He acquired a Dominion Lands Act homestead in the Hamiota area which he later sold to purchase property in Winnipeg.
[citation needed] He ran again in the 1914 election, and defeated Ferguson[4] by 398 votes in the renamed Hamiota constituency.
The election was won by Rodmond Roblin's Conservatives, and McConnell sat in the legislature as a member of the opposition.
[5] McConnell was easily re-elected, and served in the legislature as a backbench supporter of Tobias Norris's government.
[4] The Liberals were reduced to a minority government in the 1920 provincial election, amid the rise of organized farmer and labour groups.