# 2nd Parliament of Ontario

The Second Parliament of Ontario was in session from March 21, 1871, until December 23, 1874, just prior to the 1875 general election.
The majority party was the Ontario Liberal Party led by Edward Blake, whose Cabinet succeeded as Government when incumbent John Sandfield Macdonald and his Patent Combination Ministry fell December 20, 1871; Oliver Mowat replaced Blake as premier in October 25, 1872, after an act was passed by the Ontario Parliament which prohibited a member from holding a seat in the Legislative Assembly while holding a seat in the Dominion Parliament, a so-called "dual mandate". Blake chose to serve as federal Leader of the Opposition instead of remaining as Premier. Mowat's Cabinet was largely similar to Blake's in composition.
Richard William Scott served as speaker for the assembly until he was named to cabinet on December 21, 1871. James George Currie succeeded Scott as speaker, serving until his resignation on March 29, 1873. Rupert Mearse Wells then succeeded Currie as speaker.
There were 82 seats in the second legislature, 58 in the Liberal strongholds of Western, Central, and Northern Ontario, and 24 in much more conservative Eastern Ontario.

## Members

| Riding | Member | Party | First elected / previously elected | Comments |
| Addington | Hammel Madden Deroche | Liberal | 1871 | |
| Algoma | Frederick William Cumberland | Conservative | 1867 | |
| Bothwell | Archibald McKellar | Liberal | 1867 | Commissioner of Agriculture and Public Works in Blake ministry after December 20, 1871 and the Mowat ministry until March 24, 1874 |
| Brant | Hugh Finlayson | Liberal | 1867 | |
| Brant South | Edmund Burke Wood | Conservative | 1867 | Treasurer in Sandfield Macdonald ministry until December 20, 1871; resigned provincial seat April 1, 1872 to keep a seat in the federal parliament |
| Brant South | Arthur Sturgis Hardy (1873) | Liberal | 1873 | elected May 2, 1873 |
| Brockville and Elizabethtown | William Fitzsimmons | Conservative | 1867 | |
| Bruce North | Donald Sinclair | Liberal | 1867 | |
| Bruce South | Edward Blake | Liberal | 1867 | Leader of the Opposition until December 20, 1871 Premier and Attorney General in Blake ministry from December 20, 1871 until October 25, 1872; resigned provincial seat September 12, 1872 to keep a seat in the federal parliament; initially elected to two seats (the other being Durham West) Blake represents Bruce South as Premier |
| Bruce South | Rupert Mearse Wells (1872) | Liberal | 1872 | elected September 21, 1872; Speaker after March 29, 1873 |
| Cardwell | George McManus | Liberal-Conservative | 1871 | |
| Carleton | George William Monk | Conservative | 1871 | |
| Cornwall | John Sandfield MacDonald | Conservative | 1867 | Premier and Attorney General until December 20, 1871. John Sandfield Macdonald died in June 1, 1872 |
| Cornwall | John Goodall Snetsinger (1872) | Liberal | 1872 | elected July 16, 1872 |
| Dundas | Simon S. Cook | Liberal | 1867 | |
| Durham East | Arthur Trefusis Heneage Williams | Conservative | 1867 | |
| Durham West | Edward Blake | Liberal | 1867 | Premier and Attorney General in Blake ministry from December 20, 1871 until October 25, 1872; resigned provincial seat September 12, 1872 to keep a seat in the federal parliament; initially elected to two seats (the other being Bruce South) Blake represents Bruce South as Premier |
| Durham West | John McLeod (1872) | Liberal | 1867, 1872 | |
| Elgin East | John Henry Wilson | Liberal | 1871 | |
| Elgin West | Thomas Hodgins | Liberal | 1871 | |
