Results of the 40th Canadian federal election
2008 Canadian federal election Turnout 58.8%
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
Analysis of results by riding, together with comparisons from previous election and at dissolution.
The 40th Canadian federal election
The Conservative Party of Canada , led by Stephen Harper , won a minority government . The Conservatives won 143 seats. The Liberal Party of Canada , won 77 seats. The separatist Bloc Québécois won 49 seats and the social-democratic New Democratic Party won 37. Two independent candidates won a seat, one each in Nova Scotia and Quebec.
Rendition of party representation in the 40th Canadian parliament decided by this election. Conservatives (143)
Liberals (77)
Bloc Québécois (49)
New Democrats (37)
Independent (2)
National Results[ 1]
Party
Seats
Votes
%
Conservative
143
5,209,069
37.65
Liberal
77
3,633,185
26.26
Bloc Québécois
49
1,379,991
9.98
New Democratic
37
2,515,288
18.18
Independent
2
89,387
0.65
Green
0
937,613
6.78
Christian Heritage
0
26,475
0.191
Marxist–Leninist
0
8,565
0.062
Libertarian
0
7,300
0.053
Progressive Canadian
0
5,860
0.042
No Affiliation
0
5,457
0.039
Communist
0
3,572
0.026
Canadian Action
0
3,455
0.025
Marijuana
0
2,298
0.0166
Rhinoceros
0
2,122
0.0153
Newfoundland and Labrador First
0
1,713
0.0124
First Peoples National
0
1,611
0.0116
Animal Alliance
0
527
0.0038
Work Less
0
425
0.0031
Western Block
0
195
0.00141
People's Political Power
0
186
0.00134
Total
13,834,294
100.00%
Vote and seat summaries [ edit ]
Popular vote
Conservative
37.6%
Liberal
26.2%
NDP
18.2%
Bloc Québécois
10%
Green
6.8%
Others
1.2%
Seat totals
Conservative
46.43%
Liberal
25%
Bloc Québécois
15.9%
NDP
12%
Independents
0.65%
A visual representation of the seat changes occurring from 2006 to 2008.
Elections to the 40th Parliament of Canada – seats won/lost by party, 2006–2008
Party
2006
Gain from (loss to)
2008
Con
Lib
BQ
NDP
Ind
Conservative
124
22
(2)
1
(1)
2
(2)
(1)
143
Liberal
103
2
(22)
2
1
(9)
77
Bloc Québécois
51
1
(1)
(2)
49
New Democratic
29
2
(2)
9
(1)
37
Independent
1
1
2
Total 308
6
(25)
31
(5)
3
(1)
3
(11)
–
(1)
308
The following seats changed allegiance from the 2006 election:
Conservative to Liberal Conservative to BQ Conservative to NDP Conservative to Independent Liberal to Conservative
Liberal to NDP BQ to Conservative BQ to Liberal NDP to Conservative NDP to Liberal
Results by electoral district [ edit ] Results by province [ edit ]
Party name
BC
AB
SK
MB
ON
QC
NB
NS
PE
NL
NU
NT
YT
Total
Conservative
Seats:
22
27
13
9
51
10
6
3
1
0
1
-
-
143
Vote:
44.4
64.6
53.7
48.8
39.2
21.7
39.4
26.1
36.2
16.5
34.8
37.6
32.8
37.6
Liberal
Seats:
5
-
1
1
38
14
3
5
3
6
-
-
1
77
Vote:
19.3
11.4
14.9
19.1
33.8
23.7
32.4
29.8
47.7
46.6
34.8
13.6
45.3
26.2
Bloc Québécois
Seats:
49
49
Vote:
38.1
10.0
New Democrat
Seats:
9
1
-
4
17
1
1
2
-
1
-
1
-
37
Vote:
25.0
12.7
25.6
24.0
18.2
12.2
21.9
28.9
9.8
33.9
27.6
41.5
9.0
18.2
Green
Vote:
9.4
8.8
5.6
6.8
8.0
3.5
6.2
8.0
4.7
1.7
8.4
5.5
13.0
6.8
Independent / No affiliation
Seats:
1
1
2
Vote:
0.6
6.6;
0.7
Total seats:
36
28
14
14
106
75
10
11
4
7
1
1
1
308
The Liberals won 17 seats in the Atlantic Provinces , the Conservatives ten, the NDP four, and Independent one. This is a swing of one seat from the Liberals to each of the other parties.
