The 2015 Canadian federal election was held on October 19, 2015, to elect the 338 members of the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...
of the
42nd Parliament of Canada. In accordance with the
maximum four-year term under a
2007 amendment to the ''Canada Elections Act'', the
writs of election for the 2015 election were issued by Governor General
David Johnston on August 4. At 11 weeks, the ensuing campaign was one of the longest in Canadian history: It was also the first time since
1979
Events
January
* January 1
** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
that a
prime minister
A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
attempted to remain in office into a fourth consecutive Parliament and the first time since
1980
Events January
* January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission.
* January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...
that someone attempted to win a fourth term of any kind as prime minister(In both cases, it was Liberal Justin Trudeau's father,
Pierre, who attempted in 1979 and succeeded in 1980)
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. For example, while the political systems ...
won 184 seats, forming 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. Such a government can consist of one party that holds a majority on its own, or be a coalition government of multi ...
with its leader
Justin Trudeau
Justin Pierre James Trudeau (born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of Canada from 2015 to 2025. He led the Liberal Party from 2013 until his resignation in 2025 and was the member of Parliament ...
becoming prime minister.
Trudeau and the rest of his cabinet were sworn in on November 4, 2015. The
Conservative Party, 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. He is to date the only prime minister to have come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ser ...
, won 99 seats, becoming the
Official Opposition
Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term ''government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ''t ...
after nearly a decade on the government benches. The
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...
, 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) is a centre-left politics, centre-left and list of federal political parties in Canada, federal political party in Canada devoted to Quebec nationalism, Quebecois nationalism, social democracy, and the promotion o ...
won 10 seats, the
Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice.
Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...
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 (1925–1930), State of Syria.
* January 3 – Benito Mussolini m ...
). It was the second largest number of seats won in a federal election for the Liberals, the best being 191 in
1949
Events
January
* January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025
* January 2 – Luis ...
. The election also had the highest voter turnout since
1993
The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as:
* International Year for the World's Indigenous People
The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...
.
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 tota ...
share. There was an increase in voter turnout among all age groups. The largest was among eligible voters aged 18 to 24, which increased 18.3 points, to 57.1%. Elections Canada reported that this was the biggest increase in turnout among this age group since it began making demographic turnout estimates.
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.
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
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
government headed by
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. He is to date the only prime minister to have come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ser ...
, while the
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...
(NDP) became Official Opposition and 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. For example, while the political systems ...
became the third party. The
Bloc Québécois
The Bloc Québécois (, , BQ) is a centre-left politics, centre-left and list of federal political parties in Canada, federal political party in Canada devoted to Quebec nationalism, Quebecois nationalism, social democracy, and the promotion o ...
won four seats and the
Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice.
Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...
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 leader of the Liberal Party and leader of the Opposition from 2008 until 2011. Known for his work as a historian, Ignatieff has ...
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
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 the ...
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 politician and academic 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 T ...
, 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 o ...
. In March 2012
Tom Mulcair was elected leader of the New Democratic Party. In April 2013
Justin Trudeau
Justin Pierre James Trudeau (born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of Canada from 2015 to 2025. He led the Liberal Party from 2013 until his resignation in 2025 and was the member of Parliament ...
was elected leader of the Liberal Party. Bloc Québécois leader
Daniel Paillé stepped down in December 2013 and was eventually replaced in June 2014 by
Mario Beaulieu, who in turn was replaced by Duceppe in June 2015.
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
The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...
of the
41st Parliament of Canada, at its
dissolution.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper requested
writs of election for a federal general election from
Governor General
Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...
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.
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).
, -
! colspan="2" style="text-align:left;" , Party !! BC !! AB !! SK !! MB !!ON !! QC !! NB !! PE !! NS !! NL !! Territories!! Total
, -
, 28 , , 33 , , 11 , , 11 , , 83 , , 5 , , 8 , , 1 , , 4 , , 2 , , 2 , , 188
, -
, 11 , , 1 , , 2, , 3 , , 24 , , 61 , , 1 , , , , 3 , , 2 , , 1 , , 109
, -
, 2 , , , , 1 , , , , 14 , , 8 , , 1 , , 3 , , 4 , , 3 , , , , 36
, -
, , , , , , , , , , , 4 , , , , , , , , , , , , 4
, -
, 1 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 1
, -
! colspan="2" style="text-align:left;" , Total
! style="text-align:right;" , 42
! style="text-align:right;" , 34
! style="text-align:right;" , 14
! style="text-align:right;" , 14
! style="text-align:right;" , 121
! style="text-align:right;" , 78
! style="text-align:right;" , 10
! style="text-align:right;" , 4
! style="text-align:right;" , 11
! style="text-align:right;" , 7
! style="text-align:right;" , 3
! style="text-align:right;" , 338
61 MPs
chose to not seek reelection at the 2015 federal election, meaning they were
Members of Parliament (MPs) in the
41st Parliament of Canada, but chose not to stand for election to the
42nd Parliament of Canada (in some cases after being deselected by their parties).
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 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
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
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. He is to date the only prime minister to have come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ser ...
withdrew
but ultimately only participated in the French language consortium debate which included the Conservatives.
Liberal leader
Justin Trudeau
Justin Pierre James Trudeau (born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of Canada from 2015 to 2025. He led the Liberal Party from 2013 until his resignation in 2025 and was the member of Parliament ...
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 technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...
, 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

