Canadian Electoral History: Part 1

Every number and figure in this article is automatically generated from the latest Elections Canada data, and will continue to update and change as elections occur.

The Big Picture

There have been 44 general and 999 by-elections in Canadian history. 28,939 candidates have run in 12,388 races across 1,509 ridings. By province or territory:

The first general election was held in 1867, and there has since been an average of 3 years and 7 months between each subsequent general election. The most recent general election elected the 44th parliament and was held on September 20th, 2021. The most recent by-election was held on December 16th, 2024 in Cloverdale–Langley City, British Columbia.

Candidates have run for a total of 132 parties. The ten most successful parties are detailed below.

The Liberal Party of Canada has won 45.5% of all seats in Canadian history, while Canada's mainstream conservative parties have won just 40.7%.

Of the 28,939 who have run in an election since 1867, just 4,611 — or 15.9% — have won and become MPs. The 15 most successful MPs are outlined below, excluding by-election victories to control for the historical practice of ministerial by-elections.

Parties

Candidates have run for a total of 132 parties, but only 48 parties have ever won a single seat. These are, in order of number of seats won: