Canadian federal election, 1980

Last updated
Canadian federal election, 1980
Flag of Canada.svg
  1979 February 18, 1980 1984  

282 seats in the 32nd Canadian Parliament
142 seats needed for a majority
Turnout69.3% [1] (Decrease2.svg6.4pp)
 First partySecond party
  Pierre Trudeau (1975) cropped.jpg JoeClark.jpg
Leader Pierre Trudeau Joe Clark
Party Liberal Progressive Conservative
Leader since April 6, 1968 February 22, 1976
Leader's seat Mount Royal Yellowhead
Last election114 seats, 40.11%136 seats, 35.89%
Seats before114136
Seats won147103
Seat changeIncrease2.svg33Decrease2.svg33
Popular vote4,855,4253,552,994
Percentage44.34%32.45%
SwingIncrease2.svg4.23pp Decrease2.svg3.44pp

 Third partyFourth party
  Ed Broadbent.jpg
SC
Leader Ed Broadbent Fabien Roy
Party New Democratic Social Credit
Leader since July 7, 1975 March 30, 1979
Leader's seat Oshawa Beauce (lost re-election)
Last election26 seats, 17.88%6 seats, 4.61%
Seats before275
Seats won320
Seat changeIncrease2.svg5Decrease2.svg5
Popular vote2,165,087185,486
Percentage19.77%1.70%
SwingIncrease2.svg1.89pp Decrease2.svg2.91pp

Canada 1980 Federal Election.svg
Popular vote by province, with graphs indicating the number of seats won. As this is an FPTP election, seat totals are not determined by popular vote by province but instead via results by each riding.

Prime Minister before election

Joe Clark
Progressive Conservative

Prime Minister-designate

Pierre Trudeau
Liberal

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.

House of Commons of Canada lower house of the Parliament of Canada

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.

32nd Canadian Parliament

The 32nd Canadian Parliament was in session from April 14, 1980, until July 9, 1984. The membership was set by the 1980 federal election on February 18, 1980, and it only changed slightly due to resignations and by-elections prior to being dissolved before the 1984 election.

Canada Country in North America

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.

Contents

Clark and his government had been under attack for its perceived inexperience, for example, in its handling of its 1979 election campaign commitment to move Canada's embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Clark had maintained uneasy relations with the fourth largest party in the House of Commons, Social Credit. While he needed the six votes that the conservative-populist Quebec-based party had in order to get legislation passed, he was unwilling to agree to the conditions they imposed for their support. Clark had managed to recruit one Social Credit MP, Richard Janelle, to join the PC caucus.

Israel country in the Middle East

Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in Western Asia, located on the southeastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea and the northern shore of the Red Sea. It has land borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the northeast, Jordan on the east, the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip to the east and west, respectively, and Egypt to the southwest. The country contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area. Israel's economic and technological center is Tel Aviv, while its seat of government and proclaimed capital is Jerusalem, although the state's sovereignty over Jerusalem has only partial recognition.

Tel Aviv City in Israel

Tel Aviv is the second most populous city in Israel—after Jerusalem—and the most populous city in the conurbation of Gush Dan, Israel's largest metropolitan area. Located on the country's Mediterranean coastline and with a population of 443,939, it is the economic and technological center of the country.

Jerusalem City in the Middle East

Jerusalem is a city in the Middle East, located on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the oldest cities in the world, and is considered holy to the three major Abrahamic religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Both Israel and the Palestinian Authority claim Jerusalem as their capital, as Israel maintains its primary governmental institutions there and the State of Palestine ultimately foresees it as its seat of power; however, neither claim is widely recognized internationally.

Clark's Minister of Finance, John Crosbie, introduced an austere government budget in late 1979 that proposed to increase the excise tax on gasoline by 18¢ per Imperial gallon (about 4¢ a litre) to reduce the federal government's deficit. The New Democratic Party's finance critic, Bob Rae, proposed a subamendment to the budget motion, stating that the House of Commons did not approve of the budget. [2] The five remaining Social Credit MPs abstained, upset that the revenues from the increased gas tax were not allocated to Quebec. In addition, one Tory MP was too ill to attend the vote while two others were abroad on official business. Meanwhile, the Liberals assembled all but one member of their caucus, even going as far as to bring in several bedridden MPs by ambulance. Rae's subamendment was adopted by a vote of 139–133, bringing down the government and forcing a new election.

John Crosbie Canadian politician

John Carnell Crosbie, is a retired provincial and federal politician who served as the 12th Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Crosbie has served as a provincial Cabinet minister under premiers Joey Smallwood and Frank Moores as well as a federal Cabinet minister during the governments of Joe Clark and Brian Mulroney.

Bob Rae Canadian politician

Robert Keith Rae, is a Canadian lawyer, negotiator, public speaker, and former politician. He was the member of Parliament for Toronto Centre and was the interim leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2011 to 2013. He was previously leader of the Ontario New Democratic Party and the 21st Premier of Ontario, from 1990 until 1995. Between 1978 and 2013, he was elected 11 times to federal and provincial parliaments.

Former Liberal prime minister Pierre Trudeau had announced his resignation as leader of the Liberal Party following its defeat in 1979. However, no leadership convention had been held when the Progressive Conservative government fell. Trudeau quickly rescinded his resignation and led the party to victory, winning 33 more seats than in the 1979 federal election. This enabled the Liberals to form a majority government.

Liberal Party of Canada oldest federal political party in Canada

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".

Pierre Trudeau 15th Prime Minister of Canada

Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau, often referred to by the initials PET, was a Canadian statesman who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada. He was the third longest-serving prime minister in Canadian history, having served for 15 years, 164 days.

