Timeline of Canadian elections

This article provides a timeline of elections in Canada, including all the provincial, territorial and federal elections. The information starts from when each province was formed or entered the Confederation, and continues through to the present day.

About the tables

The background colour indicates which party won the election. Several provinces held elections before joining Canada, but only their post-Confederation elections are shown. These include:

• Ontario's first 13 elections as Upper Canada, from 1792 to 1840;
• Quebec's first 15 elections as Lower Canada, from 1792 to 1840;
• the 8 joint elections of Ontario and Quebec as the Province of Canada, from 1840 to Confederation;
• 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, Yukon and Nunavut do not have fixed election dates in this matter.

1867–1897

1898–1948

1949–1998

1999–present

Notes

^A Coalition between Conservative and Liberal parties (who won 41 out of 82 seats each).

^B 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.

^C Conservative and Liberal parties won 15 seats each (out of 30).

^D Although Yukon was created in 1898, the Territorial Council was wholly appointed from 1898 to 1900.

^E 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.

^F 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.

^G Coalition between Liberal and Conservative parties.

^H The province and territories without fixed election dates are shown with a box limited to five years of government, as this is the maximum length of office, as set by the constitution.

Summary

The table below shows how many elections each party has won in each province and territory. Nunavut and the Northwest Territories 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 a conservative party.

* Although the 1st New Brunswick election is shown in the main table, it took place a year before New Brunswick entered the Canadian Confederation. As such it was not a Canadian election, and is thus excluded from this table.

See also

• List of Canadian federal general elections
• Canadian electoral calendar
• List of elections in the Province of Canada (pre-Confederation)
• List of federal by-elections in Canada

References

British Columbia

Government of British Columbia. "Important Dates in BC Election History". Electoral History of British Columbia. Elections BC. Retrieved October 7, 2008. 

Government of British Columbia. "1871-1986" (PDF). Electoral History of British Columbia. Elections BC. Retrieved November 8, 2010. 

Government of British Columbia (2002). "1987-2001 Supplement" (PDF). Electoral History of British Columbia. Elections BC. Retrieved October 7, 2008. 

Government of British Columbia. "Statement of Votes" (PDF). 38th Provincial General Election. Elections BC. Retrieved October 7, 2008. 

Government of British Columbia. "Statement of Votes" (PDF). 39th Provincial General Election. Elections BC. Retrieved October 7, 2008. 

Alberta

Government of Alberta. "Candidate Summary of Results (General Elections 1905-2004)". Comparative Statistics. Elections Alberta. Archived from the original on October 4, 2006. Retrieved December 2, 2006. 

Government of Alberta. "Electoral Summary: 1905 - 2004". Comparative Statistics. Elections Alberta. Archived from the original on October 5, 2006. Retrieved December 2, 2006. 

Saskatchewan

Government of Saskatchewan. "Provincial Vote Summaries". Historical. Elections Saskatchewan. Retrieved November 19, 2006. 

Manitoba

Government of Manitoba (2007). "Historical Summaries" (PDF). Elections Manitoba. Retrieved November 8, 2010. 

Ontario

Government of Ontario. "Composition Of Legislature Following Ontario General Elections". Elections Ontario. Retrieved November 8, 2010. 

Quebec

"Élections". QuébecPolitique.com. Retrieved December 16, 2006. 

"Les premiers ministres du Québec depuis 1867". National Assembly of Quebec (in French). Retrieved February 14, 2012. 

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. 

Nova Scotia

Government of Nova Scotia. "Election Summary From 1867 - 2006" (PDF). Elections Statistics. Elections Nova Scotia. Retrieved December 2, 2006. 

Prince Edward Island

"Historical Election Dates". Elections PEI. Retrieved December 2, 2006. 

Newfoundland and Labrador

"General Election Statistics (1949-1999)". Elections Newfoundland and Labrador. Retrieved August 22, 2008. 

Wayne Green. "Report on the 2003 General Election" (PDF). Elections Newfoundland and Labrador. Retrieved August 22, 2008. 

Paul Reynolds. "October 9, 2007 Provincial General Election Report" (PDF). Elections Newfoundland and Labrador. 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. 

"Election Results and Dates 1876 - 1905" (PDF). Saskatchewan Archives. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 13, 2006. Retrieved April 13, 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. Retrieved December 23, 2006. 

External links

• Elections Canada
• CBC Digital Archives — Campaigning for Canada

Canadian federal elections and referendums
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