The
Canadian federal election of 1962 was held on June 18, 1962 to elect members of the
Canadian House of CommonsThe House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
of the
25th ParliamentThe 25th Canadian Parliament was in session from September 27, 1962 until February 6, 1963. The membership was set by the 1962 federal election on June 18, 1962, and it changed only somewhat due to resignations and by-elections until it was dissolved prior to the 1963 election.It was controlled by...
of
CanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. When the election was called, the
Progressive Conservative Party of CanadaThe Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....
of
Prime MinisterThe Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
John George Diefenbaker had governed for four years with the largest
majorityA majority government is when the governing party has an absolute majority of seats in the legislature or parliament in a parliamentary system. This is as opposed to a minority government, where even the largest party wins only a plurality of seats and thus must constantly bargain for support from...
in the House of Commons in Canadian history.
This election reduced the Tories to a tenuous
minority governmentA minority government or a minority cabinet is a cabinet of a parliamentary system formed when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in the parliament but is sworn into government to break a Hung Parliament election result. It is also known as a...
as a result of economic difficulties such as high
unemploymentUnemployment , as defined by the International Labour Organization, occurs when people are without jobs and they have actively sought work within the past four weeks...
and a slumping Canadian dollar, as well as unpopular decisions such as the cancellation of the Avro Arrow. Despite the Diefenbaker government's difficulties, the
Liberal PartyThe Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
, led by Lester Pearson, was unable to make up enough ground in the election to defeat the government.
Overview
During its term of office, the Diefenbaker government had introduced reforms to social programs, a
Canadian Bill of RightsThe Canadian Bill of Rights is a federal statute and bill of rights enacted by Prime Minister John Diefenbaker's government on August 10, 1960. It provides Canadians with certain quasi-constitutional rights in relation to other federal statutes...
, and other changes. The Tories tried to defend the decline in the Canadian dollar by pointing out the benefits to the tourism industry, exports, manufacturing and farming, and employment. They denied that the devaluation had an impact on the price of bread, beef, gasoline and fruit and vegetables, saying that these prices were either set in Canada or were influenced by other factors.
The Liberals campaigned under the slogan, "Take a stand for tomorrow", and attempted to portray the Diefenbaker government as "feeble", with a divided cabinet. The Liberals criticized the PCs for their "reckless mismanagement of finances", the slowdown in the Canadian economy, a lack of confidence in government policies, job losses, and a lower standard of living than in 1956. The Liberals also argued that the steep devaluation in the Canadian dollar was increasing the cost of living for Canadians.
The 1962 election was the first contested by the
social democraticSocial democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
New Democratic PartyThe New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
, which had been formed from an alliance between the old
Co-operative Commonwealth FederationThe Co-operative Commonwealth Federation was a Canadian political party founded in 1932 in Calgary, Alberta, by a number of socialist, farm, co-operative and labour groups, and the League for Social Reconstruction...
(CCF) and the
Canadian Labour CongressThe Canadian Labour Congress, or CLC is a national trade union centre, the central labour body in English Canada to which most Canadian labour unions are affiliated.- Formation :...
. The party chose longtime
Premier of SaskatchewanThe Premier of Saskatchewan is the first minister for the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. They are the province's head of government and de facto chief executive....
Tommy DouglasThomas Clement "Tommy" Douglas, was a Scottish-born Baptist minister who became a prominent Canadian social democratic politician...
as its first leader. The new party was able to recover ground lost by the CCF in the
1958 federal electionThe Canadian federal election of 1958 was the 24th general election in Canada's history. It was held to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 24th Parliament of Canada on March 31, 1958, just nine months after the 23rd election...
, when it was nearly wiped out. It won almost 50% more votes than the CCF had ever managed, but it failed to achieve the major breakthrough that had been hoped for when the party was created.
