The 2011 Canadian federal election was held on May 2, 2011, to elect members to the
House of Commons of Canada
The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada.
The House of Commo ...
of the
41st Canadian Parliament.
The
writs of election
A writ of election is a writ issued ordering the holding of an election. In Commonwealth countries writs are the usual mechanism by which general elections are called and are issued by the head of state or their representative. In the Unite ...
for the 2011 election were issued by
Governor General
Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy ...
David Johnston on March 26.
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. Harper is the first and only prime minister to come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ...
advised the Governor General to dissolve parliament after the House of Commons passed a
motion of non-confidence against the government, finding it to be in
contempt of Parliament
In countries with a parliamentary system of government, contempt of Parliament is the offence of obstructing the legislature in the carrying out of its functions, or of hindering any legislator in the performance of his duties.
Typology
The conce ...
. A few days before, the three opposition parties had rejected the
minority government
A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in t ...
's proposed budget.
The
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
remained in power, increasing its seat count from a minority to a
majority government
A majority government is a government by one or more governing parties that hold an absolute majority of seats in a legislature. This is as opposed to a minority government, where the largest party in a legislature only has a plurality of seats ...
, marking the first time since
1988 that a
right-of-centre party formed a majority government. The
Liberal Party, sometimes dubbed the "natural governing party", was reduced to third party status for the first time as they won the fewest seats in its history, and party leader
Michael Ignatieff was defeated in
his riding. The
Bloc Québécois
The Bloc Québécois (BQ; , " Quebecer Bloc") is a federal political party in Canada devoted to Quebec nationalism and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty. The Bloc was formed by Members of Parliament (MPs) who defected from the federal Prog ...
lost
official party status for the first time since contesting general elections in 1993. Party leader
Gilles Duceppe
Gilles Duceppe (; born July 22, 1947) is a Canadian retired politician, proponent of the Quebec sovereignty movement and former leader of the Bloc Québécois. He was a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of Canada for over 20 years and ...
was defeated in
his riding and subsequently resigned as leader. The
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* ...
led by
Jack Layton won the largest number of seats in its history, enabling it to form the
Official Opposition
Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term ''government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ''t ...
for the first time in the party's history, as they made a major breakthrough in
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...
. The
Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence.
Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...
elected its first member to the House of Commons with its leader,
Elizabeth May, becoming MP for
Saanich—Gulf Islands.
Background
The
2008 federal election resulted in the continuation of the incumbent
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
minority government, headed by
Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. Harper is the first and only prime minister to come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ...
. The 40th Parliament was marked by two controversial
prorogations: the first in December 2008 which ended an
attempted opposition coalition, and the second a year following, which prompted
public protests. Following the first prorogation, Michael Ignatieff and the Liberal Party provided support for the government of Prime Minister
Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. Harper is the first and only prime minister to come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ...
. On August 31, 2009, the Liberals withdrew their backing but the NDP under
Jack Layton abstained and the Conservatives survived the confidence motion.
Ignatieff's attempt to force a September 2009 election was reported as a miscalculation, as polls showed that most Canadians did not want another election. Ignatieff's popularity as well as that of the Liberals dropped off considerably immediately afterwards.
In 2011,
Elections Canada laid
charges against the Conservative Party, alleging contraventions of the Canada Elections Act five years earlier.
This issue, along with the Bloc Québécois announcing its intention to vote against the budget, unless it contained numerous changes including $2 billion in compensation to Quebec for harmonizing PST and GST and funding for a new NHL arena in
Quebec City
Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...
, increased the speculation that there would be an election called soon as the Conservatives rejected the Bloc demands as "blackmail".
On March 9, 2011,
Speaker
Speaker may refer to:
Society and politics
* Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly
* Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture
* A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially:
** In ...
of the House of Commons
Peter Milliken ruled that
Bev Oda
Beverley Joan "Bev" Oda (born July 27, 1944) is a retired Canadian politician. She was a member of the House of Commons of Canada, as well as the first Japanese-Canadian MP and cabinet minister in Canadian history. She represented the riding ...
