Lorne (electoral district)
Lorne was an electoral district that existed in the District of Saskatchewan, Northwest Territories from 1880 until 1888. The district was one of the first three created by Royal Proclamation in 1880. Of the first three electoral districts proclaimed it was the only one to actually have an election held in it.
The district was mandated to return a single member to the Northwest Territories Legislature. The district was named after former Governor General, the Marquess of Lorne who toured through the Northwest Territories just prior to the district being created in 1881.
The district ceased to exist at the drop of the writ for the 1888 Northwest Territories general election. This was due to a population boom in the area caused by an influx of settlers. The electoral district was redistributed and split between the electoral districts of Batoche and the Prince Albert electoral district. During the districts nine years, it returned three members through three elections mandated by roughly three year terms.
Overview
The electoral district was one of three royally proclaimed by Lieutenant-Governor David Laird on November 13, 1880[1] The other two electoral districts were Salisbury, named after the Marquess of Salisbury and the Lord of Kimberley who was responsible for transferring the arctic islands to Canada on September 1, 1880. [2]
At the time the electoral district was created the major communities were Prince Albert, and Fort Carelton[1]
Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs)
| Name | Elected | Left Office | Lawrence Clarke | 1881 | 1883 | Day Hort MacDowall | 1883 | 1885 | Owen Hughes | 1885 | 1888 |
|---|
Election results
1881 election
The 1881 by-election held on March 23, 1881 was a pivotal milestone towards Responsible Government being attained in the Northwest Territories. The election marked the first time the provision of the North-West Territories Act 1880 that allowed for a electoral district to be proclaimed if an area the size of 1000 square miles had 1000 residents had been activated.
| March 23, 1881 by-election | |||||||||
| [3] | Name | Vote | % | Lawrence Clarke | 250 | 63.61% | Henry Stewart Moore | 143 | 36.39% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Votes | 393 | 100% | |||||||
The election was conducted by voice vote, a qualified elector would tell the returning officer at a polling station who he was going to vote for and the results would be tallied. Under the terms of the Act eligible electors were males who had reached the age of majority, which was 21 years of age at that time. The act specifically specified that electors must be bona fide males who were not aliens and unenfranchised Indians. Electors must also have resided in the territory for at least 12 months to the day of the writ being dropped.[4]
The election commenced when Lieutenant-Governor David Laird dropped the writ on 1881. The election was contested by two candidates, Lawrence Clarke who was a fur trader and Chief Factor at District of Saskatchewan for the Hudsons Bay Company.[5] Clarke's opponent was Henry Stewart Moore a local French speaking businessman from Prince Albert who had been operating a flower mill since 1875.[6]
Clarke's popularity and name recognition carried him to a solid victory on election day winning nearly 64% of votes cast. His resounding win would make him the first elected member in Northwest Territories history.
1883 election
Clarke did not run for re-election in 1883, he was losing support due to his ties with the Hudson Bay Company and he was suspected of working under the company's influence to locate government offices on the land owned by the company.[5] Two completely new candidates ran in the 1883 election, Day Hort MacDowall and Dr. Andrew Everett Porter. Porter was the first registered medical doctor in the Northwest Territories, having settled in Prince Albert in 1878.[7]
| June 5, 1883 by-election | |||||||||
| [3] | Name | Vote | % | Day Hort MacDowall | 279 | 69.92% | Andrew Porter | 120 | 30.08% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Votes | 399 | 100% | |||||||
1885 election
| 1885 Northwest Territories election | |||||||||
| [3] | Name | Vote | % | Owen Hughes | 141 | 51.46% | Andrew Porter | 133 | 48.54% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Votes | 274 | 100% | |||||||
See also
- Mount Lorne Yukon territorial electoral district.
- List of Northwest Territories general elections
References
- ^ a b Ordinances of the Northwest Territories 1881. P. G. Laurie, Printer to the Government of the Northwest Territories. 1882. p. 6.
- ^ Gordon W. Smith. "The Transfer of Arctic Territories from Great Britain to Canada in 1880" (PDF). University of Calgary. p. 63. Retrieved 2007-10-06.
- ^ a b c "North-West Territories: Council and Legislative Assembly, 1876-1905" (PDF). Saskatchewan Archives. p. 27. Retrieved 2007-09-30.
- ^ Ordinances of the Northwest Territories 1881. P. G. Laurie, Printer to the Government of the Northwest Territories. 1882. p. 53.
- ^ a b "Lawrence Clarke Biography". Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 2007-10-06.
- ^ "Chapitre un Les débuts" (in French). Assemblée communautaire fransaskoise. Retrieved 2007-10-06.
- ^ "Andrew Porter letter". University of Saskatchewan Libraries. Retrieved 2007-10-07.