The Conservative Party of Quebec held office throughout the term of the legislature, but went through a succession of three leaders. Pierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau was Premier of Quebec from 1871 to 1873. Gédéon Ouimet was premier from 1873 to 1874, and Charles Boucher de Boucherville was premier from 1874 to 1875.

The Liberal Party of Quebec formed the Official Opposition, under the leadership of Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière.

The legislature held four annual sessions, with the first session called on November 7, 1871. The legislature was dissolved on June 7, 1875, leading to the 1875 general election on July 7, 1875.

Structure of the legislature

The Legislature of Quebec was created by the British North America Act, 1867. It consisted of the Lieutenant Governor of Quebec, the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council.[https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/const/section-71.html#h-12 British North America Act, 1867 [now known as the Constitution Act, 1867], s. 71.] The Lieutenant Governor was appointed by the Governor General of Canada for a term of five years.[https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/const/section-58.html#h-12 British North America Act, 1867, s. 58.] The Legislative Assembly consisted of sixty-five members, elected in single-member constituencies by first-past-the-post elections.[https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/const/section-80.html#h-12 British North America Act, 1867, s. 80.] The Legislative Assembly was to last for four years, subject to being dissolved earlier by the Lieutenant Governor.[https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/const/section-85.html#h-12 British North America Act, 1867, s. 85.] The Legislative Council consisted of twenty-four members, appointed for life by the Government of Quebec.[https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/const/section-72.html#h-12 British North America Act, 1867, s. 72.]

The elections for the Second Legislature were conducted under the election law of the former Province of Canada, which were continued until such time as the Legislature of Quebec enacted a new election law, designed specifically for Quebec.[https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/const/section-84.html#h-12 British North America Act, 1867, s. 84.]

Elections and qualifications

= Right to vote =

The right to vote in elections to the Legislative Assembly was not universal. Only male British subjects (by birth or naturalisation), aged 21 and older, were eligible to vote, and only if they met a property qualification. For residents of cities and towns, the qualification was being the owner, tenant or occupant of real property assessed at three hundred dollars, or at an assessed yearly value of thirty dollars. For residents of townships and parishes, the requirements were either an assessment of two hundred dollars, or an assessed yearly value of twenty dollars.[http://www.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.9_00918/75?r=0&s=1 An Act respecting Elections of Members of the Legislature, Consolidated Statutes of Canada, 1859, c. 6, s. 4.]

Women were expressly prohibited from voting, "for any Electoral Division whatever".[http://www.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.9_00918/75?r=0&s=1 An Act respecting Elections of Members of the Legislature, s. 3.]

Judges and many municipal and provincial officials were also barred from voting, particularly officials with duties relating to public revenue. Election officials were also barred from voting.[http://www.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.9_00918/75?r=0&s=1 An Act respecting Elections of Members of the Legislature, ss. 1 and 2.]

Voting at elections was done by open ballotting, where voters publicly declared their vote to the poll officials.[http://www.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.9_00918/107?r=0&s=2 An Act respecting Elections of Members of the Legislature, ss. 51-54.]

= Qualification for the Legislative Assembly =

Candidates for the Legislative Assembly had to meet a significant property qualification. A candidate had to own real property in the Province of Canada, worth at least £500 in British sterling, over and above any encumbrances on the property.[http://www.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.9_00918/24?r=0&s=1 Act of Union 1840 (UK), c. 35, s. 27.][http://www.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.9_00918/97?r=0&s=1 An Act respecting Elections of Members of the Legislature, s. 36.]

= Qualification for the Legislative Council =

The qualifications for the members of the Legislative Council were the same as for the members of the Senate of Canada.[https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/const/section-73.html#h-12 British North America Act, 1867, s. 73.]

Those requirements were:

Be of the full age of thirty years;
Be a British subject, either natural-born or naturalised;
Possess real property in Quebec worth at least $4,000, over and above any debts or incumbrances on the property;
Have a net worth of at least $4,000, over and above debts and liabilities;
Reside in Quebec;
Reside in, or possess his qualifying real property, in the division he was named to represent.[https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/const/page-2.html#h-5 British North America Act, 1867, s. 23.]

The provisions of the British North America Act, 1867 did not explicitly bar women from being called to the Senate of Canada. However, until the Persons Case in 1929, it was assumed that women could not be called to the Senate, and were thus also barred from the Legislative Council. In any event, no woman was ever appointed to the Legislative Council.[http://www.assnat.qc.ca/en/patrimoine/conslegdiv.html Quebec National Assembly: Les membres du Conseil législatif (par divisions).]

