Canadian federal election, 1911

The Canadian federal election of 1911 was held on September 21 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 12th Parliament of Canada. The central issue was Liberal support for a proposed treaty with the U.S that would have lowered tariffs. The Conservatives denounced it because it threatened to weaken ties with Britain and submerge the Canadian economy—and Canadian identity—into its big neighbour. The Conservatives won and Robert Borden became prime minister. The idea of a Canadian Navy was also an issue. The election ended 15 years of government by the Liberal Party of Wilfrid Laurier.

Navy

The Liberal government was caught up in a debate over the naval arms race between the British Empire and Germany. Laurier attempted a compromise by starting up the Canadian Navy (now the Royal Canadian Navy), but this failed to appease either the French or English Canadians; the former who refused giving any aid, while the latter suggested sending money directly to Britain. After the election, the Conservatives drew up a bill for naval contributions to the British, but it was held up by a lengthy Liberal filibuster before being passed by invoking closure, then it was struck down by the Liberal-controlled Senate.

List of Canadian federal general elections

This article provides a summary of results for the general (all seats contested) elections 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 338. 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).

Two political parties have dominated politics in Canada: the Liberal Party and the historic Conservative party (known as the Progressive Conservative Party from 1943 to 2003). If one regards the modern Conservative Party as the successor to the historic one, then these are the only two parties to have formed a government, although often as the lead party 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).

Canadian federal election, 2008

The 2008 Canadian federal election (more formally, the 40th Canadian General Election) was held on Tuesday, 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 the Governor General on September 7, 2008. The election, like the previous one in 2006, yielded a minority government under the Conservative Party of Canada, led by the incumbent Prime Minister, Stephen Harper.

The election call resulted in the cancellation of four federal by-elections that had been scheduled to occur in September.

Background

In 2007, Parliament passed a law fixing federal election dates every four years and scheduling the next election date as October 19, 2009, but the law does not (and constitutionally cannot) limit the powers of the Governor General to dissolve Parliament at any time, such as when opposition parties bring down the government on a vote of confidence. In this election there was no loss of a non-confidence vote, but the Prime Minister asked the Governor General to call an election. The Governor General granted the Prime Minister's request.

Canadian federal election, 2000

The 2000 Canadian federal election was held on November 27, 2000, to elect 301 Members of Parliament of the Canadian House of Commons of the 37th Parliament of Canada.

Since the previous election of 1997, small-"c" conservatives had begun attempts to merge the Reform Party of Canada and Progressive Conservative Party of Canada as part of the United Alternative agenda. During that time, Jean Charest stepped down as leader of the Progressive Conservatives and former Prime Minister Joe Clark took over the party and opposed any union with the Reform Party. In spring of 2000, the Reform Party became the Canadian Alliance, a political party dedicated to uniting right-wing conservatives together into one party. Former Reform Party leader Preston Manning lost in a leadership race to Stockwell Day who became leader of the new Canadian Alliance party.

The federal government called an early election after being in office for just over three years (with a maximum allowed mandate of five years). The governing Liberal Party of Canada won a third consecutive majority government, winning more seats than the previous election. The Canadian Alliance made some minor gains, such as electing two Members of Parliament (MPs) from the province of Ontario. The Bloc Québécois, New Democratic Party (Canada) and the PC Party all lost seats. As the 1993 and 1997 federal elections involved vote-splitting between the Reform Party and the PC Party, the situation was repeated again between the Alliance and the PC Party, which in Canada's First Past the Post system allowed many Liberal candidates with a plurality of votes to win.