List of Canadian federal elections

This article provides a summary of results for Canadian general elections (where all seats are contested) to the 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 343. The current federal government structure was established in 1867 by the Constitution Act.

For federal by-elections (for one or a few seats as a result of retirement, etc.) see List of federal by-elections in Canada. For the eight general elections of the Province of Canada held in 1843 to 1864 before confederation in 1867, see List of elections in the Province of Canada. There were also earlier elections in Canada, such as for the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada (held in 1792–1836, now part of Ontario) and the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada (held in 1792–1834, now part of Quebec).

Three political parties have dominated politics in Canada: the Liberal Party, the historic Conservative party (known as the Progressive Conservative Party from 1942 to 2003), and the modern Conservative Party are the only parties to have formed a government, although often the Liberals and historic Conservatives have led in a minority or coalition government with one or more smaller parties (the 1917 win was by a pro-conscription Unionist coalition of former Liberals and Conservatives).

Although government has primarily been a two-party system, Canadian federal politics has been a multi-party affair since the 1920s, during which there was significant parliamentary presence of 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 won the third and fourth most seats between them from the 1930s, until the Social Credit Party failed to win any seats in the 1980 election.

Since 1980, the NDP has remained a presence in the Canadian parliament, but the situation amongst other non-government parties has been more complex. The Progressive 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, in 1993 the separatist Bloc Québécois won seats for the first time. It has been a constant presence in parliament since then.

Summary of results

Party colour key
	Liberal		Reform
	New Democratic		Canadian Alliance
	Progressive		Conservative
	Anti-Confederate		Liberal-Conservative Conservative (historic)^[1] Progressive Conservative
	Co-operative Commonwealth Federation		Liberal-Progressive
	Social Credit		Bloc Québécois
	United Farmers		Unionist coalition

The third, fourth, and fifth parties' results are included in "Other" if the party did not win at least four seats in an election at some point in its history. Results for parties placing sixth or lower (as in the 1926 election) are also included in "Other", as are Independent seats.

