2008 Canadian federal election

2008 Canadian federal election
October 14, 2008 (2008-10-14)
308 seats in the House of Commons
155 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Turnout58.8% (5.9pp)
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Stephen Harper Stéphane Dion Gilles Duceppe
Party Conservative Liberal Bloc Québécois
Leader's seat Calgary Southwest Saint-Laurent—Cartierville Laurier—Sainte-Marie
Last election 124 seats, 36.27% 103 seats, 30.23% 51 seats, 10.48%
Seats before 127 95 48
Seats won 143 77 49
Seat change 16 18 1
Popular vote 5,209,069 3,633,185 1,379,991
Percentage 37.65% 26.26% 9.98%[a]
Swing 1.38pp 3.97pp 0.50pp
  Fourth party Fifth party
 
Leader Jack Layton Elizabeth May
Party New Democratic Green
Leader's seat Toronto—Danforth Ran in Central Nova (lost)
Last election 29 seats, 17.48% 0 seats, 4.48%
Seats before 30 1
Seats won 37 0
Seat change 7 1
Popular vote 2,515,288 937,613
Percentage 18.18% 6.78%
Swing 0.70pp 2.30pp
Prime Minister before election

Stephen Harper
Conservative

Prime Minister after election

Stephen Harper
Conservative

The 2008 Canadian federal election was held on October 14, 2008, to elect members to the House of Commons of Canada of the 40th Canadian Parliament after the previous parliament had been dissolved by Governor General Michaëlle Jean on September 7, 2008.

The election resulted in a second but stronger minority government for Harper's Conservatives. While they were a dozen seats away from a majority government, the Liberal Party led by Stéphane Dion lost 18 seats as the New Democratic Party and the Bloc Québécois made some gains. Following the election, the Liberals and New Democrats tried to form a coalition government and topple the Conservatives from power, but were unsuccessful in doing so.

Results

Elections to the 40th Canadian Parliament (2008)[1][2][3]
Party Leader Candidates Votes Seats
# ± % Change (pp) 2006 2008 ± G L
Conservative Stephen Harper 307[b] 5,209,069 165,002 37.65 1.38 1.38
 
 124
143 / 308
 19 25 6
Liberal Stéphane Dion 307[c][d] 3,633,185 846,230 26.26 -3.97
 
 103
77 / 308
 26 5 31
New Democratic Jack Layton 308[e] 2,515,288 74,309 18.18 0.70 0.7
 
 29
37 / 308
 8 11 3
Bloc Québécois Gilles Duceppe 75 1,379,991 173,210 9.98 -0.51
 
 51
49 / 308
 2 1 3
Green Elizabeth May 303 937,613 273,545 6.78 2.30 2.3
 
Independent 71 94,844 12,984 0.69 0.13 0.13
 
 1
2 / 308
 1 1 –
Christian Heritage Ron Gray 59 26,475 1,677 0.19 –
Marxist–Leninist Anna Di Carlo 59 8,565 415 0.06 –
Libertarian Dennis Young 26 7,300 4,298 0.05 0.03
Progressive Canadian Sinclair Stevens 10 5,860 8,291 0.04 -0.05
Communist Miguel Figueroa 24 3,572 550 0.03 0.01
Canadian Action Connie Fogal 20 3,455 2,647 0.02 -0.02
Marijuana Blair Longley 8 2,298 6,873 0.02 -0.05
neorhino.ca François Gourd 7 2,122 2,122 0.02 New
Newfoundland and Labrador First Tom Hickey 3 1,713 1,713 0.01 New
First Peoples National Barbara Wardlaw 6 1,611 410 0.01 –
Animal Alliance Liz White 4 527 455 – –
Work Less Conrad Schmidt 1 425 425 – New
  Western Block Doug Christie 1 195 899 – -0.01
People's Political Power Roger Poisson 2 186 186 – New
Total 1,601 13,834,294 100.00%
Rejected ballots 94,799 3,255
Turnout 13,929,093 979,610 58.83% 5.84
Registered voters 23,677,639 623,024

Notes

  1. ↑ Only contested seats in Quebec.
  2. ↑ The Conservatives chose not to field a candidate in Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, as the incumbent Independent MP André Arthur consistently sided with them in votes in the House.
  3. ↑ The Liberals opted not to field a candidate in Central Nova, so as not to oppose Elizabeth May in her campaign for a Green seat.
  4. ↑ Lesley Hughes of Kildonan—St. Paul was nominated as a Liberal, but lost party support after the nomination deadline and continued to run as an independent; she was listed as a Liberal on the ballot.[4][5]
  5. ↑ Includes Julian West (Saanich—Gulf Islands) and Andrew McKeever (Durham), who withdrew their candidacies but still appeared on the ballot.

References

  1. ↑ Report of the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada on the 40th general election of October 14, 2008 (PDF). Ottawa: Elections Canada. 2009. ISBN 978-0-662-06476-3. ISSN 0846-6351.
  2. ↑ "Table 11: Voting results by electoral district". Elections Canada. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  3. ↑ "Table 12: List of candidates by electoral district and individual results". Elections Canada. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  4. ↑ "Dion drops candidate over 9/11 remarks". The Toronto Star. September 26, 2008.
  5. ↑ "Both Conservatives, NDP gain in Manitoba". CBC News. October 15, 2008. Retrieved March 15, 2020.




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