1st Council of the Northwest Territories

1st Council of the Northwest Territories
Type
Type	Unicameral
History
Established	1876
Disbanded	1888
Seats	?
Elections
Last election	1885 Northwest Territories election
Meeting place
Fort Livingstone Battleford Regina

The 1st Council of the North-West Territories also known as the North-West Council in Canada lasted from November 7, 1876 to 1888. It was created as a permanent replacement to the Temporary North-West Council which existed prior to 1876 and was replaced by the 1st North-West assembly when the quota of elected members was reached. The numerical denomination 1st was applied when the 2nd Council of the Northwest Territories was created to differentiate between the two councils.

Early history and development

The first members of the new council were appointed under the Northwest Territories Act and consisted of the Lieutenant Governor, appointed men and Stipendiary Magistrates. Elected representatives were added later and could join the council if an area of 1,000 square miles (2,600 km²) had 1000 people an electoral district could be set up. This created a patchwork of represented and unrepresented areas, and there was no official or independent boundaries commission, all electoral law at the beginning was under the purview of the Lieutenant Governor.

Three electoral districts were created in 1881 and for an unknown reason writs were only issued in the district of Lorne which returned the first elected member Lawrence Clarke.

Early sessions

When the first council formed under the new appointed government in 1876, the council consisted of the lieutenant governor who acted as the chairman (speaker), and two appointed members. Because a quorum could not be maintained, the council had to be adjourned if one member went to the washroom.

By-election dates and summaries

Twelve elections took place during the period of 1876–1888. The biggest was the election of 1885 that took place on September 15, 1885. The election saw 11 members in 9 districts returned to the council, due to high population growth in the Northwest Territories at the time. After the 1885 election, elected members gained control over the council, and it became a full assembly. These are not considered general elections, as there was no dissolution of the assembly. However, after four years from the first election, a district had to have another election, and the incumbent had to run for re-election.

For list of elected candidates please see below.

March 23, 1881 Lorne by-election #1

May 29, 1883 Edmonton by-election

June 5, 1883 Lorne by-election #2

August 13, 1883 Moose Jaw, Regina, Qu'Appelle sub-election

August 31, 1883 Broadview by-election

June 28, 1884 Calgary, Moose Mountain by-election

July 8, 1886 Moose Mountain by-election #2

July 14, 1886 Calgary, by-election #2

October 14, 1886 Qu'Appelle by-election #2

May 24, 1887 Qu'Appelle by-election #3

September 5, 1887 Macleod by-election

Legislative session dates

• 1st Legislative Session, March 8, 1877 to March 22, 1877
• 2nd Legislative Session, July 10, 1878 to August 2, 1878
• 3rd Legislative Session, August 28, 1879 to September 22, 1879
• 4th Legislative Session, May 26, 1881 to June 11, 1881
• 5th Legislative Session, August 20, 1883 to October 4, 1883
• 6th Legislative Session, July 3, 1884 to August 16, 1884
• 7th Legislative Session, November 5, 1885 to December 18, 1885
• 8th Legislative Session, October 13, 1886 to November 19, 1886
• 9th Legislative Session, October 14, 1887 to November 19, 1887

Elected members of the 1st Council of the Northwest Territories

For complete electoral history, see individual districts

Appointed members of the 1st Council of the Northwest Territories

See also

• List of Northwest Territories premiers
• List of Northwest Territories commissioners
• List of Northwest Territories lieutenant-governors
• List of Northwest Territories general elections

References

External links

• Electoral history of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories 1876 - 1905
• History of the Lt. Governor of the Northwest Territories
• Photo of the 1886 Legislature