, a
minister of the Crown
Minister of the Crown is a formal constitutional term used in Commonwealth realms to describe a minister of the reigning sovereign or viceroy. The term indicates that the minister serves at His Majesty's pleasure, and advises the sovereign or ...
, and, separately, the
Cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filin ...
itself could both possibly be in
contempt of parliament
In countries with a parliamentary system of government, contempt of Parliament is the offence of obstructing the legislature in the carrying out of its functions, or of hindering any legislator in the performance of his duties.
Typology
The conce ...
, the latter for its ongoing refusal to meet opposition requests for details of proposed bills and their cost estimates.
Milliken directed both matters to committee and set as the deadline for its report March 21, 2011, one day before the budget was to be tabled. The committee found the government to be in contempt of Parliament. The vote divided along party lines, with the governing but minority Conservative
members of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(MPs) opposing the finding and issuing a dissenting report.
[ After the committee released its findings, ]opposition leader
The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...
and head of the Liberal Party Michael Ignatieff proposed a motion of no confidence
A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...
against the Crown-in-Council and, on March 25, 2011, the House of Commons voted on the motion, the majority agreeing, by a margin of 156 to 145, with the committee's conclusions. A cabinet being found in contempt of parliament was without precedent in Canada or any other Commonwealth country. Earlier that week, all three opposition parties had indicated that they would oppose the government's budget; the NDP said that the concessions that the Conservatives made did not go far enough.
Campaign slogans
The parties' campaign slogans for the 2011 election:
* Bloc Québécois: "Parlons Québec" (Let's talk about Quebec)
* Conservative Party: "Here For Canada / Ici pour le Canada". In francophone Quebec, Harper ran under the slogan "Notre région au pouvoir" (Our Region in Power).
* Green Party: "It's Time" & "Canada needs Elizabeth May but only you can elect her"
* Liberal Party: "Rise Up Canada" & "Change we need, from a proven team." The first one refers to Harper's contempt charge. The second one was used after the NDP's surge in the opinion polls, making reference to the fact that it has never formed a federal government.
* New Democratic Party: "Working For Families / Travaillons ensemble", "You have a choice", and "That's Canadian Leadership"
Timeline
Issues
Election campaign
Controversies and gaffes
A number of controversies took place during the election campaign.
Leaders' debates
The English- and French-language debates took place on April 12 and 13 respectively.
On March 29, the consortium of broadcasters playing host to the debates (the CBC, CTV
CTV may refer to:
Television
* Connected TV, or Smart TV, a TV set with integrated internet
North America and South America
* CTV Television Network, a Canadian television network owned by Bell Media
** CTV 2, a secondary Canadian televisio ...
, Global, Radio-Canada and TVA) announced that it would only invite the leaders of the four recognized parties in the House of Commons, namely, the Conservative Party, the Liberal Party, the Bloc Québécois and the New Democratic (NDP). Therefore, the Green Party was excluded, despite earning 6.8 per cent of the popular vote in the 2008 federal election.
On March 30, Stephen Harper challenged Michael Ignatieff to a one-on-one televised debate. Although Ignatieff accepted the challenge, this was opposed by the other opposition parties. The idea was later rejected by the broadcast consortium and cancelled.
On April 1, comedian Rick Mercer
Richard Vincent "Rick" Mercer (born October 17, 1969) is a Canadian comedian, television personality, political satirist, and author. He is best known for his work on the CBC Television comedy shows '' This Hour Has 22 Minutes'' and ''Rick Merc ...
suggested over Twitter hosting a one-on-one debate between Stephen Harper and Michael Ignatieff at Toronto's Massey Hall. He later added he would donate $50,000 to the charities of their choosing if they were willing to participate. Ignatieff immediately accepted the challenge and named the Alzheimer Society as his charity of choice, as his mother succumbed to Alzheimer's disease in 1992. Harper did not respond to the challenge.
