2006 Canadian federal election

On January 23 2006, voting in the 2006 Canadian federal election (more formally, the 39th general election) concluded. The first polls closed at 07:00 PM ET (0000 UTC); Elections Canada started to publish preliminary results on its website at 10:00 PM ET as the last polls closed. It resulted in the Conservative Party of Canada winning a plurality of seats (40.3% of seats, or 124 out of 308, up 25 seats from 99 in 2004) and 36.3% of votes (up 6.7% from 29.6% in 2004); since other parties are very unlikely to form a coalition government, this resulted in a minority government with Stephen Harper as Prime Minister of Canada. Shortly after midnight (ET) on January 24 2006, incumbent Prime Minister Paul Martin conceded defeat, and announced that he will resign as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada; however, he will continue to sit as a Member of Parliament.

Cause of the election

The election on 23 January elected members to the 39th Parliament of Canada.

This general election elected members for the Canadian House of Commons, indirectly determining the prime minister and cabinet, as the government will be formed by the political party or coalition of parties that the governor general determines is best able to command the confidence of the House (usually the one with the most elected members). This unusual winter election was caused by a motion of no confidence passed by the House of Commons on November 28 2005. The following morning, Prime Minister Paul Martin met with Governor General Michaëlle Jean, who agreed to dissolve the minority parliament, issuing a proclamation of the dissolution (Canada Gazette: Proclamation Dissolving Parliament). The Governor General then issued a proclamation issuing Writs of election (Canada Gazette: Proclamation Issuing Election Writs), followed by a final proclamation summoning Parliament to meet (Canada Gazette: Proclamation Summoning Parliament to Meet on February 20, 2006), though this will be superseded by further proclamations as the date for the assembling of Parliament is changed. The campaign was almost eight weeks in length, the longest in two decades, in order to allow for downtime over the Christmas and New Year holidays.

Recent political events, most notably testimony to the Gomery Commission investigating the sponsorship scandal, are perceived by some to have weakened the Liberals (who, under Martin, previously formed a minority government) by allegations of criminal corruption in the party. Although the next election was not legally required until 2009, the opposition had enough votes to force the dissolution of Parliament earlier. While Prime Minister Martin had committed in April 2005 to dissolve Parliament within a month of the tabling of the second Gomery Report (now scheduled for February 1, 2006), all three opposition parties—the Conservatives, Bloc Québécois, and New Democratic Party (NDP)—and three of the four independents decided not to wait, and the motion of non-confidence passed 171-133.

Election day

The election was held on January 23 2006. Voting hours were:

Provinces and Territories	Hours (local time)	Hours (UTC)
Newfoundland and Labrador	8:30am - 8:30pm NT 8:00am - 8:00pm AT (parts)	12:00 - 00:00 polls closed
Prince Edward Island Nova Scotia New Brunswick	8:30am - 8:30pm AT	12:30 - 00:30 polls closed
Quebec	9:30am - 9:30pm ET 10:30am - 10:30 pm (closed) AT (parts)	14:30 - 02:30 polls closed
Ontario Nunavut	9:30am - 9:30pm ET 8:30am - 8:30 pm (closed) CT (parts)
Saskatchewan Manitoba	8:30am - 8:30pm CT
Alberta Northwest Territories	7:30am - 7:30pm MT
British Columbia Yukon	7:00am - 7:00pm PT 8:00 am - 8:00pm MT (parts)	15:00 - 03:00 polls closed

Results

Main article: Results of the Canadian federal election, 2006

The early results show a Conservative minority government with 124 seats in parliament. In his speech following the loss, Martin stated he would not lead the Liberal Party of Canada in another election. The turnout at 01:30 (ET) was 64.5% with approximately 99.5% of the votes counted, a slight increase over 2004's 64.1%.

