The 2015 Canadian federal election held on October 19, 2015, saw the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

, 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 2 ...

, win 184 seats, allowing it to form a majority government with Trudeau becoming the next prime minister. The election was held to elect

members 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 ...

to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

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 Octob ...

. 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 United S ...

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 David Lloyd Johnston (born June 28, 1941) is a Canadian academic, author, and statesman who served from 2010 to 2017 as Governor General of Canada, the 28th since Canadian Confederation. He is the commissioner of the Leaders' Debates Commis ...

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 i ...

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

, led by

, won 184 seats, allowing it to form a majority government 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, won 99 seats, becoming the Official Opposition after nearly a decade on the government benches. The New Democratic Party, led by

Tom Mulcair Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

, 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 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 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 Events January * January 1 ** The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini makes a pivotal speech in the Itali ...

). 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 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

. Every party represented in the House of Commons except the Liberal Party recorded a decrease in its

popular vote Popularity or social status is the quality of being well liked, admired or well known to a particular group. Popular may also refer to: In sociology * Popular culture * Popular fiction * Popular music * Popular science * Populace, the total ...

share. Following the election, Harper conceded defeat to Trudeau and resigned as leader of the Conservative Party. Gilles Duceppe resigned as leader of the Bloc Québécois shortly after the election on October 22, 2015.

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 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 ...

government headed by Stephen Harper, while the New Democratic Party (NDP) became Official Opposition and the

became the third party. The Bloc Québécois won four seats and the

won one seat. Liberal leader

Michael Ignatieff Michael Grant Ignatieff (; born May 12, 1947) is a Canadian author, academic and former politician who served as the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and Leader of the Official Opposition from 2008 until 2011. Known for his work as a histo ...

and Bloc leader Gilles Duceppe 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 was chosen as interim leader of the Liberal Party. In July 2011

Jack Layton John Gilbert Layton (July 18, 1950 – August 22, 2011) was a Canadian academic and politician who served as the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) from 2003 to 2011 and leader of the Official Opposition in 2011. He previously sat on To ...

, 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. In March 2012

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, who in turn was later replaced in June 2015 by Duceppe. In late 2014, MPs Jean-François Larose of the NDP and Jean-François Fortin of the Bloc formed the new political party Strength in Democracy. 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 of the

41st Parliament of Canada The 41st Canadian Parliament was in session from June 2, 2011 to August 2, 2015, with the membership of its House of Commons having been determined by the results of the 2011 federal election held on May 2, 2011. Parliament convened on June 2, 2 ...

, at its

dissolution Dissolution may refer to: Arts and entertainment Books * ''Dissolution'' (''Forgotten Realms'' novel), a 2002 fantasy novel by Richard Lee Byers * ''Dissolution'' (Sansom novel), a 2003 historical novel by C. J. Sansom Music * Dissolution, in mu ...

. Prime Minister Stephen Harper requested

for a federal general election from

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. 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 ide ...

and French. 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

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 Stephen Harper 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. Strength in Democracy, 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 medi ...

, 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 , 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;" , Stephen Harper , 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;" ,

, 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;" , Gilles Duceppe , 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 Elizabeth Evans May (born June 9, 1954) is a Canadian politician, environmentalist, author, activist, and lawyer who is serving as the leader of the Green Party of Canada since 2022, and previously served as the leader from 2006 to 2019. Sh ...

, 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 * Independ ...

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 , 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 Sinclair McKnight Stevens, (February 11, 1927 – November 30, 2016) was a Canadian lawyer, businessman and cabinet minister. Early life He was born in Esquesing Township (today part of Halton Hills, Ontario), the third child of Northern Irish ...

, 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 Miguel Figueroa (born July 29, 1952) is a Canadian political activist who was the leader of the Communist Party of Canada from 1992 to 2015. He is known for the landmark Figueroa case, which redefined the role of small parties and Canadian Parl ...

, 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 , 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 , 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;" , 271 , style="text-align:right;" , * , style="text-align:right;" , 0.00% , style="text-align:right;" , * , style="text-align:right;" , 0.72% , style="text-align:left;" , Daniel J. Patton , style="text-align:right;" , 1 , , , , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 157 , style="text-align:right;" , * , style="text-align:right;" , 0.00% , style="text-align:right;" , * , style="text-align:right;" , 0.29% , style="text-align:left;" , François Bélanger , style="text-align:right;" , 1 , , , , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 136 , style="text-align:right;" , * , style="text-align:right;" , 0.00% , style="text-align:right;" , * , style="text-align:right;" , 0.22% , style="text-align:left;" , David Berlin , 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 Calgary Heritage is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 2015. Calgary Heritage was created by the 2012 federal electoral boundaries redistribution and was legally ...

. The Conservative caucus met on November 5, 2015, and elected former health minister and Alberta MP

Rona Ambrose Ronalee Ambrose Veitch ( , Name at birth, née Chapchuk; born March 15, 1969) is a Canadian former politician who was Interim leader (Canada), interim leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, Conservative Party and the Leader of the Official ...

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 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, regional ...

. 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 James Andrew Coyne (born December 23, 1960) is a Canadian columnist with ''The Globe and Mail'' and a member of the ''At Issue'' panel on CBC's '' The National''. Previously, he has been national editor for ''Maclean's'' and a columnist with ''Na ...

, 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 Hua Chunying (; born 24 April 1970) is a Chinese official and former diplomat serving as spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China since 2012 and as the Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs since 2021. H ...

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 fro ...

congratulated Trudeau by telephone where he reminisced about meeting Trudeau's family, expressed hope for further improvement of

Canada–India relations Canada–India relations also referred to as Indo-Canadian relations, are the bilateral relations between Canada and India. According to the Canadian Government, these relations are built upon a "mutual commitment to democracy", " pluralism", and ...

, and invited Trudeau to visit India. * : Prime Minister

Matteo Renzi Matteo Renzi (; born 11 January 1975) is an Italian politician who served as prime minister of Italy from 2014 to 2016. He has been a senator for Florence since 2018. Renzi has served as the leader of Italia Viva (IV) since 2019, having bee ...

sent Trudeau a Twitter message wishing him luck and saying that he looked forward to them meeting at the

2015 G-20 Antalya summit The 2015 G20 Antalya summit was the tenth annual meeting of the G20 heads of government/heads of state. It was held in Belek, Antalya Province, Turkey on 15–16 November 2015. The venue for the Leaders Summit was Regnum Carya Hotel Convention C ...

. * : 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, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

congratulated Trudeau on the result in a telephone call where the two discussed Canada–United States relations, 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, Peru, Sin ...

, 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, chaired by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, that began governing Canada shortly before the opening of the 42nd Parliament. The original members were sworn in during a ceremony held at Rideau ...

, in addition to Justin Trudeau as prime minister and minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and Youth:

Notes

References

External links

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