The 2015 Canadian federal election held on October 19, 2015, saw the Liberal Party, led by

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since ...

, win 184 seats, allowing it to form 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 ...

with Trudeau becoming the next prime minister. The election was held to elect members to the House of Commons of the

42nd Canadian Parliament The 42nd Canadian Parliament was in session from December 3, 2015, to September 11, 2019, with the membership of its lower chamber, the House of Commons of Canada, having been determined by the results of the 2015 federal election held on Octobe ...

. In keeping with the maximum four year term under a 2007 amendment to the ''Canada Elections Act'', 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 2015 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 August 4. The ensuing campaign was one of the longest in Canadian history. It was also the first time since the 1979 election that a

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 ...

attempted to remain in office into a fourth consecutive Parliament and the first time since the 1980 election that someone attempted to win a fourth term of any kind as prime minister. The Liberal Party, led by

, won 184 seats, allowing it to form a

with Trudeau becoming the next prime minister. Trudeau and the rest of his cabinet were sworn in on November 4, 2015. 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 ...

, led by incumbent 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, ...

, won 99 seats, becoming the Official Opposition after nearly a decade on the government benches. 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 Tom Mulcair, won 44 seats, becoming the third-largest party in the House of Commons, after having formed the Official Opposition following the 2011 election. 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 ...

won 10 seats, 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 ...

won 1 seat, and

Strength in Democracy Strength in Democracy ( French: ''Forces et Démocratie'', ) was a Canadian federal political party founded in 2014 by two Quebec Members of Parliament (MPs). From October 2014 to October 2015, the party was represented in the House of Commons of ...

lost all its seats. The Liberal Party's increase of 148 seats from the previous election was the largest-ever numerical increase by a party in a Canadian election. Prior to the campaign, the Liberals had held only 36 seats—the fewest seats ever held at dissolution by any federal party that won the following election. The Liberals also became the first federal party in Canadian history to win a majority of seats without having been either the governing party or the Official Opposition in the previous parliament, and this was only the second time a party went from having the third-most seats to the most seats (the first being in 1925). It was the second largest number of seats won in a federal election for the Liberals, the best being 191 in 1949. The election also had the highest voter turnout since 1993. Every party represented in the House of Commons except the Liberal Party recorded a decrease in its popular vote share. Following the election, Harper conceded defeat to Trudeau and resigned as leader of the Conservative Party.

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 ...

resigned as leader of the Bloc Québécois shortly after the election on October 22, 2015. Tom Mulcair announced his intention to remain leader of the NDP, but was forced to step down in October 2017, after losing a party vote on his leadership in the spring of 2016.

Background

The 2011 federal election resulted in the continuation of the incumbent Conservative government headed by

, while the

(NDP) became Official Opposition and the Liberal Party became the third party. The

won four seats and the

won one seat. Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff and Bloc leader

resigned shortly after failing to win their own ridings. The Bloc Québécois lost official party status by failing to attain the minimum seats needed (12).

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 ...

was chosen as interim leader of the Liberal Party. In July 2011 Jack Layton, suffering from cancer, temporarily stepped down as leader of the NDP because of illness, indicating his intention to return for the reconvening of Parliament in September. Weeks later Layton died of cancer and was given a

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements of ...

. In March 2012 Tom Mulcair was elected leader of the New Democratic Party. In April 2013

was elected leader of the Liberal Party. Bloc Québécois leader

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 ...

stepped down in December 2013 and was eventually replaced in June 2014 by

Mario Beaulieu Mario A. Beaulieu (; born February 1, 1959) is a Canadian politician. An advocate for nationalism in Quebec, he served as leader (2014–2015), interim leader (2018–2019) and president (2014–2018) of the Bloc Québécois (BQ); Beaulieu ...

, who in turn was later replaced in June 2015 by Duceppe. In late 2014, MPs

Jean-François Larose Jean-François Larose (born April 15, 1972) is a Canadian former politician who was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 2011 election. He represented the electoral district of Repentigny, initially as a member of the NDP, then as a ...

of the NDP and Jean-François Fortin of the Bloc formed the new political party

. As set forth in the ''Fair Representation Act'', the number of seats in the House of Commons to be contested in the 42nd Canadian federal election was 338, an increase of 30 seats from the 308 seats comprising 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 Parliament of Canada, at its dissolution. Prime Minister

requested

for a federal general election from

David Johnston on August 2. The official proclamations were issued on August 4. The date of the vote is determined by the fixed-date

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 ...

