Canadian federal election, 1877

[Hatman 🍁]

George Brown's Liberals won a 2nd landslide majority in 1872, winning the seat counts in Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick. However, progress on the Trans-Canada railroad would be waning for the Grits, hurting them in BC where they lost. Manitoba and Nova Scotia both saw a tie in the seat totals between the two parties. Nova Scotians were still upset about confederation and snubbed the Liberals as a result.

With Macdonald losing his Kingston riding, the former Prime Minister resigned as Tory leader, and the party chose Charles Tupper as its leader. Tupper had been Premier of Nova Scotia before confederation and was seen as the leader of the Tory wave in Nova Scotia.

Following the 1872 election, there has been growing labour pressures in industrial centres. The Liberals were able to use machine tactics to prevent a Conservative-Labour candidate from getting elected in Liberal, thanks to there being no secret ballot. As it stands, both the Liberals and Tories are both split on the issue of whether to bring in the secret ballot. The Liberals are for the most part lukewarm on the issue.

In 1873, depression sets into Canada thanks to the Panic of 1873. The depression continues throughout Brown's 2nd term in office, and the public have grown weary of his pro free trade economic policies as only benefiting the rich. To help the economy, Brown attempted eliminating the high protective tariffs on Canadian goods in US markets, but this did not help things.

For the 1877 campaign, Tupper is promising a "national policy" which calls for high tariffs on imported manufactured items to protect the manufacturing industry to help fix the economy. He also promises to finally complete the national railroad which has seen little funding under the Liberals. The Liberals meanwhile are suggesting that they are the only one's that can whether the economic downturn, and that free trade can be prosperous for all.

So, who's it going to be? 


(I should have pictures, no?)


Brown.


Tupper.

[RogueBeaver]

Brown.

[Goldwater]

Brown.

[H. Ross Peron]

Brown.

[H.E. VOLODYMYR ZELENKSYY]

Sweet George Brown

[Njall]

I'll have to go with Tupper on this one

[politicus]

Tupper.

[Supersonic]

Conservative, as per usual.

[Goldwater]

Conservative, as per usual.

I thought you supported free trade?

[Supersonic]

Conservative, as per usual.

I thought you supported free trade?

I do, in this day and age. 1877 is a completely different time, and from a different countries perspective. Plus I wouldn't be particularly pro-US at the time. Sorry.

[Goldwater]

Conservative, as per usual.

I thought you supported free trade?

I do, in this day and age. 1877 is a completely different time, and from a different countries perspective. Plus I wouldn't be particularly pro-US at the time. Sorry.

Yeah, fair enough. I would be pretty pro-US, for obvious reasons.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

I'm voting Liberal. A high protective tariff will make goods too expensive during hard times.

[DC Al Fine]

Tupper.

[Hatman 🍁]

Seat standings at present:

Liberal: 154
Conservatives: 39
Others: 13

[Hatman 🍁]

Tupper is currently losing his seat and would resign as Tory leader with those results.

In terms of a replacement, there wouldn't be much to choose from. Out of those 39 Tories, just 2 were in the 1878 cabinet in real life:

John Henry Pope of Compton, QC (RL Minister of Agriculture) or
Louis-Rodrigue Masson of Terrebonne, QC (RL Minister of Defence)

Any suggestions as to who to pick? Or perhaps someone from outside the House? Or some one who didn't serve in cabinet in real life?

[DC Al Fine]

MacKenzie Bowell?

[RogueBeaver]

Alexander Campbell's in the Senate, even if he's more adept at policy than politics.

[Hatman 🍁]

MacKenzie Bowell?

He's losing

Alexander Campbell's in the Senate, even if he's more adept at policy than politics.

Would he even be appointed to the Senate under Brown?

[RogueBeaver]

Was one of the inaugural class of Senators, appointed on July 1, 1867.

[Hatman 🍁]

Was one of the inaugural class of Senators, appointed on July 1, 1867.

His Parliamentary biography indicates he was appointed in October, 1867: http://www.parl.gc.ca/parlinfo/Files/Parliamentarian.aspx?Item=0ddd1e27-0568-4aa0-a1dc-2d2ccd31e2a9&Language=E&Section=ALL

[Hatman 🍁]

Mind you, the first Senate had Liberals and Tories appointed, so he probably would be a Senator.

But, I think Senators have usually only become party leaders upon the death the previous party leader. I'm thinking they would want to appoint a sitting MP to be leader.

Anyways, a majority of the Tory MPs will be from Quebec, and Masson was the de-factor Tory caucus leader in real life. I think I'm leaning towards him as leader. You might like him RB, he was pro-French rights but also on the right of the party.

[RogueBeaver]

Sounds like an excellent pick.

[politicallefty]

I didn't realize I'd already voted Liberal. But the gap seems to have narrowed significantly since then.

[Hatman 🍁]

I didn't realize I'd already voted Liberal. But the gap seems to have narrowed significantly since then.

I think you can change your vote...

Anyways, it one more person has voted since my last seat count.  Tupper is still losing his seat, so we still need a new leader for the Tories. Since seat elections were so close back then, a loss of 2 or 3 votes in our poll means a large defeat.

When the poll is closed I'll see if there's any other potential Tory leaders. Also, Brown still gets shot in 1880, so there will be a new Liberal leader as well. I think I won't be too controversial when I say it will be Alexander Mackenzie.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

I voted for Tupper.

Back in March, using the game "Rails Across America", I completed the Canadian Transcontinental first and then proceeded to force the bankruptch and liquidation of all three American players in the Transcontinental game before they could finish, using all sorts of illegal means to achieve those ends.