In an interview with ''The Globe and Mail
''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
'' published on April 1, Troy Reeb, the broadcast consortium chairman, discussed the process behind setting up the leaders' debates and the rationale for various decisions made, including the decision to exclude the Green Party's leader Elizabeth May.
On April 5, the Federal Court rejected the Green Party's request for an expedited hearing on the matter prior to the scheduled debates.
On April 10, the date of the French leaders debate was changed from April 14 to 13 due to worries of broadcasting conflicts with the NHL playoffs
The Stanley Cup playoffs (french: Les séries éliminatoires de la Coupe Stanley) is an elimination tournament in the National Hockey League (NHL) consisting of four rounds of best-of-seven series to determine the league champion and the winner ...
scheduled for April 14. Also on April 10, Elizabeth May participated in a panel interview on CHCH-TV
CHCH-DT (channel 11) is an independent television station in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Channel Zero, the station maintains studios on Innovation Drive in the west end of Hamilton; prior to 2021, it was located near the corner of Jack ...
in Hamilton Hamilton may refer to:
People
* Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname
** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland
** Lord Hamilto ...
, which she was invited to attend, as were the leaders of the Bloc, Liberals, New Democrats and Conservatives, by Channel Zero, whose president was disappointed by May's exclusion from the leaders' debates.
Small parties public forum
A joint press conference and public forum was staged by 11 of the 18 registered parties and one unregistered party on April 23, 2011, at York University
York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,000 faculty and sta ...
. Forum organizers invited the leaders from all registered political parties who do not have seats in parliament. Parties were able to explain their platforms and responded to questions from the audience. As a forum, the goal was an inter-party discussion of major issues, however some debate did occur.
Participants in the forum were the Animal Alliance Environmental Voters, the Canadian Action Party
The Canadian Action Party (CAP) (french: Parti action canadienne, PAC) was a Canadian federal political party founded in 1997 and deregistered on 31 March 2017.
The party stood for Canadian nationalism, monetary and electoral reform, and oppose ...
, the Christian Heritage Party, the Communist Party
A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of '' The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engel ...
, the First Peoples National, the Libertarian Party, the Marijuana Party, the Marxist–Leninist Party, the Rhinoceros Party, and the Pirate Party
Pirate Party is a label adopted by political parties around the world. Pirate parties support civil rights, direct democracy (including e-democracy) or alternatively participation in government, reform of copyright and patent law, free shari ...
.
Green Party leader Elizabeth May refused to participate in the forum claiming they are not one of "the small, fringe parties".
Opinion polls
New Democratic Party surge
In the week before the leaders debate, on April 8, a poll showed the New Democratic Party (NDP) support at 13.2%.
A reversal of fortune began on April 16, when an Angus Reid poll indicated a tie in support for the NDP and the Liberals, both polling at 25%. The New Democrats' poll numbers then moved significantly ahead of the Liberals and slightly or moderately behind the Conservatives.
The surge began in Quebec, with the NDP surprising many observers by surpassing the previously front-running Bloc in Quebec. In the entirety of Canada, the NDP surged past the Liberals to take the second place behind the Conservatives; in Quebec, the NDP took first place. The NDP surge became the dominant narrative of the last week of the campaign, as other parties turned their attacks on the party. Ruth Ellen Brosseau, the NDP candidate in Berthier—Maskinongé
Berthier—Maskinongé (formerly known as Berthier and Berthier—Maskinongé—Lanaudière) is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1925 to 1953, from 1968 to 1988, and ...
, won despite not running a campaign, barely speaking French at this time and being on holiday in Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Veg ...
at the time of the election.[ The NDP's rise in popularity was nicknamed "Orange Crush", an allusion to the soft drink with the same name and the party's colour. It was also nicknamed the "Orange Wave".
]
Election spending
Pre-campaign, there are no limits to what a political party, candidate, or third party can spend — spending rules are only in force once the writ is dropped and the campaign has officially begun.