No.	Year	Date(s)	Summary			Third party		Fourth party		Fifth party		Other	Total seats	Government percentage of total seats
1st	1867	August 7 – September 20	The Conservative Party led by John A. Macdonald, is elected to form Canada's first government, defeating the Liberal Party and its de facto leader George Brown. Brown does not win his riding of Ontario South. In Nova Scotia, Anti-Confederates under Joseph Howe win 17 of 19 seats after campaigning against Confederation but later sit with the Liberals.	100^[2]	62		18		–		–	0	180	55.5%
2nd	1872	July 20 – October 12	Prime Minister Macdonald's Conservatives are re-elected with a minority, defeating Liberals and their de facto leader Edward Blake.	100^[3]	95	–		–		–		5	200	50%
3rd	1874	January 20	The Liberals, led by Prime Minister Alexander Mackenzie, retain power with a majority after having formed a government after the Conservatives, under former prime minister John A. Macdonald, lost the confidence of the House in 1873. First federal election by secret ballot.	129	65^[2]	–		–		–		12	206	62.6%
4th	1878	September 17	Former prime minister John A. Macdonald's Conservative Party defeats Prime Minister Mackenzie's Liberals, returning Macdonald to power with a second majority.	134^[2]	63	–		–		–		9	206	65%
5th	1882	June 20	Prime Minister Macdonald's Conservatives win re-election with a third majority, defeating the Liberals under Blake.	134^[4]	73	–		–		–		4	211	63.5%
6th	1887	February 20	Prime Minister Macdonald's Conservatives win re-election with a fourth majority, defeating the Liberals under Blake.	124^[4]	80	–		–		–		11	215	57.7%
7th	1891	March 5	Prime Minister Macdonald's Conservatives win re-election with a fifth majority. Macdonald defeats Liberal opposition leader Wilfrid Laurier in Laurier's first election as party leader. In the June following the election, Macdonald dies in office.	118^[4]	90	–		–		–		7	215	54.9%
8th	1896	June 23	Laurier's Liberals win a majority government, defeating the Conservatives, led by Prime Minister Charles Tupper, despite losing the popular vote.	117	86^[2]	–		–		–		10	213	54.9%
9th	1900	November 7	Prime Minister Laurier's Liberals win re-election with a second majority, defeating former prime minister Tupper's Conservatives. Tupper loses his own seat of Cape Breton.	128	79^[2]	–		–		–		6	213	60%
10th	1904	November 3	Prime Minister Laurier's Liberals win re-election with a third majority, defeating Robert Borden's Conservatives.	137	75^[2]	–		–		–		2	214	64%
11th	1908	October 26	Prime Minister Laurier's Liberals defeat Borden's Conservatives to win their fourth consecutive majority mandate.	133	85^[2]	–		–		–		3	221	60.2%
12th	1911	September 21	Borden's Conservatives defeat Prime Minister Laurier's Liberals and win a majority mandate.	132^[2]	85	–		–		–		4	221	59.7%
13th	1917	December 17	Prime Minister Borden leads the Unionist Party, a pro-conscription coalition of Conservatives and former Liberals, to a majority victory. Both former Conservatives and former Liberals are appointed to the cabinet. The coalition defeats former prime minister Laurier's anti-conscription Liberals.	153	82	–		–		–		0	235	65.1%
14th	1921	December 6	William Lyon Mackenzie King's Liberals win a minority government, defeating Prime Minister Arthur Meighen's Conservatives. The Conservatives are reduced to third place in the House; Meighen loses his own seat of Portage la Prairie. After Thomas Crerar and his Progressive Party decline the title of Official Opposition, Meighen becomes opposition leader.	118	49		58		3^[5]	–		7	235	50.2%
15th	1925	October 26	Prime Minister Mackenzie King's Liberals hold power with a minority with the help of Robert Forke's Progressives, despite former prime minister Meighen's Conservatives winning more seats, including that of King's own riding of York North. The Progressives soon withdraw support from the scandal-plagued Liberals but also refuse to support the Conservatives. Governor General Lord Byng controversially appoints Meighen as Prime Minister in the King–Byng Affair, but the Conservative government soon falls in a non-confidence vote.	100	115		22		2^[6]	–		6	245	40.8%
16th	1926	September 14	Mackenzie King's Liberals defeat former prime minister Meighen's Conservatives, winning a minority supported by the eight Liberal-Progressives under Forke. Meighen loses his Portage la Prairie seat again. United Farmers parties take 12 seats and Labour four, giving Canada a rare Parliament with six parties, each with four seats or more, in the House.	116	91		11		12^[5]		8	7	245	47.3%
17th	1930	July 28	R. B. Bennett's Conservatives win a majority, defeating the Liberals under Prime Minister Mackenzie King.	134	90		9^[6]		3		2	7	245	54.7%
18th	1935	October 14	Former prime minister Mackenzie King's Liberals defeat Prime Minister Bennett's Conservatives with a majority. Two new parties based in the West field candidates for the first time: the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF), under Woodsworth, wins seven seats on a platform of social reform, while the new Social Credit Party, led in Parliament by John Blackmore (its most recognized leader, William Aberhart, is serving as Premier of Alberta), wins 17 seats with its platform of monetary reform. The Progressive Party and the United Farmers of Alberta pass into the history books.	173	39		17		7		4	5	245	70.6%
