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:
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.
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 |
Year | BC | MB | ON | QC | NB | NS | PEI | NT | Federal | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1867 |
1st Co. [1] [a] |
1st PC [2] |
1st [b] |
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 [c] |
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. [d] [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 |
Newfoundland (now Newfoundland and Labrador) joined Canada as a new province in 1949. [35]
The territory of Nunavut was created on 1 April 1999, from land previously part of the Northwest Territories. [50]
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 | 25 | 12 | 25 | 23 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 152 | |
(Progressive) Conservative | 5 | 14 | 2 | 18 | 23 | 5 | 11 | 15 | 18 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 123 | |
Non-partisan | 9 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 16 [a] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 23 | 6 | 84 | |
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 | 20 | |
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 | 42 | 31 | 29 | 43 | 43 | 43 | 39 | 41 | 42 | 22 | 39 | 24 | 6 | 444 |
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:
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.
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 |
Year | BC | MB | ON | QC | NB | NS | PEI | NT | Federal | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1867 |
1st Co. [1] [a] |
1st PC [2] |
1st [b] |
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 [c] |
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. [d] [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 |
Newfoundland (now Newfoundland and Labrador) joined Canada as a new province in 1949. [35]
The territory of Nunavut was created on 1 April 1999, from land previously part of the Northwest Territories. [50]
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 | 25 | 12 | 25 | 23 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 152 | |
(Progressive) Conservative | 5 | 14 | 2 | 18 | 23 | 5 | 11 | 15 | 18 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 123 | |
Non-partisan | 9 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 16 [a] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 23 | 6 | 84 | |
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 | 20 | |
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 | 42 | 31 | 29 | 43 | 43 | 43 | 39 | 41 | 42 | 22 | 39 | 24 | 6 | 444 |