Timeline of Canadian elections
The timeline of elections in Canada covers all the provincial, territorial and federal elections from when each province was joined Confederation through to the present day. The table below indicates which party won the election. Several provinces held elections before joining Canada, but only their post-Confederation elections are shown. These include:
- Lower Canada held 15 elections for its Legislative Assembly, from 1792 to 1835;
- Upper Canada held 13 elections to its Legislative Assembly, from 1792 to 1836;
- the Province of Canada held 8 elections for its Legislative Assembly from 1841 to 1863;
- New Brunswick's first 21 elections, beginning in 1785 (the 21st Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick was elected in 1866, one year before Confederation, and continued until 1870, three years after Confederation);
- Nova Scotia's first 22 elections, beginning in 1758;
- Prince Edward Island's first 25 elections, beginning in 1773; and
- Newfoundland's first 29 elections, beginning in 1832.
The most recent election is shown with a box limited to five years of government, as this is the maximum length of office, as set by the constitution. However, elections can be called at any time by an incumbent government. The federal government, nine provinces, and one territory have changed to fixed election dates every four years. For these legislatures, the box is shown as running until the next scheduled election, but one could still be earlier if the government falls due to a motion of no confidence. Nova Scotia and Yukon do not have fixed election dates in this matter.
Legend
Abbreviation | Party |
---|---|
Pre | Pre-Confederation |
BCL | British Columbia Liberal |
LIB | Liberal Party |
NDP | NDP |
CCF | CCF |
ASC | Alberta Social Credit |
UF | United Farmers |
SK | Saskatchewan Party |
BSC | British Columbia Social Credit |
PQ | Parti Québécois |
CON | Progressive Conservatives or historical Conservatives |
YU | Yukon Party |
CPC | Conservative Party |
UN | Union Nationale |
APC | Alberta Progressive Conservative |
CAQ | Coalition Avenir Québec |
Co. | Coalition |
N/A | Nonpartisan, and consensus government |
1867–1897
Year | BC | MB | ON | QC | NB | NS | PEI | NT | Federal | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1867 | 1st Co.[1] [lower-alpha 1] |
1st PC[2] |
1st [lower-alpha 2] |
1st LIB[3] |
1st PC[4] | |||||
1868 | ||||||||||
1869 | ||||||||||
1870 | 1st N/A[5] |
2nd N/A |
(Temp. Council) | |||||||
1871 | 1st N/A[6] |
2nd LIB[1] |
2nd PC[2] |
2nd LIB[3] | ||||||
1872 | 2nd PC[7] | |||||||||
1873 | 26th PC[8] | |||||||||
1874 | 2nd N/A[5] |
3rd N/A |
3rd LIB[3] |
3rd LIB[9] | ||||||
1875 | 2nd N/A[6] |
3rd LIB[1] |
3rd PC[2] | |||||||
1876 | 27th PC[10] |
(First Council) | ||||||||
1877 | ||||||||||
1878 | 3rd[6] | 3rd[5] | 4th LIB [lower-alpha 3] |
4th N/A |
4th PC[3] |
4th PC[11] | ||||
1879 | 4th PC[5] |
4th LIB[1] |
28th PC[12] | |||||||
1880 | ||||||||||
1881 | 5th PC[2] | |||||||||
1882 | 4th N/A[6] |
5th N/A |
5th LIB[3] |
29th PC[13] |
5th PC[14] | |||||
1883 | 5th PC[5] |
5th LIB[1] | ||||||||
1884 | ||||||||||
1885 | ||||||||||
1886 | 5th N/A[6] |
6th PC[5] |
6th LIB[1] |
6th LIB[2] |
6th N/A |
6th LIB[3] |
30th PC[15] | |||
1887 | 6th PC[16] | |||||||||
1888 | 7th LIB[5] |
1st N/A | ||||||||
1889 | ||||||||||
1890 | 6th N/A[6] |
7th LIB[1] |
7th LIB[2] |
7th N/A |
7th LIB[3] |
31st Co.[lower-alpha 4][17] | ||||
1891 | 2nd N/A |
7th PC[18] | ||||||||
1892 | 8th LIB[5] |
8th PC[2] |
8th N/A | |||||||
1893 | 32nd LIB[19] | |||||||||
1894 | 7th N/A[6] |
8th LIB[1] |
8th LIB[3] |
3rd N/A | ||||||
1895 | 9th N/A | |||||||||
1896 | 9th LIB[5] |
8th LIB[20] | ||||||||
1897 | 9th LIB[2] |
9th LIB[3] |
33rd LIB[21] | |||||||
Year | BC | MB | ON | QC | NB | NS | PEI | NT | Federal |
1898–1948
1949–1998
Newfoundland (now Newfoundland and Labrador) joined Canada as a new province in 1949.[35]
1999–present
The territory of Nunavut was created on 1 April 1999, from land previously part of the Northwest Territories.[50]
Notes
- Coalition between Conservative and Liberal parties (who won 41 out of 82 seats each).
- The first New Brunswick general election was held pre-confederation and is not technically a Canadian election.