Further information: Results of the Canadian federal election, 2006

Results by Province

Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Conservative/row

Party name			BC	AB	SK	MB	ON	QC	NB	NS	PE	NL	NU	NT	YK	Total
Conservative	Seats:	17	28	12	8	40	10	3	3	-	3	-	-	-	124	Vote:	37.3	65.0	48.9	42.8	35.1	24.6	35.7	29.69	33.4	42.67	29.6	19.8	23.67	36.25	Liberal	Seats:	9	-	2	3	54	13	6	6	4	4	1	-	1	103	Popular vote:	27.6	15.3	22.4	26.0	39.9	20.7	39.2	37.15	52.5	42.82	39.1	34.9	48.52	30.2	Bloc Québécois	Seats:						51								51	Vote:						42.1								10.5	New Democratic	Seats:	10	-	-	3	12	-	1	2	-	-	-	1	-	29	Vote:	28.6	11.6	24.0	25.4	19.4	7.5	21.9	29.84	9.6	13.58	17.6	42.1	23.85	17.5	No Affiliation	Seats:						1								1	Vote:														0.1
	Total seats:			36	28	14	14	106	75	10	11	4	7	1	1	1	308

Contenders

File:Paulmartin1.jpg Paul Martin, 67, Canada's prime minister, and leader of the Liberal Party of Canada

File:Harpes.jpg Stephen Harper, 46, Leader of the Official Opposition, and the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada

File:Jacklaytonsmall.jpg Jack Layton, 55, Leader of the New Democratic Party of Canada

Gilles Duceppe, 58, Leader of the regional Bloc Québécois

File:Jim of the Greens.jpeg Jim Harris, 44, Leader of the Green Party of Canada

Most observers believed only the Liberals and the Conservatives were capable of forming a government in this election, although Canadian political history is not without examples of wholly unexpected outcomes, such as Ontario's provincial election in 1990. With the end of the campaign at hand, pollsters and pundits placed the Conservatives ahead of the Liberals.

Prime Minister Paul Martin's Liberals hoped to recapture their majority, although this appeared unlikely at any point during the campaign; it would have required holding back Bloc pressure in Quebec plus picking up some new seats there while also gaining seats in English Canada, most likely in rural Ontario and southwestern British Columbia.

Stephen Harper's Conservatives succeeded in bringing their new party into power in Canada. While continuing weaknesses in Quebec and urban areas rightfully prompted most observers to consider a Conservative majority government to be mathematically difficult to achieve, Harper's stated goal was to achieve one nonetheless. Though the Conservatives were ahead of the Liberals in Quebec, they remained far behind the Bloc Québecois, and additional gains in rural and suburban Ontario would have been be necessary to meet Stephen Harper's goal.

The NDP has claimed that last minute tactical voting cost them several seats last time, as left-of-centre voters moved to the Liberals so that they could prevent a Harper-led government. Jack Layton has thus far avoided stating his party's goal is to win the election outright, instead calling for enough New Democrats to be elected to hold the balance of power in a Liberal or Conservative minority government. Political commentators have long argued that the NDP's main medium-term goal is to serve as junior partners to the Liberals in Canada's first-ever true coalition government. NDP leader Jack Layton was concerned last time over people voting Liberal so that they could avoid a Conservative government.

The Bloc Québécois had a very successful result in the 2004 election, with the Liberals reduced to the core areas of federalist support in portions of Montreal and Gatineau. Oddly enough, this means there are comparatively few winnable Bloc seats left—perhaps eight or so—for the party to target. With provincial allies the Parti Québécois widely tipped to regain power in 2007, a large sovereigntist contingent in the House could play a major role in reopening the matter of Quebec independence. The Bloc Québécois only runs candidates in the provice of Quebec.

In addition to the four sitting parties, the Green Party of Canada was running candidates in all 308 federal ridings. Though no Green candidate has yet been elected in Canada, the party has occasionally polled as high as 19% in British Columbia and 10% nationwide.

Events during the 38th Parliament

Main article: Timeline of the Canadian federal election, 2006

An early election seemed likely because the 2004 federal election, held on June 28, 2004, resulted in the election of a Liberal minority government. In the past, minority governments have had an average lifespan of a year and a half. Some people considered the 38th parliament to be particularly unstable. It involved four parties, and only very implausible ideological combinations (e.g., Liberals + Conservatives; Liberals + BQ; Conservatives + BQ + NDP) could actually command a majority of the seats, a necessity if a government is to retain power. From its earliest moments, there was some threat of the government falling as even the Speech from the Throne almost resulted in a non-confidence vote.