19th	1940	March 26	Prime Minister Mackenzie King's Liberals are re-elected with a majority, defeating Robert Manion's National Government party, a failed attempt to recreate Robert Borden's World War I–era Unionists. Manion, previously the MP for London, runs without success at Fort William.	179	39^[7]		10^[8]		8		3	6	245	73.1%
20th	1945	June 11	Prime Minister Mackenzie King's Liberals are re-elected with a minority, defeating the newly renamed Progressive Conservatives, led by John Bracken. Despite his party's nationwide victory, King loses his Prince Albert riding. Foreshadowing the Bloc Québécois, the Bloc populaire canadien wins two seats in Quebec on a platform of Quebec nationalism and opposition to conscription.	118	66		28		13	–		20	245	48.2%
21st	1949	June 27	New prime minister Louis St-Laurent leads the Liberals to victory with a majority, defeating George Drew's Progressive Conservatives.	191^[9]	41		13		10		1	6	262	72.9%
22nd	1953	August 10	Prime Minister St-Laurent's Liberals win re-election with a majority, defeating Drew's Progressive Conservatives.	169^[9]	51		23		15		1	6	265	63.8%
23rd	1957	June 10	John Diefenbaker's Progressive Conservatives defeat Prime Minister St-Laurent's Liberals with an upset minority victory despite losing the popular vote.	112	105^[9]		25		19	–		4	265	42.2%
24th	1958	March 31	Prime Minister Diefenbaker's Progressive Conservatives are re-elected and win the largest majority (as of 2025^[update]) in Canadian history, defeating the Liberals and their new leader, Lester Pearson. Social Credit loses all its seats (including leader S. E. Low's) and the CCF loses most of its own (including that of leader M. J. Coldwell).	208	49^[9]		8	–		–		–	265	78.5%
25th	1962	June 18	Prime Minister Diefenbaker leads the Progressive Conservatives to a minority government, with a margin of victory over Pearson's Liberals of only one quarter of a percentage point in the popular vote. The New Democratic Party, which evolved from the CCF, wins 19 seats but fails to achieve a hoped-for breakthrough under Tommy Douglas. Robert Thompson makes his debut as leader of Social Credit, which makes only a modest recovery in the West but unprecedented gains in Quebec.	116	99^[9]		30		19	–		1	265	43.8%
26th	1963	April 8	Pearson's Liberals win a minority mandate, defeating Prime Minister Diefenbaker's Progressive Conservatives.	128^[9]	95		24		17	–		1	265	48.3%
27th	1965	November 8	Prime Minister Pearson's Liberals win re-election with a second minority, defeating former prime minister Diefenbaker's Progressive Conservatives. Social Credit splits in 1963, with French-speaking, mostly Quebec-based supporters under Réal Caouette forming the Ralliement créditiste, while English-speaking Western supporters under Thompson remain under the "classic" banner. Most social credit movement supporters in Parliament serve with the Ralliement créditiste. Douglas' NDP moves into third place in the number of House seats.	131	97		21		14^[10]	–		2	265	49.4%
28th	1968	June 25	New prime minister Pierre Trudeau leads the Liberals to a majority victory, defeating the Progressive Conservatives under Robert Stanfield.	155^[9]	72		22		14^[11]	–		1	264	58.7%
29th	1972	October 30	Prime Minister P. Trudeau's Liberals are re-elected but with a minority, winning only two more seats than Stanfield's Progressive Conservatives despite winning the popular vote by more than three percentage points nationwide. The NDP pick up several seats under new leader David Lewis. Social Credit, now reunited under Caouette's leadership, maintains its support in Quebec.	109	107		31		15	–		2	264	41.3%
30th	1974	July 8	Prime Minister P. Trudeau's Liberals defeat Stanfield's Progressive Conservatives with a second majority.	141	95		16		11	–		1	264	53.4%
31st	1979	May 22^[12]	Joe Clark's Progressive Conservatives defeat the Liberals, led by Prime Minister P. Trudeau, and win a minority government, despite winning a significantly smaller share of the vote than the Liberals. Ed Broadbent makes his debut as leader of the NDP, and Fabien Roy makes his debut as leader of Social Credit.	136	114		26		6	–		0	282	48.2%
32nd	1980	February 18	Former prime minister P. Trudeau's Liberals defeat the Progressive Conservatives, led by Prime Minister Clark. For the first time since 1958, Social Credit fails to elect any MPs and so fades into history after an almost unbroken 45-year run of federal representation, leaving Canada with a three-party system.	147	103		32	–		–		0	282	52.1%
33rd	1984	September 4^[13]	Brian Mulroney's Progressive Conservatives win a landslide victory, with the most seats in Canadian history. The Liberals, led by new prime minister John Turner, fall to their then-worst showing.	211	40		30	–		–		1	282	74.8%
