| Election name | 1886 Quebec general election |
|---|---|
| Country | Quebec |
| Ongoing | no |
| Party colour | no |
| Party name | no |
| Previous election | 1881 Quebec general election |
| Previous year | 1881 |
| Previous mps | 5th Quebec Legislature |
| Next election | 1890 Quebec general election |
| Next year | 1890 |
| Elected members | 6th Quebec Legislature |
| Seats for election | 65 seats in the 6th Legislative Assembly of Quebec 33 seats were needed for a majority |
| Election date | October 14, 1886 |
| Leader 1 | Honoré Mercier |
| Leader since 1 | 1883 |
| Leaders seat 1 | Bonaventure |
| Last election 1 | 15 seats, 38.97% |
| Seats 1 | 33 |
| Seat change 1 | 18 |
| Popular vote 1 | 58,389 |
| Percentage 1 | 39.54% |
| Swing 1 | 0.57pp |
| Leader 2 | John Jones Ross |
| Leader since 2 | 1884 |
| Leaders seat 2 | Councillor for Shawinigan |
| Last election 2 | 49 seats, 50.38% |
| Seats 2 | 26 |
| Seat change 2 | 23 |
| Popular vote 2 | 68,141 |
| Percentage 2 | 46.19% |
| Swing 2 | 4.19pp |
| Before election | John Jones Ross |
| After election | John Jones Ross[n 1] |
| Posttitle | Premier after election |
The 1886 Quebec general election on October 14, 1886, to elect members of the 6th Legislative Assembly for the Province of Quebec, Canada. The Parti National, a broad coalition formed and led by Honoré Mercier, that included the Parti libéral du Québec and nationalist defectors from the Conservative party. The Parti national got a large boost when Liberals and dissident Conservatives rallied in reaction to the hanging of Louis Riel in 1885, for which the federal Conservatives were held responsible by Quebec voters. The nationalists won a majority of seats against the Parti conservateur du Québec, led by John Jones Ross. A handful of Conservative dissidents remained independent of both parties.
The turnout was 63.96%.[1]
Despite the electoral loss, the Conservative government did not resign; it hung on until the opening of the legislative session in January, hoping that the dissidents might return to the party in the meantime.[2] Finally, on January 25, 1887, recognizing his inability to rally a majority, Ross resigned the party leadership in favour of Louis-Olivier Taillon. Taillon was unable to obtain the confidence of the legislature on its opening day, January 27, 1887, thus was obliged to tender his government's resignation to the lieutenant governor. Mercier became premier on January 29.
Results
| Party | Party Leader |
| Seats | Popular Vote | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1881 | Elected | % Change | % | % Change | Honoré Mercier | 15 | 33 | +120% | 58 389 | 39.54% | +0.6% | John Jones Ross | 49 | 26 | -46.9% | 68 141 | 46.19% | -4.2% | Independent Conservative | 1 | 3 | +200% | 20 994 | 14.23% | +3.2% | Parti national | Honoré Mercier | - | 3 | - | Other | - | - | - | ||||||||
| Total | 65 | 65 | - | 100% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Footnotes
- ^ Following the election, John Jones Ross continued in office despite his party's minority of elected members. He resigned as party leader on January 25, 1887 in favour of Louis-Olivier Taillon, who was defeated in the legislature on January 27. Honoré Mercier was sworn in as premier on January 29.
See also
- List of Quebec premiers
- Politics of Quebec
- Timeline of Quebec history
- List of Quebec political parties
- 6th Legislative Assembly of Quebec
References
- ^ "Élections Québec's history". Élections Québec
- ^ Munro, Kenneth. "Ross, John Jones". Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Retrieved 25 May 2026.