Newfoundland and Labrador [ edit ] Buoyed by the so-called "ABC Campaign", spearheaded by popular Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams , the Liberals won six seats and the NDP one. The Avalon and St. John's South—Mount Pearl seats changed hands from the Tories to the Liberals. The St. John's East seat changed from the Tories to NDP, as Norman Doyle retired. The change in Avalon was a crushing blow as the incumbent Fabian Manning was soundly defeated by the Liberals' Scott Andrews .
Prince Edward Island [ edit ] The three Liberal incumbents have been re-elected. In the fourth riding, Egmont , incumbent Liberal Joe McGuire retired, and the seat went to the Tories.
All incumbents were re-elected, except in Halifax where the retiring Alexa McDonough was replaced by another New Democrat, Megan Leslie , and in West Nova the incumbent Liberal Robert Thibault was defeated by Tory Greg Kerr . Elizabeth May of the Green Party was defeated in the riding of Central Nova , which was a battle between her and incumbent cabinet minister Peter MacKay .
The Liberal Green Shift was most unpopular in New Brunswick. Three ridings previously held by the Liberals switched to the Tories; Fredericton , Miramichi , and Saint John . In the other seven ridings the incumbent was re-elected.
The Bloc Québécois played obstruction in preventing the Conservatives from achieving a majority. Fifteen battleground ridings were in Quebec, with only three changing hands. The BQ lost the riding of Papineau to the Liberals, but gained the riding of Louis-Hébert from the Tories. A recent recount saw the Liberals take the riding of Brossard—La Prairie from the BQ, slightly strengthening their position.[ 3]
Results in Quebec
Party
Seats
Votes
%
+/-
Bloc Québécois
49
1,379,565
38.1
Liberal
14
859,634
23.7
Conservative
10
784,560
21.7
New Democratic
1
441,136
12.2
Green
0
126,299
3.5
Independent
1
23,106
0.6
Marxist–Leninist
0
2,753
0.1
neorhino.ca 0
2,263
0.0
–
Communist
0
393
0.0
Christian Heritage
0
265
0.0
Marijuana
0
183
0.0
Total
3,620,362
100%
Twenty battleground ridings were in Ontario alone, and the Conservatives took the ridings of Brant , Oakville , Huron—Bruce and Halton from the Liberals, where the NDP took Thunder Bay—Superior North , Thunder Bay—Rainy River , Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing , Sudbury and Nickel Belt from the Liberals. The Liberals themselves lost 16 seats in Ontario.
Results in Ontario (99.99% of polls)
Party
Seats
Votes
%
+/-
Conservative
51
2,019,362
39.2
+4.1
Liberal
38
1,741,200
33.8
-6.1
New Democratic
17
938,400
18.2
+1.2
Green
0
411,444
8.0
+3.4
Independent
0
13,029
0.3
+0.14
Christian Heritage
0
12,907
0.3
Progressive Canadian
0
4,911
0.1
Marxist–Leninist
0
3,556
0.1
Libertarian
0
3,212
0.1
Communist
0
1,508
0.0
Marijuana
0
1,448
0.0
Canadian Action
0
1,165
0.0
First Peoples National
0
650
0.0
Animal Alliance
0
529
0.0
Total
5,153,321
100.0
All seats were retained by their incumbent parties. The closest race was Saskatoon—Rosetown—Biggar . There, the incumbent Carol Skelton did not seek reelection, giving the NDP high hopes that well-known farmers' activist Nettie Wiebe might re-establish a federal NDP presence in Parliament from the province. The seat was retained by Conservative Kelly Block in a close two-way race to keep the NDP shut out in Saskatchewan - despite the fact that their proportion of the popular vote there was in fact higher than any other province outside Atlantic Canada .
Arguably the Conservatives' power base, Alberta's Tory incumbents were all re-elected except for the riding of Edmonton—Strathcona , which the NDP narrowly took that riding with 442 votes.
Results in Alberta
Party
Seats
Second
Third
Fourth
Fifth
Sixth
Seventh
Votes
%
+/-
Conservative
27
1
820,855
64.6
New Democratic
1
14
7
6
161,409
12.7
Liberal
8
9
11
144,364
11.4
Green
4
11
11
2
111,505
8.8
Independent
1
4
1
19,995
1.6
No affiliation
1
4,837
0.4
Christian Heritage
4
1
2
3,434
0.3
Libertarian
3
1
1,184
0.1
Canadian Action
2
1
1,051
0.1
Marxist–Leninist
2
3
907
0.1
Communist
2
509
0.0
First Peoples National
1
244
0.0
Total
1,270,294
100.0
The Conservatives regained the seats lost in the 2006 election and held on to seven of the ten battleground ridings. They took the ridings of West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country from the Greens and Richmond from the Liberals.
Results in British Columbia
Party
Seats
Votes
%
+/-
Conservative
22
796,757
44.4
New Democratic
9
467,335
26.1
Liberal
5
346,795
19.3
Green
0
168,723
9.4
Christian Heritage
0
3,378
0.2
Independent
0
3,123
0.0
Libertarian
0
2,912
0.2
Marxist–Leninist
0
1,355
0.0
Communist
0
835
0.0
Canadian Action
0
759
0.0
Progressive Canadian
0
425
0.0
Work Less
0
423
0.0
Marijuana
0
358
0.0
Western Block
0
195
0.0
Total
1,793,373
100%
Liberal candidate in the Yukon and the NDP candidate in Western Arctic (the Northwest Territories ) won re-election.
However, in Nunavut the Liberal candidate Kirt Ejesiak was defeated by Conservative Leona Aglukkaq to give the modern Conservatives their first elected member from the territories.
Incumbent MPs defeated [ edit ] This section
needs expansion . You can help by
adding to it .
(October 2008 )
Omar Alghabra , incumbent Liberal MP for Mississauga—Erindale was defeated by Conservative candidate Bob Dechert .Catherine Bell , incumbent New Democrat MP for Vancouver Island North was defeated by Conservative candidate John Duncan .Bonnie Brown , incumbent Liberal MP for Oakville was defeated by Conservative candidate Terence Young .Charles Hubbard , incumbent Liberal MP for Mirmachi was defeated by Conservative candidate Tilly O'Neill-Gordon .Susan Kadis , incumbent Liberal MP for Thornhill was defeated by Conservative Candidate Peter Kent .Karen Redman , incumbent Liberal MP for Kitchener Centre was defeated by Conservative candidate Stephen Woodworth .[ 4] Lloyd St. Amand , incumbent Liberal MP for Brant was defeated by Conservative Candidate Phil McColeman .Andrew Telegdi , incumbent Liberal MP for Kitchener—Waterloo was defeated by Conservative candidate Peter Braid by 73 votes. The automatic recount on October 17, 2008 found that Braid won by only 17 votes.[ 5] Lui Temelkovski , incumbent Liberal MP for Oak Ridges—Markham was defeated by Conservative Candidate Paul Calandra .Garth Turner , incumbent Liberal MP for Halton was defeated by Conservative candidate Lisa Raitt .Paul Zed , incumbent Liberal MP for Saint John was defeated by Conservative candidate Rodney Weston .Blair Wilson , incumbent Green MP for West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country was defeated by Conservative candidate John Weston Raymond Chan , incumbent Liberal MP for Richmond was defeated by Conservative candidate Alice Wong .[ edit ] Defeated cabinet ministers and party leaders [ edit ] Popular vote by province [ edit ]
Party
Alberta
British Columbia
Manitoba
New Brunswick
Newfoundland and Labrador
Northwest Territories
Nova Scotia
Nunavut
Ontario
Prince Edward Island
Quebec
Saskatchewan
Yukon
Total
Votes
%
Votes
%
Votes
%
Votes
%
Votes
%
Votes
%
Votes
%
Votes
%
Votes
%
Votes
%
Votes
%
Votes
%
Votes
%
Votes
%
Conservative
820,855
64.6%
796,757
44.4%
228,051
48.8%
145,132
39.4%
32,304
