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22 seats in the North-West Legislative Assembly | |||
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The 1888 North-West Territories general election elected members of the 2nd Legislative Council of the North-West Territories. The 2nd Legislative Council of the North-West Territories replaced the 1st Council of the North-West Territories. The 2nd Legislative Council of the North-West Territories was replaced by the 1st North-West Assembly in 1891 when the quota of elected members was reached. (A different 2nd Council of the Northwest Territories (1905-1951) was created in 1905, when the NWT lost most of its population, to differentiate the new one from the two legislative councils of the NWT that had existed 1876 to 1891.)
The 1888 election was the first general election in the history of the North-West Territories, Canada. Elections were held in various districts between 20 June and 30 June 1888. Although considered a general election, the writs were issued to return on various days. (1891 North-West Territories general election would be the first election where all the seats came empty on the same day.)
Prior to 1888, the elected members of the 1st Council of the North-West Territories were elected in by-elections to supplement members appointed by the Government of Canada. In order to have an elected member, a constituency needed to be set up in an area 1,000 square miles (2,600 km2) in size that had 1,000 residents. This created a patchwork of represented and unrepresented areas across the sprawling and sparsely-settled territory.
Twenty-one members were elected in this election.
Robert Brett, the member for Red Deer, was appointed government leader by Lieutenant Governor Joseph Royal. His official title was Chairman of the Lieutenant Governor's Advisory Council.[1]
Three judges were appointed to the legislative assembly to provide legal advice, but they were not able to vote. They represented the territory at large.
Voters in this election cast their votes by telling the returning officer who they wanted to vote for. This system lasted until 1894 when a secret ballot was first used in a by-election in the Whitewood district.