- Power went back and forth a few times surrounding the 1878 election. For most of that legislature, the Liberals controlled a minority parliament with the support of some Conservative members.
- Conservative and Liberal parties won 15 seats each (out of 30).
- Although Yukon was created in 1898, the Territorial Council was wholly appointed from 1898 to 1900.
- The Conservative party won the most seats, but the Liberal party maintained power with support from the Progressive party without forming an official coalition. Partway through the 15th Parliament the Conservative Party took control of government, but was not able to obtain the confidence of the House. See King–Byng Affair.
- The Liberal party won the most seats, but lost a motion of no-confidence shortly after the election resulting in a coalition between the Conservative and Progressive parties.
- Coalition between Liberal and Conservative parties.
- Coalition between NDP and Liberal Party.
Summary
The table below shows how many elections each party has won in each province and territory. The Northwest Territories and Nunavut use consensus government, which means there are no political parties. Of forty-two federal elections, twenty-three have been won by the Liberals, and eighteen by the Conservatives.
Party | BC | AB | SK | MB | ON | QC | NB | NS | PEI | NL | YU | NT | NU | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | 9 | 4 | 10 | 11 | 17 | 24 | 12 | 25 | 23 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 147 | |
(Progressive) Conservative | 5 | 13 | 2 | 18 | 23 | 5 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 119 | |
Non-partisan | 9 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 16[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 23 | 5 | 83 | |
New Democratic | 5 | 1 | 6 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 26 | |
Social Credit | 11 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | |
Coalition | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | |
United Farmers | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
Union Nationale | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | |
Parti Québécois | - | - | - | - | - | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5 | |
Co. Commonwealth Fed. | - | - | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5 | |
Yukon Party | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | - | - | 4 | |
Saskatchewan Party | - | - | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | |
Coalition Avenir Québec | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | |
Total | 41 | 30 | 29 | 42 | 43 | 43 | 37 | 40 | 40 | 22 | 38 | 24 | 5 | 432 |
- Although the 1st NB election is shown in the main table, it took place a year before NB joined Confederation. As such it was not a Canadian election, and is thus excluded from this table.
See also
References
- Elections Ontario. "Composition Of Legislature Following Ontario General Elections". Retrieved 2021-08-31.
- National Assembly of Quebec. "La répartition des voix aux élections générales" (in French). Retrieved 2021-09-01.
- Government of Nova Scotia. "ESummary Results from 1867 to 2017" (PDF). Elections Statistics. Elections Nova Scotia. Retrieved 2021-08-31.
- Parliament of Canada. "General Election (1867-08-07 - 1867-09-20)". Retrieved 2021-08-31.
- Government of Manitoba (2011). "Historical Summaries" (PDF). Elections Manitoba. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
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- Parliament of Canada. "General Election (1872-07-20 - 1872-10-12)". Retrieved 2021-08-31.
- Elections PEI. "Provincial Election Results. Election date: April 1873" (PDF). Retrieved 2021-09-01.
- Parliament of Canada. "General Election (1874-01-22)". Retrieved 2021-08-31.
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- Parliament of Canada. "General Election (1878-09-17)". Retrieved 2021-08-31.
- Elections PEI (2001-11-20). "Provincial Election Results. Election date: 2 April 1879" (PDF). Retrieved 2021-09-01.
- Elections PEI. "Provincial Election Results. Election date: 8 May 1882" (PDF). Retrieved 2021-09-01.
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- Elections PEI (2001-11-13). "Provincial Election Results. Election date: 30 January 1890" (PDF). Retrieved 2021-09-01.
- Parliament of Canada. "General Election (1891-03-05)". Retrieved 2021-08-31.
- Elections PEI (2001-11-19). "Provincial Election Results. Election date: 13 December 1893" (PDF). Retrieved 2021-09-01.
- Parliament of Canada. "General Election (1896-06-23)". Retrieved 2021-08-31.
- Elections PEI (2001-11-19). "Provincial Election Results. Election date: 28 July 1897" (PDF). Retrieved 2021-09-01.
- Lowell Croken; Norma Palmer-Bowers (2009-01-31). "Prince Edward Island Historical Review of Elections Results (1900 to January 2009)" (PDF). Elections PEI. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
- Elections Alberta. "Historical Results". Retrieved 2020-08-31.
- Elections Saskatchewan. "First Provincial General Election (December 13, 1905)". Retrieved 2021-09-01.
- Elections Saskatchewan. "Second Provincial General Election (August 14, 1908)". Retrieved 2021-09-01.
- Elections Saskatchewan. "Third Provincial General Election (July 11, 1912)". Retrieved 2021-09-01.
- Elections Saskatchewan. "Fourth Provincial General Election (June 26, 1917)". Retrieved 2021-09-01.
- Elections Saskatchewan. "FFifth Provincial General Election (June 9, 1921)". Retrieved 2021-09-01.
- Elections Saskatchewan. "Sixth Provincial General Election (June 2, 1925)". Retrieved 2021-09-01.
- Elections Saskatchewan. "Seventh Provincial General Election (June 6, 1929)". Retrieved 2021-09-01.