. At 11 weeks, the campaign was the longest in modern Canadian history. As a result of the 2012 federal electoral redistribution, the number of electoral districts was increased to 338, with additional seats based on population assigned to Alberta (6), British Columbia (6), Ontario (15), and Quebec (3).

Campaign slogans

Election campaign

Leaders' debates

Traditionally, party leaders participated in at least two nationally televised debates during the federal election – at least one each in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

and

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

. These debates were produced by a consortium of Canada's major television networks. In May 2015, the Conservatives said they would not participate in the consortium debates and instead would take part in as many as five independently staged debates in the run-up to the fall federal election. Ultimately, the Conservatives agreed to participate in a French-language debate organized by the consortium of broadcasters as one of their five debates. The New Democratic Party confirmed that Tom Mulcair would accept every debate where the prime minister was present. The NDP had previously confirmed its intention to participate in both of the consortium debates before

withdrew but ultimately only participated in the French language consortium debate which included the Conservatives. Liberal leader

attended the ''Maclean's'', ''Globe and Mail'', and French consortium debates; and the Liberals confirmed he would attend the other debates. The Bloc Québécois attended the French language consortium debate and confirmed its attendance at the French-language TVA debate. The Green Party attended the ''Maclean's'' and French language consortium debates, and confirmed its intention to participate in the English language consortium debate.

, which had the same number of seats in the House of Commons at dissolution as the Greens and Bloc Québécois, were not invited to participate in any of the televised debates. The leaders of the party objected to their exclusion and launched a petition demanding that all parties represented in Parliament be invited to the debates. Other minor parties without representation in the House of Commons were not invited to participate in any of the televised debates.

Controversies

The second Canadian federal election to significantly incorporate

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social me ...

, the 2015 campaign was notable for the rise of new avenues of scrutiny for potential candidates. A number of damaging revelations for each of the major political parties late in the campaign led to calls for increased vetting amongst political strategists, academics and outside observers.

Opinion polls

Opinion Polling during the 2015 Canadian Federal Election

Evolution of voting intentions during the campaign leading up to the 2015 Canadian federal election to be held on October 19, 2015. Points represent results of individual polls.

Endorsements

Election spending

Before the campaign, there were no limits to what a political party, candidate, or third party (corporations, unions, special interest groups, etc.) can spend: spending rules are only in force after the writs have been dropped and the campaign has begun. Because the election period is set longer than the standard 37-day election period, spending limits are increased in proportion to the length of the period.

Reimbursements for political parties and candidates

Political parties receive a reimbursement for 50 per cent of their election expenses during the writ period. Similarly, candidates (through their official agents) receive a reimbursement of 60 per cent of their election expenses during the writ period. Both reimbursements are publicly funded.

Fundraising

Elections Canada reports that during the financial quarter preceding the writ period, the Conservatives received $7.4 million in contributions, the NDP received $4.5 million, and the Liberals received $4.0 million. The NDP had the most individual donors at 48,314, followed by the Conservatives at 45,532 and then the Liberals at 32,789. The New Democratic Party stated that it collected greater than $9 million in the third quarter of 2015, the most it ever received from donors, and greater than the quarterly record established by the Conservative Party in 2011. At the riding level, financial reports in each of the 338 constituencies showed that in Conservative electoral district associations ended 2014 with net assets totalling more than $19 million, Liberal riding associations reported a total of about $8 million in net assets, and NDP associations more than $4.4 million. Individuals are able to give up to $1,500 to each political party and an additional $1,500 to all the registered associations, nomination contestants and candidates of each registered party combined.

Registered third parties

A person or group must register as a

third party Third party may refer to: Business * Third-party source, a supplier company not owned by the buyer or seller * Third-party beneficiary, a person who could sue on a contract, despite not being an active party * Third-party insurance, such as a V ...

immediately after incurring election advertising expenses totalling $500 or more. There are strict limits on advertising expenses, and specific limits that can be incurred to promote or oppose the election of one or more candidates in a particular electoral district. There were 112 registered third parties in the 2015 election. There was a $150,000 election advertising expenses limit. Of that amount, no more than $8,788 could be incurred to promote or oppose the election of one or more candidates in a particular electoral district.

Results

Canadian Federal Election Cartogram 2015

CanadianFederalElection2015PollingStation

, - 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" , Candidates ! colspan="6" , Seats ! colspan="5" , Popular vote , - style="text-align:center;background-color:#e9e9e9" ,

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrates ...

, style="font-size:80%" , Dissol. , style="font-size:80%" , Redist. , 2015 , style="font-size:80%" , % change
from 2011 , style="font-size:80%" , % seats , style="font-size:80%" , Votes , style="font-size:80%" , Vote
change , style="font-size:80%" , % , style="font-size:80%" , pp change , style="font-size:80%" , % where
running , - , style="text-align:left;" ,

, style="text-align:right;" , 338 , style="text-align:right;" , 34 , style="text-align:right;" , 36 , style="text-align:right;" , 36 , style="text-align:right;" , 184 , style="text-align:right;" , +% , style="text-align:right;" , % , style="text-align:right;" , 6,942,937 , style="text-align:right;" , +4,159,861 , style="text-align:right;" , 39.47% , style="text-align:right;" , +20.57pp , style="text-align:right;" , 39.47% , style="text-align:left;" ,

, style="text-align:right;" , 338 , style="text-align:right;" , 166 , style="text-align:right;" , 159 , style="text-align:right;" , 188 , style="text-align:right;" , 99 , style="text-align:right;" , % , style="text-align:right;" , % , style="text-align:right;" , 5,613,633 , style="text-align:right;" , −221,637 , style="text-align:right;" , 31.91% , style="text-align:right;" , −7.72pp , style="text-align:right;" , 31.91% , style="text-align:left;" , Tom Mulcair , style="text-align:right;" , 338 , style="text-align:right;" , 103 , style="text-align:right;" , 95 , style="text-align:right;" , 109 , style="text-align:right;" , 44 , style="text-align:right;" , % , style="text-align:right;" , % , style="text-align:right;" , 3,469,368 , style="text-align:right;" , −1,043,043 , style="text-align:right;" , 19.72% , style="text-align:right;" , −10.92pp , style="text-align:right;" , 19.73% , style="text-align:left;" ,

, style="text-align:right;" , 78 , style="text-align:right;" , 4 , style="text-align:right;" , 2 , style="text-align:right;" , 4 , style="text-align:right;" , 10 , style="text-align:right;" , +% , style="text-align:right;" , % , style="text-align:right;" , 821,144 , style="text-align:right;" , −70,281 , style="text-align:right;" , 4.67% , style="text-align:right;" , −1.39pp , style="text-align:right;" , 19.36% , style="text-align:left;" , Elizabeth May , style="text-align:right;" , 336 , style="text-align:right;" , 1 , style="text-align:right;" , 2 , style="text-align:right;" , 1 , style="text-align:right;" , 1 , style="text-align:right;" , % , style="text-align:right;" , % , style="text-align:right;" , 602,933 , style="text-align:right;" , +30,838 , style="text-align:right;" , 3.43% , style="text-align:right;" , −0.46pp , style="text-align:right;" , 3.44% , style="text-align:left;" colspan="2" ,

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 , style="text-align:right;" , 80 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 8 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 49,616 , style="text-align:right;" , −23,245 , style="text-align:right;" , 0.28% , style="text-align:right;" , −0.21pp , style="text-align:right;" , 1.18% , style="text-align:left;" ,

Tim Moen Tim Moen () is a Canadian libertarian podcaster, blogger, activist and politician. He was the leader of the Libertarian Party of Canada from May 2014 to August 2021. Outside of politics, he is a firefighter, paramedic, business owner and filmmak ...

, style="text-align:right;" , 72 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 36,775 , style="text-align:right;" , +30,773 , style="text-align:right;" , 0.21% , style="text-align:right;" , +0.17pp , style="text-align:right;" , 0.93% , style="text-align:left;" , Rod Taylor , style="text-align:right;" , 30 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 15,232 , style="text-align:right;" , −3,678 , style="text-align:right;" , 0.09% , style="text-align:right;" , −0.04pp , style="text-align:right;" , 0.97% , style="text-align:left;" , Anna Di Carlo , style="text-align:right;" , 70 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 8,838 , style="text-align:right;" , −1,087 , style="text-align:right;" , 0.05% , style="text-align:right;" , −0.02pp , style="text-align:right;" , 0.23% , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:right;" , 17 , , style="text-align:right;" , 2 , , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 8,274 , style="text-align:right;" , * , style="text-align:right;" , 0.05% , style="text-align:right;" , * , style="text-align:right;" , 0.90% , style="text-align:left;" , Sébastien Corriveau , style="text-align:right;" , 27 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 7,263 , style="text-align:right;" , +3,463 , style="text-align:right;" , 0.04% , style="text-align:right;" , +0.02pp , style="text-align:right;" , 0.52% , style="text-align:left;" , Sinclair Stevens , style="text-align:right;" , 8 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 4,476 , style="text-align:right;" , −1,314 , style="text-align:right;" , 0.03% , style="text-align:right;" , −0.01pp , style="text-align:right;" , 1.03% , style="text-align:left;" , Miguel Figueroa , style="text-align:right;" , 26 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 4,393 , style="text-align:right;" , +1,499 , style="text-align:right;" , 0.02% , style="text-align:right;" , +0.01pp , style="text-align:right;" , 0.32% , style="text-align:left;" , Liz White , style="text-align:right;" , 8 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 1,699 , style="text-align:right;" , +355 , style="text-align:right;" , 0.01% , style="text-align:right;" , – , style="text-align:right;" , 0.36% , 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 ...

, style="text-align:right;" , 8 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 1,557 , style="text-align:right;" , −199 , style="text-align:right;" , 0.01% , style="text-align:right;" , – , style="text-align:right;" , 0.34% , style="text-align:left;" , Stephen Garvey , style="text-align:right;" , 4 , , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 1,187 , style="text-align:right;" , * , style="text-align:right;" , 0.01% , style="text-align:right;" , * , style="text-align:right;" , 0.62% , style="text-align:left;" , Roderick Lim , style="text-align:right;" , 5 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 908 , style="text-align:right;" , −2,289 , style="text-align:right;" , 0.01% , style="text-align:right;" , −0.02pp , style="text-align:right;" , 0.32% , style="text-align:left;" , Jeremy Arney , style="text-align:right;" , 3 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 401 , style="text-align:right;" , −1,550 , style="text-align:right;" , 0.00% , style="text-align:right;" , −0.01pp , style="text-align:right;" , 0.24% , style="text-align:left;" ,

Jim Pankiw James K. Pankiw (born August 7, 1966) is a Canadian politician and former Member of Parliament. Pankiw served two terms in the House of Commons of Canada, representing Saskatoon—Humboldt in Saskatchewan from 1997 until 2004 as a member of ...

David Berlin David Zafrir Berlin (born May 14, 1951) is a Canadian editor, writer, politician, educator best known for being the co-founder and first editor of ''The Walrus'' from 2003 to 2004 and former editor and owner of the ''Literary Review of Canada'' fro ...

, style="text-align:right;" , 1 , , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 122 , style="text-align:right;" , * , style="text-align:right;" , 0.00% , style="text-align:right;" , * , style="text-align:right;" , 0.29% , style="text-align:left;" , Michael Nicula , style="text-align:right;" , 1 , , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 91 , style="text-align:right;" , * , style="text-align:right;" , 0.00% , style="text-align:right;" , * , style="text-align:right;" , 0.17% , style="text-align:left;" , Bob Kesic , style="text-align:right;" , 1 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 57 , style="text-align:right;" , −237 , style="text-align:right;" , 0.00% , style="text-align:right;" , −0.00pp , style="text-align:right;" , 0.10% , - , colspan="3" style="text-align:left;" , Vacant , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 4 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , colspan="7" , - , colspan="3" style="text-align:left;" , Total , style="text-align:right;" , 1,792 , style="text-align:right;" , 308 , style="text-align:right;" , 308 , style="text-align:right;" , 338 , style="text-align:right;" , 338 , style="text-align:right;" , +% , style="text-align:right;" , % , style="text-align:center;" , 17,591,468 , style="text-align:center;" , +2,870,888 , style="text-align:center;" , 100% , style="text-align:center;" , , style="text-align:center;" , 100% , - , style="text-align:left;" colspan="15" , Source:''
Elections Canada
(Final results)

Results by province

Election aftermath

Hours after conceding defeat on election night, incumbent Prime Minister Stephen Harper resigned as leader of the

, though he announced his intention to remain in the new parliament as a backbencher after being elected in the riding of Calgary Heritage. The Conservative caucus met on November 5, 2015, and elected former health minister and Alberta MP Rona Ambrose as interim leader of the party, and hence, interim Leader of the Official Opposition. The next Conservative Party of Canada leadership election was held on May 27, 2017. Following his swearing in on November 4, 2015, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that parliament would reconvene on December 3, 2015, with the

Speech from the Throne A speech from the throne, or throne speech, is an event in certain monarchies in which the reigning sovereign, or a representative thereof, reads a prepared speech to members of the nation's legislature when a session is opened, outlining t ...

to follow on December 4.

Commentary

In the aftermath of the 2011 election, many pundits had characterized it as a

realigning election A political realignment, often called a critical election, critical realignment, or realigning election, in the academic fields of political science and political history, is a set of sharp changes in party ideology, issues, party leaders, regiona ...

. Lawrence Martin, commentator for ''The Globe and Mail'' said, "Harper has completed a remarkable reconstruction of a Canadian political landscape that endured for more than a century. The realignment saw both old parties of the moderate middle, the Progressive Conservatives and the Liberals, either eliminated or marginalized." Andrew Coyne, writing in ''Maclean's'', said the election marked "an unprecedented realignment of Canadian politics" as "the Conservatives are now in a position to replace the Liberals as the natural governing party in Canada." Despite the grim outlook and poor early poll numbers, when the 2015 election was held, the Liberals under Trudeau made an unprecedented comeback. Gaining 148 seats, they won a majority government for the first time since 2000. Chantal Hébert, writing in the ''Toronto Star,'' claimed the comeback was "headed straight for the history books" and that Harper's name would "forever be joined with that of his Liberal nemesis in Canada's electoral annals". Spencer McKay, writing for the ''National Post'', suggested that "maybe we've witnessed a revival of Canada's 'natural governing party'".

International reactions

* : Foreign Ministry Deputy Director and Spokeswoman Hua Chunying expressed hope on building on existing relations between Canada and China, stating "a sustainable and steady development of China–Canada relations" will benefit both countries. * : German Ambassador to Canada Werner Wnendt said that his government welcomed Trudeau's commitment to restoring a multilateral foreign policy and "the traditional voice that Canada has had at the UN has been missed". * : Prime Minister

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...

congratulated Trudeau by telephone where he reminisced about meeting Trudeau's family, expressed hope for further improvement of Canada–India relations, and invited Trudeau to visit India. * : Prime Minister Matteo Renzi sent Trudeau a Twitter message wishing him luck and saying that he looked forward to them meeting at the 2015 G-20 Antalya summit. * : President

Enrique Peña Nieto Enrique Peña Nieto (; born 20 July 1966), commonly referred to by his initials EPN, is a Mexican politician who served as the 64th president of Mexico from 1 December 2012 to 30 November 2018. A member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party ...

congratulated Trudeau by telephone and tweeted that "Canada and Mexico have the opportunity to start a new chapter in their relationship". * : President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

congratulated Trudeau on the result in a telephone call where the two discussed

Canada–United States relations Relations between Canada and the United States have historically been extensive, given the two countries' shared origins and border, which is the longest in the world. Starting with the American Revolution, when Loyalists fled to Canada, a voca ...

, the

Trans-Pacific Partnership The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), or Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, was a highly contested proposed trade agreement between 12 Pacific Rim economies, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Pe ...

, and the 2015 climate change conference in Paris.

Cabinet appointments

On November 4, 2015, the following individuals were sworn in as cabinet ministers of the

29th Canadian Ministry The Twenty-Ninth Canadian Ministry is the Cabinet of Canada, Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister of Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, that began governing Canada shortly before the opening of the 42nd Parliament of Canada, 42nd Parliament. ...

, in addition to Justin Trudeau as prime minister and

minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and Youth The minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities (french: Ministre des Affaires intergouvernementales) is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for the federal government's relations wi ...

Notes

References

External links

Elections Canada
{{DEFAULTSORT:42nd Canadian Federal Election Justin Trudeau