User:Mr Serjeant Buzfuz/Electoral history of Joseph-Adolphe Chapleau

Sir Joseph-Adolphe Chapleau
5th Premier of Quebec
1879 - 1882

This article is the Electoral history of Sir Joseph-Adolphe Chapleau, the fifth Premier of the Canadian province of Quebec. He served from 1879 to 1882, the fourth of eight Conservative premiers.

Chapleau was active in Quebec provincial politics from 1867 onwards, elected to the Legislative Assembly eight times, twice by acclamation. He served in the Cabinets of Premier Gédéon Ouimet and Premier Charles Boucher de Boucherville.

Chosen as leader of the Conservatives in 1878, he led the party in two general elections, in 1878 and 1881. The 1878 election initially resulted in a minority Liberal government led by Premier Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière, but Chapleau defeated Joly de Lotbinière on a confidence motion in the Legislature in 1879 and became Premier, without immediately calling a new election. In the general election of 1881, Chapleau led the Conservatives to a strong majority.

In 1882, he moved to federal politics, becoming a member of the Cabinet of Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald. He was elected to the federal House of Commons ## times, ## by acclamation.

In 1892 he was appointed Lieutenant Governor of Quebec, a position he held until 1898.

Summary

Quebec during Chapleau's time in office

Chapleau ranks eighteenth out of thirty-two premiers of Quebec by time in office, serving from October 31, 1879 to July 31, 1882. He was in office for a total of 2 years, 273 days.

Chapleau began his political career in the 1860s, as a young activist for the Parti Bleu, the French-Canadian conservative group in the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada under the leadership of George-Étienne Cartier. He supported Confederation, seeing it as a way to protect the autonomy of French-Canadians.

Canada came into existence on July 1, 1867, when the British North America Act, 1867 came into force. The former Province of Canada was split into the new provinces of Quebec (formerly Lower Canada) and Ontario (formerly Upper Canada). Chapleau stood for election in the first Quebec general election for the new province of Quebec, as a member of the new Conservative party. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly by acclamation for the riding of Terrebonne, which he represented continuously until 1882. He tried to enter federal politics in the general election of 1872, but was defeated in the riding of Verchères.

Chapleau served in the Cabinet of Premier Ouimet (his old law partner) as Solicitor General (1873-1874) and in the Cabinet of Premier Boucher de Boucherville as Provincial Secretary and Registrar (1876-1878). After Boucher de Boucherville was dismissed as premier by the Lieutenant Governor, Chapleau successfully challenged him for the leadership of the Conservatives. As Leader of the Opposition, he then organised the defeat of the Liberal government of Premier Joly de Lotbinière, by having the Legislative Council of Quebec, the upper house of the Legislature of Quebec, reject the provincial budget, a confidence measure. The new Lieutenant Governor then appointed Chapleau as premier, without calling a new election.

Chapleau led the Conservatives in the general election of 1881, which he won with a substantial majority. However, the Conservative party in Quebec was increasingly divided between its ultramontane wing and the more moderate wing. Chapleau found it increasingly difficult to lead the government, notwithstanding his majority in the Legislative Assembly.

Chapleau as Secretary of State in 1882

In the summer of 1882 he moved to federal politics, and was appointed to the federal Cabinet by Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald as Secretary of State (1882-1891). He was elected in the federal riding of Terrebonne in 1882. Following Macdonald's death, he continued to serve in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Sir John Abbott, but declined to serve under Prime Minister Sir John Thompson. He held the riding of Terrebonne until he resigned from the Commons in 1892, on his appointment as Lieutenant Governor of Quebec, which he held until 1898, the year of his death.

Quebec general elections, 1878 and 1881

Chapleau led the Quebec Conservatives in two general elections, in 1878 and 1881. The first election returned a hung parliament, eventually resulting in Chapleau becoming premier a year later, in 1879. In the election of 1881, he won a substantial majority government, defeating the former premier, Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière and the Liberals.

1878 General election

For more detailed tables of election results, see 1878 Quebec general election.

For information about the 4th Legislature, 1878 to 1881, see 4th Quebec Legislature.

In Chapleau's first general election leading the Conservatives, the voters returned a closely divided Legislative Assembly. Premier Joly de Lotbinière was initially able to maintain a minority government, even though the Conservatives had one more seat than the Liberals. The situation was unstable, and Chapleau won office partway through the term of the Legislative Assembly, on a confidence measure.

Quebec General Election: May 1, 1878

Party		Leaders	Seats Won	Popular Vote	Popular Vote Percentage
	Liberal	Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière1	31	65,285	47.5%
	Conservative	Joseph-Adolphe Chapleau2	32	68,035	49.5%
	Independent Conservatives		2	4,156	3.0%
Total			65	137,476	100.0%
Source: National Assembly of Quebec - History

¹ Premier when election was called; Premier after election.
² Leader of the Opposition when election was called; Leader of the Opposition after election.

1881 General election

For more detailed tables of election results, see 1881 Quebec general election.

For information about the 5th Legislature, 1881 to 1886, see 5th Quebec Legislature.

In Chapleau's second general election, he won a strong majority government, defeating the Liberals led by Joly de Lotbinière. In spite of his majority in the Assembly, Chapleau found it increasingly difficult to control the fractious wings of the Conservative party. In 1882, he accepted an invitation from Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald to join the federal Cabinet in Ottawa, and resigned as premier.