- Elections Saskatchewan. "Eighth Provincial General Election (June 19, 1934)". Retrieved 2021-09-01.
- Elections Saskatchewan. "Ninth Provincial General Election (June 8, 1938)". Retrieved 2021-09-01.
- Elections Saskatchewan. "Tenth Provincial General Election (June 15, 1944)". Retrieved 2021-09-01.
- Elections Saskatchewan. "Eleventh Provincial General Election (June 24, 1948)". Retrieved 2021-09-01.
- "Newfoundland Joins Canada) and Newfoundland and Confederation (1949)". .marianopolis.edu. Archived from the original on 2008-07-20. Retrieved 2010-12-03.
- Elections Saskatchewan. "Twelfth Provincial General Election (June 11, 1952)". Retrieved 2021-09-01.
- Elections Saskatchewan. "Thirteenth Provincial General Election (June 20, 1956)". Retrieved 2021-09-01.
- Elections Saskatchewan. "Fourteenth Provincial General Election (June 8, 1960)". Retrieved 2021-09-01.
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- Elections Saskatchewan. "Sixteenth Provincial General Election (October 11, 1967)". Retrieved 2021-09-01.
- Elections Saskatchewan. "Seventeenth Provincial General Election (June 23, 1971)". Retrieved 2021-09-01.
- Elections Quebec. "General elections". Retrieved 2021-09-01.
- Elections Saskatchewan. "Eighteenth Provincial General Election (June 11, 1975)". Retrieved 2021-09-01.
- Elections Saskatchewan. "Nineteenth Provincial General Election (October 18, 1978)". Retrieved 2021-09-01.
- Elections Saskatchewan. "Twentieth Provincial General Election (April 26, 1982)". Retrieved 2021-09-01.
- Elections Saskatchewan. "Twenty-First Provincial General Election (October 20, 1986)". Retrieved 2021-09-01.
- Government of British Columbia (2002). "1987-2001 Supplement" (PDF). Electoral History of British Columbia. Elections BC. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
- Elections Saskatchewan. "Twenty-Second Provincial General Election (October 21, 1991)". Retrieved 2021-09-01.
- Elections Saskatchewan. "Twenty-Third Provincial General Election (June 21, 1995)". Retrieved 2021-09-01.
- "Creation of Nunavut". CBC News. 2006. Retrieved April 26, 2007.
- Elections Saskatchewan. "Twenty-Fourth Provincial General Election (September 16, 1999)". Retrieved 2021-09-01.
- Elections Saskatchewan. "Twenty-Fifth Provincial General Election (November 5, 2003)". Retrieved 2021-09-01.
- Elections Saskatchewan. "Twenty-Sixth Provincial General Election (November 7, 2007)". Retrieved 2021-09-01.
- Elections Saskatchewan. "Twenty-Seventh Provincial General Election (November 7, 2011)". Retrieved 2021-09-01.
- Elections Saskatchewan. "2016 General Election Results". Retrieved 2021-09-01.
- Elections Saskatchewan (2021-06-30). "A Report on 29th Provincial General Election: Volume I. Statement of Votes" (PDF). Retrieved 2021-09-01.
New Brunswick
- "New Brunswick Votes 2006". CBC.ca. Retrieved December 23, 2006. (results back to 1956)
- Doyle, Arthur T. (1984). Elections in New Brunswick, 1784-1984. Fredericton: Brunswick Press. ISBN 0-88838-391-6.
Newfoundland and Labrador
- "General Election Statistics (1949-1999)". Elections Newfoundland and Labrador. Archived from the original on September 26, 2008. Retrieved August 22, 2008.
- Wayne Green. "Report on the 2003 General Election" (PDF). Elections Newfoundland and Labrador. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 6, 2011. Retrieved August 22, 2008.
- Paul Reynolds. "October 9, 2007 Provincial General Election Report" (PDF). Elections Newfoundland and Labrador. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 6, 2011. Retrieved August 22, 2008.
Yukon
- "Election Results". Election Almanac. Archived from the original on July 10, 2011. Retrieved July 1, 2009. (Results back to 1974)
- "General Elections". Elections Yukon. Retrieved December 2, 2006. (Dates of all elections)
- Donald Taylor. "The Yukon Legislative Assembly". Canadian Parliamentary Review. Retrieved December 23, 2006. (Non-partisan nature of Legislative Assembly before 1974)
Northwest Territories
- "History of Northwest Territories in Confederation". Collections Canada. Archived from the original on October 13, 2006. Retrieved December 19, 2006.
- "History of the Northwest Territories". Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly. Archived from the original on July 14, 2006. Retrieved December 19, 2006.
- "Councils and Assemblies". Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly. Archived from the original on February 14, 2006. Retrieved April 13, 2006. (1951 to date)
Nunavut
- "Nunavut Election '99 - Results". CBC Radio. Archived from the original on October 29, 2006. Retrieved December 5, 2006.
- "Nunavut Votes 2004". CBC News. Retrieved December 1, 2006.
Federal
- "History of Federal Ridings since 1867". Parliament of Canada. Archived from the original on June 9, 2009. Retrieved December 23, 2006.