1919 Ontario general election
The 1919 Ontario general election, held on October 20, 1919, elected 111 Members of the 15th Legislative Assembly of Ontario ("MLAs"). The United Farmers of Ontario captured the most seats but only a minority of the legislature. They joined with 11 Labour MPPs and three others to form a coalition government. It held the majority of seats, ending the 14-year rule of Ontario Conservatives. This is one of the few examples of coalition government in Canadian history. It was the 15th general election held in the Province of Ontario, Canada. This was the first general  election in which women could vote and run for office, under Acts passed in 1917 and 1919 respectively. The young United Farmers of Ontario defeated the Ontario Conservative Party, led by Sir William Howard Hearst. He aimed to win a fifth consecutive term for the Conservatives, but instead the party became the first in Ontario history to fall from first to third place. As newspaperman John Willison later remarked, "There could not have been a worse time for a general election." Campaign. Hearst aimed to save money by holding the election on the same day as the scheduled referendum on  prohibition. The parties had different strategies for fielding candidates. Only the Conservatives attempted to field a full slate, while the UFO focused on rural ridings, and the Liberals tried to avoid direct contests with UFO candidates. The UFO's leader, R.H. Halbert, did not campaign, as he had been elected to the House of Commons of Canada in an earlier by-election. It had only two incumbent MPPs, Beniah Bowman and John Wesley Widdifield, who had entered the legislature by winning by-elections in Manitoulin and Ontario North. Impact. The UFO emerged from the vote with the largest bloc of  seats, joining the eleven Labour MLAs to form a coalition government. Liberal-UFO MLA David James Taylor of Grey North, "Soldier" MLA Joseph McNamara of Riverdale and Labour-UFO MLA Karl Homuth of Waterloo South were also members of the governing caucus giving Drury's coalition 58 seats in total, a slight majority. The election had several sweeping results: Upon hearing the news of the Conservative defeat, Hearst noted: Three days after the election, James J. Morrison, Secretary of the UFO, reported on the way he had addressed the need to form a working majority in the chamber. He released  the following statement: Ernest C. Drury agreed to lead the new government as Premier of Ontario, and a UFO-Labour coalition cabinet was formed. Although he was Vice-President of the UFO, Drury had not been a candidate in the election and had to run in a by-election to enter the legislature following his appointment to the office of Premier. The Ontario Liberal Party, led by Hartley Dewart, maintained and increased the size of its caucus by a small number. The Conservative Party lost the most ground to the UFO and Labour. Results. ! | Political party ! | Party leader  ! | MPPs ! | Votes ! Candidates !1914 !1919 !# ! ± (pp) Seats that changed hands. There were 77 seats that changed allegiance in the election: