# Bothwell (Canadian electoral district)

Bothwell was a federal electoral district in the Canadian province of Ontario, which was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1904. It is sometimes also considered one of Ontario's historic counties, as it was listed in some post-Confederation census records as a county of residence.

## District

At its creation in 1867, Bothwell consisted of the Kent County townships of Bothwell, Camden, Dresden, Howard, Orford, Ridgetown, Thamesville and Zone, and the Lambton County townships of Dawn, Euphemia and Sombra. In 1882, the Townships of Euphemia, Orford and Howard were excluded from the riding, and the township of Chatham, the villages of Wallaceburg, Dresden and Thamesville, and the town of Bothwell were added to the riding.
The electoral district was abolished in 1903 when it was redistributed between Kent East, Kent West, Simcoe East and Simcoe South ridings.

## Members of Parliament

This riding elected the following members of the House of Commons of Canada:
| Parliament | Years | Member | Party |
| 1st | 1867–1872 | David Mills | Liberal |
| 2nd | 1872–1874 | David Mills | Liberal |
| 3rd | 1874–1876 | David Mills | Liberal |
| 3rd | 1876–1878 | David Mills | Liberal |
| 4th | 1878–1882 | David Mills | Liberal |
| 5th | 1882–1884 | John Joseph Hawkins | Liberal–Conservative |
| 5th | 1884–1887 | David Mills | Liberal |
| 6th | 1887–1891 | David Mills | Liberal |
| 7th | 1891–1896 | David Mills | Liberal |
| 8th | 1896–1900 | James Clancy | Conservative |
| 9th | 1900–1904 | James Clancy | Conservative |
| Riding dissolved into Kent East, Kent West, Simcoe East and Simcoe South |||||

## Election results

1867 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | Liberal | David Mills | 1,333 |
| | Conservative | David Glass | 1,224 |
| Source: Canadian Elections Database |||||||
1872 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | Liberal | David Mills | 1,727 |
| | Unknown | C. R. Atkinson | 1,135 |
1874 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | Liberal | David Mills | 1,600 |
| | Unknown | ? Dobbyn | 1,137 |
Mr. David Mills was appointed Minister of the Interior and Superintendent General of Indian Affairs, 24 October 1876:
By-election on 15 November 1876 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | Liberal | David Mills | 1,650 |
| | Unknown | James Dawson | 1,142 |
1878 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | Liberal | David Mills | 1,852 |
| | Liberal–Conservative | John Joseph Hawkins | |
| Source: Canadian Elections Database |||||||
1882 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | Liberal–Conservative | John Joseph Hawkins | 1,520 |
| | Liberal | David Mills | 1,504 |
Election declared void Mr. J.J. Hawkins was declared not duly elected and was unseated by judgement of Supreme Court. The seat was awarded to his opponent, 25 February 1884:
By-election on 25 February 1884 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | Liberal | David Mills | acclaimed |
1887 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | Liberal | David Mills | 2,182 |
| | Conservative | Geo. M. D. Mitchell | 2,161 |
1891 Canadian federal election :
| Candidate | Votes |
| Liberal | David Mills | 2,006 |
| Conservative | G. R. Langford | 1,456 |
| Unknown | A. McLartey | 1,088 |
1896 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | Conservative | James Clancy | 2,587 |
| | Liberal | David Mills | 2,528 |
1900 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes |
| | Conservative | James Clancy | 2,547 |
| | Liberal | David A. Gordon | 2,430 |