It was held to elect members representing electoral districts in the provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario and Quebec to the House of Commons of the 1st Canadian Parliament.

Sir John A. Macdonald had been sworn in as prime minister by the Governor General, Lord Monck, when the new Canadian nation was founded on 1 July 1867.

Brown ran concurrently for seats in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario and the House of Commons of Canada, and might well have been Prime Minister in the unlikely event that the Liberals prevailed over the Conservatives in the national election.

Brown failed to win a seat in either body, and the national Liberals remained officially leaderless until 1873.

When the government in Britain refused to allow Nova Scotia to secede, a majority of the Anti-Confederation MPs (11 of 18) moved to the Conservatives.

[2] The BNA Act did stipulate that in the district of Algoma any male British subject of 21 years of age or older, "being a householder," would have the right to vote.

[2] In all provinces, women and government employees including civil servants, judges, police and prosecutors were not permitted to vote.

[2] Indigenous individuals who met property criteria were excluded from voting eligibility in most provinces if they received a benefit paid by the government.

Acclamations The following MPs were acclaimed: Vacancy The election in Kamouraska, Quebec, was cancelled due to rioting at the polling places.