2nd Canadian Parliament

The 2nd Canadian Parliament was in session from March 5, 1873, until January 2, 1874. The membership was set by the 1872 federal election from July 20 to October 12, 1872, and it changed only somewhat due to resignations and by-elections until it was dissolved prior to the 1874 election. Among the by-elections were the first election of PEI MPs, PEI joining Confederation in 1873.

2nd Parliament of Canada
Majority parliament
5 March 1873 – 2 January 1874
Parliament leaders
Prime Minister	Rt Hon. Sir John A. Macdonald 1 Jul 1867 – 5 Nov 1873
	Rt Hon. Alexander Mackenzie 7 Nov 1873 – 8 Oct 1878
Cabinets	1st Canadian Ministry 2nd Canadian Ministry
Leader of the Opposition	Alexander Mackenzie March 6, 1873 – November 5, 1873
	Sir John A. Macdonald November 6, 1873 – October 16, 1878
Party caucuses
Government	Conservative Party & Liberal-Conservative
Opposition	Liberal Party*
* The Liberal Party briefly formed government at the end of the 2nd Parliament.
House of Commons
Seating arrangements of the House of Commons
Speaker of the Commons	Hon. James Cockburn November 6, 1867 – March 5, 1874
Members	200 seats MP seats List of members
Senate
Speaker of the Senate	The Hon. Pierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau February 21, 1872 – January 8, 1874
Government Senate Leader	Alexander Campbell July 1, 1867 – November 5, 1873
	Luc Letellier de St-Just November 5, 1873 – December 14, 1876
Opposition Senate Leader	Alexander Campbell November 7, 1873 – October 8, 1878
Senators	79 seats senator seats List of senators
Sovereign
Monarch	Victoria 1 July 1867 – 22 Jan. 1901
Governor General	The Earl of Dufferin 25 June 1872 – 25 Nov. 1878
Sessions
1st session March 5, 1873 – August 13, 1873
2nd session October 23, 1873 – November 7, 1873
← 1st → 3rd

Sir John A. Macdonald was Prime Minister during most of the 2nd Canadian Parliament.

Alexander Mackenzie and his Liberal Party briefly took power at the end of the 2nd Parliament.

It was first controlled by a Conservative/Liberal-Conservative majority under Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald and the 1st Canadian Ministry. The Official Opposition was the Liberal Party, led by Alexander Mackenzie. After a scandal in the Conservative Party, the Liberals took power, forming the 2nd Canadian Ministry. Alexander Mackenzie, now Prime Minister, immediately called an election.

The Speaker was James Cockburn. See also List of Canadian electoral districts 1872-1873 for a list of the ridings in this parliament.

The unusual case of a new party taking control of the government between elections has only happened in the federal government twice; the other occasion was in the 15th Canadian parliament.

There were 2 sessions of the 2nd Parliament:

Session	Start	End
1st	March 5, 1873	August 13, 1873
2nd	October 23, 1873	November 7, 1873

List of members

Following is a full list of members of the second parliament listed first by province, then by electoral district. Party leaders are italicized. Cabinet ministers are in boldface. The Prime Minister is both. The Speaker is indicated by "(†)".

Electoral districts denoted by an asterisk (*) indicates that district was represented by two members.

British Columbia

Electoral district		Name	Party	First elected
Cariboo		Joshua Spencer Thompson	Liberal-Conservative	1871
New Westminster		Hugh Nelson	Liberal-Conservative	1871
Vancouver		Francis Hincks	Liberal-Conservative	1872
Victoria*		Henry Nathan Jr.	Liberal	1871
		Amor De Cosmos	Liberal	1871
Yale		Edgar Dewdney	Conservative	1872

Manitoba

Electoral district		Name	Party	First elected
Lisgar		John Christian Schultz	Conservative	1871
Marquette		Robert Cunningham	Liberal	1872
Provencher		The Honourable Sir George-Étienne Cartier to May 20, 1873 (death)	Liberal-Conservative	1872
		Louis Riel from October 13, 1873	Independent	1873
Selkirk		Donald A. Smith	Independent Conservative	1871

