Tupper as leader of the Conservatives. Laurier again won a majority government.

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Canadian Federal Election, 1904 – Parties, Leaders, Seats Won and Popular Vote
Party		Leaders	Seats Won	Popular Vote
	Liberal	Wilfrid Laurier¹	137	50.9%
	Conservative	Robert Laird Borden²	70	44.4%
		Robert Laird Borden²
	Liberal-Conservative	5	1.5%
	Independent	–	1	1.5%
	Independent Conservative	–	1	0.5%
	Labour	–	0	0.2%
	Socialist	–	0	0.2%
	Nationalist	–	0	0.1%
	Independent Liberal	–	0	0.0%³
	Unknown⁴	–	0	1.1%
Total			214	100.4%⁵
Source: Library of Parliament – History of Federal Ridings since 1867

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¹ Prime Minister when election was called; Prime Minister after the election.
² Leader of the Opposition when election was called; Leader of the Opposition after the election.
³ Independent Liberal candidates received only 309 votes nationally.
⁴ Election returns in 1904 did not require candidates to declare party affiliation. Some candidates did not list a party affiliation.
⁵ Rounding error.

Federal election, 1908

Laurier again led the Liberals in the 1908 general election. His opponent was again Robert Laird Borden, the leader of the Conservatives. Laurier again won a majority government, which would be his last of four victories.

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Canadian Federal Election, 1908 – Parties, Leaders, Seats Won and Popular Vote
Party		Leaders	Seats Won	Popular Vote
	Liberal	Wilfrid Laurier¹	133	48.9%
	Conservative	Robert Laird Borden²	82	45.0%
		Robert Laird Borden²
	Liberal-Conservative	3	1.3%
	Independent	–	1	1.5%
	Labour	–	1	0.9%
	Independent Conservative	–	1	0.5%
	Socialist	–	0	0.5%
	Independent Liberal	–	0	0.4
	Unknown³	–	0	1.2%
Total			213	100.2%⁴
Source: Library of Parliament – History of Federal Ridings since 1867

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¹ Prime Minister when election was called; Prime Minister after the election.
² Leader of the Opposition when election was called; Leader of the Opposition after the election.
³ Election returns in 1908 did not require candidates to declare party affiliation. Some candidates did not list a party affiliation.
⁴ Rounding error.

Federal election, 1911

Laurier again led the Liberals in the 1911 general election, which was fought on the issue of reciprocity (lowered trade barriers) with the United States. Naval policy was also an issue. Laurier lost to Robert Laird Borden, the leader of the Conservatives. The loss ended Laurier's streak of four electoral victories and fifteen years as prime minister. He became Leader of the Official Opposition.

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Canadian Federal Election, 1911 – Parties, Leaders, Seats Won and Popular Vote
Party		Leaders	Seats Won	Popular Vote
	Conservative	Robert Laird Borden¹	131	48.0%
		Robert Laird Borden¹
	Liberal-Conservative	1	0.5%
	Liberal	Wilfrid Laurier²	85	45.8%
	Independent Conservative	–	3	1.0%
	Labour	–	1	0.9%
	Independent	–	0	0.8%
	Socialist	–	0	0.4%
	Nationalist Conservative	–	0	0.3%
	Nationalist	–	0	0.3%
	Unknown³	–	0	2.0%
Total			221	100.0%
Source: Library of Parliament – History of Federal Ridings since 1867

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¹ Leader of the Opposition when election was called; Prime Minister after the election.
² Prime Minister when election was called; Leader of the Opposition after the election.
³ Election returns in 1911 did not require candidates to declare party affiliation. Some candidates did not list a party affiliation.

Federal election, 1917

The 1917 election was Laurier's last election. The election was fought entirely on the issue of conscription and Canada's role in World War I. The Liberal Party split between those Liberals who supported the Borden government's policy of conscription, and the Liberals led by Laurier, who opposed it. The election badly divided the country between English-Canadians, who tended to support conscription, and French-Canadians, who opposed it. Laurier and the Laurier Liberals lost the election, with Borden winning office as the leader of a Unionist (coalition) government. Laurier remained as Leader of the Opposition, but died in 1919, ending one of the longest careers in the Parliament of Canada, almost 45 years since he was first elected in 1874.

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Canadian Federal Election, 1917 – Parties, Leaders, Seats Won and Popular Vote
Party		Leaders	Seats Won	Popular Vote
	Government (Unionist)	Robert Laird Borden¹	153	56.9%
	Opposition (Laurier Liberals)	Wilfrid Laurier²	82	38.8%
	Labour	–	0	1.8%
	Opposition – Labour	–	0	1.0%
	Independent	–	0	0.6%
	Independent Liberal	–	0	0.4%
	Nonpartisan League	–	0	0.2%
	Unknown³	–	0	0.2%
Total			235	99.9%⁴
Source: Library of Parliament – History of Federal Ridings since 1867

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¹ Leader of the Opposition when election was called; Prime Minister after the election.
² Prime Minister when election was called; Leader of the Opposition after the election.
³ Election returns in 1911 did not require candidates to declare party affiliation. Some candidates did not list a party affiliation.
⁴ Rounding error.

Federal constituency elections, 1874 to 1917

Laurier stood for election to the House of Commons 20 times, in 1874, 1877 (twice), 1878, 1878, 1882, 1887, 1891 (twice), 1896 (three times), 1900, 1904 (twice), 1908 (twice), 1911 (twice), and 1917 (twice), although some of those were multiple elections in the same general election, as was permitted at that time. He won seventeen elections and was defeated three times.