A by-election was held for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly electorate of Sturt on 13 January 1917 following the resignation of John Cann who resigned to take the position of assistant commissioner of the New South Wales Government Railways.
[1] Cann had been elected as a Labor candidate at the 1913 election,[2] however he was expelled from the party for voting against Labor's censure motion on 10 November 1916.
[3]