The 1915 Prince Edward Island general election was held in the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island on September 16, 1915. The election was held in the midst of the First World War.
The election was won by the governing Conservatives, led by incumbent Premier John A. Mathieson, whose government lost a large number of seats as the opposition Liberals won back a number of districts lost in previous elections.
The Liberals in this election were able to climb up from one of their worst electoral defeats in 1912 to nearly topple the Mathieson government. However, it is unknown who the Liberal leader was during the election, if there was one at all. Previous Official Opposition Leader John Richards chose not to run in this election, while his successor John Howatt Bell was chosen as leader following the election. It is possible the Liberals did not have an official leader for this election.
Party Standings
PartyParty LeaderSeatsPopular Vote1912Elected#%John A. Mathieson281717,17950.1%Liberalunknown21317,09749.9%
Members Elected
The Legislature of Prince Edward Island had two levels of membership from 1893 to 1996 - Assemblymen and Councillors. This was a holdover from when the Island had a bicameral legislature, the General Assembly and the Legislative Council.
In 1893, the Legislative Council was abolished and had its membership merged with the Assembly, though the two titles remained separate and were elected by different electoral franchises. Assembleymen were elected by all eligible voters of within a district, while Councillors were only elected by landowners within a district.
Kings
District Assemblyman Party Councillor Party 1st Kings Augustine A. MacDonald Conservative John McLean Conservative 2nd Kings Harvey D. McEwen Conservative James D. McInnis Liberal 3rd Kings John A. Dewar Conservative James J. Johnston Liberal 4th Kings Albert P. Prowse Conservative Murdock MacKinnon Conservative 5th Kings Roderick J. McLellan Conservative John Alexander Mathieson Conservative
Queens
District Assemblyman Party Councillor Party 1st Queens Murdock Kennedy Conservative Alexander McNevin Conservative 2nd Queens George E. Hughes Liberal John McMillan Liberal 3rd Queens Leonard Wood Conservative David McDonald Liberal 4th Queens John S. Martin Conservative George Forbes Liberal 5th Queens James Paton Conservative Stephen R. Jenkins Conservative
Prince
District Assemblyman Party Councillor Party 1st Prince Benjamin Gallant Liberal Charles E. Dalton Conservative 2nd Prince Albert Charles Saunders Liberal William H. Dennis Liberal 3rd Prince Aubin Edmond Arsenault Conservative Alfred E. MacLean Liberal 4th Prince John Howatt Bell* Liberal Walter Lea Liberal 5th Prince James A. MacNeill Conservative Hubert Howatt Liberal
John Howatt Bell named Leader of the Official Opposition and Liberal Party Leader following the election
Sources
Further reading