Quebec General Election: December 2, 1881

Party		Leaders	Seats Won	Popular Vote	Popular Vote Percentage
	Conservative	Joseph-Adolphe Chapleau1	49	49,152	50.4%
	Liberal	Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière2	15	38,020	39.0%
	Independent	–	1	10,387	10.6%
Total			65	97,559	100.0%
Source: National Assembly of Quebec - History

¹ Premier when election was called; Premier after election.
² Leader of the Opposition when election was called; Leader of the Opposition after election.

Quebec constituency elections, 1867 to 1881

Chapleau stood for election to the Legislative Assembly eight times, all for the constituency of Terrebonne. He was elected all eight times, six by acclamation.

1867 General election: Terrebonne

General Election, August - September 1867: Terrebonne

Party		Candidate	Popular Vote	%
	Conservative	Joseph-Adolphe Chapleau	Acclaimed	–
Total			–	–
Source: National Assembly of Quebec: History - Les résultats électoraux depuis 1867, Terrebonne

Elected.

1871 General election: Terrebonne

General Election, June - July 1871: Terrebonne

Party		Candidate	Popular Vote	%
	Conservative	X Joseph-Adolphe Chapleau	Acclaimed	–
Total			–	–
Source: National Assembly of Quebec: History - Les résultats électoraux depuis 1867, Terrebonne

Elected.
X Incumbent.

1873 By-election: Terrebonne

Quebec By-election, March 12, 1873: Terrebonne

Party		Candidate	Popular Vote	%
	Conservative	X Joseph-Adolphe Chapleau	Acclaimed	–
Total			–	–
Source: National Assembly of Quebec: History - Les résultats électoraux depuis 1867, Terrebonne

By-election was triggered by Chapleau being appointed to Cabinet, an office of profit under the Crown.

Elected.
X Incumbent.

1875 General election: Terrebonne

Quebec General Election, July 7, 1875: Terrebonne

Party		Candidate	Popular Vote	%
	Conservative	X Joseph-Adolphe Chapleau	1,316	64.8%
	Liberal	J.-A. Duchesneau	716	35.2%
Total			2,032	100.0%
Source: National Assembly of Quebec: History - Les résultats électoraux depuis 1867, Terrebonne

Elected.
X Incumbent.

1876 By-election: Terrebonne

Quebec By-election, February 10, 1876: Terrebonne

Party		Candidate	Popular Vote	%
	Conservative	X Joseph-Adolphe Chapleau	Acclaimed	–
Total			–	–
Source: National Assembly of Quebec: History - Les résultats électoraux depuis 1867, Terrebonne

By-election was triggered by Chapleau being appointed to Cabinet, an office of profit under the Crown.

Elected.
X Incumbent.

1878 General election: Terrebonne

Quebec General Election, March 23, 1878: Terrebonne

Party		Candidate	Popular Vote	%
	Conservative	X Joseph-Adolphe Chapleau	1,355	54.4%
	Liberal	Jules-É. Prévost	1,135	45.6%
Total			2,490	100.0%
Source: National Assembly of Quebec: History - Les résultats électoraux depuis 1867, Terrebonne

Elected.
X Incumbent.

1879 By-election: Terrebonne

Quebec By-election, November 13, 1878: Terrebonne

Party		Candidate	Popular Vote	%
	Conservative	X Joseph-Adolphe Chapleau	Acclaimed	–
Total			–	–
Source: National Assembly of Quebec: History - Les résultats électoraux depuis 1867, Terrebonne

By-election was triggered by Chapleau being appointed Premier, an office of profit under the Crown.

Elected.
X Incumbent.

1881 General election: Terrebonne

General Election, November 8, 1881: Terrebonne

Party		Candidate	Popular Vote	%
	Conservative	X Joseph-Adolphe Chapleau	Acclaimed	–
Total			–	–
Source: National Assembly of Quebec: History - Les résultats électoraux depuis 1867, Terrebonne

Elected.
X Incumbent.

Federal constituency elections, 1872, 1882 to 1891

Chapleau stood for election to the House of Commons ## times, once in the federal riding of Verchères in 1872, and ## in ##. He was defeated in 1872, but elected in the elections from 1882 to 1891, ## times by acclamation.

1872 General election: Verchères

Federal Election, 1872: Verchères, Quebec

Party		Candidate	Popular Vote	%
	Liberal	X Félix Geoffrion	963	83.2%
	Conservative	Joseph-Adolphe Chapleau	194	16.8%
Total			1,157	100.0%
Source: Library of Parliament - ParlInfo - Ridings: Verchères, Quebec

Elected.

1882 By-election: Terrebonne

Federal By-election, August 16, 1882: Terrebonne

Party		Candidate	Popular Vote	%
	Conservative	Joseph-Adolphe Chapleau	Acclaimed	–
Total			–	–
Source: Library of Parliament: Terrebonne

By-election to allow Chapleau to enter the federal Parliament.

Elected.

1887 General election: Terrebonne

Federal Election, 1887: Terrebonne

Party		Candidate	Popular Vote	%
	Conservative	X Joseph-Adolphe Chapleau	1,819	63.8%
	Liberal	M.J. Therrien	1,034	36.2%
Total			2,853	100.0%
Source: Library of Parliament: Terrebonne

Elected.
X Incumbent.

External links

• National Assembly of Quebec: La répartition des voix aux élections générales

• National Assembly of Quebec: La répartition des sièges aux élections générales

• National Assembly of Quebec: Premiers ministres du Québec depuis 1867

• National Assembly of Quebec: Les chefs de l'opposition officielle depuis 1869