Brinksmanship in the spring of 2005

The parliament came close to falling when testimony from the Gomery Commission caused public opinion to move sharply against the government. The Bloc Québécois were eager from the beginning to have an early election. The Conservatives announced they had also lost confidence in the government's moral authority. Thus, during much of spring 2005, there was a widespread belief that the Liberals would lose a confidence vote, prompting an election taking place in the spring or summer of 2005.

In a televised speech on April 21, Martin promised to request a dissolution of Parliament and begin an election campaign within 30 days of the Gomery Commission’s final report. The release date of that report would later solidify as February 1, 2006; Martin then clarified that he intended to schedule the election call so as to have the polling day in April 2006.

Later that week, the NDP, who had initially opposed the budget, opted to endorse Martin's proposal for a later election. The Liberals agreed to take corporate tax cuts out of the budget on April 26 in exchange for NDP support on votes of confidence, but even with NDP support the Liberals still fell three votes short of a majority. However, a surprise defection of former Conservative leadership candidate Belinda Stronach to the Liberal party on May 17 changed the balance of power in the House. Independents Chuck Cadman and Carolyn Parrish provided the last two votes needed for the Liberals to win the budget vote.

The deal turned out to be rather unnecessary, as the Conservatives opted to ensure the government's survival on the motion of confidence surrounding the original budget, expressing support to the tax cuts and defence spending therein. When Parliament voted on second reading and referral of the budget and the amendment on May 19, the previous events kept the government alive. The original budget bill, C-43, passed easily, as expected, but the amendment bill, C-48, resulted in an equality of votes, and the Speaker of the House broke the tie to continue the parliament. The government never got as close to falling after that date. Third reading of Bill C-48 was held late at night on an unexpected day, and several Conservatives being absent, the motion passed easily, guaranteeing there would be no election in the near future.

Aftermath of the first Gomery report

On November 1, John Gomery released his interim report, and the scandal returned to prominence. Liberal support again fell, with some polls registering an immediate ten percent drop. The Conservatives and Bloc thus resumed their push for an election before Martin's April date. The NDP stated that their support was contingent on the Liberals agreeing to move against the private provision of healthcare. The Liberals and NDP failed to come to an agreement, however, and the NDP joined the two other opposition parties in demanding an election.

However, the Liberals had intentionally scheduled the mandatory "opposition days" (where a specified opposition party controls the agenda) on November 15 (Conservative), November 17 (Bloc Québécois) and November 24 (NDP). These days meant that any election would come over the Christmas season, an unpopular idea. Following negotiations between the opposition parties, they instead issued an ultimatum to the Prime Minister to call an election immediately after the Christmas holidays or face an immediate non-confidence vote which would prompt a holiday-spanning campaign.

To that end, the NDP introduced a parliamentary motion demanding that the government drop the writ in January 2006 for a February 13 election date; however, only the prime minister has the authority to advise the Governor General on an election date, the government was therefore not bound by the NDP's motion. Martin had indicated that he remained committed to his April 2006 date, and would disregard the motion, which the opposition parties managed to pass, as expected, on November 21 by a vote of 167-129.

The three opposition leaders had agreed to delay the tabling of the no-confidence motion until the 24th, to ensure that a conference between the government and aboriginal leaders scheduled on the 24th would not be disrupted by the campaign. Parliamentary procedure dictated that the vote be deferred until the 28th. Even if the opposition hadn't put forward the non-confidence motion, the government was still expected to fall—there was to have been a vote on supplementary budget estimates on December 8, and if it had been defeated, loss of supply would have toppled the Liberals.

Conservative leader Stephen Harper, the leader of the Opposition, introduced a motion of no confidence on November 24, which NDP leader Jack Layton seconded. The motion was voted upon and passed in the evening of November 28, with all present MPs from the NDP, Bloc Québécois, and Conservatives and 3 Independents (Bev Desjarlais, David Kilgour and Pat O'Brien), voting with a combined strength of 171 votes for the motion and 132 Liberals and one Independent (Carolyn Parrish) voting against. One Bloc Québécois MP was absent from the vote. It is the fifth time a Canadian government has lost the confidence of Parliament, but the first time this has happened on a straight motion of no confidence. The four previous instances have been due to loss of supply or votes of censure.

Martin visited Governor General Michaëlle Jean the following morning, where he formally advised her to dissolve Parliament and schedule an election for January 23. In accordance with Canadian constitutional practice, she consented (such a request has only been turned down once in Canadian history), officially beginning an election campaign that had been simmering for months.