34th	1988	November 21	Prime Minister Mulroney's Progressive Conservatives win a second majority, diminished from 1984 due to contending with a much stronger performance from the Liberals under former prime minister Turner and a strong third-party showing from Broadbent's New Democrats. As of 2025,^[update] this is the most recent federal general election where only three parties returned all the members of Parliament. Led by Preston Manning, the right-wing, Western-based Reform Party contests its first election but fails to win any seats.	169	83		43	–		–		0	295	57.3%
35th	1993	October 25	Jean Chrétien's Liberals win a majority, soundly defeating the Progressive Conservatives, led by new prime minister Kim Campbell, who are left in fifth place with just two seats, their worst ever showing. The Bloc Québécois, founded in 1990 and led by ex-Mulroney cabinet minister Lucien Bouchard, becomes the Official Opposition. Reform becomes the third party. Audrey McLaughlin's New Democrats also post their worst ever results with just nine seats. The election marks the end of the predominantly three-party Liberal–Progressive Conservative–NDP system.	177	54		52		9		2	1	295	60%
36th	1997	June 2	Prime Minister Chrétien's Liberals are re-elected with a second, albeit much slimmer, majority. Manning's Reform Party becomes the Official Opposition as the Bloc Québécois falls to third place under new leader Gilles Duceppe. The NDP, led by Alexa McDonough, and the Progressive Conservatives, led by Jean Charest, both make gains.	155	60		44		21		20	1	301	51.5%
37th	2000	November 27	Prime Minister Chrétien's Liberals are re-elected with a third majority, defeating Stockwell Day's Canadian Alliance, the unsuccessful attempt to unite the Reform Party and Progressive Conservatives. Both the Liberals and Alliance gain seats at the expense of the Bloc under Duceppe, NDP under McDonough, and PCs under former prime minister Joe Clark.	172	66		38		13		12	0	301	57.1%
38th	2004	June 28	New prime minister Paul Martin leads the Liberals to win re-election with a minority mandate. They defeat the new Conservative Party, formed by a merger of Progressive Conservatives and Canadian Alliance, led by Stephen Harper. Both the Bloc Québécois and NDP make gains, the latter under new leader Jack Layton.	135	99		54		19	–		1	308	43.8%
39th	2006	January 23	Harper's Conservatives win a minority government, defeating Prime Minister Martin's Liberals. Duceppe's BQ keeps most of its seats and Layton's NDP improves its fourth-place position.	124	103		51		29	–		1	308	40.3%
40th	2008	October 14^[14]	Prime Minister Harper's Conservatives win a second minority government, defeating Stéphane Dion's Liberals by larger margins than in 2006. BQ support is steady under Duceppe and NDP picks up several Liberal seats under Layton. Under new leader Elizabeth May, the Green Party continues its growth, winning 6.78% of the national vote on its environmentally conscious platform but again fails to win any seats.	143	77		49		37	–		2	308	46.4%
41st	2011	May 2	Prime Minister Harper's Conservatives win a majority of seats. For the first time the NDP, led by Layton, becomes the Official Opposition. The Liberals, led by Michael Ignatieff, fall to third place with their worst ever showing. The Bloc Québécois collapses to four seats, and the Green Party wins its first seat, that of leader Elizabeth May.	166	103		34		4	–		1	308	53.9%
42nd	2015	October 19	Justin Trudeau's Liberals come back from third place in polls to win a majority of seats. The Conservatives become the Official Opposition. The NDP under Tom Mulcair returns to its historical third-party standing. The Bloc Québécois makes modest gains while the Green Party maintains its one seat.	184	99		44		10	–		1	338	54.4%
43rd	2019	October 21	Prime Minister J. Trudeau's Liberals win a minority government. Conservatives win the popular vote and gain seats under Andrew Scheer. The Bloc Québécois under Yves-François Blanchet also gain seats. The NDP loses seats under new leader Jagmeet Singh. The Green Party wins three seats. This is the first election for the People's Party of Canada, led by former Conservative MP Maxime Bernier; it wins no seats.	157	121		32		24	–		4	338	46.4%
44th	2021	September 20	Prime Minister J. Trudeau's Liberals win a second minority and a third consecutive national mandate. Erin O'Toole's Conservatives again win the popular vote but do not gain seats. Blanchet's Bloc Québécois equals its seat count from 2019. The NDP earns a net gain of one seat. The Green Party, under Annamie Paul, wins two seats. The PPC roughly triples its vote share and vote count relative to 2019 but again fails to win seats.	160	119		32		25	–		2	338	47.3%
45th	2025	April 28	New prime minister Mark Carney leads the Liberals to victory with a minority mandate. They defeat the Conservatives, led by Pierre Poilievre. Both Liberals and Conservatives increase their seat totals, largely at the expense of the NDP, who lose official party status for the first time since 1993.	170	143		22		7	–		1	343	49.6%