| Essex | Albert Prince | Liberal | 1871 | |
| Frontenac | Delino Dexter Calvin | Conservative | 1868 | |
| Glengarry | James Craig | Conservative | 1867 | |
| Grenville South | Mcneil Clarke | Conservative | 1867 | died February 29, 1872 |
| Grenville South | Christopher Finlay Fraser (1872) | Liberal | 1872 | elected March 30, 1872; Commissioner of Public Works in Mowat ministry after March 24, 1874 |
| Grey North | Thomas Scott | Conservative | 1867 | |
| Grey South | Abram William Lauder | Conservative | 1867 | |
| Haldimand | Jacob Baxter | Liberal | 1867 | |
| Halton | William Barber | Liberal | 1867 | |
| Hamilton | James Miller Williams | Liberal | 1867 | |
| Hastings East | Henry Corby | Conservative | 1867 | |
| Hastings North | George Henry Boulter | Conservative | 1867 | |
| Hastings West | Ketchum Graham | Conservative | 1867 | |
| Huron North | Thomas Gibson | Liberal | 1871 | |
| Huron South | Robert Gibbons | Liberal | 1867, 1871 | resigned January 8, 1874 to accept an appointment as sheriff |
| Huron South | Archibald Bishop (1873) | Liberal | 1873 | elected October 16, 1873 |
| Kent | James Dawson | Liberal | 1871 | |
| Kingston | William Robinson | Conservative | 1871 | |
| Lambton | Timothy Blair Pardee | Liberal | 1867 | Commissioner of Crown Lands in Mowat ministry after December 4, 1873 |
| Lanark North | Daniel Galbraith | Liberal | 1867 | resigned August 1, 1872 to run (successfully) federally |
| Lanark North | William Clyde Caldwell (1872) | Liberal | 1872 | elected August 23, 1872 |
| Lanark South | Abraham Code | Conservative | 1869 | |
| Leeds North and Grenville North | Henry Merrick | Conservative | 1871 | |
| Leeds South | Herbert Stone MacDonald | Conservative | 1871 | resigned January 4, 1874 to accept an appointment as judge |
| Leeds South | John Godkin Giles (1873) | Conservative | 1873 | elected December 9, 1873 |
| Lennox | John Thomas Grange | Conservative | 1871 | |
| Lincoln | John Charles Rykert | Conservative | 1867 | |
| London | John Carling | Conservative | 1867 | Commissioner of Agriculture and Public Works in Sandfield Macdonald ministry until December 20, 1871; resigned provincial seat July 23, 1872 to keep a seat in the federal parliament |
| London | William Ralph Meredith (1872) | Conservative | 1872 | elected September 4, 1872 |
| Middlesex East | Richard Tooley | Conservative | 1871 | |
| Middlesex North | James Sinclair Smith | Liberal | 1867 | |
| Middlesex West | Alexander Mackenzie | Liberal | 1871 | Treasurer in Blake ministry from 20 December 1871 to October 25, 1872; resigned provincial seat September 12, 1872 to keep a seat in the federal parliament |
| Middlesex West | John Watterworth (1872) | Liberal | 1872 | elected September 17, 1872 |
| Monck | Lachlin McCallum | Conservative | 1871 | resigned August 2, 1872 to keep a seat in the federal parliament |
| Monck | Henry Ryan Haney (1872) | Liberal | 1872 | elected September 17, 1872 |
| Niagara | Stephen Richards | Conservative | 1867 | Commissioner of Crown Lands in Sandfield Macdonald ministry until December 20, 1871 |
| Norfolk North | John Fitzgerald Clarke | Liberal | 1871 | |
| Norfolk South | Simpson McCall | Liberal | 1867 | |
| Northumberland East | William Wilson Webb | Liberal | 1871 | |
| Northumberland West | Alexander Fraser | Liberal | 1867 | |
| Northumberland West | Charles Gifford (1872) | Conservative | 1872 | |
| Ontario North | Thomas Paxton | Liberal | 1867 | |
| Ontario South | Abram Farewell | Liberal | 1871 | |
