| Election Name: | 1888 North-West Territories general election |
| Country: | Northwest Territories |
| Flag Year: | 1870 |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Previous Election: | 1885 North-West Territories election |
| Previous Year: | 1885 |
| Previous Mps: | 1st Council of the Northwest Territories |
| Election Date: | 20–30 June 1888 |
| Elected Mps: | members |
| Next Election: | 1891 North-West Territories general election |
| Next Year: | 1891 |
| Next Mps: | 2nd North-West Legislative Assembly |
| Seats For Election: | 22 seats in the North-West Legislative Assembly |
| Lieutenant-governor | |
| Posttitle: | Chairman after election |
| After Election: | Robert Brett |
The 1888 North-West Territories general election elected members of the 2nd Legislative Council of the North-West Territories. The 2nd Legislative Council of the North-West Territories replaced the 1st Council of the North-West Territories. The 2nd Legislative Council of the North-West Territories was replaced by the 1st North-West Assembly in 1891 when the quota of elected members was reached. (A different 2nd Council of the Northwest Territories (1905-1951) was created in 1905, when the NWT lost most of its population, to differentiate the new one from the two legislative councils of the NWT that had existed 1876 to 1891.)
The 1888 election was the first general election in the history of the North-West Territories, Canada. Elections were held in various districts between 20 June and 30 June 1888. Although considered a general election, the writs were issued to return on various days. (1891 North-West Territories general election would be the first election where all the seats came empty on the same day.)
Prior to 1888, the elected members of the 1st Council of the North-West Territories were elected in by-elections to supplement members appointed by the Government of Canada. In order to have an elected member, a constituency needed to be set up in an area 1000sqmi in size that had 1,000 residents. This created a patchwork of represented and unrepresented areas across the sprawling and sparsely-settled territory.
Twenty-one members were elected in this election.
Robert Brett, the member for Red Deer, was appointed government leader by Lieutenant Governor Joseph Royal. His official title was Chairman of the Lieutenant Governor's Advisory Council.
Three judges were appointed to the legislative assembly to provide legal advice, but they were not able to vote. They represented the territory at large.
Voters in this election cast their votes by telling the returning officer who they wanted to vote for. This system lasted until 1894 when a secret ballot was first used in a by-election in the Whitewood district.
Voter turnout cannot be established as no voters lists were in use. Candidates were all elected on non-partisan basis. Decisions in the Council were decided by majority vote.
Three members were elected by acclamation. One was re-elected; two were newly-elected.
Calgary and Edmonton elected two members through Plurality block voting.
Election summary
| Candidates |
| Popular vote | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Incumbent | New | % | ||||
| Acclaimed candidates | 1 | 2 | align="right" | - | align="right" | - |
| Elected candidates | 8 | 10 | 5,081 | 62.53% | ||
| Defeated candidates | align="right" | - | 19 | 3,045 | 37.47% | |
| Total | 40 | 8,126 | 100% | |||
Three members were appointed by Lieutenant Governor Joseph Royal after the election: James Macleod, Hugh Richardson and Charles Rouleau. The purpose of these three legal advisors was to bring experience in procedure, protocol and amending and introducing legislation. The legal advisors held seats at large, were allowed to participate in debates (but not vote) and were paid a salary of $250.[1]
The three members of the assembly had already served as members of the Assembly previously. There were no legal advisors reappointed after dissolution of the 1st North-West Legislative Assembly in 1891.
For complete electoral history, see individual districts
| Electoral District | colspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | Elected | colspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | Second | colspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | Third | colspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | Fourth | Incumbent | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batoche | Hilliard Mitchell 82 55.78% | James Fisher 65 44.22% | New District | |||||||||
| Battleford | James Clinkskill 180 53.57% | David Livingstone Clink 156 46.43% | New District | |||||||||
| Calgary | John Lineham 809 43.80%Hugh Cayley 634 34.33% | James Reilly 404 21.87% | John D. Lauder and Hugh Cayley | |||||||||
| Edmonton | Herbert Charles Wilson 395 32.54%Frank Oliver 350 28.83% | Samuel Cunningham 319 26.28% | Daniel Maloney 150 12.36% | Herbert Charles Wilson | ||||||||
| Kinistino | James Hoey 104 53.89% | John C. Slater 89 46.11% | New District | |||||||||
| Macleod | Frederick W. A. G. Haultain Acclamation | Frederick W. A. G. Haultain | ||||||||||
| Medicine Hat | Thomas Tweed Acclamation | New District | ||||||||||
| Moose Jaw | James Hamilton Ross 161 55.52% | George Malcolm Annable 129 44.48% | James Hamilton Ross | |||||||||
| Moosomin | John Ryerson Neff Acclamation | Spencer Bedford | ||||||||||
| North Qu’Appelle | William Sutherland 268 71.85% | William Albert Clark 105 28.15% | New District from Qu'Appelle William Sutherland | |||||||||
| North Regina | David Jelly 227 62.71% | George W. Brown 135 37.29% | New District from Regina David Jelly | |||||||||
| Prince Albert | William Plaxton 383 37.85%John Felton Betts 322 31.82% | Owen Hughes 307 30.34% | New District | |||||||||
| Red Deer | Robert Brett 325 60.98% | Alfred Brealey 208 39.02% | New District | |||||||||
| Souris | John Gillanders Turriff 236 64.84% | John Wesley Connell 92 25.27% | Fraser 36 9.89% | New District from Moose Mountain John Gillanders Turriff | ||||||||
| South Qu’Appelle | George Davidson 262 57.33% | William Robert Bell 195 42.67% | New District from Qu'Appelle Robert Crawford | |||||||||
| South Regina | John Secord 131 52.19% | David Lynch Scott 120 47.81% | New District from Regina John Secord | |||||||||
| Wallace | Joel Reaman 188 72.31% | William Eakin 72 27.69% | New District | |||||||||
| Whitewood | Alexander Thorburn 166 38.88% | Thomas Gamble Lyons 158 37.00% | John Hawkes 103 24.12% | New District | ||||||||
| Wolseley | Benjamin Parkyn Richardson 209 50.73% | James Dill 203 49.27% | New District | |||||||||
In the Medicine Hat electoral district, candidate William Finlay had withdrawn before election day. The returning officer declared Thomas Tweed elected by acclamation. Finlay lost his nomination deposit of $200.00[2]
Plurality block voting was used -- each voter had two votes