# 1883 Manitoba general election

The 1883 Manitoba general election was held on January 23, 1883, to elect 31 members to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba. Incumbent premier John Norquay and his allies won re-election. This was the first partisan election in Manitoba, though the political parties were still unofficial. Norquay himself was officially independent, but he aligned with the Conservative Party, and his MLAs were considered to be the province's de facto Conservative Party. Norquay was opposed by the Liberals, led by Thomas Greenway, who had previously founded the Provincial Rights Party before merging with the Liberals.

## Background

One of the main issues in the election was the CPR monopoly of railways in Manitoba. Business leaders and farmers wanted increased competition to lower costs, but Canadian prime minister John A. Macdonald refused to allow competition with the CPR. Thomas Greenway and the Liberals blamed Norquay for this, arguing that as a political ally of the Conservative prime minister, Norquay agreed to the CPR monopoly in exchange for federal financial aid to the province. Norquay hoped to break the monopoly too, but was uncertain about whether constructing railways was legally in provincial jurisdiction, and was wary of ruining relations with the federal government.

## Results by riding

| Electoral district | Candidates | Candidates | Incumbent |
| Electoral district | Conservative | Liberal | Incumbent |
| Assiniboia | Alexander Murray 95 - 72.0% | James Cunningham 37 - 28% | Alexander Murray |
| Baie St. Paul | Edward Fairbanks Acclaimed | | Marc Amable Girard |
| Birtle | Edward Leacock 251 - 50.9% | Robert Nelson 242 - 49.1% | Edward Leacock |
| Brandon | Joseph Woodworth 859 - 55.8% | John Sifton 681 - 44.2% | John Sifton |
| Burnside | Isaiah Mawhinney 185 - 60.0% | John Smith 124 - 40.0% | John Smith |
| Cartier | Joseph Lecomte 153 - 65.1% John Hargrave 67 - 28.5% | J Parker 15 - 6.4% | Gilbert McMicken |
| Dauphin | John Davidson Acclaimed | | John Davidson |
| Dufferin North | David Wilson 304 - 60.2% | H Landerkin 201 - 39.8% | David Wilson |
| Dufferin South | John Stewart 112 - 41.9% | William Winram 155 - 58.1% | William Winram |
| Emerson | R Chalmers 168 - 48.6% | Frederick Burnham 178 - 51.4% | Thomas Carney |
| High Bluff-Poplar Point | William Crawford 68 - 50.7% | H Rose 49.3% | John Drummond |
| Kildonan and St. Paul | Alexander Sutherland 100 - 57.1% | John Sutherland 75 - 42.9% | Alexander Sutherland |
| La Verendrye | Maxime Goulet 181 - 51.1% Louis Prud'homme 173 - 48.9% | | Louis Prud'homme |
| Minnedosa | David Harrison 495 - 53.6% | David Glass 428 - 46.4% | John Crerar |
| Morris West | Henry Tennant 204 - 42.9% G Wilde 134 - 28.2% | Alphonse Martin 138 - 30.0% | Joseph Taillefer |
| Mountain | John Norquay 244 - 42.5% | Thomas Greenway 330 - 57.5% | Thomas Greenway |
| Norkfolk | W Ross 37.1% | Charles Hay 62.9% | New riding |
| Portage la Prairie | W Black 304 - 49.0% | Joseph Martin 315 - 50.7% Edward Hay 2 - 0.3% | James Cowan |
| Rockwood | James Miller 74 - 22.8% | Samuel Jackson 250 - 77.2% | John Aikins |
| Springfield | Charles Edie 162 - 48.9% | John Bell 169 - 51.1% | Charles Edie |
| St. Agathe | Alexander Kittson Acclaimed | | Alexander Kittson |
| St. Andrews | John Norquay Acclaimed | | John Norquay |
| St. Boniface | Alphonse Larivière 97 - 68.8% | Edouard Richard 44 - 31.2% | Alphonse Larivière |
| St. Clements | John Allan 94 - 54.7% | John Gunn 78 - 45.3% | Edward Hay |
| St. Francois Xavier | Edward Gigot 66.7% | Daniel Carey 36 - 33.3% | Patrice Breland |
| Turtle Mountain | James Alexander 145 - 38.5% | Findlay Young 232 - 61.5% | James Alexander |
| Westbourne | Corydon Brown Acclaimed | | David Marr Walker |
| Winnipeg North | A Monkman 218 - 42.2% | Elias Conklin 299 - 57.8% | New riding |
| Winnipeg South | C Tuttle 196 - 43.1% | Albert Killam 259 - 56.9% | New riding |
| Woodlands | William Wagner 136 - 78.6% Francis Lipsett 37 - 21.4% | | Francis Lipsett |