Canadian federal election results since 1867
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This article provides a summary of results for the general elections to the Canadian House of Commons, the elected lower half of Canada's federal bicameral legislative body, the Parliament of Canada. The number of seats has increased steadily over time, from 180 for the first election, to the current total of 308. The current federal government structure was established in 1867 by the Constitution Act. For the eight general elections of the Province of Canada prior to 1867, see List of elections in the Province of Canada.
Two parties have dominated politics in Canada: the Liberal party and the historic Conservative party (known as the Progressive Conservative party from 1943). If one regards the modern Conservative party as the successor to the historic one, then these are the only two parties to have formed a government. (The 1917 win was by a pro-conscription Unionist coalition, between former Liberals and Conservatives).
Although government has been a two-party system, Canadian federal politics has been a multi-party affair since the 1920s, which saw significant parliamentary presence from the Progressive party and the United Farmers movement. They were supplanted by the Social Credit party and the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) in the 1930s. The CCF evolved into the New Democratic Party (NDP) in 1961. The Social Credit party and the CCF/NDP occupied the 3rd and 4th party slots between them from the 1930s, until the Social Credit party failed to win any seats in the 1980 election.
Since 1980, the NDP have remained a presence in the Canadian parliament, but the situation amongst other non-government parties has been more complex. The historic Conservative party never recovered from its spectacular defeat in the 1993 election (when it went from being the majority government with 169 seats, to just two seats and the loss of official party status). Right-wing politics has since seen the rise and fall of the Reform party and the Canadian Alliance, followed by the rise to government of the new Conservative party. Further, 1993 saw the first seats won by the separatist Bloc Québécois, who have been a constant presence in the Canadian parliament since then.
[edit] Summary of results
The third and fourth parties' results are included under "other" if the party did not have at least ten seats and has never done so at any point. Independent candidates are listed under "Other parties."
| Election Year |
Summary | Government | Official opposition |
Third party |
Fourth party |
Other parties |
Total seats |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st 1867 |
Conservative Party, led by Sir John A. Macdonald, is elected to form Canada's first majority government, defeating the Liberals and their de facto leader George Brown. | 100 [A] | 71 | 18 [B] | --- | 0 | 180 | ||||
| 2nd 1872 |
Conservatives under Macdonald are re-elected with a second majority, defeating the Liberals and their de facto leader Edward Blake. | 100 [C] | 95 | --- | --- | 5 | 200 | ||||
| 3rd 1874 |
Liberal Party, led by Alexander Mackenzie, retains power with a majority after having formed a government when Macdonald lost the confidence of the House in 1873. | 139 | 65 [A] | --- | --- | 12 | 206 | ||||
| 4th 1878 |
Conservatives, led by Macdonald, defeat Mackenzie's Liberals, returning Macdonald to power with a third majority. | 134 [A] | 63 | --- | --- | 9 | 206 | ||||
| 5th 1882 |
Conservatives, led by Macdonald, are re-elected with a fourth majority, defeating Edward Blake's Liberals. | 134 [D] | 73 | --- | --- | 4 | 211 | ||||
| 6th 1887 |
Conservatives, led by Macdonald, are re-elected with a fifth majority, defeating Edward Blake's Liberals. | 124 [D] | 80 | --- | --- | 11 | 215 | ||||
| 7th 1891 |
Conservatives, led by Macdonald, are re-elected with a sixth majority, in Macdonald's final election before his death shortly after. Macdonald defeated rookie Liberal opposition leader Wilfrid Laurier. | 118 [D] | 80 | --- | --- | 7 | 215 | ||||
| 8th 1896 |
Liberals, led by Sir Wilfrid Laurier, are elected with a majority, defeating the Conservatives of prime minister Sir Charles Tupper. | 117 | 86 [A] | --- | --- | 10 | 213 | ||||
| 9th 1900 |
Liberals, led by Laurier, are re-elected with a second majority, defeating Tupper's Conservatives. | 128 | 79 [A] | --- | --- | 6 | 213 | ||||
