Complex sentence: With the election question having been largely resolved in 1896, Greenway was forced to defend his government's mediocre record on most other issues--the result was a narrow victory for Macdonald's Conservatives, who won 22 of 40 seats.
Split into simpler sentences: With the election question having been largely resolved in 1896, Greenway was forced to defend the fairly mediocre record of his government on most other issues. The result was a narrow victory for Macdonald's Conservatives, who won 22 of 40 seats.