2004 Canadian federal election

2004 Canadian federal election

← 2000 June 28, 2004 (2004-06-28) 2006 →
← outgoing members elected members →
308 seats in the House of Commons 155 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Turnout	60.9% (3.2pp)
First party Second party   Leader Paul Martin Stephen Harper Party Liberal Conservative Leader since November 14, 2003 March 20, 2004 Leader's seat LaSalle—Émard Calgary Southwest Last election 172 seats, 40.85% 78 seats, 37.68%1 Seats before 168 72 Seats won 135 99 Seat change 33 27 Popular vote 4,982,220 4,019,498 Percentage 36.73% 29.63% Swing 4.12pp 8.05pp   Third party Fourth party   Leader Gilles Duceppe Jack Layton Party Bloc Québécois New Democratic Leader since March 15, 1997 January 24, 2003 Leader's seat Laurier Toronto—Danforth Last election 38 seats, 10.72% 13 seats, 8.51% Seats before 33 14 Seats won 54 19 Seat change 21 5 Popular vote 1,680,109 2,127,403 Percentage 12.39%[i] 15.68% Swing 1.67pp 7.17pp
Results by electoral district, shaded by winners' vote share Results by province and territory
The Canadian parliament after the 2004 election
Prime Minister before election Paul Martin Liberal Prime Minister after election Paul Martin Liberal

The 2004 Canadian federal election was held on June 28, 2004, to elect members to the House of Commons of Canada of the 38th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin lost its majority but was able to continue in office as a minority government after the election. This was the first election contested by the newly amalgamated Conservative Party of Canada, after it was formed by the two right-of-centre parties, the Progressive Conservative Party and the Canadian Alliance.

On May 23, 2004, the governor general, Adrienne Clarkson, on the advice of Martin, ordered the dissolution of the House of Commons, triggering an early election despite the Liberals being only three and a half years into their five-year mandate. Earlier, the election result was widely expected to be a fourth consecutive majority government for the Liberals, but early in 2004 Liberal popularity fell sharply due to the emerging details of the sponsorship scandal. Polls even started to indicate the possibility of a Conservative minority government. In the end, the Liberals won a minority government, though they were well short of a majority and lost nearly three dozen seats.

On election day, polling times were arranged to allow results from most provinces to be announced more or less simultaneously, with the exception of Atlantic Canada, whose results were known before the close of polling in other provinces due to the British Columbia Supreme Court's decision in R v Bryan.
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