Spending limits for the 2011 federal election
Election spending during the 2011 federal election
Endorsements
Most major newspapers endorsed the Conservatives, and none solely endorsed the Liberals or Greens. Canada's highest circulated newspaper, the ''Toronto Star
The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and par ...
'', endorsed the NDP but also advised readers to vote against the Conservatives.
Candidates by party
Articles on parties' candidates for the 41st election:
Results
, - style="text-align:center;background-color:#e9e9e9"
! rowspan="2" colspan="2" style="text-align:left;" , Party
! rowspan="2" style="text-align:left;" , Party leader
! rowspan="2" style="font-size:80%;" , Candidates
! colspan="5" , Seats
! colspan="4" , Popular vote
, - style="text-align:center;background-color:#e9e9e9"
, 2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
, style="font-size:80%" , Dissol.
, 2011
, style="font-size:80%" , % Change
, % seats
, #
, style="font-size:80%" , # Change
, %
, style="font-size:80%" , pp Change
, -
, style="text-align:left;" , Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. Harper is the first and only prime minister to come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ...
, 307 , , 143 , , 143 , , 166 , , +16.08% , , 53.90% , , 5,835,270 , , +626,201 , , 39.63% , , +1.98pp
, style="text-align:left;" , Jack Layton
, 308 , , 37 , , 36 , , 103 , , +178.38% , , 33.44% , , 4,512,411 , , +1,997,123 , , 30.65% , , +12.47pp
, style="text-align:left;" , Michael Ignatieff
, 3081 , , 77 , , 77 , , 34 , , −42.86% , , 11.04% , , 2,783,076 , , −850,109 , , 18.90% , , −7.36pp
, style="text-align:left;" , Gilles Duceppe
Gilles Duceppe (; born July 22, 1947) is a Canadian retired politician, proponent of the Quebec sovereignty movement and former leader of the Bloc Québécois. He was a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of Canada for over 20 years and ...
, 75 , , 49 , , 47 , , 4 , , −91.84% , , 1.30% , , 891,425 , , −488,566 , , 6.05% , , −3.92pp
, style="text-align:left;" , Elizabeth May
, 304 , , — , , — , , 1 , , , , 0.32% , , 572,095 , , −365,518 , , 3.89% , , −2.89pp
, colspan=2 style="text-align:left;" , Independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independe ...
and No Affiliation
, 61 , , 2 , , 2 , , — , , −100% , , — , , 72,861 , , −21,983 , , 0.49% , , −0.19pp
, style="text-align:left;" , James Hnatiuk
, 46 , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , 18,910 , , −7,565 , , 0.13% , , −0.06pp
, style="text-align:left;" , Anna Di Carlo
, 70 , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , 9,925 , , +1,360 , , 0.07% , , +0.01pp
, style="text-align:left;" , Dennis Young
, 23 , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , 6,002 , , −1,298 , , 0.04% , , −0.01pp
, style="text-align:left;" , Sinclair Stevens
, 9 , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , 5,790 , , −70 , , 0.04% , , —
2
, style="text-align:left;" , François Gourd
François "Yo" Gourd is a Canadian political figure and entertainer, who has been involved in the Rhinoceros Party of Canada and the entartistes, two satirical political movements."Pied snipers". '' The Gazette'', January 31, 1999. He was also th ...
, 14 , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , 3,800 , , +1,678 , , 0.03% , , +0.01pp
, style="text-align:left;" , Mikkel Paulson
, 10 , , * , , — , , — , , * , , — , , 3,197 , , * , , 0.02% , , *
, style="text-align:left;" , Miguel Figueroa
, 20 , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , 2,894 , , −678 , , 0.02% , , −0.01pp
, style="text-align:left;" , Christopher Porter
, 12 , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , 1,951 , , −1,504 , , 0.01% , , −0.01pp
, style="text-align:left;" , Blair Longley
Blair Timmothy Longley (born September 25, 1950) is a Canadian politician and activist.
