1885 Newfoundland general election

The 1885 Newfoundland general election was held on 31 October 1885 to elect members of the 15th General Assembly of Newfoundland in the Newfoundland Colony. The Reform Party had been created by Robert Thorburn on a platform of "Protestant Rights" after supporters of the Orange Order abandoned the Whiteway government after sectarian riots in 1885 against the government's 'denominational compromise'. Whiteway's Conservative Party was destroyed as a result and Whiteway founded a new Liberal Party. Thorburn's new party swept to power but soon turned away from its sectarian agenda by inviting Catholic Liberals into the Cabinet.

Results by party

	Party	Leader	1882	Seats won	% change	Popular vote	(%)
	Reform	Robert Thorburn	-	18
	Liberal	William Whiteway	-	13
	Independent			1
Totals				32

Elected members

• Bay de Verde
  • Stephen R. March Reform
  • A.J.W. McNeilly Reform (speaker)
• Bonavista Bay
  • James L. Noonan Reform
    • Alfred B. Morine elected in 1886
  • Abraham Kean Reform
  • Frederick White Reform
• Burgeo-LaPoile
  • Alexander M. Mackay Reform
• Burin
  • John E. Peters Reform
  • Henry LeMessurier Reform
• Carbonear
  • Alfred Penney Liberal
• Ferryland
  • Daniel Joseph Greene Liberal
  • George Shea Liberal
• Fortune Bay
  • Robert Bond Independent
• Harbour Grace
  • James S. Winter Reform
  • Charles Dawe Reform
  • Joseph Godden Reform
• Harbour Main
  • John Veitch Liberal
  • Richard MacDonnell Liberal
• Placentia and St. Mary's
  • James McGrath Liberal
  • W. J. S. Donnelly Liberal
  • George Emerson Liberal
• Port de Grave
  • George A. Hutchings Reform
• St. Barbe
  • Albert Bradshaw Reform
• St. George's
  • Michael H. Carty Liberal
• St. John's East
  • Robert J. Kent Liberal
    • Thomas J. Murphy Liberal, elected in 1886
  • Ambrose Shea Liberal
    • Robert J. Parsons Liberal, elected in 1887
  • Michael J. O'Mara Liberal
• St. John's West
  • Edward Morris Liberal
  • Patrick J. Scott Liberal
  • James J. Callanan Liberal
• Trinity Bay
  • Robert Thorburn Reform
  • Walter B. Grieve Reform
• Twillingate-Fogo
  • Augustus F. Goodridge Reform
  • Smith McKay Reform
  • Michael T. Knight Reform

References

• Smallwood, Joseph R (1981). Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador. Vol. v. 1. ISBN 0-920508-14-6.