This article needs additional citations for verification . (September 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
265 seats in the 24th Canadian Parliament 133 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Turnout | 79.4% ( | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
The Canadian federal election of 1958 was the 24th general election in Canada's history. It was held to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada of the 24th Parliament of Canada on March 31, 1958, just nine months after the 23rd election. It transformed Prime Minister John Diefenbaker's minority into the largest majority government in Canadian history and the second largest percentage of the popular vote. Although the Tories would surpass their 1958-seat total in the 1984 election, the 1958 result (achieved in a smaller House) remains unmatched both in terms of percentage of seats (78.5%) and the size of the Government majority over all opposition parties (a 151-seat majority). Voter turnout was 79.4%. [1]
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons currently meets in a temporary Commons chamber in the West Block of the parliament buildings on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, while the Centre Block, which houses the traditional Commons chamber, undergoes a ten-year renovation.
The 24th Canadian Parliament was in session from May 12, 1958, until April 19, 1962. The membership was set by the 1958 federal election on March 31, 1958, and it changed only somewhat due to resignations and by-elections until it was dissolved prior to the 1962 election.
Canada is a country in the northern part of North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering 9.98 million square kilometres, making it the world's second-largest country by total area. Canada's southern border with the United States is the world's longest bi-national land border. Its capital is Ottawa, and its three largest metropolitan areas are Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. As a whole, Canada is sparsely populated, the majority of its land area being dominated by forest and tundra. Consequently, its population is highly urbanized, with over 80 percent of its inhabitants concentrated in large and medium-sized cities, many near the southern border. Canada's climate varies widely across its vast area, ranging from arctic weather in the north, to hot summers in the southern regions, with four distinct seasons.
Diefenbaker called a snap election and capitalized on three factors:
A snap election is an election called earlier than expected.
The Liberal Party of Canada is the oldest and longest-serving governing political party in Canada. The Liberals form the current government, elected in 2015. The party has dominated federal politics for much of Canada's history, holding power for almost 69 years in the 20th century—more than any other party in a developed country—and as a result, it is sometimes referred to as Canada's "natural governing party".
The Conscription Crisis of 1917 was a political and military crisis in Canada during World War I. It was mainly caused by disagreement on whether men should be conscripted to fight in the war. It also brought out many issues regarding relations between French Canadians and English Canadians and motivated many revolutionary acts.
Louis Stephen St. Laurent was the 12th prime minister of Canada, from 15 November 1948 to 21 June 1957. He was a Liberal with a strong base in the Catholic francophone community, from which base he had long mobilised support to Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King. His foreign policy initiatives transformed Canada from an isolationist ex-colony with little role in world affairs to an active "middle power". St. Laurent was an enthusiastic proponent of Canada's joining NATO in 1949 to fight the spread of Communism, overcoming opposition from some intellectuals, the Labor-Progressive Party, and many French Canadians. The contrast with Mackenzie King was not dramatic – they agreed on most policies. St. Laurent had more hatred of communism, and less fear of the United States. He was neither an idealist nor a bookish intellectual, but an "eminently moderate, cautious conservative man ... and a strong Canadian nationalist".
