# 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.
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 |
| Victoria* | 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 |
| Provencher | 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 |
| City and County of St. John* | 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 |
| City of St. John | 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 |
| Antigonish | Angus McIsaac from December 20, 1873 | Liberal | 1873 |
| Cape Breton* | Newton LeGayet Mackay | Conservative | 1872 |
| Cape Breton* | 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 |
| Halifax* | Stephen Tobin | Liberal | 1872 |
| Hants | Joseph Howe to July 5, 1873 | Liberal-Conservative | 1867 |
| Hants | 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 |
| Pictou* | James McDonald | Conservative | 1872 |
| Queens | James Fraser Forbes | Liberal | 1867 |
| Richmond | Isaac Le Vesconte | Conservative | 1869 |
| Shelburne | Thomas Coffin | Liberal-Conservative | 1867 |
| Shelburne | Thomas Coffin | Liberal | 1867 |
| Victoria | William Ross to July 11, 1873 (appointment to cabinet) | Liberal | 1867 |
| Victoria | William Ross from December 20, 1873 | Liberal | 1867 |
| 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 |
| Durham West | 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 |
| Hamilton* | 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 |
| Ottawa (City of)* | 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 |
| Peterborough West | 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 |
| Welland | 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 |
| West Toronto | 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 |
| Laval | 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 |
| Quebec County | 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 |
| King's County* | Augustine Colin Macdonald | Liberal-Conservative | 1873 |
| Prince County* | James Colledge Pope | Conservative | 1873 |
| Prince County* | James Yeo | Liberal | 1873 |
| Queen's County* | David Laird | Liberal | 1873 |
| Queen's County* | Peter Sinclair Sr. | Liberal | 1873 |