| 10th 1904 |
Liberals, led by Laurier, are re-elected with a third majority, defeating the Conservatives of Sir Robert Borden. | 137 | 75 [A] | --- | --- | 2 | 214 | ||||
| 11th 1908 |
Liberals, led by Laurier, are re-elected with a fourth majority, defeating Borden and the Conservatives. | 133 | 85 [A] | --- | --- | 3 | 221 | ||||
| 12th 1911 |
Conservatives, led by Sir Robert Borden, defeat Laurier's Liberals with a majority. | 131 [A] | 86 | --- | --- | 4 | 221 | ||||
| 13th 1917 |
Conservatives, led by Borden, are re-elected with a majority as part of a pro-conscription unionists coalition, which had former Liberals and Conservatives in the cabinet. The Unionists defeat Laurier's anti-conscription Liberals in the most bitter campaign in Canadian history. | 153 | 82 | --- | --- | 0 | 235 | ||||
| 14th 1921 |
Liberals, led by William Lyon Mackenzie King, win a minority government, defeating Conservative prime minister Arthur Meighen. The Conservativesare reduced to third place in the House. However the Progressives decline the title of official opposition, so Meighen becomes opposition leader. | 118 | 49 | 58 | 3 [E] | 7 | 235 | ||||
| 15th 1925 |
Conservatives, led by Arthur Meighen, win more seats than Mackenzie King's Liberals, who hold on to power with the help of Progressive Robert Forke. The Progressives withdraw support from scandal-plagued Liberals and refuse to support the Conservatives, triggering the 1926 election. | 100 | 115 | 22 | 2 [F] | 6 | 245 | ||||
| 16th 1926 |
Liberals, led by Mackenzie King, defeat Meighen's Conservatives, winning a minority supported by the eight Liberal-Progressives. Also see the King-Byng Affair. | 116 | 91 | 11 | 12 [E] | 15 | 245 | ||||
| 17th 1930 |
Conservatives, led by R.B. Bennett, win a majority, defeating the Liberals under Mackenzie King. | 134 | 90 | 9 [F] | 3 | 9 | 245 | ||||
| 18th 1935 |
Liberals, led by Mackenzie King, defeat Bennett's Conservatives with a majority. | 173 | 39 | 17 | 7 | 9 | 245 | ||||
| 19th 1940 |
Liberals, led by Mackenzie King, are re-elected with a second consecutive majority, defeating Robert Manion's National Government party, a failed attempt to recreate Robert Borden's World War I-era Unionists. | 179 | 39 [G] | 10 [H] | 8 | 9 | 245 | ||||
| 20th 1945 |
Liberals, led by Mackenzie King, are re-elected with a third consecutive majority, defeating the newly renamed Progressive Conservatives, led by John Bracken. | 118 | 66 | 28 | 13 | 20 | 245 | ||||
| 21st 1949 |
Liberals, led by Liberal prime minister Louis St-Laurent, are re-elected with a fourth majority, defeating the Progressive Conservatives led by George Drew. | 191 | 41 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 262 | ||||
| 22nd 1953 |
Liberals, led by St. Laurent, are re-elected with a fiftth majority, defeating George Drew's Progressive Conservatives. | 169 | 51 | 23 | 15 | 7 | 265 | ||||
| 23rd 1957 |
Progressive Conservatives, led by John Diefenbaker, defeat Liberals, led by St-Laurent with an upset minority victory | 111 | 104 | 25 | 19 | 6 | 265 | ||||
| 24th 1958 |
Progressive Conservatives, led by Diefenbaker, are re-elected with the largest majority to date in Canadian history, defeating the Liberals and their new leader Lester Pearson. | 208 | 48 | 8 | --- | 1 | 265 | ||||
| 25th 1962 |
Progressive Conservatives, led by Diefenbaker, are re-elected, but with a minority. | 116 | 99 | 30 | 19 | 1 | 265 | ||||
| 26th 1963 |
Liberals, led by Lester Pearson, defeat Diefenbaker's Progressive Conservatives, winning a minority | 128 | 95 | 24 | 17 | 1 | 265 | ||||
| 27th 1965 |
Liberals, led by Pearson, are re-elected with a second minority, defeating Diefenbaker's Progressive Conservatives. | 131 | 97 | 21 | 14 [I] | 2 | 265 | ||||
| 28th 1968 |
Liberals, led by new prime minister Pierre Trudeau, are re-elected with a majority, defeating the Progressive Conservatives led by Robert Stanfield. | 154 | 72 | 22 | 14 [J] | 2 | 264 | ||||
| 29th 1972 |
Liberals, led by Trudeau, are re-elected, but with a minority, defeating Stanfield's Progressive Conservatives by only two seats. | 109 | 107 | 31 | 15 | 2 | 264 | ||||
| 30th 1974 |
Liberals, led by Trudeau, defeat Stanfields's Progressive Conservatives with a majority. | 141 | 95 | 16 | 11 | 1 | 264 | ||||
| 31st 1979 |