| Ottawa | Richard William Scott | Liberal | 1867 | Speaker until December 21, 1871; Commissioner of Crown Lands in Blake ministry after December 20, 1871 and in Mowat ministry after October 25, 1872; resigned December 4, 1873 to accept federal cabinet post in Mackenzie ministry |
| Ottawa | Daniel John O'Donoghue (1874) | Liberal | 1874 | |
| Oxford North | George Perry | Liberal | 1867 | resigned October 31, 1872 to allow Oliver Mowat a seat in the legislature |
| Oxford North | Oliver Mowat (1872) | Liberal | 1872 | Premier and Attorney General in Mowat ministry after October 25, 1872; elected November 29, 1872 |
| Oxford South | Adam Oliver | Liberal | 1867 | |
| Peel | John Coyne | Conservative | 1867 | died November 16, 1873 |
| Peel | Kenneth Chisholm (1873) | Liberal | 1873 | elected December 29, 1873 |
| Perth North | Andrew Monteith | Conservative | 1867 | resigned from provincial parliament January 19, 1874 after he was elected to the federal parliament |
| Perth North | Thomas Mayne Daly (1874) | Conservative | 1874 | |
| Perth South | Thomas B. Guest | Conservative | 1871 | |
| Peterborough East | George Read | Conservative | 1867 | |
| Peterborough West | Thomas McCulloch Fairbairn | Liberal | 1871 | died May 13, 1874 |
| Peterborough West | William Hepburn Scott (1874) | Conservative | 1874 | elected July 30, 1874 |
| Prescott | George Wellesley Hamilton | Conservative | 1871 | |
| Prince Edward | James Simeon McCuaig | Conservative | 1871 | resigned August 29, 1872 to run (unsuccessfully) for a federal seat |
| Prince Edward | Gideon Striker (1871) | Liberal | 1871 | |
| Renfrew North | Thomas Deacon | Conservative | 1871 | |
| Renfrew South | Eric Harrington | Conservative | 1871 | |
| Russell | William Craig | Conservative | 1867 | |
| Simcoe North | William Davis Ardagh | Conservative | 1871 | |
| Simcoe South | Thomas Roberts Ferguson | Conservative | 1867 | resigned January 18, 1874 due to health problems |
| Simcoe South | D'Arcy Edward Boulton (1873) | Conservative | 1873 | |
| Stormont | William Colquhoun | Conservative | 1867 | Colquhoun's election was declared void September 12, 1871, resulting in a by-election |
| Stormont | James Bethune (1872) | Liberal | 1872 | elected January 3, 1872 |
| Toronto East | Matthew Crooks Cameron | Conservative | 1867 | Provincial Secretary and Registrar in Sandfield Macdonald ministry until December 20, 1871 Leader of the Opposition after December 20, 1871 |
| Toronto West | Adam Crooks | Liberal | 1871 | |
| Victoria North | Duncan McRae | Conservative | 1871 | |
| Victoria South | Samuel Casey Wood | Liberal | 1871 | |
| Waterloo North | Moses Springer | Liberal | 1867 | |
| Waterloo South | Isaac Clemens | Liberal | 1867 | |
| Welland | James George Currie | Liberal | 1871 | Speaker from December 21, 1871 to his resignation on March 29, 1873. |
| Wellington Centre | Charles Clarke | Liberal | 1871 | |
| Wellington North | Robert McKim | Liberal | 1867 | resigned January 19, 1874 to compete (unsuccessfully) in the 1874 federal election |
| Wellington North | John McGowan (1874) | Conservative | 1874 | |
| Wellington South | Peter Gow | Liberal | 1867 | Provincial Secretary and Registrar in Blake ministry after December 20, 1871 and Mowat ministry after October 25, 1872 |
| Wentworth North | Robert Christie | Liberal | 1867 | |
| Wentworth South | William Sexton | Liberal | 1867 | |
| York East | Hugh Powell Crosby | Liberal | 1867 | |
| York North | Alfred Boultbee | Conservative | 1871 | |
| York West | Peter Patterson | Liberal | 1871 | |