Early on in the campaign, polls showed the Liberals with a solid 5-10 point lead over the Conservatives, and poised to form a strong minority government at worst. Around Christmas, after reports of an RCMP investigation into allegations of insider trading within the Finance department, this situation changed dramatically. Almost at the same time, an unusually violent gun fight between rival gangs on December 26 in downtown Toronto may have swayed some Ontario voters to support the more hardline CPC policies on crime. In the week leading up to the election, however, Conservative leader Stephen Harper made a series of controversial claims regarding the courts, among other things. The CPC enjoyed a fairly significant lead in polls leading up to the election, but the gap narrowed in the last few days. The result was a Conservative minority government.

Issues

Further information: Issues in the Canadian federal election, 2006

Several issues—some long-standing (notably fiscal imbalance, the gun registry, abortion, and Quebec sovereigntism), others recently brought forth by media coverage or court decisions (the sponsorship scandal, same-sex marriages, income trusts, or Canada-United States relations)—have taken the fore in debate among the parties and also influenced aspects of the parties’ electoral platforms.

Opinion polls

Main article: Opinion polling in the Canadian federal election, 2006

Recent/selected polls:

Polling Firm	Date	Link	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Liberal|File:Lpcsmall.jpgLiberal	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Conservative| File:Cpcsmall.jpgConservative	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/NDP|File:Ndpsmall.jpgNDP	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/BQ|File:Bqsmall.jpgBQ	Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Green|File:Gpcsmall.jpgGreen
This election	January 23 2006	HTML	30.3	36.3	17.5	10.5	4.5
Strategic Counsel[1]	January 22	PDF	27	37	19	11	6
SES Research[2]	January 22	PDF	30.1	36.4	17.4	10.6	5.6
Ipsos-Reid	January 22	HTML	27	38	19	12	4
SES Research	January 21	PDF	28.1	37.0	17.7	11.3	6.0
Strategic Counsel	January 21	PDF	27	37	18	11	6
SES Research	January 20	PDF	29.4	36.2	17.3	11.0	6.1
EKOS	January 20	PDF	26.9	37.1	19.5	11.5	4.6
EKOS	January 20[3]	PDF	24.4	38.4	19.8	11.9	5.4
Ipsos-Reid	January 19	HTML	26	38	19	11	5
EKOS	January 19	PDF	27.0	37.1	19.7	11.2	4.5
Strategic Counsel	January 19	HTML	28	38	17	11	7
SES Research	January 19	PDF	29.0	35.5	18.8	11.1	5.6
EKOS	January 19[3]	PDF	27.3	37.4	20.8	10.1	3.9
Strategic Counsel	January 18	PDF	28	37	16	12	7
SES Research	January 18	PDF	30.7	37.0	16.6	10.7	4.9
EKOS	January 18[3]	PDF	29.3	35.1	18.0	12.6	4.4
Leger Marketing	January 17	PDF	29	38	17	11
Strategic Counsel	January 17	PDF	25	41	17	12	5
SES Research	January 17	PDF	31.5	36.9	17.6	10.0	4.0
EKOS	January 17	PDF	27.2	36.9	19.6	11.0	4.8
Strategic Counsel	January 16	PDF	24	42	17	12	5
SES Research	January 16	PDF	30	37	18	10	4
EKOS	January 16[3]	PDF	29.6	35.8	19.4	11.6	3.4
Strategic Counsel	December 31 2005[4]	PDF	33	31	17	14	6
Strategic Counsel	November 30	PDF	35	30	17	14	5
SES Research	October 27	PDF	40	28	15	12	4
Ipsos-Reid	September 29		37	27	17	14	4
Ipsos-Reid	August 22		36	28	17	11	6
Strategic Counsel	July 16		35	26	19	13	7
Ipsos-Reid	June 28		35	27	18	13	6
Leger Marketing	May 22	HTML	38	27	17	12	4
EKOS	April 28	PDF	32.5	30.5	19.0	12.0	5.5
Last election	June 28 2004	HTML	36.7	29.6	15.7	12.4	4.3

1. ^ Strategic Counsel polls from November 27th onwards are multi-day polls. Each new poll removes approximately 1/3 of the data that is the oldest, and replaces it with new data from that day.
2. ^ SES polls from December onwards are 3-day polls. Each new poll removes the 1/3 of the data that is the oldest, and replaces it with new data from that day.
3. ^ Various EKOS polls contain results from a single night of polling only. They have fewer respondents than most other polls and, thus, EKOS notes that they are not as credible; however, they are intended to provide a general indication of daily polling trends.
4. ^ Entries for 2005 include selected monthly (typically month-end) polls only.