Early life
Blair Longley was born on September 25, 1950, in Vancouver, British Columbia and grew up in North Vancouver.
Career
Longley attended the foun ...
, 5 , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , 1,756 , , −542 , , 0.01% , , —
, style="text-align:left;" , Liz White
, 7 , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , 1,344 , , +817 , , 0.01% , , +0.01pp
, style="text-align:left;" , Doug Christie
, 4 , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , 751 , , +326 , , 0.01% , , —
, style="text-align:left;" , Brian Jedan
, 3 , , * , , — , , — , , * , , — , , 293 , , * , , 0.00% , , *
, style="text-align:left;" , Will Morin
, 1 , , — , , — , , — , , — , , — , , 229 , , −1,382 , , 0.00% , , −0.01pp
, colspan=4 style="text-align:left;" , Vacant
, 3
, style="text-align:center;" colspan="7" ,
, - style="background-color:#e9e9e9;"
! style="text-align:left;" colspan="3" , Total
! 1,587
! 308
! 308
! 308
! ±0.0%
! 100.0%
! 14,723,980
! +886,286
! 100%
!
, -
, style="text-align:left;" colspan="13" , Source:''
Elections Canada
:1. André Forbes of Manicouagan was nominated as a Liberal, but lost party support after being nominated, and continued to run as an independent; he is listed here as a Liberal rather than an independent, as he was listed as a Liberal on the ballot.
:2. The Rhinoceros Party contested the previous federal election under the name Neorhino.ca.
:3. People's Political Power Party of Canada
The People’s Political Power Party of Canada (PPP; french: Pouvoir Politique du Peuple du Canada) was a fringe Canadian federal political party that is no longer recognized by Elections Canada. The party became eligible for registration on Apr ...
failed to run candidates in the 2011 election and was deregistered by Elections Canada on April 13, 2011.
The voter turnout was 61.1%.
Pairing off the top three parties, percentage of seats swung between the parties can be calculated as:
:* Conservative to NDP: 5.24%
:* Liberal to Conservative: 4.66%
:* Liberal to NDP: 9.90%
Results by province
Post-election
Overview of results
With an overall voter turnout of 61.4% and 14,823,408 ballots cast, the Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
remained in power, moving from a minority to a majority government
A majority government is a government by one or more governing parties that hold an absolute majority of seats in a legislature. This is as opposed to a minority government, where the largest party in a legislature only has a plurality of seats ...
by winning 166 of the 308 seats. The New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* ...
won the largest number of seats in their history, including a large majority of seats in Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...
(where they had previously only ever elected two candidates) and formed the Official Opposition
Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term ''government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ''t ...
for the first time. The Liberal Party won the fewest seats in their history and party leader Michael Ignatieff was defeated in his own riding. The Bloc Québécois
The Bloc Québécois (BQ; , " Quebecer Bloc") is a federal political party in Canada devoted to Quebec nationalism and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty. The Bloc was formed by Members of Parliament (MPs) who defected from the federal Prog ...
, which had always won at least a majority of seats in Quebec in every election of their existence, lost nearly all their seats, and thus also their official party status, including the seat of their leader Gilles Duceppe
Gilles Duceppe (; born July 22, 1947) is a Canadian retired politician, proponent of the Quebec sovereignty movement and former leader of the Bloc Québécois. He was a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of Canada for over 20 years and ...
. Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence.
Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...
leader Elizabeth May became the first Member
Member may refer to:
* Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon
* Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set
* In object-oriented programming, a member of a class
** Field (computer science), entries in ...
of Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
elected to represent the party.
