The federal election of 1896 in Manitoba

Abstract

In this thesis an attempt will be made to explain why the Federal election of 1896 turned out as it did in Manitoba. Why did four seats out of seven go to the Conservation Party, which was pledged to support the French minority in their demand for separate schools, which only three seats went to the McCarthyite and the Liberals, who promised to uphold Manitoba's right to handle its own educational problems in its own way? Why did an agricultural Province give the bulk of its support to the Conservative protective policy rather than to the Liberal platform of tariff for revenue only? The question could be answered most accurately by asking each voter what his motives were, although even that method would have to make allowances for the human tendency to rationalize. Any method short of this direct one can yield results only approximately correct, although they may still be useful in throwing a little light into a dark corner. The first essential in arriving at any answer at all is a picture of Manitoba in 1896, with special reference to whatever circumstances might be expected to influence the outcome of the election... The next step is a discussion of the 1896 campaign. This begins with a general treatment of the Federal and Provincial campaigns, and then goes on to a more or less detailed description of the campaign in each of the seven constituencies, taking into account such matters as racial groups, candidates and their records, and the activities of newspapers and other opinion-forming agencies...