NB: The margin of error in these surveys depends on the size of the sample in each survey, and is typically set at between 2.5 and 3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. See the links for actual error values associated with particular surveys. Note also that because these figures are national percentages, they may not reflect the expected number of seats won by each party. Indeed, the sample size in many polls is not sufficient to give a statistically accurate prediction in individual ridings, and hence the expected number of seats.

All polling companies rely on cooperation from individuals contacted over the phone. The major companies claim a typical response rate is between 20 and 35 percent. [5]

Candidates

The election will involve the same 308 electoral districts as in 2004, except in New Brunswick, where the boundaries of Acadie—Bathurst were deemed illegal. Many of the candidates will also be the same: fewer incumbents chose to leave than if they had served a full term, and the parties have generally blocked challenges to sitting MPs for the duration of the minority government, although there have been some exceptions.

All on one page Newfoundland and Labrador Prince Edward Island Nova Scotia

New Brunswick Quebec Ontario Manitoba

Saskatchewan Alberta British Columbia

Nunavut Northwest Territories Yukon

See also: star candidate

Campaign slogans

The parties' campaign slogans for the 2006 election:

Party	English slogan	French slogan	English translation
Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Liberal|File:Lib-can cropped.png Liberal	Choose your Canada	Réussir le Canada	Making Canada succeed
Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Conservative|File:Conservative Party of Canada.png Conservative	Stand up for Canada	Changeons pour vrai	Real change/true change (pun)
Template:Canadian politics/party colours/NDP|File:CA-NDP-2004-Logo cropped.png NDP	Getting results for Canadians	Des réalisations concrètes pour les gens	Concrete results for the people
Template:Canadian politics/party colours/BQ|File:Bloc Quebecois 2004 Logo cropped.png BQ	--	Heureusement, ici, c'est le Bloc!	Fortunately, the Bloc is here
Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Green|File:Green Party of Canada.png Green	We can	Oui, nous pouvons	Yes, we can

Endorsements

Further information: Endorsements in the Canadian federal election, 2006 and Newspaper endorsements in the Canadian federal election, 2006

Vulnerable ridings

The following is a list of ridings which were narrowly lost by the indicated party. For instance, under the Liberal column are the 30 seats in which they came closest to winning but did not. Listed is the name of the riding, followed by the party which was victorious (in parentheses) and the margin, in terms of percentage of the vote, by which the party lost.

These ridings are likely to be targetted by the specified party because the party lost them by a very slim margin in the 2004 election.

Up to 30 are shown, with a maximum margin of victory of 15%.

* Indicates incumbent not running again. To clarify further; this is a list of federal election winners with their party in parentheses, and their margin of victory as a percentage of the vote.

