# 8th Parliament of Ontario

The 8th Legislative Assembly of Ontario was in session from June 26, 1894, until January 28, 1898, just prior to the 1898 general election. The majority party was the Ontario Liberal Party led by Oliver Mowat. Arthur Sturgis Hardy succeeded Mowat as Premier in 1896 after Mowat entered federal politics. The Assembly also had significant groupings from the Patrons of Industry (representing farmers' interests) and the Protestant Protective Association (representing anti-Catholic sentiment, and associated with the Orange Order), each of which returned candidates either on their own or with local Liberal or Conservative support.
William Douglas Balfour served as Speaker for the assembly until he was named to cabinet on July 14, 1896. Alfred Évanturel succeeded him as Speaker.

## Members of the Assembly

| Riding | Member | Party | First elected / previously elected |
| Addington | James Reid | Conservative | 1890 |
| Algoma East | Charles Franklin Farwell | Liberal | 1894 |
| Algoma West | James M. Savage | Conservative | 1894 |
| Algoma West | James Conmee (1895) | Liberal | 1885, 1895 |
| Brant | William Bruce Wood | Liberal | 1886 |
| Brant | Daniel Burt (1895) | Liberal | 1895 |
| Brant South | Arthur Sturgis Hardy | Liberal | 1873 |
| Brockville | George Augustus Dana | Liberal | 1894 |
| Bruce Centre | John Stevenson McDonald | Liberal-Patrons of Industry | 1894 |
| Bruce North | Daniel McNaughton | Liberal-Protestant Protective | 1893 |
| Bruce South | Reuben Eldridge Truax | Liberal | 1894 |
| Cardwell | Edward Alfred Little | Conservative-Protestant Protective | 1894 |
| Carleton | George Nelson Kidd | Conservative-Patrons of Industry | 1894 |
| Dufferin | William Dynes | Patrons of Industry | 1894 |
| Dundas | James Pliny Whitney | Conservative | 1888 |
| Durham East | William Armstrong Fallis | Conservative | 1894 |
| Durham West | William Henry Reid | Conservative-Protestant Protective | 1894 |
| Elgin East | Charles Andrew Brower | Conservative | 1894 |
| Elgin West | Donald Macnish | Liberal-Patrons of Industry | 1894 |
| Essex North | William J. McKee | Liberal | 1894 |
| Essex South | William Douglas Balfour | Liberal | 1882 |
| Essex South | John Allan Auld (1896) | Liberal | 1896 |
| Frontenac | Joseph Longford Haycock | Liberal-Patrons of Industry | 1894 |
| Glengarry | David Murdoch McPherson | Liberal-Patrons of Industry | 1894 |
| Grenville | Orlando Bush | Conservative | 1890 |
| Grey Centre | Thomas Gamey | Protestant Protective | 1894 |
| Grey North | James Cleland | Liberal | 1890 |
| Grey South | David McNicol | Patrons of Industry | 1894 |
| Haldimand | John Senn | Conservative | 1894 |
| Haldimand | Jacob Baxter (1895) | Liberal | 1867, 1895 |
| Halton | William Kerns | Conservative | 1883 |
| Hamilton East | James Taylor Middleton | Liberal | 1894 |
| Hamilton West | John Morison Gibson | Liberal | 1879, 1891 |
| Hastings East | Alexander McLaren | Liberal-Patrons of Industry | 1894 |
| Hastings North | James Haggerty | Patrons of Industry | 1894 |
| Hastings West | William Hodgins Biggar | Liberal | 1890 |
| Huron East | Thomas Gibson | Liberal | 1871 |
| Huron South | Murdo Young McLean | Liberal | 1894 |
| Huron West | James Thompson Garrow | Liberal | 1890 |
| Kent East | Robert Ferguson | Liberal | 1885 |
| Kent West | Thomas Letson Pardo | Liberal-Patrons of Industry | 1894 |
| Kingston | Edward H. Smythe | Conservative | 1894 |
| Kingston | William Harty (1895) | Liberal | 1895 |
| Lambton East | Peter Duncan McCallum | Independent | 1893 |
| Lambton West | Alfred Thomas Gurd | Conservative-Protestant Protective | 1894 |
| Lanark North | Richard Franklin Preston | Conservative | 1894 |
| Lanark South | Arthur James Matheson | Conservative | 1894 |
| Leeds | Walter Beatty | Conservative | 1894 |
| Lennox | Walter William Meacham | Conservative | 1886 |
| Lincoln | James Hiscott | Conservative | 1890 |
| London | William Ralph Meredith | Conservative | 1872 |
| London | Thomas Saunders Hobbs (1894) | Liberal | 1894 |
| Middlesex East | William Shore | Liberal-Protestant Protective | 1894 |
| Middlesex North | William Henry Taylor | Liberal-Patrons of Industry | 1894 |
| Middlesex West | George William Ross | Liberal | 1883 |
| Monck | Richard Harcourt | Liberal | 1879 |
| Muskoka | George Edward Langford | Conservative-Protestant Protective | 1894 |
| Nipissing | John Loughrin | Liberal | 1890 |
| Norfolk North | Edwin Clarendon Carpenter | Liberal | 1891 |
| Norfolk South | William Andrew Charlton | Liberal | 1890 |
| Northumberland East | William Arnson Willoughby | Conservative | 1886, 1888 |
| Northumberland West | Corelli Collard Field | Liberal | 1886 |
| Ontario North | Thomas William Chapple | Liberal | 1894 |
| Ontario South | John Dryden | Liberal | 1879 |
| Ottawa | George O. O'Keefe | Liberal | 1894 |
| Ottawa | Erskine Henry Bronson | Liberal | 1886 |
| Oxford North | Oliver Mowat | Liberal | 1872 |
| Oxford North | Andrew Pattulo (1896) | Liberal | 1896 |
| Oxford South | Angus McKay | Liberal | 1886 |
| Parry Sound | William Rabb Beatty | Liberal-Patrons of Industry | 1894 |
| Peel | John Smith | Liberal | 1892 |
| Perth North | Thomas Magwood | Conservative | 1891 |
| Perth South | John McNeill | Liberal-Patrons of Industry | 1894 |
| Peterborough East | Thomas Blezard | Liberal | 1879 |
| Peterborough West | James Robert Stratton | Liberal | 1886 |
| Prescott | Francis Eugene Alfred Evanturel | Liberal | 1886 |
| Prince Edward | John Caven | Liberal-Patrons of Industry | 1894 |
| Renfrew North | Henry Barr | Liberal | 1892 |
| Renfrew South | Robert Adam Campbell | Liberal | 1894 |
| Russell | Alexander Robillard | Liberal | 1886 |
| Simcoe Centre | Robert Paton | Liberal | 1890 |
| Simcoe East | Andrew Miscampbell | Conservative | 1890 |
| Simcoe West | Archibald S. Currie | Liberal-Patrons of Industry | 1894 |
| Stormont | John Bennett | Liberal-Patrons of Industry | 1894 |
| Toronto East | George Ryerson | Conservative | 1893 |
| Toronto North | George Frederick Marter | Conservative | 1886 |
| Toronto South | Oliver Aiken Howland | Conservative | 1894 |
| Toronto West | Thomas Crawford | Conservative | 1894 |
| Victoria East | John Hilliard Carnegie | Conservative | 1894 |
| Victoria West | John McKay | Liberal-Equal Rights | 1890 |
| Waterloo North | Alexander Black Robertson | Liberal | 1894 |
| Waterloo South | John Douglas Moore | Liberal | 1890 |
| Welland | William Manley German | Liberal | 1894 |
| Wellington East | John Craig | Liberal | 1894 |
| Wellington South | John Mutrie | Liberal | 1894 |
| Wellington West | George Tucker | Conservative-Protestant Protective | 1894 |
| Wellington West | James Tucker (1896) | Conservative | 1896 |
| Wentworth North | John Ira Flatt | Liberal | 1894 |
| Wentworth South | Nicholas Awrey | Liberal | 1879 |
| Wentworth South | John Dickenson (1896) | Liberal | 1896 |
| York East | John Richardson | Liberal | 1894 |
| York North | Elihu James Davis | Liberal | 1888 |
| York West | Joseph Wesley St. John | Conservative | 1894 |