16.5%
5,146
37,6%
113,799
26.1%
2,806
34.8%
2,019,362
39.2%
26,877
36.2%
784,560
21.7%
224,927
53.7%
4,758
32.8%
5,205,334
37.6%
Liberal
144,364
11.4%
346,795
19.3%
89,313
19.1%
119,197
32.4%
91,084
46.6%
1,858
13.6%
139,038
29.8%
2,359
29.2%
1,741,200
33.8%
35,372
47.7%
859,634
23.7%
62,209
14.9%
6,567
45.3%
3,629,990
26.2%
Bloc Québécois
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
1,379,565
38.1%
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
1,379,565
10.0%
New Democratic
161,409
12.7%
467,335
26.1%
112,247
24.0%
80,525
21.9%
66,171
33.9%
5,669
41.5%
126,127
28.9%
2,228
27.6%
938,400
18.2%
7,233
9.8%
441,136
12.2%
107,289
25.6%
1,306
9.0%
2,517,075
18.2%
Green
111,505
8.8%
168,723
9.4%
31,723
6.8%
22,683
6.2%
3,274
1,7%
752
5.5%
35,022
8.0%
675
8.4%
411,444
8.0%
3,488
4.7%
126,299
3.5%
23,279
5.6%
1,880
13.0%
940,747
6.8%
Independents and no affiliation
19,995
1.6%
2,707
0.2%
575
0.1%
n/a
n/a
179
0.1%
n/a
n/a
28,698
6.6%
n/a
n/a
13,029
0.3%
1,101
1.5%
23,106
0.6%
134
0.0%
n/a
n/a
89,524
0.7%
Christian Heritage
3,434
0.3%
3,378
0.2%
4,189
0.9%
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
1,946
0.5%
n/a
n/a
12,907
0.3%
124
0.2%
265
0.0%
0.1%
479
n/a
n/a
26,722
0.2%
Marxist–Leninist
907
0.1%
1,355
0.1%
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
182
0.0%
n/a
n/a
3,556
0.1%
n/a
n/a
2753
0.1%
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
8,753
0.1%
Libertarian
1,184
0.1%
2,912
0.2%
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
3,212
0.1%
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
74
0.0%
n/a
n/a
7,382
0.1%
Progressive Canadian
n/a
n/a
425
0.0%
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
584
0.3%
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
4,911
0.1%
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
5,920
0.0%
Communist
509
0.0%
835
0.1%
394
0.1%
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
1.508
0.0%
n/a
n/a
393
0.0%
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
3,639
0.0%
Canadian Action
1,051
0.1%
759
0.0%
n/a
n/a
168
0.1%
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
196
0.0%
n/a
n/a
1,165
0.0%
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
169
0.0%
n/a
n/a
3,508
0.0%
Marijuana
n/a
n/a
358
0.0%
n/a
n/a
330
0.1%
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
1,448
0.0%
n/a
n/a
183
0.0%
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
2,319
0.0%
neorhino.ca
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
2,263
0.1%
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
2,263
0.0%
Newfoundland and Labrador First
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
1,801
0.9%
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
1,801
0.0%
First Peoples National
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
212
0.1%
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
252
1.8%
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
282
0.1%
n/a
n/a
1,640
0.0%
Animal Alliance
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
529
0.0%
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
529
0.0%
Work Less
n/a
n/a
423
0.0%
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
423
0.0%
Western Block
n/a
n/a
195
0.0%
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
195
0.0%
People's Political Power
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
185
0.0%
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
185
0.0%
Total
1,270,294
-
1,793,373
-
466,889
-
368,035
-
195,397
-
13,677
-
43,008
-
8,068
-
5,153,321
-
74,195
-
3,620,362
-
418,842
-
14,511
-
13,832,972
-
Sources: Elections Canada
Voter turnout was the lowest in Canadian election history, as 59.1% of the electorate cast a ballot.[ 6]
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