Clark's Tories campaigned under the slogan, "Real change deserves a fair chance", but the voters were unwilling to give Clark another chance. The loss of the budget vote just seven months into his mandate and his subsequent defeat in the February 18 general election would eventually result in his ouster as leader by Brian Mulroney three years later.

Brian Mulroney 18th Prime Minister of Canada

Martin Brian Mulroney is a Canadian politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Canada from September 17, 1984, to June 25, 1993. His tenure as prime minister was marked by the introduction of major economic reforms, such as the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement and the Goods and Services Tax, and the rejection of constitutional reforms such as the Meech Lake Accord and the Charlottetown Accord. Prior to his political career, he was a prominent lawyer and businessman in Montreal.

The Socreds' abstention on the crucial budget vote (while the Liberals and NDP voted to bring down the government) contributed to the growing perception that the party had become irrelevant following the death of iconic leader Réal Caouette. Social Credit lost all of its seats, never to return. The party rapidly declined into obscurity after this election, though it nominally continued to exist until 1993.

Réal Caouette Canadian politician

David Réal Caouette was a Canadian politician from Quebec. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) and leader of the Social Credit Party of Canada and founder of the Ralliement des créditistes. Outside politics he worked as a car dealer.

The new house was very regionally polarized. While the Liberals were shut out west of Manitoba, the Tories won only 14 seats east of Ontario (including only one in Quebec).

Voter turn-out was 69.3%. [3]

National results

PartyParty leader# of
candidates
SeatsPopular vote
1979 Dissolution Elected% Change#%Change
  Liberal Pierre Trudeau 282114114147+28.9%4,855,42544.34%+4.23pp
  Progressive Conservative Joe Clark 282136136103-24.3%3,552,99432.45%-3.44pp
  New Democratic Party Ed Broadbent 280262732+23.1%2,165,08719.77%+1.89pp
Social Credit Fabien Roy 8165--100%185,4861.70%-2.91pp
Rhinoceros Cornelius I 121--- 110,5971.01%+0.46pp
Marxist–Leninist Hardial Bains 177----14,7280.13%+0.01pp
Libertarian  58----14,6560.13%-0.01pp
Union populaire  54----14,4740.13%-0.04pp
 Independent55----14,4720.13%-0.13pp
 Unknown41----12,5320.11%-0.07pp
Communist William Kashtan 52----6,0220.05%-0.02pp
 No affiliation14----3,0630.03%+0.03pp
Total1,497282282282-10,949,536100% 

Sources: Elections Canda, History of Federal Ridings since 1867

Notes:

"% change" refers to change from previous election.

Changes to party standings from previous election: Social Credit MP Richard Janelle crossed the floor to join the PC Party. PC MP John Diefenbaker died during the parliamentary session. A New Democrat was elected in the subsequent by-election.

14710332
LiberalProgressive ConservativeNDP

Vote and seat summaries

Popular vote
Liberal
44.34%
PC
32.45%
NDP
19.77%
Social Credit
1.70%
Others
1.74%
Seat totals
Liberal
52.13%
PC
36.52%
NDP
11.35%

Results by province

Party name BC AB SK MB ON QC NB NS PE NL NT YK Total
  Liberal Seats:---252747525--147
 Popular Vote:22.222.224.328.041.968.250.139.946.847.035.839.644.3
  Progressive Conservative Seats:162175381362211103
 Vote:41.564.938.937.735.512.632.538.746.336.024.740.632.4
  New Democratic Party Seats:12-775-----1-32
 Vote:35.310.336.333.521.89.116.220.96.616.738.419.819.8
Total seats:28211414957510114721282
Parties that won no seats:
Social Credit Vote:0.11.0xx xx5.9      1.7
Rhinoceros Vote:0.40.70.10.40.23.00.50.2  1.1 1.0
Marxist–Leninist Vote:0.10.10.10.20.10.2xxxxxx0.1  0.1
Libertarian Vote:  xx 0.30.1xx     0.1
Union populaire Vote:     0.5      0.1
 IndependentVote:0.30.30.1xx0.10.10.10.40.30.1  0.1
 Non-AffiliatedVote:xx0.50.20.1xx0.20.3  0.1  0.1
Communist Vote:0.10.1xx0.10.1xx      0.1
 No affiliationVote:    xx0.10.1     xx

xx - less than 0.05% of the popular vote.

Notes

See also

Articles on parties' candidates in this election:

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References

  1. Pomfret, R. "Voter Turnout at Federal Elections and Referendums". Elections Canada. Elections Canada. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
  2. "House of Commons Journals, 31st Parliament, 1st Session". Canadian Parliamentary Historical Resources. Queen's Printer for Canada. 1979-12-13. Retrieved 2016-07-09. Debate was resumed on the motion of Mr. Crosbie (St John's West), seconded by Mr. MacDonald (Egmont),-That this House approves in general the budgetary policy of the Government. And on the motion of Mr. Gray, seconded by Mr. Lalonde, in amendment thereto,-That all the words after the word 'That' be deleted and the following substituted therefor: 'this House condemns the Government for its budget which will place and unfair and unnecessary burden of higher gasoline prices, higher fuel oil prices, and higher taxes on middle and lower income Canadians.' And on the motion of Mr. Rae, seconded by Mr. Knowles, in amendment to the amendment,-That the amendment be amended by changing the period at the end thereof to a comma, and by adding immediately after the words: 'and this House unreservedly condemns the Government for its outright betrayal of election promises to lower interest rates, to cut taxes, and to stimulate the growth of the Canadian economy, without a mandate from the Canadian people for such a reversal.'
  3. Pomfret, R. "Voter Turnout at Federal Elections and Referendums". Elections Canada. Elections Canada. Retrieved 11 January 2014.