Recounts
Elections Canada ordered three judicial recounts, and an elector initiated a fourth. The Canada Elections Act
The ''Canada Elections Act'' (french: Loi électorale du Canada; full title: ''An Act respecting the election of members to the House of Commons, repealing other Acts relating to elections and making consequential amendments to other Acts'', full ...
states that "a judicial recount is required when the difference in votes between the first- and second-place candidates is less than one one-thousandth of the total votes cast in a riding," and allows an elector or candidate in any riding to approach a judge and request a recount regardless of the final result.[ In all four ridings, Etobicoke Centre, ]Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup
Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup (formerly Rivière-du-Loup—Montmagny) is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 2004. Its population in 2006 was 9 ...
, Nipissing—Timiskaming
Nipissing—Timiskaming is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 2004. The riding was formed by the amalgamation of the former Nipissing riding with the southeastern p ...
, and Winnipeg North, the validated result was confirmed:
*As initially validated by election officials, Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
candidate Ted Opitz defeated Liberal incumbent Borys Wrzesnewskyj
Borys Wrzesnewskyj ( ; born November 10, 1960) is a Canadian politician who represented the riding of Etobicoke Centre in the House of Commons of Canada. He held the riding from 2004 to 2011 and again from 2015 to 2019. He is a member of the Lib ...
in Etobicoke Centre by 25 votes, a margin increased by one in the recount. Citing potential voter registration irregularities, however, Wrzesnewskyj has sought to have the result overturned by the courts, filing a formal motion with the Ontario Superior Court in spring 2012. On October 25, 2012, the Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...
upheld Opitz's narrow victory.
*Initially, Conservative Jay Aspin
Jay Aspin (born August 19, 1949) is a Canadian politician who served as the Member of Parliament for the riding of Nipissing—Timiskaming from 2011 to 2015.
Aspin was elected to the House of Commons of Canada for the Conservative Party of Can ...
defeated incumbent Anthony Rota
Anthony Michael Gerard Rota (born May 15, 1961) is a Canadian politician who is the 37th and current speaker of the House of Commons of Canada since 2019. A member of the Liberal Party, he currently serves as the member of Parliament (MP) fo ...
of the Liberal Party by 15 votes in Nipissing—Timiskaming; the recount added three votes to the margin of victory.
*In Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, incumbent Conservative MP Bernard Généreux
Bernard Généreux (born April 23, 1962) is a Canadian politician who was elected to represent the electoral district of Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup in the House of Commons in the federal by-elections on November 9, 200 ...
was initially declared re-elected, but due to a counting error on election night, the seat was later determined to have been won by the NDP candidate François Lapointe by a margin of five votes.[ The recount confirmed Lapointe as the winner by nine votes.
*In Winnipeg North, a recount was requested by an elector; the difference between Liberal ]Kevin Lamoureux
Kevin Lamoureux (born January 22, 1962) is a politician in Manitoba, Canada. On November 29, 2010, he was elected to the House of Commons of Canada for the constituency of Winnipeg North in a by-election. He was re-elected during the 2011 el ...
, the victor, and New Democrat Rebecca Blaikie
Rebecca Blaikie is a Canadian politician, who served as president of the New Democratic Party (NDP) from 2011 to 2016.
She is the daughter of Bill Blaikie, a former NDP Member of Parliament from Winnipeg, deputy leader of the party, and provinc ...
was just 45 votes, reduced by one vote in the recount.
Opposition party leadership changes
Ignatieff announced on May 3, 2011, that he would step down as leader of the Liberal Party when it chose his successor. Ignatieff took a teaching position at the University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
after his defeat in Etobicoke—Lakeshore
Etobicoke—Lakeshore (formerly known as Lakeshore and Toronto—Lakeshore) is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1968.
It covers the southern part of the Etobi ...
. He decided to teach classes in the law faculty, the department of political science, the Munk School of Global Affairs
The Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto is an interdisciplinary academic centre with various research and educational programs committed to the field of globalization. Located in Toronto, Ontario, it o ...
and the School of Public Policy and Governance. Ignatieff stated that, "The life that I like the best is teaching. It's the end of my life as a politician". Bob Rae
Robert Keith Rae (born August 2, 1948) is a Canadian diplomat and former politician who is the current Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations since 2020. He previously served as the 21st premier of Ontario from 1990 to 1995, leader of th ...