New Brunswick

Electoral district		Name	Party	First elected
Albert		John Wallace	Liberal	1867
Carleton		The Honourable Charles Connell	Liberal	1867
Charlotte		John McAdam	Liberal-Conservative	1872
City and County of St. John*		Isaac Burpee	Liberal	1872
		Acalus Lockwood Palmer	Liberal	1872
City of St. John		The Honourable Samuel Leonard Tilley to November 15, 1873 (named Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick)	Liberal-Conservative	1867
		Jeremiah Smith Boies De Veber from December 1, 1873	Liberal	1873
Gloucester		Timothy Warren Anglin	Liberal	1867
Kent		Robert Barry Cutler	Liberal	1872
King's		James Domville	Conservative	1872
Northumberland		The Honourable Peter Mitchell	Independent	1872
Queen's		John Ferris	Liberal	1867
Restigouche		George Moffat	Conservative	1870
Sunbury		Charles Burpee	Liberal	1867
Victoria		John Costigan	Liberal-Conservative	1867
Westmorland		The Honourable Albert James Smith	Liberal	1867
York		John Pickard	Independent Liberal	1868

Two MPs recontested their seats in byelections, and were reelected.

• Albert James Smith was reelected in Westmorland on November 28, 1873.
• Isaac Burpee was reelected in the City and County of St. John on December 1, 1873.

Nova Scotia

Electoral district		Name	Party	First elected
Annapolis		William Hallett Ray	Liberal	1867
Antigonish		Hugh McDonald to May 11, 1873 (appointed to Supreme Court of Nova Scotia)	Liberal-Conservative	1867
		Angus McIsaac from December 20, 1873	Liberal	1873
Cape Breton*		Newton LeGayet Mackay	Conservative	1872
		William McDonald	Conservative	1872
Colchester		Frederick M. Pearson	Liberal	1870
Cumberland		Charles Tupper	Conservative	1867
Digby		Alfred William Savary	Conservative	1867
Guysborough		Stewart Campbell	Liberal-Conservative	1867
Halifax*		William Johnston Almon	Liberal-Conservative	1867
		Stephen Tobin	Liberal	1872
Hants		Joseph Howe to July 5, 1873	Liberal-Conservative	1867
		Monson Henry Goudge from July 5, 1873	Liberal	1873
Inverness		Samuel McDonnell	Conservative	1872
Kings		Leverett de Veber Chipman	Liberal	1870
Lunenburg		Charles Edward Church	Liberal	1872
Pictou*		Robert Doull	Liberal-Conservative	1872
		James McDonald	Conservative	1872
Queens		James Fraser Forbes	Liberal	1867
Richmond		Isaac Le Vesconte	Conservative	1869
Shelburne		Thomas Coffin	Liberal-Conservative	1867
			Liberal
Victoria		William Ross to July 11, 1873 (appointment to cabinet)	Liberal	1867
		William Ross from December 20, 1873	Liberal
Yarmouth		Frank Killam	Liberal	1868

Two MPs recontested their seats in byelections, and were reelected.

• Hugh McDonald was reelected in Antigonish on July 7, 1873, on being named Minister of Militia and Defence.
• Thomas Coffin was reelected in Shelburne on July 11, 1873, on being named Receiver-General of Canada.

