List of Canadian federal general elections

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.

Party colour key
width=25 Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Liberal\|	Liberal	width=25 Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Canadian Alliance\|	Canadian Alliance
Template:Canadian politics/party colours/NDP\|	New Democratic Party	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Conservative\|	Conservative (post-2003)
Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Anti-Confederate\|	Anti-Confederate	rowspan=2 Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Progressive Conservatives\|	Liberal-Conservative, Conservative (historic), ^[M] Progressive Conservative
Template:Canadian politics/party colours/CCF\|	Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Social Credit\|	Social Credit	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/BQ\|	Bloc Québécois
Template:Canadian politics/party colours/United Farmers\|	United Farmers	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Progressive\|	Progressive
Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Reform\|	Reform		Unionist coalition

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.

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.	width=5 Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Progressive Conservatives\|	100 ^[A]	width=5 Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Liberal\|	71	width=5 Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Anti-Confederate\|	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.	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Progressive Conservatives\|	100 ^[C]	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Liberal\|	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.	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Liberal\|	139	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Progressive Conservatives\|	65 ^[A]	---		---		12	206
4th 1878	Conservatives, led by Macdonald, defeat Mackenzie's Liberals, returning Macdonald to power with a third majority.	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Progressive Conservatives\|	134 ^[A]	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Liberal\|	63	---		---		9	206
5th 1882	Conservatives, led by Macdonald, are re-elected with a fourth majority, defeating Edward Blake's Liberals.	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Progressive Conservatives\|	134 ^[D]	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Liberal\|	73	---		---		4	211
6th 1887	Conservatives, led by Macdonald, are re-elected with a fifth majority, defeating Edward Blake's Liberals.	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Progressive Conservatives\|	124 ^[D]	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Liberal\|	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.	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Progressive Conservatives\|	118 ^[D]	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Liberal\|	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.	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Liberal\|	117	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Progressive Conservatives\|	86 ^[A]	---		---		10	213
9th 1900	Liberals, led by Laurier, are re-elected with a second majority, defeating Tupper's Conservatives.	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Liberal\|	128	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Progressive Conservatives\|	79 ^[A]	---		---		6	213
10th 1904	Liberals, led by Laurier, are re-elected with a third majority, defeating the Conservatives of Sir Robert Borden.	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Liberal\|	137	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Progressive Conservatives\|	75 ^[A]	---		---		2	214
11th 1908	Liberals, led by Laurier, are re-elected with a fourth majority, defeating Borden and the Conservatives.	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Liberal\|	133	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Progressive Conservatives\|	85 ^[A]	---		---		3	221
12th 1911	Conservatives, led by Sir Robert Borden, defeat Laurier's Liberals with a majority.	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Progressive Conservatives\|	131 ^[A]	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Liberal\|	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	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Liberal\|	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.	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Liberal\|	118	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Progressive Conservatives\|	49	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Progressive\|	58	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/United Farmers\|	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.	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Liberal\|	100	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Progressive Conservatives\|	115	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Progressive\|	22	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/United Farmers\|	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.	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Liberal\|	116	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Progressive Conservatives\|	91	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Progressive\|	11	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/United Farmers\|	12 ^[E]	15	245
17th 1930	Conservatives, led by R.B. Bennett, win a majority, defeating the Liberals under Mackenzie King.	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Progressive Conservatives\|	134	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Liberal\|	90	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/United Farmers\|	9 ^[F]	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Progressive\|	3	9	245
18th 1935	Liberals, led by Mackenzie King, defeat Bennett's Conservatives with a majority.	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Liberal\|	173	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Progressive Conservatives\|	39	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Social Credit\|	17	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/CCF\|	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.	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Liberal\|	179	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Progressive Conservatives\|	39 ^[G]	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Social Credit\|	10 ^[H]	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/CCF\|	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.	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Liberal\|	118	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Progressive Conservatives\|	66	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/CCF\|	28	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Social Credit\|	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.	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Liberal\|	191	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Progressive Conservatives\|	41	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/CCF\|	13	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Social Credit\|	10	7	262
22nd 1953	Liberals, led by St. Laurent, are re-elected with a fiftth majority, defeating George Drew's Progressive Conservatives.	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Liberal\|	169	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Progressive Conservatives\|	51	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/CCF\|	23	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Social Credit\|	15	7	265
23rd 1957	Progressive Conservatives, led by John Diefenbaker, defeat Liberals, led by St-Laurent with an upset minority victory	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Progressive Conservatives\|	111	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Liberal\|	104	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/CCF\|	25	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Social Credit\|	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.	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Progressive Conservatives\|	208	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Liberal\|	48	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/CCF\|	8	---		1	265
25th 1962	Progressive Conservatives, led by Diefenbaker, are re-elected, but with a minority.	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Progressive Conservatives\|	116	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Liberal\|	99	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Social Credit\|	30	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/NDP\|	19	1	265
26th 1963	Liberals, led by Lester Pearson, defeat Diefenbaker's Progressive Conservatives, winning a minority	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Liberal\|	128	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Progressive Conservatives\|	95	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Social Credit\|	24	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/NDP\|	17	1	265
27th 1965	Liberals, led by Pearson, are re-elected with a second minority, defeating Diefenbaker's Progressive Conservatives.	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Liberal\|	131	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Progressive Conservatives\|	97	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/NDP\|	21	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Social Credit\|	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.	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Liberal\|	154	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Progressive Conservatives\|	72	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/NDP\|	22	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Social Credit\|	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.	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Liberal\|	109	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Progressive Conservatives\|	107	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/NDP\|	31	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Social Credit\|	15	2	264
30th 1974	Liberals, led by Trudeau, defeat Stanfields's Progressive Conservatives with a majority.	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Liberal\|	141	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Progressive Conservatives\|	95	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/NDP\|	16	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Social Credit\|	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	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Progressive Conservatives\|	136	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Liberal\|	114	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/NDP\|	26	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Social Credit\|	6	0	282
32nd 1980	Progressive Conservatives, led by Joe Clark, are defeated by the Liberals, led by Pierre Trudeau.	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Liberal\|	147	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Progressive Conservatives\|	103	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/NDP\|	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.	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Progressive Conservatives\|	211	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Liberal\|	40	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/NDP\|	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.	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Progressive Conservatives\|	169	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Liberal\|	83	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/NDP\|	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.	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Liberal\|	177	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/BQ\|	54	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Reform\|	52	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/NDP\|	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.	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Liberal\|	155	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Reform\|	60	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/BQ\|	44	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/NDP\|	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.	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Liberal\|	172	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Canadian Alliance\|	66	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/BQ\|	38	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/NDP\|	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, lead 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.	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Liberal\|	135	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Conservative\|	99	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/BQ\|	54	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/NDP\|	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.	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Conservative\|	123	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Liberal\|	103	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/BQ\|	51	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/NDP\|	29	1	308

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.

Reference

"History of Federal Ridings since 1867". Parliament of Canada. Retrieved 2007-01-07.

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Summary of results

Notes

See also

Reference