The 1861 Newfoundland general election was held on May 2, 1861 to elect the members of the 8th General Assembly of Newfoundland in the Newfoundland Colony. It was triggered following the forced resignation of Premier John Kent by Governor Alexander Bannerman after Kent accused Bannerman of colluding with the Conservative Party. Bannerman had appointed Conservative leader Hugh Hoyles as the new Premier, but Kent quickly passed a motion of non-confidence against Hoyles' administration, forcing Bannerman to call an election.
The election was fraught with sectarian tensions. Most districts went uncontested for fear of violence. Riots prevented an election from occurring in the district of Harbour Grace. A violent confrontation broke out in Salmon Cove within the Harbour Main district, killing one man and injuring nine others, and the returns for that district were subsequently invalidated by the House of Assembly. A political deadlock ensued, and no party controlled the legislature until a by-election held in Harbour Grace in November 1861 finally gave Hoyles' Conservatives a majority government. Ambrose Shea subsequently became the leader of the Liberal Party.
|- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=3|St. John's East || |John Kavanagh<br>1,489<br>33.70% |rowspan=3| |rowspan=3|Samuel Archibald (Independent)<br>335<br>7.58% || |John Kent |- || |Robert Parsons<br>1,309<br>29.62% || |John Kavanagh |- || |John Kent<br>1,286<br>29.10% || |Robert Parsons |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=3|St. John's West || |John Casey<br>Won by acclamation | | || |John Casey |- || |Thomas Talbot<br>Won by acclamation | | || |Thomas Dwyerâ |- || |Henry Renouf<br>Won by acclamation | | || |Pierce Barron$ |-
|- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Bay de Verde || |John Bemister<br>Won by acclamation | | | | || |John Bemister |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Carbonear | | || |Edmund Hanrahan<br>Won by acclamation | | || |Edmund Hanrahan |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=2|Harbour Grace |rowspan=2| |rowspan=2| | |John Hayward<br>No returns declared | | || |John Hayward |- | |James Prendergast<br>No returns declared | | || |James Prendergast |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=2|Harbour Main | | | |George Hogsett<br>316<br>24.82% || |Patrick Nowlan (Independent Liberal)<br>325<br>25.53% || |Patrick Nowlan |- | | | |Charles Furey<br>310<br>24.35% || |Thomas Byrne (Independent Liberal)<br>322<br>25.29% || |Charles Furey |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=2|Port de Grave || |John Leamon<br>Won by acclamation | | | | || |John Leamon |-
|- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=2|Ferryland |rowspan=2| |rowspan=2|John White<br>84<br>7.09% || |Edward Shea<br>571<br>48.23% || |Thomas Glen |- || |Thomas Glen<br>529<br>44.68% || |Edward Shea |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=3|Placentia and St. Mary's | | || |Ambrose Shea<br>Won by acclamation || |George Hogsettâ¡<br><small>(ran in Harbour Main)</small> |- | | || |W. G. Flood<br>Won by acclamation || |John Englishâ |- | | || |Richard McGrath<br>Won by acclamation || |Richard McGrath
|- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=3|Bonavista Bay || |Stephen March<br>Won by acclamation || |Stephen March |- || |John Warren<br>Won by acclamation || |John Warren |- || |Matthew Walbank<br>Won by acclamation || |Matthew Walbank |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=3|Trinity Bay || |Stephen Rendell<br>Won by acclamation || |Stephen Rendell |- || |John Winter<br>Won by acclamation || |John Winter |- || |Frederick Carter<br>Won by acclamation || |Frederick Carter |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=3|Twillingate and Fogo || |William Whiteway<br>Won by acclamation || |William Whiteway |- || |Thomas Knight<br>Won by acclamation || |Thomas Knight
|- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Burgeo and LaPoile || |D. W. Prowse<br>Won by acclamation || |Hugh Hoylesâ¡<br><small>(ran in Burin)</small> |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke rowspan=2|Burin || |Edward Evans<br>Won by acclamation || |Ambrose Sheaâ¡<br><small>(ran in Placentia and St. Mary's)</small> |- || |Hugh Hoyles<br>Won by acclamation || |James Rogersonâ |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Fortune Bay || |Robert Carter<br>Won by acclamation || |Robert Carter