Ontario

Electoral district		Name	Party	First elected
Addington		Schuyler Shibley	Liberal-Conservative	1872
Algoma		John Beverley Robinson	Conservative	1872
Bothwell		David Mills	Liberal	1867
Brant North		Gavin Fleming	Liberal	1872
Brant South		William Paterson	Liberal	1872
Brockville		Jacob Dockstader Buell	Liberal	1872
Bruce North		John Gillies	Liberal	1872
Bruce South		Edward Blake	Liberal	1872
Cardwell		John Hillyard Cameron	Conservative	1867
Carleton		John Rochester	Conservative	1872
Cornwall		Darby Bergin	Liberal-Conservative	1872
Dundas		William Gibson	Independent Liberal	1872
Durham East		Lewis Ross	Liberal Reformer	1872
Durham West		Edward Blake to April 10, 1873 (dual election in Durham West and Bruce South)	Liberal	1867
		Edmund Burke Wood from April 10, 1873	Liberal	1873
Elgin East		William Harvey	Liberal	1872
Elgin West		George Elliott Casey	Liberal	1872
Essex		John O'Connor	Conservative	1867
Frontenac		George Airey Kirkpatrick	Conservative	1870
Glengarry		Donald Alexander Macdonald	Liberal	1867
Grenville South		William Henry Brouse	Liberal	1872
Grey East		William Kingston Flesher	Conservative	1872
Grey North		George Snider	Liberal	1867
Grey South		George Landerkin	Liberal	1872
Haldimand		David Thompson	Liberal	1867
Halton		John White	Liberal	1867
Hamilton*		Daniel Black Chisholm	Liberal-Conservative	1872
		Henry Buckingham Witton	Conservative Labour	1872
Hastings East		John White	Conservative	1871
Hastings North		Mackenzie Bowell	Conservative	1867
Hastings West		James Brown	Conservative	1867
Huron Centre		Horace Horton	Liberal	1872
Huron North		Thomas Farrow	Liberal-Conservative	1867
Huron South		Malcolm Colin Cameron	Liberal	1867
Kent		Rufus Stephenson	Conservative	1867
Kingston		The Right Honourable Sir John A. Macdonald	Liberal-Conservative	1867
Lambton		Alexander Mackenzie	Liberal	1867
Lanark North		Daniel Galbraith	Liberal	1872
Lanark South		John Graham Haggart	Conservative	1872
Leeds North and Grenville North		Francis Jones	Conservative	1867
Leeds South		Albert Norton Richards	Liberal	1872
Lennox		Richard John Cartwright	Liberal	1867
Lincoln		Thomas Rodman Merritt	Liberal	1868
London		John Carling	Liberal-Conservative	1867
Middlesex East		David Glass	Conservative	1872
Middlesex North		Thomas Scatcherd	Liberal	1867
Middlesex West		George William Ross	Liberal	1872
Monck		James David Edgar	Liberal	1872
Muskoka		Alexander Peter Cockburn	Liberal	1872
Niagara		Angus Morrison	Conservative	1867
Norfolk North		John Charlton	Liberal	1872
Norfolk South		William Wallace	Conservative	1872
Northumberland East		Joseph Keeler	Liberal-Conservative	1867
Northumberland West		James Cockburn (†)	Conservative	1867
Ontario North		William Henry Gibbs	Conservative	1872
Ontario South		Thomas Nicholson Gibbs	Liberal-Conservative	1867
Ottawa (City of)*		John Bower Lewis	Conservative	1872
		Joseph Merrill Currier	Liberal-Conservative	1867
Oxford North		Thomas Oliver	Liberal	1867
Oxford South		Ebenezer Vining Bodwell	Liberal	1867
Peel		Robert Smith	Liberal	1872
Perth North		Thomas Mayne Daly	Liberal-Conservative	1872
Perth South		James Trow	Liberal	1872
Peterborough East		Peregrine Maitland Grover	Conservative	1867
Peterborough West		John Bertram	Liberal	1872
		William Cluxton (not elected candidate but designated by return)	Conservative	1872
Prescott		Albert Hagar	Liberal	1867
Prince Edward		Walter Ross	Liberal	1867
Renfrew North		James Findlay	Liberal	1872
Renfrew South		James O'Reilly	Liberal-Conservative	1872
Russell		James Alexander Grant	Conservative	1867
Simcoe North		Herman Henry Cook	Liberal	1872
Simcoe South		William Carruthers Little	Liberal-Conservative	1867
Stormont		Cyril Archibald	Liberal	1872
Toronto Centre		Robert Wilkes	Liberal	1872
Toronto East		James Beaty	Conservative	1867
Victoria North		Joseph Staples	Conservative	1872
Victoria South		George Dormer	Conservative	1872
Waterloo North		Isaac Erb Bowman	Liberal	1867
Waterloo South		James Young	Liberal	1867
Welland		Thomas Clark Street (died September 20, 1872, 22 days before the election)	Conservative	1867
		William Alexander Thomson from November 23, 1872	Liberal	1872
Wellington Centre		James Ross	Liberal	1869
Wellington North		Nathaniel Higinbotham	Liberal	1872
Wellington South		David Stirton	Liberal	1867
Wentworth North		Thomas Bain	Liberal	1872
Wentworth South		Joseph Rymal	Liberal	1867
West Toronto		John Willoughby Crawford to November 4, 1873 (resigned)	Conservative	1872
		Thomas Moss from December 18, 1873	Liberal	1873
York East		James Metcalfe	Liberal	1867
York North		Anson Dodge	Conservative	1872
York West		David Blain	Liberal	1872

