The 2025 Canadian federal election was held on April 28, 2025, to elect members of the House of Commons to the 45th Canadian Parliament. Governor General Mary Simon issued the writs of election on March 23, 2025, after Prime Minister Mark Carney advised her to dissolve Parliament. This was the first election to use a new 343-seat electoral map based on the 2021 census. Key issues of the election campaign included the cost of living, housing, crime, and tariffs and threats of annexation from Donald Trump, the president of the United States.
The Liberal Party won and continued as a minority government, marking the fourth consecutive Liberal government and third consecutive Liberal minority government. The party's victory came after a substantial rebound in the polls, noted as being "one of the widest on record in any democracy". The Liberals also won the popular vote for the first time since 2015, with their highest vote share since 1980 and the highest vote share for any party in a federal election since 1984. The election saw the highest turnout since 1993, with 69.5% of eligible voters casting a ballot.
Both the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party improved upon their vote share and seat count from 2021, while the other parties all lost ground. This was the first election since 2000 in which the Liberals polled over 40 percent, the first since 1988 in which the Conservatives did so, and the first time since 1930 in which both passed that threshold.
The election delivered the New Democratic Party (NDP) the worst result in its history, as it received just over six percent of the popular vote and only won seven seats. As a consequence, the NDP lost official party status for the first time since 1993. The concentration of voting in the two major parties was identified by commentators as marking a polarization in Canadian politics and a shift towards a two-party system. This was the most concentrated the popular vote had been in the top two parties since 1958, with over 85% voting Liberal or Conservative.
The result was a reversal of polling trends lasting from mid-2023 to January 2025, which had led to projections of the Conservatives winning in a landslide. Carney's replacement of Justin Trudeau as Leader of the Liberal Party played a key role in the turnaround. With his extensive experience as a central banker and his perceived competence, Carney was seen as better equipped to handle the trade war launched by the U.S. and other major economic issues. Two sitting party leaders failed to win re-election to their parliamentary seats: Pierre Poilievre of the Conservative Party and Jagmeet Singh of the NDP. Poilievre had held his riding since 2004, and his defeat was regarded as a significant setback for the Conservatives.
View More On Wikipedia.org