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 veh ...
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

, - 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
The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
, 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;" ,
Justin Trudeau
Justin Pierre James Trudeau (born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of Canada from 2015 to 2025. He led the Liberal Party from 2013 until his resignation in 2025 and was the member of Parliament ...
, 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
Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. He is to date the only prime minister to have come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ser ...
, 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;" ,
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
, 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 Pennsylvania, United States
* Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...
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
, 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
, 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
Canadian Election Study
The 2015 CES included two survey components. Both included two waves of questions, one in the campaign period (CPS) and a recontact wave after the election (PES).
The non-probability online survey included a sample of Canadians from across the country (CPS n=11,614; PES n=6,554).
The following table is the indicated vote choice in the 2015 election, cross-tabbed with demographic questions. The weights have been adjusted to match the actual results of the election.
Demographics
Student Vote Canada results
Student votes are
mock election
A mock election is an election for educational demonstration, amusement, or political protest reasons to call for free and fair elections. Less precisely it can refer to a real election purely for advisory (essentially without power) committees ...
s, running parallel to actual elections, in which students not of voting age participate. Student vote elections are administered by Student Vote Canada, and are for educational purposes and do not count towards the results. Note that the total seats adds up to 340 instead of 338, due to ties.
! colspan="2" rowspan="2" , Party
! rowspan="2" , Leader
! colspan="2" , Seats
! colspan="2" , Popular vote
, -
! Elected
! %
! Votes
! %
, style="text-align: left;",
Justin Trudeau
Justin Pierre James Trudeau (born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of Canada from 2015 to 2025. He led the Liberal Party from 2013 until his resignation in 2025 and was the member of Parliament ...
, 225 , , 66.18 , , 335,887, , 37.61
, -
, style="text-align: left;",
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. He is to date the only prime minister to have come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ser ...
, 71 , , 20.88 , , 232,033 , , 25.98
, -
, style="text-align: left;",
Tom Mulcair
, 40 , , 11.76 , , 175,360 , , 19.64
, -
, -
, style="text-align: left;",
Elizabeth May
, 4 , , 1.18 , , 107,431 , , 12.03
, -
, -
, style="background-color:gainsboro",
, colspan="2" style="text-align: left;" , Other
, 0 , , 0 , , 36,383 , , 4.1
, -
, style="text-align: left;",
Gilles Duceppe
, 0 , , 0 , , 5,924 , , 0.66
, -
, colspan="3" style="text-align: left;" , Total
, 340* , , 100.00 , , 893,018 , , 100.00 ;
Election aftermath

Hours after conceding defeat on election night, incumbent Prime Minister Stephen Harper resigned as leader of the
Conservative Party, 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
Ronalee Ambrose Veitch ( , Name at birth, née Chapchuk; born March 15, 1969) is a former Canadian politician who served as Leader of the Official Opposition (Canada), leader of the Official Opposition and Interim leader (Canada), interim Leade ...
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 their representative, reads a prepared speech to members of the nation's legislature when a Legislative session, session is opened. ...
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 is a set of sharp changes in party-related ideology, issues, leaders, regional bases, demographic bases, and/or the structure of powers within a government. In the fields of political science and political history, this is ...
.
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 ''Nat ...
, 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 ( zh, s=华春莹; born 24 April 1970) is a Chinese diplomat who has been serving as Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of China since 2024. She most notably served as spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
After graduating ...
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 who has served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Par ...
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
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.
* : President
Enrique Peña Nieto
Enrique Peña Nieto (; born 20 July 1966), commonly referred to by his initials EPN, is a Mexican former politician and lawyer who was the 64th president of Mexico from 2012 to 2018. A member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), he p ...
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 was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
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 (TPPA), was a proposed trade agreement between 12 Pacific Rim countries: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietn ...
, 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 was 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:
See also
*
Fixed election dates in Canada
*
List of Canadian federal general elections
This article provides a summary of results for Elections in Canada, Canadian general elections (where all seats are contested) to the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons, the elected lower half of Canada's Government of Canada, federal ...
*
List of political parties in Canada
This article lists political party, political parties in Canada.
Federal parties
In contrast with the political party systems of many nations, Canadian parties at the federal level are often only loosely connected with parties at the provincial ...
*
Results by riding of the Canadian federal election, 2015
*
2011 Bloc Québécois leadership election
*
2012 New Democratic Party leadership election
*
2013 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election
*
2014 Bloc Québécois leadership election
*
2015 Canadian federal election in Quebec
Notes
References
Further reading
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Elections Canada
{{DEFAULTSORT:42nd Canadian Federal Election
2015
2015 was designated by the United Nations as:
* International Year of Light
* International Year of Soil __TOC__
Events
January
* January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...
Federal election