Five MPs recontested their seats in byelections, and were reelected.

• Thomas Nicholson Gibbs was reelected in Ontario South on July 7, 1873.
• Alexander Mackenzie was reelected in Lambton on November 25, 1873.
• Donald Alexander MacDonald was reelected in Glengarry on November 26, 1873.
• Richard John Cartwright was reelected in Lennox on December 3, 1873.
• Edward Blake was reelected in Bruce South on December 4, 1873.

Quebec

Electoral district		Name	Party	First elected
Argenteuil		John Abbott	Liberal-Conservative	1867
Bagot		Pierre-Samuel Gendron	Conservative	1867
Beauce		Christian Pozer	Liberal	1867
Beauharnois		Ulysse-Janvier Robillard	Independent Conservative	1872
Bellechasse		Télesphore Fournier	Liberal	1870
Berthier		Anselme-Homère Pâquet	Liberal	1867
Bonaventure		Théodore Robitaille	Conservative	1867
Brome		Edward Carter	Conservative	1871
Chambly		Pierre Benoit	Conservative	1867
Champlain		John Jones Ross	Conservative	1867
Charlevoix		Pierre-Alexis Tremblay	Liberal	1867
Châteauguay		Luther Hamilton Holton	Liberal	1867
Chicoutimi—Saguenay		William Evan Price	Liberal-Conservative	1872
Compton		John Henry Pope	Liberal-Conservative	1867
Dorchester		Hector-Louis Langevin	Conservative	1867
Drummond—Arthabaska		Pierre-Nérée Dorion	Liberal	1872
Gaspé		Pierre Fortin	Conservative	1867
Hochelaga		Louis Beaubien	Conservative	1872
Huntingdon		Julius Scriver	Liberal	1869
Iberville		François Béchard	Liberal	1867
Jacques Cartier		Rodolphe Laflamme	Liberal	1872
Joliette		Louis François Georges Baby	Conservative	1872
Kamouraska		Charles Pelletier	Liberal	1869
Laprairie		Alfred Pinsonneault	Conservative	1867
L'Assomption		Louis Archambeault	Liberal-Conservative	1867
Laval		Joseph Bellerose to July 10, 1873 (called to the Senate)	Conservative	1867
		Joseph-Aldric Ouimet from October 28, 1873	Liberal-Conservative	1873
Lévis		Joseph Blanchet	Liberal-Conservative	1867
L'Islet		Philippe Baby Casgrain	Liberal	1872
Lotbinière		Henri Joly de Lotbinière	Liberal	1867
Maskinongé		Louis-Alphonse Boyer	Liberal	1872
Mégantic		Édouard-Émery Richard	Liberal	1872
Missisquoi		George Baker	Liberal-Conservative	1870
Montcalm		Firmin Dugas	Conservative	1871
Montmagny		Henri-Thomas Taschereau	Liberal	1872
Montmorency		Jean Langlois	Conservative	1867
Montreal Centre		Michael Patrick Ryan	Liberal-Conservative	1872
Montreal East		Louis-Amable Jetté	Liberal	1872
Montreal West		John Young	Liberal	1872
Napierville		Antoine-Aimé Dorion	Liberal	1872
Nicolet		Joseph Gaudet	Conservative	1867
Ottawa (County of)		Alonzo Wright	Liberal-Conservative	1867
Pontiac		William McKay Wright	Liberal-Conservative	1872
Portneuf		Esdras Alfred de St-Georges	Liberal	1872
Quebec-Centre		Joseph-Édouard Cauchon	Conservative	1872
Quebec County		Pierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau to February 20, 1873 (called to the Senate)	Conservative	1867
		Adolphe-Philippe Caron from March 28, 1873	Conservative	1873
Quebec East		Adolphe Guillet dit Tourangeau	Conservative	1870
Quebec West		Thomas McGreevy	Liberal-Conservative	1867
Richelieu		Michel Mathieu	Conservative	1872
Richmond—Wolfe		William Hoste Webb	Conservative	1867
Rimouski		Jean-Baptiste Romuald Fiset	Liberal	1872
Rouville		Honoré Mercier	Liberal	1872
Saint Maurice		Élie Lacerte	Conservative	1868
Shefford		Lucius Huntington	Liberal	1867
Town of Sherbrooke		Edward Towle Brooks	Conservative	1872
Soulanges		Jacques-Philippe Lantier	Conservative	1872
St. Hyacinthe		Louis Delorme	Liberal	1870
St. John's		François Bourassa	Liberal	1867
Stanstead		Charles Colby	Liberal-Conservative	1867
Témiscouata		Élie Mailloux	Conservative	1872
Terrebonne		Louis Masson	Conservative	1867
Three Rivers		William McDougall	Conservative	1868
Two Mountains		Wilfrid Prévost	Liberal	1872
Vaudreuil		Robert Harwood	Liberal-Conservative	1872
Verchères		Félix Geoffrion	Liberal	1867
Yamaska		Joseph Duguay	Conservative	1872