, Liberal MP for Toronto Centre
Toronto Centre (french: Toronto-Centre) is a federal electoral district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1872 to 1925, and since 1935, under the names Centre Toronto (1872–1903 ...
and former Premier of Ontario (1990 to 1995, as a New Democrat), subsequently became interim leader of the Liberal Party, with a Liberal leadership election which took place April 14, 2013, during which Justin Trudeau was chosen as leader.
Duceppe resigned as Bloc Québécois leader on election night following his defeat. Louis Plamondon, MP for Bas-Richelieu—Nicolet—Bécancour and Dean of the House, subsequently became interim parliamentary leader of the Bloc. Former MP Daniel Paillé
Daniel Paillé (; born April 1, 1950) is a Canadian politician, who represented the riding of Prévost in the National Assembly of Quebec from 1994 to 1996 as a member of the Parti Québécois, and represented the district of Hochelaga in t ...
, who lost his seat in the election, won the Bloc leadership election to succeed Duceppe on December 11, 2011.
On July 25, 2011, Jack Layton took a leave of absence to fight a newly diagnosed cancer. Nycole Turmel
Nycole Turmel (born September 1, 1942) is a Canadian politician who served as the member of Parliament (MP) for Hull—Aylmer from 2011 to 2015. A member of the New Democratic Party (NDP), Turmel served as the party's interim leader from 2011 t ...
, former union leader and newly elected MP for Hull—Aylmer
Hull—Aylmer (formerly known as Hull) is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1917.
It was created as "Hull" in 1914 from parts of Labelle and Wright ridings. It ...
, was named interim leader of the New Democratic Party. On August 22, Layton died. Turmel became opposition leader. A leadership election was held on March 24, 2012, and Tom Mulcair was elected leader of the New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic:
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Controversies
The losing parties in the Berthier—Maskinongé
Berthier—Maskinongé (formerly known as Berthier and Berthier—Maskinongé—Lanaudière) is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1925 to 1953, from 1968 to 1988, and ...
riding claimed that the nomination papers for Ruth Ellen Brosseau, the newly elected NDP Member of Parliament for the riding, had irregularities. Some of the alleged irregularities include writing an address instead of signing, missing signatures, people thinking they were signing a petition for the NDP to name a candidate in the riding and one person not remembering that he signed her nomination papers even though he admitted that the signature looks like his.[ The NDP denied the allegations.][ Elections Canada has insisted that Brosseau's nomination papers were legitimate.] Elections Canada stated that "The decision to overturn or uphold the results is at the discretion of the courts and not Elections Canada".
The Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia' ...
attracted controversy regarding the past racist comments and White supremacist history of one of its candidates in northern Quebec, Andre Forbes. His history as a white supremacist activist and past hate speech against Muslims, First Nations and LGBTQ+ people was uncovered by the NDP. Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff immediately removed Forbes as a candidate.
Voter suppression scandal
In early 2012, there were allegations of voter suppression during the election, starting the robocall scandal
The 2011 Canadian federal election voter suppression scandal (also known as the Robocall scandal, Robogate, or RoboCon) is a political scandal stemming from events during the 2011 Canadian federal election. It involved robocalls and real-person ...
. Elections Canada and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal and national police service of Canada. As poli ...
(RCMP) investigated claims that robocalls were used in an attempt to dissuade voters from casting their ballot by telling them their poll stations had changed location. While the Elections Canada investigation initially focused on calls sent into Guelph amidst nationwide complaints, the investigation continued to expand in scope and to examine complaints in other ridings across the country. Reports of fraudulent automated or live calls targeting opposition supporters were published in 100 ridings and Elections Canada acknowledged it was investigating telephone election fraud complaints in 247 of Canada's 308 federal ridings.
