2008 Canadian federal election

2008 Canadian federal election

← 2006 October 14, 2008 (2008-10-14) 2011 →

308 seats in the House of Commons
155 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Turnout58.8% (Decrease5.9pp)
  First party Second party Third party
 
Stephen Harper by Remy Steinegger Infobox.jpg
Stéphane Dion.jpg
Leader Stephen Harper Stéphane Dion Gilles Duceppe
Party Conservative Liberal Bloc Québécois
Leader since March 20, 2004 December 2, 2006 March 15, 1997
Leader's seat Calgary Southwest Saint-Laurent—Cartierville Laurier—Sainte-Marie
Last election 124 seats, 36.27% 103 seats, 30.23% 51 seats, 10.48%
Seats before 127 95 48
Seats won 143 77 49
Seat change Increase16 Decrease18 Increase1
Popular vote 5,209,069 3,633,185 1,379,991
Percentage 37.65% 26.26% 9.98%[i]
Swing Increase1.38pp Decrease3.97pp Decrease0.50pp

  Fourth party Fifth party
 
Jack Layton-cr bl (cropped).jpg
Elizabeth May 2a.jpg
Leader Jack Layton Elizabeth May
Party New Democratic Green
Leader since January 24, 2003 August 27, 2006
Leader's seat Toronto—Danforth Ran in Central Nova (lost)
Last election 29 seats, 17.48% 0 seats, 4.48%
Seats before 30 1
Seats won 37 0
Seat change Increase7 Decrease1
Popular vote 2,515,288 937,613
Percentage 18.18% 6.78%
Swing Increase0.70pp Increase2.30pp


Prime Minister before election

Stephen Harper
Conservative

Prime Minister after election

Stephen Harper
Conservative

The 2008 Canadian federal election was held on October 14, 2008, to elect members to the House of Commons of Canada of the 40th Canadian Parliament after the previous parliament had been dissolved by Governor General Michaëlle Jean on September 7, 2008.

Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper called the election due to his belief that there was a lack of cooperation between the minority government Conservatives and the opposition parties, which the former had to rely on to pass legislation; hence Harper argued that Parliament had reached the end of its productiveness.

The election resulted in a second but stronger minority government for Harper's Conservatives. While they were a dozen seats away from a majority government, the Liberal Party led by Stéphane Dion lost 18 seats as the New Democratic Party and the Bloc Québécois made slight gains. The Green Party failed to win any seats and lost its only Member of Parliament. Following the election, the Liberals and New Democrats attempted to form a coalition government and topple the Conservatives from power, but were unsuccessful in doing so.
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