The 1889 Newfoundland general election was held on 6 November 1889 to elect members of the 16th General Assembly of Newfoundland in Newfoundland Colony. The Reform Party administration of Robert Thorburn was defeated in favour of the Liberal Party led by William Whiteway formed the government. Reform soon disappeared and was replaced by the Orange Order based Tory Party. This was the first general election held in Newfoundland using the secret ballot.
| Party | Leader | 1885 | Seats won | % change | Popular vote | (%) | Liberal | 13 | 28 | +115.4% | Robert Thorburn | 18 | 3 | align=right | -83.3% | Independent | 1 | 1 | 0.00% | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Totals | 32 | 32 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
. Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador . Joey Smallwood . 1981 . v. 1 . 0-920508-14-6.