↓ | ||||
208 | 48 | 8 | 1 | |
Progressive Conservative | Liberal | CCF | O |
Party | Party leader | # of candidates | Seats | Popular vote | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1957 | Elected | % Change | # | % | pp Change | ||||
Progressive Conservative | John Diefenbaker | 265 | 111 | 208 | +87.4% | 3,908,633 | 53.66% | +14.85 | |
Liberal | Lester B. Pearson | 264 | 104 | 48 | -53.8% | 2,432,953 | 33.40% | -7.35 | |
Co-operative Commonwealth | M.J. Coldwell | 169 | 25 | 8 | -68.0% | 692,668 | 9.51% | -1.20 | |
Liberal–Labour | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0% | 11,956 | 0.16% | - | ||
Social Credit | Solon Low | 82 | 19 | - | -100% | 188,356 | 2.59% | -3.99 | |
Independent | 9 | 2 | - | -100% | 14,211 | 0.20% | -0.87 | ||
Independent Liberal | 10 | 2 | - | -100% | 12,054 | 0.17% | -1.25 | ||
Labor–Progressive | Tim Buck | 18 | - | - | - | 9,769 | 0.13% | +0.02 | |
Candidats des électeurs | Réal Caouette | 1 | - | - | - | 8,276 | 0.11% | -0.01 | |
Independent PC | 5 | 1 | - | -100% | 2,097 | 0.03% | -0.19 | ||
Socialist | 2 | * | - | * | 1,113 | 0.02% | * | ||
Capital familial | H-G Grenier | 1 | * | - | * | 968 | 0.01% | * | |
Radical chrétien | 1 | * | - | * | 687 | 0.01% | * | ||
Independent SC | 1 | - | - | - | 361 | x | -0.04 | ||
Ouvrier canadien | 1 | * | - | * | 243 | x | * | ||
Independent Conservative | 1 | * | - | * | 122 | x | * | ||
Total | 831 | 265 | 265 | - | 7,284,467 | 100.00% | |||
Sources: http://www.elections.ca History of Federal Ridings since 1867 |
Notes:
"Previous" refers to standings at previous election, not to standings in the House of Commons at dissolution.
* The party did not nominate candidates in the previous election.
x - less than 0.005% of the popular vote
Party name | BC | AB | SK | MB | ON | QC | NB | NS | PE | NL | YK | NW | Total | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Progressive Conservative | Seats: | 18 | 17 | 16 | 14 | 67 | 50 | 7 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 1 | - | 208 | |
Vote (%): | 49.4 | 59.9 | 51.4 | 56.7 | 56.4 | 49.6 | 54.1 | 57.0 | 62.2 | 45.2 | 54.5 | 42.8 | 53.7 | ||
Liberal | Seats: | - | - | - | - | 14 | 25 | 3 | - | - | 5 | - | 1 | 48 | |
Vote (%): | 16.1 | 13.7 | 19.6 | 21.6 | 32.1 | 45.6 | 43.4 | 38.4 | 37.5 | 54.4 | 43.3 | 57.2 | 33.4 | ||
Co-operative Commonwealth | Seats: | 4 | - | 1 | - | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | 8 | |||
Vote (%): | 24.5 | 4.4 | 28.4 | 19.6 | 10.5 | 2.3 | 1.8 | 4.5 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 9.5 | ||||
Liberal-Labour | Seats: | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||
Vote (%): | 0.5 | 0.2 | |||||||||||||
Total Seats | 22 | 17 | 17 | 14 | 85 | 75 | 10 | 12 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 265 | ||
Parties that won no seats: | |||||||||||||||
Social Credit | Vote (%): | 9.6 | 21.6 | 0.4 | 1.8 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 2.6 | ||||||
Independent | Vote (%): | xx | xx | 0.1 | 0.6 | 0.2 | |||||||||
Independent Liberal | Vote (%): | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.2 | |||||||||||
Labor–Progressive | Vote (%): | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | |||||||
C. des électeurs | Vote (%): | 0.4 | 0.1 | ||||||||||||
Independent PC | Vote (%): | 0.1 | 0.1 | xx | |||||||||||
Socialist | Vote (%): | xx | xx | xx | |||||||||||
Capitale familiale | Vote (%): | xx | xx | ||||||||||||
Radical chrétien | Vote (%): | xx | xx | ||||||||||||
Independent SC | Vote (%): | 0.1 | xx | ||||||||||||
Ouvrier canadien | Vote (%): | xx | xx | ||||||||||||
Ind. Conservative | Vote (%): | 2.3 | xx |
xx - less than 0.05% of the popular vote
John George Diefenbaker was the 13th prime minister of Canada, serving from June 21, 1957 to April 22, 1963. He was the only Progressive Conservative party leader after 1930 and before 1979 to lead the party to an election victory, doing so three times, although only once with a majority of seats in the House of Commons of Canada.
The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (PC) was a federal political party in Canada.