Notes

^ 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.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Includes results for the Liberal-Conservative Party.
^ Includes results for the Liberal-Conservative Party and one Conservative Labour candidate.
^ ^a ^b ^c Includes results for the Liberal-Conservative and Nationalist Conservative parties.
^ ^a ^b Combined total for the United Farmers of Alberta and United Farmers of Ontario.
^ ^a ^b Seats won by the United Farmers of Alberta.
^ Includes results for the National Government party.
^ Includes results for the New Democracy party.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Includes one seat won by a Liberal-Labour candidate in Kenora—Rainy River who sat in the House as a Liberal.
^ Includes 10 seats won by the Ralliement créditiste party.
^ All 14 seats were won by the Ralliement créditiste party.
^ Because May 21, 1979, was Victoria Day, thus a statutory holiday, Election Day was the next day – May 22, 1979
^ Because September 3, 1984, was Labour Day, thus a statutory holiday, Election Day was the next day – September 4, 1984
^ Because October 13, 2008, was Thanksgiving Day, thus a statutory holiday, Election Day was the next day – October 14, 2008

Graphs of results

Bar graph of seats from 1867 to 2021

Seat distribution in the House of Commons from 1867 to 2021

New Democratic

Liberal

Green

Independent & others

Bloc Québécois

Conservative

Historical parties (represented in the House up to the 2000 elections)

Progressive, United Farmers of Alberta

Co-operative Commonwealth

Conservative, National Government, Progressive Conservative

Reform

Alliance

Social Credit, New Democracy, Ralliement créditiste

Anti-Confederation

Line graph of votes

References

"History of Federal Ridings since 1867". Parliament of Canada. Archived from the original on 2011-01-01. Retrieved 2007-01-07.

[cons_nats-1] 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.

[libcon-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Includes results for the Liberal-Conservative Party.

[1872_cons-3] Includes results for the Liberal-Conservative Party and one Conservative Labour candidate.

[natlibcon-4] Includes results for the Liberal-Conservative and Nationalist Conservative parties.

[farmer_both-5] Combined total for the United Farmers of Alberta and United Farmers of Ontario.

[farmer_AB-6] Seats won by the United Farmers of Alberta.

[1940con-7] Includes results for the National Government party.

[1940social-8] Includes results for the New Democracy party.

[liblab-9] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Includes one seat won by a Liberal-Labour candidate in Kenora—Rainy River who sat in the House as a Liberal.

[rallie1-10] Includes 10 seats won by the Ralliement créditiste party.

[rallie2-11] All 14 seats were won by the Ralliement créditiste party.

[Victoria-12] Because May 21, 1979, was Victoria Day, thus a statutory holiday, Election Day was the next day – May 22, 1979

[Labour-13] Because September 3, 1984, was Labour Day, thus a statutory holiday, Election Day was the next day – September 4, 1984

[Thanksgiving-14] Because October 13, 2008, was Thanksgiving Day, thus a statutory holiday, Election Day was the next day – October 14, 2008

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