Events of the Second Legislature

The Conservatives under Premier Pierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau won a substantial majority in the 1871 election, although with a somewhat reduced seat count. In spite of their electoral success, the Conservatives began to fracture between an ultramontane Catholic wing and the traditional Parti Bleu supporters, who were more business oriented. Chauveau continued in office until 1873, when he resigned upon being appointed to the Senate of Canada.[http://www.assnat.qc.ca/fr/deputes/chauveau-pierre-joseph-olivier-2539/biographie.html Quebec National Assembly: Pierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau.][http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/chauveau_pierre_joseph_olivier_11E.html Dictionary of Canadian Biography: Chauveau, Pierre-Joseph-Olivier.]

Chauveau was succeeded as Conservative leader and Premier by Gédéon Ouimet, who was had been elected to the Legislative Assembly in 1867 and served in Chauveau's Cabinet as Attorney General. Shortly into Ouimet's term a major political scandal broke, the Tanneries scandal, which turned on a land transaction carried out by the government. Ouimet and three other members of the Cabinet resigned.[http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/ouimet_gedeon_13E.html Dictionary of Canadian Biography: Ouimet, Gédéon.]

Ouimet was replaced as party leader and premier by Charles Boucher de Boucherville in 1874. De Boucherville replaced almost the entire Cabinet.

In addition to the political instability associated with the Tanneries scandal, the Second Legislature was also marked by a high number of by-elections. Over the course of four years, there were twenty-four by-elections in the sixty-five seat Legislative Assembly. Most of the by-elections were triggered by the 1874 federal election, the first federal election after the abolition of the dual mandate, which had allowed individuals to hold seats in both the federal Parliament and the provincial Assembly. Several members of the Legislative Assembly resigned their provincial seats to run federally. Amongst those who moved to federal politics was the young Wilfrid Laurier, who had been elected to the Legislative Assembly in 1871 for the riding of Drummond et Arthabaska. A number of other by-elections were triggered by the changes to the provincial Cabinet under the three premiers. At that time, a member of the Assembly who was brought into Cabinet part-way through the term of the Assembly had to resign and stand for re-election.

One significant legislative measure passed by the de Boucherville government was electoral reform. The general elections of 1867 and 1871 had been conducted under the electoral laws of the former Province of Canada. In the 1875 session, the government passed a new election law to replace the old statute and create an electoral framework designed solely for Quebec.The Quebec Elections Act, SQ 1875, c. 7. One of the key changes was that the new elections law introduced the secret ballot in Quebec elections, replacing the old open ballot system which had previously been used, and which had required voters to publicly declare their vote to the polling officials.

In 1875, Premier De Boucherville called a general election. The Conservatives were returned to office, albeit with a somewhat reduced majority.

Legislative Assembly

= Party standings =

The 1871 election returned a majority in the Legislative Assembly for the Conservative Party, led by Premier Chauveau.[http://www.assnat.qc.ca/en/patrimoine/sieges.html National Assembly of Quebec: La répartition des sièges aux élections générales.]

class="wikitable"

|+ 1871 Election Results

! colspan="2"| Party

! Members

| Conservatives

| align=center| 46

| Liberals

| align=center| 19

colspan="2" | Total

| align=center| 65

colspan="2"| Government Majority

| align=center| 27

= Members of the Legislative Assembly =

The following candidates were elected to the Legislative Assembly in the 1871 election.[http://www.assnat.qc.ca/en/patrimoine/resultatselec/index.html National Assembly of Quebec: Les résultats électoraux depuis 1867.] The Premiers of Quebec are indicated by Bold italics. The Speakers of the Legislative Assembly are indicated by {{Smallcaps|small caps}}. Cabinet Ministers are indicated by Italics.

class="wikitable sortable"

!Name

!Party

!Riding

!First elected / previously elected

2nd Quebec Legislature

Structure of the legislature

Elections and qualifications

= Right to vote =

= Qualification for the Legislative Assembly =

= Qualification for the Legislative Council =

Events of the Second Legislature

Legislative Assembly

= Party standings =

= Members of the Legislative Assembly =

= By-elections =

==Reasons for Vacancies==

Legislative Council

= Party standings =

= Members during the Second Legislature=

Executive Council during Second Legislature

= First Quebec Ministry: Chauveau Cabinet (1871-1873)=

=Second Quebec Ministry: Ouimet Cabinet (1873-1874)=

= Third Quebec Ministry: Boucher de Boucherville Cabinet (1874-1875) =

Leader of the Opposition

Legislative sessions

Notes

References