1861 Newfoundland general election

The 1861 Newfoundland general election was held on May 2, 1861 to elect the members of the 8th General Assembly of Newfoundland in the Newfoundland Colony. It was triggered following the forced resignation of Premier John Kent by Governor Alexander Bannerman after Kent accused Bannerman of colluding with the Conservative Party. Bannerman had appointed Conservative leader Hugh Hoyles as the new Premier, but Kent quickly passed a motion of non-confidence against Hoyles' administration, forcing Bannerman to call an election.

The election was fraught with sectarian tensions. Most districts went uncontested for fear of violence. A riot broke out in St. John's. Canadian Encyclopedia: "St. John's Election Riot or 1861" https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/st-johns-election-riot-of-1861 accessed 2026-08-23 Riots prevented an election from occurring in the district of Harbour Grace. A violent confrontation broke out in Salmon Cove within the Harbour Main district, killing one man and injuring nine others, and the returns for that district were subsequently invalidated by the House of Assembly. A political deadlock ensued, and no party controlled the legislature until a by-election held in Harbour Grace in November 1861 finally gave Hoyles' Conservatives a majority government. Ambrose Shea subsequently became the leader of the Liberal Party.

Results  Party Leader 1859CandidatesSeats wonSeat change% of seats(% change)Popular vote % of vote(% change)ConservativeHugh Hoyles121516453.33%(13.33%)841.50%(28.65%)LiberalJohn Kent181814446.67%(13.33%)5,18492.52%(22.67%)Other0100.00%()3355.98%(5.98%)Totals303430100%5,603100%

Results by district Names in boldface type represent party leaders. † indicates that the incumbent did not run again. ‡ indicates that the incumbent ran in a different district. $ indicates that the incumbent was initially nominated for re-election, but they later chose to withdraw from the race.

St. John's

|bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=3|St. John's East || |John Kavanagh1,48933.70% |rowspan=3| |rowspan=3|Samuel Archibald (Independent)3357.58% || |John Kent

|Robert Parsons1,30929.62% || |John Kavanagh

|John Kent1,28629.10% || |Robert Parsons |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=3|St. John's West || |John CaseyWon by acclamation

|John Casey

|Thomas TalbotWon by acclamation

|Thomas Dwyer†

|Henry RenoufWon by acclamation

|Pierce Barron$

Conception Bay

|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Bay de Verde || |John BemisterWon by acclamation

|John Bemister |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Carbonear

|Edmund HanrahanWon by acclamation

|Edmund Hanrahan |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=2|Harbour Grace |rowspan=2| |rowspan=2| | |John HaywardNo returns declared

|John Hayward

|James PrendergastNo returns declared

|James Prendergast |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=2|Harbour Main

|George Hogsett31624.82% || |Patrick Nowlan (Independent Liberal)32525.53% || |Patrick Nowlan

|Charles Furey31024.35% || |Thomas Byrne (Independent Liberal)32225.29% || |Charles Furey |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=2|Port de Grave || |John LeamonWon by acclamation

|John Leamon

Avalon Peninsula

|bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=2|Ferryland |rowspan=2| |rowspan=2|John White847.09% || |Edward Shea57148.23% || |Thomas Glen

|Thomas Glen52944.68% || |Edward Shea |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=3|Placentia and St. Mary's

|Ambrose SheaWon by acclamation || |George Hogsett‡(ran in Harbour Main)

|W. G. FloodWon by acclamation || |John English†

|Richard McGrathWon by acclamation || |Richard McGrath

Eastern and Central Newfoundland

|bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=3|Bonavista Bay || |Stephen MarchWon by acclamation || |Stephen March

|John WarrenWon by acclamation || |John Warren

|Matthew WalbankWon by acclamation || |Matthew Walbank |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=3|Trinity Bay || |Stephen RendellWon by acclamation || |Stephen Rendell

|John WinterWon by acclamation || |John Winter

|Frederick CarterWon by acclamation || |Frederick Carter |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=3|Twillingate and Fogo || |William WhitewayWon by acclamation || |William Whiteway

|Thomas KnightWon by acclamation || |Thomas Knight

Southern Newfoundland

|bgcolor=whitesmoke|Burgeo and LaPoile || |D. W. ProwseWon by acclamation || |Hugh Hoyles‡(ran in Burin) |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=2|Burin || |Edward EvansWon by acclamation || |Ambrose Shea‡(ran in Placentia and St. Mary's)

|Hugh HoylesWon by acclamation || |James Rogerson† |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Fortune Bay || |Robert CarterWon by acclamation || |Robert Carter

Notes

References

Further reading