## Timeline

8th Legislative Assembly of Ontario - Movement in seats held (1894-1898) :
| Party | Party | 1894 | Gain/(loss) due to | Gain/(loss) due to | Gain/(loss) due to | Gain/(loss) due to | Gain/(loss) due to | 1898 |
| Party | Party | 1894 | Void election | Resignation as MPP | Death in office | Byelection gain | Byelection hold | 1898 |
| | Liberal | 45 | (1) | (3) | (1) | 4 | 5 | 49 |
| | Conservative | 23 | (3) | (1) | | 1 | | 20 |
| | Liberal-Patrons | 12 | | | | | | 12 |
| | Conservative–P.P.A. | 5 | (1) | | | | | 4 |
| | Patrons of Industry | 3 | | | | | | 3 |
| | Conservative-Patrons | 2 | | | | | | 2 |
| | Liberal-P.P.A. | 2 | | | | | | 2 |
| | Protestant Protective Association | 1 | | | | | | 1 |
| | Independent-Conservative-PPA | 1 | | | | | | 1 |
| Total | Total | 94 | (5) | (4) | (1) | 5 | 5 | 94 |
Changes in seats held (1894–1898) :
| Seat | Before | Before | Before | Before | Before | Change | Change | Change | Change |
| Seat | Date | Member | Party | Party | Reason | Date | Member | Party | Party |
| London | October 25, 1894 | William Ralph Meredith | | Conservative | Appointed to Bench | November 20, 1894 | Thomas Saunders Hobbs | | Liberal |
| Algoma West | December 20, 1894 | James M. Savage | | Conservative | Election declared void | January 29, 1895 | James Conmee | | Liberal |
| Kingston | December 27, 1894 | Edward H. Smythe | | Conservative | Election declared void | January 28, 1895 | William Harty | | Liberal |
| Wellington West | January 29, 1895 | George Tucker | | Conservative–P.P.A. | Election declared void | February 1, 1896 | James Tucker | | Conservative |
| Haldimand | February 27, 1895 | John Senn | | Conservative | Election declared void | March 19, 1895 | Jacob Baxter | | Liberal |
| Brant North | April 23, 1895 | William Bruce Wood | | Liberal | Appointed Registrar of Brant County | May 20, 1895 | Daniel Burt | | Liberal |
| Kingston | September 20, 1895 | William Harty | | Liberal | Election declared void | October 8, 1895 | William Harty | | Liberal |
| Wentworth South | December 26, 1895 | Nicholas Awrey | | Liberal | Appointed Sheriff of Wentworth County | January 24, 1896 | John Dickenson | | Liberal |
| Oxford North | July 14, 1896 | Oliver Mowat | | Liberal | Appointed to the Senate | September 7, 1896 | Andrew Pattulo | | Liberal |
| Essex South | August 19, 1896 | William Douglas Balfour | | Liberal | Died in office | October 20, 1896 | John Allan Auld | | Liberal |