The Canadian federal election of 1997 was held on June 2 to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada of the 36th Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's Liberal Party of Canada won a second majority government. The Reform Party of Canada replaced the Bloc Québécois as the Official Opposition.
The Canadian federal election of 1993 was held on October 25 of that year to elect members to the House of Commons of Canada of the 35th Parliament of Canada. Fourteen parties competed for the 295 seats in the House at that time. It was one of the most eventful elections in Canada's history, with more than half of the electorate switching parties from the 1988 election. The Liberals, led by Jean Chrétien, won a strong majority in the House and formed the next government of Canada.
The Canadian federal election of 1921 was held on December 6, 1921, to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada of the 14th Parliament of Canada. The Union government that had governed Canada through the First World War was defeated, and replaced by a Liberal government under the young leader William Lyon Mackenzie King. A new third party, the Progressive Party, won the second most seats in the election.
The Social Credit Party of Canada, colloquially known as the Socreds, was a conservative-populist political party in Canada that promoted social credit theories of monetary reform. It was the federal wing of the Canadian social credit movement.
The Canadian federal election of 1957 was held June 10, 1957, to select the 265 members of the House of Commons of Canada. In one of the great upsets in Canadian political history, the Progressive Conservative Party, led by John Diefenbaker, brought an end to 22 years of Liberal rule, as the Tories were able to form a minority government.
The Canadian federal election of 1968 was held on June 25, 1968, to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada of the 28th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal Party won a majority government under its new leader, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.
The Canadian federal election of 1980 was held on February 18, 1980, to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada of the 32nd Parliament of Canada. It was called when the minority Progressive Conservative government led by Prime Minister Joe Clark was defeated in the Commons.
The Canadian federal election of 1945 was the 20th general election in Canadian history. It was held June 11, 1945 to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada of the 20th Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King's Liberal government was re-elected to its third consecutive government, although this time with a minority government as the Liberals fell five seats short of a majority.
The Canadian federal election of 1979 was held on May 22, 1979, to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada of the 31st Parliament of Canada. It resulted in the defeat of the Liberal Party of Canada after 11 years in power under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. Joe Clark led the Progressive Conservative Party to power, but with only a minority of seats in the House of Commons. The Liberals, however, did beat the Progressive Conservatives in the overall popular vote by more than 400,000 votes.
The Canadian federal election of 1974 was held on July 8, 1974, to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada of the 30th Parliament of Canada. The governing Liberal Party was reelected, going from a minority to a majority government, and gave Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau his third term. The Progressive Conservatives, led by Robert Stanfield, did well in the Atlantic provinces, and in the West, but the Liberal support in Ontario and Quebec ensured a majority Liberal government.
During the history of Canadian politics, eleven minority governments have been elected at the federal level. There have also been two minority governments resulting from governments being replaced between elections, for a total of thirteen federal minority governments in twelve separate minority parliaments. There have been historical cases where the governing party had fewer than half of the seats but had the support of independents who called themselves members of the party; these cases are not included, as there was never any serious chance of the government falling.
The Canadian federal election of 1962 was held on June 18, 1962 to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada of the 25th Parliament of Canada. When the election was called, Progressive Conservative (PC) Prime Minister John Diefenbaker had governed for four years with the then-largest majority in the House of Commons in Canadian history.
The Canadian federal election of 1963 was held on April 8 to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada of the 26th Parliament of Canada. It resulted in the defeat of the minority Progressive Conservative (Tory) government of Prime Minister John Diefenbaker. For Social Credit, despite getting their highest ever share of the vote, the party lost 6 seats compared to its high-water mark in 1962.
The Canadian federal election of 1965 was held on November 8 to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada of the 27th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal Party of Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson was re-elected with a larger number of seats in the House. Although the Liberals lost a small share of the popular vote, they were able to win more seats, but fell just short of having a majority.
The Canadian federal election of 1935 was held on October 14, 1935. to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada of the 18th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal Party of William Lyon Mackenzie King won a majority government, defeating Prime Minister R. B. Bennett's Conservatives.
The Alberta general election of 1971 was the seventeenth general election in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It was held on August 30, 1971, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.