1919 Ontario general election


The 1919 Ontario general election, held on October 20, 1919, elected 111 Members of the 15th Legislative Assembly of Ontario. The United Farmers of Ontario captured the most seats but only a minority of the legislature. They joined with 11 Labour MPPs and three others to form a coalition government, ending the 14-year rule of the Ontario Conservatives.
It was the 15th general election held in the Province of Ontario, Canada.
The young United Farmers of Ontario defeated the Ontario Conservative Party, led by Sir William Howard Hearst, trying for a fifth consecutive term in office, much of it under James Whitney. Whitney had died in 1914.
The UFO ran in the election without a party leader and with only two incumbent MPPs, Beniah Bowman and John Wesley Widdifield, who had entered the legislature by winning by-elections in Manitoulin and Ontario North. It emerged from the vote with the largest bloc of seats and joined the eleven Labour MLAs to form a coalition government. Liberal-UFO MLA David James Taylor of Grey North and "Soldier" MLA Joseph McNamara of Riverdale and Labour-UFO MLA Karl Homuth of Waterloo South were also members of the governing caucus giving Drury's coalition 58 seats in total.
Ernest C. Drury agreed to lead the new government as Premier of Ontario. Drury had not been a candidate in the election and had to run in a by-election to enter the legislature following his appointment to the office of Premier.
The Ontario Liberal Party, led by Hartley Dewart, maintained and increased the size of its caucus by a small number. The Conservative Party lost the most ground to the UFO and Labour.

Results

Note:
* Party did not nominate candidates in the previous election.