On March 27, 2012, the Council of Canadians announced that they had launched a lawsuit in the Federal Court of Canada to ask for by-elections to be ordered in seven ridings where complaints were received and where Conservatives had won by slim margins. The ridings named were Don Valley East, Winnipeg South Centre, Saskatoon-Rosetown-Biggar, Vancouver Island North, Yukon, Nipissing-Timiskaming and Elmwood-Transcona. The case was heard over two weeks starting December 9, 2012. Justice Richard G. Mosley ruled in May 2013 that fraud had occurred in Guelph and that voting irregularities and misconduct occurred in all six of the contested ridings, but that it was not significant enough to warrant overturning the election results. The judge also ruled that the mostly likely source of the fraud was the Conservative Party of Canada's (using the CIMS database) and that there was no evidence that its use was approved by the CPC.
In April 2013, a criminal charge in the matter was laid on Michael Sona, a former Conservative staffer who was the communications officer and official Ottawa liaison for the Guelph Conservative campaign. In August 2014, he was convicted of the charge.
Riding of Vaughan
In a further scandal, Elections Canada was called on to investigate the finances of Associate Minister of National Defence Julian Fantino's election finances after three former Conservative riding executives from Vaughan signed affidavits alleging impropriety in Fantino's 2010 and 2011 election campaigns. They alleged there was a second, secret, illegal bank account containing $300,000.
Commentary
Pundits in the wake of the 2011 election widely believed in a theme of major political realignment. The ''Economist'' said, "the election represents the biggest realignment of Canadian politics since 1993." Lawrence Martin, commentator for ''The Globe and Mail
''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
'', claimed that "Harper has completed a remarkable reconstruction of a Canadian political landscape that endured for more than a century. The realignment sees both old parties of the moderate middle, the Progressive Conservatives and the Liberals, either eliminated or marginalized." Writing for ''Maclean's
''Maclean's'', founded in 1905, is a Canadian news magazine reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian pers ...
'', Andrew Coyne proclaimed "The West is in and Ontario has joined it," observing that the Conservatives achieved their majority predominantly due to strength in both Ontario and the western provinces (an electoral combination that was historically unlikely due to the low population of the latter); this, he argued, marked "the new axis of Canadian politics", and that "the Conservatives are now in a position to replace the Liberals as the natural governing party in Canada." Books such as ''The Big Shift'' by John Ibbitson and Darrell Bricker, and Peter C. Newman
Peter Charles Newman (born May 10, 1929) is a Canadian journalist and writer.
Life and career
Born in Vienna, Austria, Newman emigrated from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia to Canada in 1940 as a Jewish refugee. His parents were Wanda Maria and ...
's ''When the Gods Changed: The Death of Liberal Canada'', provocatively asserted that the Liberals had become an "endangered species" and that an NDP-led opposition would mean that "fortune favours the Harper government" in subsequent campaigns. However, the resurgence of the Liberal Party in the 2015 election has since challenged that narrative.
See also
*2011 Bloc Québécois leadership election
An 2011 Bloc Québécois leadership election was held on December 11, 2011 to replace Gilles Duceppe, who resigned on May 2, 2011, after the party lost 43 of its 47 seats, including his own seat, in the 2011 federal election. It was won by Dani ...
* Controversies in the Canadian federal election, 2011
*2013 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election
The 2013 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election was triggered by Michael Ignatieff's announcement on May 3, 2011, of his intention to resign as leader following the party's defeat in the 2011 federal election. On May 25, 2011, Bob Rae was ...
*List of Canadian federal general elections
This article provides a summary of results for Canadian general elections (where all seats are contested) to the House of Commons, the elected lower half of Canada's federal bicameral legislative body, the Parliament of Canada. The number o ...
* List of political parties in Canada
* Newspaper endorsements in the Canadian federal election, 2011
* Results of the 2011 Canadian federal election
Notes
References
Further reading
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External links
Elections Canada
CBC News – Canada Votes 2011
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Canadian Federal Election, 2011