[1] The Ontario Liberal Party, led by Edward Blake, won a slim majority of the seats, and formed the government.

The Ontario Conservative Party, led by John Sandfield Macdonald, served as the official opposition.

Earlier in 1871, the Legislative Assembly passed an Act to give the courts jurisdiction to rule on petitions dealing with corrupt practices in elections.

[2] In 1872, the Parliament of Canada passed an Act to compel MPs who were also members of a provincial legislature to resign such seats if they wished to stand again in a federal election.

[3] Five MLAs in the 1871 election were thus obliged to leave the Legislative Assembly in order to stand in federal ridings in 1872.