46th Canadian federal election

46th Canadian federal election

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343 seats in the House of Commons 172 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Leader Mark Carney Pierre Poilievre Yves-François Blanchet Party Liberal Conservative Bloc Québécois Leader since March 9, 2025 September 10, 2022 January 17, 2019 Leader's seat Nepean Battle River—Crowfoot Belœil—Chambly Last election 169 seats, 43.76% 144 seats, 41.31% 22 seats, 6.29% Current seats 169 144 22 Seats needed 3 28 N/A [a]   Leader Don Davies (interim) Elizabeth May (outgoing) [b] Party New Democratic Green Leader since May 5, 2025 November 19, 2022 Leader's seat Vancouver Kingsway Saanich—Gulf Islands Last election 7 seats, 6.29% 1 seat, 1.22% Current seats 7 1 Seats needed 165 171
Incumbent Prime Minister Mark Carney Liberal

The 46th Canadian federal election will elect members of the House of Commons to the 46th Canadian Parliament. The Canada Elections Act requires that the election be held no later than October 15, 2029, but it may be called earlier.

The 2025 Canadian federal election resulted in a hung parliament and the formation of a minority government led by Mark Carney. An election may occur before the scheduled date if the Prime Minister advises the Governor General to dissolve the House of Commons for a snap election or if the House of Commons passes a motion of no confidence in the government. Early elections are more likely during minority governments, as the Prime Minister does not command a majority in the House of Commons.

Date of the election

Under the fixed-date provisions of the Canada Elections Act , a federal election must be held on the third Monday in October in the fourth calendar year after the polling day of the previous election. ^[5] The previous election was held in 2025, therefore an election must occur on October 15, 2029; however, the election may occur before the fixed deadline if the governor general dissolves Parliament on the recommendation of the prime minister, either for a snap election or after the government loses a vote on a supply bill (which has not happened since 1979) or a specific motion of no confidence (which has not happened since 2011). Early elections are more likely to occur during minority governments because the prime minister does not control a majority in the House of Commons and thus is more likely to lose votes in the House. ^{[6] [7] [8]}

Background

In the 2025 Canadian federal election, the incumbent Liberal Party led by Prime Minister Mark Carney won a plurality of seats but failed to win enough seats to gain a parliamentary majority, continuing their six-year tenure as a minority government and marking the third consecutive term of a Liberal minority government. The party won a majority government in 2015, after almost ten years of Conservative leadership, but later it was reduced to a minority government in the 2019 election and remained as such in 2021. ^[9]

The Conservative Party continued as the Official Opposition, with party leader Pierre Poilievre losing re-election in his seat of Carleton after nearly 21 years to Liberal candidate Bruce Fanjoy. ^[10] Damien Kurek, the Conservative member of Parliament–elect for the riding of Battle River—Crowfoot, announced his intentions to resign on May 2, 2025, allowing Poilievre to run in a by-election. ^[11] Kurek had to wait 30 days after election results were published in the Canada Gazette in order to officially resign, and plans to run for the Alberta seat again in the next general election. ^[12] On May 6, Andrew Scheer became the leader of the Official Opposition, as Poilievre could not officially hold the title without a seat in Parliament. ^[13] Poilievre was elected on August 18, returning to the House of Commons.

Jagmeet Singh, the leader of the New Democratic Party, also lost his seat, ^[c] with the party winning just seven seats, resulting in the loss of the party's official party status for the first time since 1993. As a result, Singh announced his intention to resign from the leadership of the NDP once an interim leader was chosen. ^[14] On May 5, Don Davies was chosen by the party's Federal Council as interim leader of the NDP until the next leadership election. ^[15]

Jonathan Pedneault, the co-leader of the Green Party, was not elected to a seat in Parliament, with the party winning just one seat and receiving its lowest share of the popular vote since 2000. As a result, Pedneault announced his resignation as co-leader shortly after the election. ^[1] On August 19, Elizabeth May announced her intention to resign as party leader. ^[16]

Incumbents not standing for re-election

Member of Parliament		Electoral district	Province or territory	Date announced
	Cathay Wagantall [17]	Yorkton—Melville	Saskatchewan	July 28, 2025

Opinion polls

Main article: Opinion polling for the 46th Canadian federal election

Notes

1. Although parties registered with Elections Canada can field candidates in any riding they wish, the Bloc Québécois has never fielded candidates outside of Quebec (78 seats), thus rendering it impossible for the party to gain a majority in Parliament.
2. The Green Party has not had a co-leader since April 30, 2025, when Jonathan Pedneault resigned. ^[1] On August 19, May announced her intention to resign as party leader before the next election. ^[2] May said she intends to remain leader until a new leader or co-leaders are chosen, and that she wants to remain leader "at least until 2026". ^{[3] [4]}
3. Burnaby South, which Singh represented before the election, was abolished during the 2022 Canadian federal electoral redistribution. Singh ran in Burnaby Central, a riding which encompasses much of the same territory.

References

1. Caruso-Moro, Luca (April 30, 2025). "Green Party co-leader Jonathan Pedneault resigns". CP24. Retrieved April 30, 2025.
2. Major, Darren (August 19, 2025). "Elizabeth May says she won't lead Green Party in next election". CBC News . Retrieved September 2, 2025.
3. @ElizabethMay (August 20, 2025). "I hope to receive strong support from our membership in the leadership review, and commit that I will stay on as MP..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
4. DeRosa, Katie (August 20, 2025). "Elizabeth May to step down as leader of the federal Green Party — eventually". CBC News . Retrieved September 4, 2025.
5. "An Act to amend the Canada Elections Act". LegisINFO. May 3, 2007. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 25, 2024. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
6. Aiello, Rachel (October 24, 2019). "Split opposition means stronger minority for Liberals, experts say". CTV News. Archived from the original on October 24, 2019. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
7. Harris, Kathleen (October 21, 2020). "Snap election averted as Liberal government survives confidence vote in Commons". CBC News . Retrieved November 26, 2020.
8. Coyne, Andrew (October 28, 2020). "What, exactly, is a non-confidence vote? Parliament should get to decide". The Globe and Mail . Retrieved November 26, 2020.
9. Shamim, Sarah (April 29, 2025). "Canada election results: Who are the key winners and losers?". Al Jazeera. Retrieved May 7, 2025.
10. "Liberal Bruce Fanjoy topples Pierre Poilievre in Carleton". CBC . April 29, 2025. Retrieved April 29, 2025.
11. Ha, Stephanie (May 2, 2025). "Conservative MP gives up seat for Pierre Poilievre to run in byelection". CTV News. Retrieved May 2, 2025.
12. Tunney, Catharine (May 5, 2025). "Conservative Damien Kurek says he'll step aside for Poilievre — but by law he has to wait". CBC News. Retrieved May 6, 2025.
13. "Poilievre pledges to listen after election loss, Scheer tapped to represent caucus in interim". CTV News . May 6, 2025. Retrieved May 6, 2025.
14. Hunter, Justine (April 29, 2025). "Jagmeet Singh to resign as NDP Leader". The Globe and Mail . Retrieved April 29, 2025.
15. Little, Simon (May 5, 2025). "NDP choose Vancouver MP Don Davies as interim leader". Global News . Retrieved May 5, 2025.
16. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/elizabeth-may-not-leading-greens-next-election-1.7612908
17. Lee, Cam (July 28, 2025). "Cathay Wagantall serving final term as MP for Yorkton-Melville". northeastNOW. Pattison Media . Retrieved July 28, 2025.