User:Mr Serjeant Buzfuz/Electoral history of Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière



This article is the Electoral history of Sir Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière, the fourth Premier of the Canadian province of Quebec. He served from 1878 to 1879, the first of thirteen Liberal premiers.

Joly de Lotbinière was active in politics in the old Province of Canada. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada, as a member of the Parti Rouge. Following Confederation, which created the Province of Quebec, the Liberal party formed from the old Parti Rouge, and Joly de Lotbinière gradually became accepted as the leader of the provincial Liberals in the Legislative Assembly of Quebec. He was also initially a member of the federal House of Commons, an example of a dual mandate.

Joly de Lotbinière led the Quebec Liberals in five general elections, in 1867, 1871, 1875, 1878 and 1881. He was unsuccessful in the first three elections, but became premier in 1878 when the Lieutenant Governor of Quebec, Luc Letellier de Saint-Just, dismissed Premier Charles Boucher de Boucherville, a Conservative, and appointed Joly de Lotbinière as premier in 1878. Joly de Lotbinière then called the 1878 general election and won a minority government. His premiership was short-lived, as he was forced from office by the Conservatives in 1879 and replaced as premier by Joseph-Adolphe Chapleau. He resumed the position of Leader of the Opposition from 1879 to 1883, eventually resigning his seat in the Assembly in 1885.

Joly de Lotbinière returned to federal politics in the 1896 federal election, winning a seat in the House of Commons. He served in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier from 1897 to 1900. In 1900, the Laurier government appointed him as the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, a post he held until 1906. Following his term as Lieutenant Governer, he returned to Quebec and retired. He died in 1908.

Summary


Joly de Lotbinière ranks twenty-first out of thirty-two premiers of Quebec by time in office, serving from March 8, 1878 to October 31, 1879. He was in office for a total of 22 years, 308 days.

Joly de Lotbinière began his political career in the election of 1861, when he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada for the riding of Lotbinière. He initially supported the moderate Reform liberals led by Louis-Victor Sicotte, but following his re-election in 1863, he supported the more radical Parti Rouge led by Antoine-Aimé Dorion. Like other Rouges, he opposed the Confederation proposal.

Canada came into existence on July 1, 1867, when the British North America Act, 1867 came into force. The former Province of Canada was split into the new provinces of Quebec (formerly Lower Canada) and Ontario (formerly Upper Canada). Joly de Lotbinière lost his seat in the old Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada, as that Assembly was extinguished as part of the new constitutional structure, replaced by the new Legislative Assemblies in Quebec and Ontario, and the House of Commons of Canada at the federal level.

Joly de Lotbinière stood for election to both the Legislative Assembly of Quebec and the federal House of Commons. Elected to both, he gradually assumed the leadership of the Liberal Party of Quebec, becoming recognised as the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly from 1869 onwards. He led the Liberals in the next four general elections, and is credited with being the main founder of the Quebec Liberal party.

Joly de Lotbinière became premier in 1878, not as a result of electoral politics, but as the result of the actions of the Lieutenant Governor, Luc Letellier de Saint-Just, who was a strongly partisan Liberal. Letellier de Saint-Just was highly critical of the Conservative government led by Premier Charles Boucher de Boucherville. In the spring of 1878 the Lieutenant Governor dismissed Boucher de Boucherville and called on Joly de Lotbinière to form a government. Lacking a majority in the Legislative Assembly, Joly de Lotbinière called a general election, which resulted in a hung parliament. Joly de Lotbinière was initially able to form a minority government with the support of a few independent Conservatives. However, in the fall of 1879, the Conservatives under their new leader, Joseph-Adolphe Chapleau, were able to force the resignation of the Liberal government and took office. Joly de Lotbinière remained as leader of the Liberals into the 1881 general election, but was badly defeated by Chapleau and the Conservatives. He resigned as leader in 1883, and resigned his seat in 1885.

At the federal level, Joly de Lotbinière was elected to the House of Commons in 1867 and 1872, but ceased being a member in 1874, when the federal government abolished the possibility of a dual mandate. The federal Liberal government of Prime Minister Alexander Mackenzie tried to attract him to return to federal politics, twice offering him a position in the Senate of Canada and a Cabinet position, but he declined. After he retired from provincial politics, he returned to federal politics in 1896 when he was elected to the House of Commons under the leadership of Wilfrid Laurier. Laurier appointed him as Controller of Inland Revenue in 1896, and in 1897 he was appointed to the federal Cabinet. He resigned from Cabinet and the Commons in 1900 on his appointment as Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, a position he held until 1906, when he retired from public service.

He died in Quebec in 1908.

Quebec general elections, 1867 to 1878
Joly de Lotbinière led the Quebec Liberals in five general elections: 1867, 1871, 1875, 1878 and 1881. He was defeated in the first three elections. He won a minority government in the election of 1878, but was defeated in his fifth and last general election in 1881.

1867 General election
In the first general election after Quebec was created, the Liberals did not have a developed party structure. Joly de Lotbinière acted as the unofficial leader. They were defeated by the Conservatives led by Pierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau, who won a strong majority in the Legislative Assembly.

1 Premier when election was called; Premier after election. 2 Leader of the Opposition from 1869 onwards. 3 The riding of Kamouraska did not elect a member until 1869. 4 Rounding error.

1871 General election
In his second general election, this time officially as party leader, Joly de Lotbinière was again defeated by Chauveau and the Conservatives, although the Liberals won an increase in their seats.

1 Premier when election was called; Premier after the election. 2 Leader of the Opposition when election was called; Leader of the Opposition after the election.

1875 General election
In his third general election, Joly de Lotbinière was again defeated, this time by Charles Boucher de Boucherville and the Conservatives, who won a strong majority in the Legislative Assembly.

1 Premier when election was called; Premier after election. 2 Leader of the Opposition when election was called; Leader of the Opposition after election.

1878 General election
In his fourth general election, the voters returned a closely divided Legislative Assembly. Joly de Lotbinière was initially able to maintain a minority government, even though the Liberals had one less seat than the Conservatives, now led by Joseph-Adolphe Chapleau. The situation was nonetheless unstable, and he lost office partway through the term of the Legislative Assembly to Chapleau.

1 Premier when election was called; Premier after election. 2 Leader of the Opposition when election was called; Leader of the Opposition after election.

1881 General election
In his fifth and final general election, Joly de Lotbinière was again defeated by Chapleau, who won a strong majority.

1 Premier when election was called; Premier after election. 2 Leader of the Opposition when election was called; Leader of the Opposition after election.

Quebec constituency elections, 1867 to 1881
Joly de Lotbinière stood for election to the Legislative Assembly five times, all for the constituency of Lotbinière. He was elected all five times, twice by acclamation.

1867 General election: Lotbinière
Elected.

1871 General election: Lotbinière
Elected. X Incumbent

1875 General election: Lotbinière
Elected. X Incumbent

1878 General election: Lotbinière
Elected. X Incumbent

1881 General election: Lotbinière
Elected. X Incumbent.

Federal constituency elections, 1867, 1871, 1896, 1897
Joly de Lotbinière stood for election to the House of Commons four times, twice in the federal riding of Lotbinière and twice in Portneuf. He was elected all four times, three times by acclamation.

1867 General election: Lotbinière
Elected.

1872 General election: Lotbinière
Elected. X Incumbent.

1896 General election: Portneuf
Elected.

1896 By-election: Portneuf
The by-election was called on Joly de Lotbinière accepting the position of Controller of Inland Revenue, an office of profit under the Crown, on July 13, 1896.

Elected. X Incumbent.

Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia
Joly de Lotbinière resigned his seat in the House of Commons and his Cabinet position on June 21, 1900, when he was appointed Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia. He held that position until May 25, 1906.

Province of Canada Legislative Assembly
Prior to Confederation, Joly de Lotbinière served two terms in the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada. He was elected as the member for the riding of Lotbinière en 1861, as a moderate reform liberal. He was re-elected by acclamation in 1863, joining the Parti Rouge, opposed to the Confederation project.