Three MPs recontested their seats in byelections, and were reelected.

• Télesphore Fournier was reelected in Bellechasse on November 27, 1873, after being named Minister of Inland Revenue.
• Théodore Robitaille was reelected in Bonaventure on February 15, 1873, after being named Receiver-General.
• Antoine Aimé Dorion was reelected in Napierville on November 27, 1873, after being named Minister of Justice and Attorney General.

Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island joined Canada on July 1, 1873. By-elections for the House of Commons were held on September 29, 1873.

Electoral district		Name	Party	First elected
King's County*		Daniel Davies	Conservative	1873
		Augustine Colin Macdonald	Liberal-Conservative	1873
Prince County*		James Colledge Pope	Conservative	1873
		James Yeo	Liberal	1873
Queen's County*		David Laird	Liberal	1873
		Peter Sinclair Sr.	Liberal	1873

References

• Government of Canada. "1st Ministry". Guide to Canadian Ministries since Confederation. Privy Council Office. Archived from the original on 2005-12-28. Retrieved 2006-11-09.
• Government of Canada. "2nd Ministry". Guide to Canadian Ministries since Confederation. Privy Council Office. Retrieved 2006-11-09.
• Government of Canada. "2nd Parliament". Members of the House of Commons: 1867 to Date: By Parliament. Library of Parliament. Retrieved 2012-04-28.
• Government of Canada. "Duration of Sessions". Library of Parliament. Archived from the original on 2007-11-14. Retrieved 2006-05-12.
• Government of Canada. "General Elections". Library of Parliament. Archived from the original on 2006-05-04. Retrieved 2006-05-12.
• Government of Canada. "Key Dates for each Parliament". Library of Parliament. Archived from the original on 2005-09-14. Retrieved 2006-05-12.
• Government of Canada. "Leaders of the Opposition in the House of Commons". Library of Parliament. Archived from the original on 2007-03-11. Retrieved 2006-05-12.
• Government of Canada. "Prime Ministers of Canada". Library of Parliament. Archived from the original on 27 April 2006. Retrieved 2006-05-12.
• Government of Canada. "Speakers". Library of Parliament. Archived from the original on 2006-09-17. Retrieved 2006-05-12.

By-elections

Main article: By-elections to the 2nd Canadian Parliament