File:Lib-can.png	File:Conservative Party of Canada.png
Simcoe—Grey, ON (Cons) 0.18% Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre, SK (Cons) 0.39% Cambridge, ON (Cons) 0.43% Kildonan—St. Paul, MB (Cons) 0.77% Burnaby—New Westminster, BC (NDP) 0.79% Saskatoon—Humboldt, SK (Cons) 1.23% Newton—North Delta, BC (Cons) 1.26%* Niagara West—Glanbrook, ON (Cons) 1.28% Newmarket—Aurora, ON (Lib) 1.34% (Cons. MP Belinda Stronach later joined the Libs.) Essex, ON (Cons) 1.61% Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia, MB (Cons) 1.74% Sault Ste. Marie, ON (NDP) 1.75% Timmins—James Bay, ON (NDP) 1.80% Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC (BQ) 1.89% Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC (BQ) 2.057% Burnaby—Douglas, BC (NDP) 2.060% Niagara Falls, ON (Cons) 2.21% Halifax, NS (NDP) 2.43% Durham, ON (Cons) 2.48% Oshawa, ON (Cons) 2.74% West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC (Cons) 2.78%* Haldimand—Norfolk, ON (Cons) 3.30% Dufferin—Caledon, ON (Cons) 3.80% St. John's South—Mount Pearl, NL (Cons) 4.31% Wellington—Halton Hills, ON (Cons) 4.59% St. John's East, NL (Cons) 4.75% Prince Edward—Hastings, ON (Cons) 4.79% Toronto—Danforth, ON (NDP) 5.00% Churchill (NDP/Ind.) 5.08% Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC (BQ) 5.50%	Edmonton—Mill Woods—Beaumont, AB (Lib) 0.3%* Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON (Lib) 0.3%* Northumberland—Quinte West, ON (Lib) 0.6% Chatham-Kent—Essex, ON (Lib) 0.9%* Edmonton Centre, AB (Lib) 1.4% Ottawa West—Nepean, ON (Lib) 2.4%* Barrie, ON (Lib) 2.6% North Vancouver, BC (Lib) 3.6% Ottawa—Orléans, ON (Lib) 4.7% Brant, ON (Lib) 5.0% Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Westdale, ON (Lib) 5.1% Nipissing—Timiskaming, ON (Lib) 5.2% Brampton West, ON (Lib) 5.3% Burnaby—New Westminster, BC (NDP) 5.4% Hamilton Mountain, ON (Lib) 5.5%* Simcoe North, ON (Lib) 5.7%* St. Catharines, ON (Lib) 5.7% Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL (Lib) 6.6% Burlington, ON (Lib) 6.7% Kitchener—Conestoga, ON (Lib) 6.9% Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC (BQ) 7.3% Parry Sound—Muskoka, ON (Lib) 7.5% Tobique—Mactaquac, NB (Lib) 8.6% Whitby—Oshawa, ON (Lib) 9.0% Ottawa South, ON (Lib) 9.0% Richmond, BC (Lib) 9.2% West Nova, NS (Lib) 9.6% Saint John, NB (Lib) 9.7% Halton, ON (Lib) 10.0% Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON (Lib) 10.4%*
File:Bloc Quebecois 2004 Logo.png	File:CA NDP 2004 Logo.png
Jeanne-Le Ber, QC (Lib) 0.2% Papineau, QC (Lib) 1.1% Gatineau, QC (Lib) 1.8% Brome—Missisquoi, QC (Lib) 2.4% Ahuntsic, QC (Lib) 2.5% Brossard—La Prairie, QC (Lib) 4.9% Beauce, QC (Lib) 5.1%* Honoré-Mercier, QC (Lib) 5.7% Outremont, QC (Lib) 7.7% Pontiac, QC (Lib) 9.2% Hull—Aylmer, QC (Lib) 9.4% Laval—Les Îles, QC (Lib) 10.8% Bourassa, QC (Lib) 12.2%	Western Arctic, NT (Lib) 0.3% New Westminster—Coquitlam, BC (Cons) 0.3% Palliser, SK (Cons) 0.4% Vancouver Island North, BC (Cons) 0.9% Oshawa, ON (Cons) 1.0% Saskatoon—Humboldt, SK (Cons) 1.1% British Columbia Southern Interior, BC (Cons) 1.5%* Trinity—Spadina, ON (Lib) 1.6% Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON (Lib) 1.9% Hamilton Mountain, ON (Lib) 1.9% Vancouver Kingsway, BC (Lib) 3.1% Regina—Qu'Appelle, SK (Cons) 3.1% Newton—North Delta, BC (Cons) 3.6%* Victoria, BC (Lib) 3.9%* Kenora, ON (Lib) 4.1% Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC (Lib) 4.7% Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge—Mission, BC (Cons) 5.8% Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre, SK (Cons) 6.4% Nanaimo—Alberni, BC (Cons) 6.8% Parkdale—High Park, ON (Lib) 7.6% London—Fanshawe, ON (Lib) 7.7%* Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC (Cons) 7.8% Nickel Belt, ON (Lib) 7.9% Vancouver Centre, BC (Lib) 8.0% Saskatoon—Rosetown—Biggar, SK (Cons) 8.6% Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing, ON (Lib) 9.2% Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS (Lib) 9.6% Thunder Bay—Rainy River, ON (Lib) 9.7% Welland, ON (Lib) 10.1% Random—Burin—St. George's, NL (Lib) 13.5%