Progressive Conservatives, Joe Clark, defeat Liberals, led by Trudeau, and win a minority, despite winning a significantly smaller share of the vote than the Liberals. The Progressive Conservatives won the highest vote share in seven provinces, but the Liberals captured an enormous lead in Quebec | 136 | 114 | 26 | 6 | 0 | 282 | ||||
| 32nd 1980 |
Progressive Conservatives, led by Joe Clark, are defeated by the Liberals, led by Pierre Trudeau. | 147 | 103 | 32 | --- | 0 | 282 | ||||
| 33rd 1984 |
Progressive Conservatives, led by Brian Mulroney, defeat Liberals, led by prime minister John Turner and win the most seats in Canadian history. The election is both the best showing ever for the Progressive Conservatives, and the worst showing ever for the Liberals. | 211 | 40 | 30 | --- | 1 | 282 | ||||
| 34th 1988 |
Mulroney is re-elected with a second majority, contending with a much stronger performance from Turner, and a strong third-party showing from Ed Broadbent's New Democrats, winning that party's best result ever as of 2006. | 169 | 83 | 43 | --- | 0 | 295 | ||||
| 35th 1993 |
Liberals, led by Liberal Jean Chrétien, win a majority, defeating the Progressive Conservatives, led by new prime minister Kim Campbell. Ex-Mulroney cabinet minister Lucien Bouchard's separatist Bloc Québécois become the official opposition, and the right-wing Reform Party, led by Preston Manning, becomes the third party. Meanwhile Audrey McLaughlin's New Democrats and Campbell's Progressive Conservatives both have their worst electoral results ever, with 9 and 2 seats, respectively. | 177 | 54 | 52 | 9 | 3 | 295 | ||||
| 36th 1997 |
Liberals, led by Chretien, are re-elected with a second majority. Manning's Reform Party become the official opposition. The Progressive Conservatives under Jean Charest win nearly as many votes as Manning's Reform Party, but only one-third the seats. | 155 | 60 | 44 | 21 | 21 [K] | 301 | ||||
| 37th 2000 |
Liberals, led by Chretien, are re-elected with a third majority, defeating Stockwell Day's Canadian Alliance, the failed attempt to unite the Reform Party and the Progressive Conservatives. The Progressive Conservatives, lead by former prime minister Joe Clark, are only just able to keep official party status in the House of Commons by winning the necessary 12 seats. | 172 | 66 | 38 | 13 | 12 [L] | 301 | ||||
| 38th 2004 |
The Liberals are re-elected under new Prime minister Paul Martin to a minority government. They defeat the new Conservative party, led by Stephen Harper, ex-leader of the Canadian Alliance. Jack Layton's NDP come 1 seat short of being able to guarantee the survival of Martin's government. Gilles Duceppe's Bloc Quebecois under experience a revival due to a Quebec-based Liberal scandal. | 135 | 99 | 54 | 19 | 1 | 308 | ||||
| 39th 2006 |
Conservatives, led by Stephen Harper, win a minority, defeating Martin's Liberals. The BQ retain most of its seats; the NDP improve their fourth-place position. | 124 | 103 | 51 | 29 | 1 | 308 | ||||
[edit] Notes
- A 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Includes results for the Liberal-Conservative Party.
- B The Anti-Confederates campaigned against confederatation, but latter sat with the Liberals.
- C Includes results for the Liberal-Conservative Party, and one "Conservative Labour" candidate.
- D 1 2 3 Includes results for the Liberal-Conservative and Nationalist Conservative parties.
- E 1 2 Combined total for United Farmers of Alberta and United Farmers of Ontario.
- F 1 2 Seats won by the United Farmers of Alberta.
- G Includes results for National Government party.
- H Includes results for New Democracy party.
- I Includes 9 seats won by the Ralliement créditiste party.
- J All 15 seats were won by the Ralliement créditiste party.
- K Includes 20 seats won by the Progressive Conservatives.
- L All 12 seats were won by the Progressive Conservatives.
- M In the 1921 election, the Conservatives ran under the name National Liberal and Conservative Party, and in 1940 under the name National Government. In both cases the Conservatives lost the election and the new name was soon abandoned.
[edit] See also
- Lists of general elections in Canada
- Canadian federal election
- List of political parties in Canada
- List of elections in the Province of Canada (pre-Confederation)
[edit] Reference
- History of Federal Ridings since 1867. Parliament of Canada. Retrieved on January 7, 2007.
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