Cabinet ministers who won by less than 5% in 2004

1. Liza Frulla, Canadian Heritage: 0.2% over BQ in Jeanne-Le Ber, QC
2. Ethel Blondin-Andrew, Northern Development: 0.3% over NDP in Western Arctic, NT
3. Pierre Pettigrew, Foreign Affairs: 1.1% over BQ in Papineau, QC
4. Belinda Stronach, Human Resources and Skills Development: 1.3% over Lib in Newmarket—Aurora, ON; elected as a Conservative, Stronach defected to the Liberals on May 17, 2005.
5. Anne McLellan, Deputy PM/Public Safety: 1.4% over Cons. in Edmonton Centre, AB
6. Tony Valeri, House Leader, 1.9% over NDP in Hamilton East—Stoney Creek, ON
7. Aileen Carroll, International Cooperation, 2.6% over Cons. in Barrie, ON
8. David Emerson, Industry, 3.1% over NDP in Vancouver Kingsway, BC
9. Jacques Saada, Quebec Economic Development, 4.9% over BQ in Brossard—La Prairie, QC

Incumbent MPs not running for re-election

Liberals Peter Adams, Peterborough David Anderson, Victoria Jean Augustine, Etobicoke—Lakeshore Don Boudria, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell Claudette Bradshaw, Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe Marlene Catterall, Ottawa West—Nepean Claude Drouin, Beauce Paul DeVillers, Simcoe North John Efford, Avalon Beth Phinney, Hamilton Mountain Jerry Pickard, Chatham-Kent—Essex Rose-Marie Ur, Middlesex—Kent—Lambton Independents David Kilgour, Edmonton—Mill Woods—Beaumont Pat O'Brien, London—Fanshawe Carolyn Parrish, Mississauga—Erindale

Conservatives David Chatters, Westlock—St. Paul Gurmant Grewal, Newton—North Delta Jim Gouk, British Columbia Southern Interior Dale Johnston, Wetaskiwin Charlie Penson, Peace River John Reynolds, West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country Werner Schmidt, Kelowna—Lake Country Darrel Stinson, Okanagan—Shuswap Randy White, Abbotsford New Democrats Ed Broadbent, Ottawa Centre Bloquistes Alain Boire, Beauharnois—Salaberry Marcel Gagnon, Saint-Maurice—Champlain Denise Poirier-Rivard, Châteauguay—Saint-Constant

External links

Government links Elections Canada Elections Canada nominations database Parliament of Canada Prime Minister of Canada National media coverage CBC News - Canada Votes 2006 First English Leaders' Debate Transcript and RealVideo stream First French Leaders' Debate Windows Media video stream Second English Leaders' Debate RealVideo stream CTV News - Election 2006 The Globe and Mail - Decision 2006 Live election results canada.com - Decision Canada CBC Radio International Humour A poll asking how much their vote is worth General links Maple Leaf Web - Canada's Premier Political Education Website Canada Election 2006 News and Discussion Election Prediction Project LISPOP - Projected Distribution of Seats Pollingreport.ca UBC Election Stock Market 2006 Nodice Elections: Canada democraticSPACE Poll Tracking democraticSPACE Predictions Politics Canada TrendLines Riding Projections Hill and Knowlton election predictor Canada elections links wiki via Democracies Online Predicting the 2006 Canadian Election by Elmer G. Wiens The Blogging Tories - Conservative Blogs LibLogs - Liberal Blogs The Blogging Dippers - New Democrat Blogs Fairvote Canada - About proportional representation

Party websites

Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Liberal/row

Liberal Party of Canada

Conservative Party of Canada

Bloc Quebecois

New Democratic Party

Green Party of Canada

Template:Canadian politics/party colours/AAEVP/row

Animal Alliance Environment Voters Party

Canadian Action Party

Christian Heritage Party of Canada

Communist Party of Canada

First Peoples National Party

Template:Canadian politics/party colours/Libertarian/row

Libertarian Party of Canada

Marijuana Party of Canada

Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada

Progressive Canadian Party

Western Block Party

Preceded by 2004 federal election

Canadian federal elections

Succeeded by 40th federal election