Douglas failed to win his own seat in the province of
SaskatchewanSaskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
, and the NDP was shut out in his province, which was the party's political base. Douglas's campaign was hurt by chaos in Saskatchewan brought about by the introduction of
MedicareMedicare is the unofficial name for Canada's publicly funded universal health insurance system. The formal terminology for the insurance system is provided by the Canada Health Act and the health insurance legislation of the individual provinces and territories.Under the terms of the Canada Health...
and a resulting strike by the province's doctors. Douglas was forced to enter the House of Commons through a
by-electionA by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
in
British ColumbiaBritish Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
. Despite the initial problems, medicare proved popular, spread throughout the country, and is considered the NDP's (and Douglas's) major contribution to the Canadian social fabric.
Social CreditThe Social Credit Party of Canada was a conservative-populist political party in Canada that promoted social credit theories of monetary reform...
returned to the House of Commons after being shut out in the 1958 election. While leader
Robert N. ThompsonRobert Norman Thompson was a Canadian politician, chiropractor, and educator. He was born in Duluth, Minnesota, to Canadian parents and moved to Canada in 1918 with his family...
and three other Socreds were elected in the party's traditional base in western Canada, the party's real success came in Quebec.
Réal CaouetteDavid Réal Caouette was a Canadian politician from Quebec. He was a Member of Parliament and leader of the Social Credit Party of Canada and founder of the Ralliement des créditistes...
led the party's Quebec wing to victory in 26 ridings.
For the first time ever, the entire land mass of Canada was covered by federal electoral districts (the former Mackenzie River riding was expanded to cover the entire
Northwest TerritoriesThe Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada.Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, and Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south...
), and Canadian Indians and Inuit could all vote for the first time.
National results
Voter turn-out was 79.0%.
| Party |
Party leader |
# of
candidates |
Seats |
Popular vote |
1958The Canadian federal election of 1958 was the 24th general election in Canada's history. It was held to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 24th Parliament of Canada on March 31, 1958, just nine months after the 23rd election...
|
Elected |
% Change |
# |
% |
% Change
|
Progressive ConservativeThe Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....
|
John DiefenbakerJohn George Diefenbaker, PC, CH, QC was the 13th Prime Minister of Canada, serving from June 21, 1957, to April 22, 1963...
|
265 |
208 |
116 |
-44.2% |
2,865,542 |
37.22% |
-16.35%
|
LiberalThe Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
|
Lester B. PearsonLester Bowles "Mike" Pearson, PC, OM, CC, OBE was a Canadian professor, historian, civil servant, statesman, diplomat, and politician, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957 for organizing the United Nations Emergency Force to resolve the Suez Canal Crisis...
|
263 |
48 |
99 |
+106.3% |
2,846,589 |
36.97% |
+3.57%
|
Social Credit The Social Credit Party of Canada was a conservative-populist political party in Canada that promoted social credit theories of monetary reform...
|
R.N. Thompson Robert Norman Thompson was a Canadian politician, chiropractor, and educator. He was born in Duluth, Minnesota, to Canadian parents and moved to Canada in 1918 with his family...
|
230 |
- |
30 |
|
893,479 |
11.61% |
+9.02%
|
New Democrats (CCF)The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
|
Tommy DouglasThomas Clement "Tommy" Douglas, was a Scottish-born Baptist minister who became a prominent Canadian social democratic politician...
|
218 |
8 |
19 |
+137.5% |
1,044,754 |
13.57% |
+4.06%
|
Liberal-Labour The Liberal-Labour banner has also been used several times by candidates in Canadian elections:In the early twentieth century when the idea of trade unionists running for elected office under their own banner gained ground, several working class candidates on the provincial or federal level were...
|
|
1 |
1 |
1 |
- |
15,412 |
0.20% |
+0.04%
|
Independent Liberal |
7 |
- |
- |
- |
10,406 |
0.14% |
-0.03%
|
Independent |
11 |
- |
- |
- |
8,084 |
0.08% |
-0.05%
|
Communist The Communist Party of Canada is a communist political party in Canada. Although is it currently a minor or small political party without representation in the Federal Parliament or in provincial legislatures, historically the Party has elected representatives in Federal Parliament, Ontario...
1 |
Leslie Morris Leslie Tim Morris was a Welsh-Canadian politician, journalist and long time member of the Communist Party of Canada and, its front group, the Labour-Progressive Party....
|
12 |
- |
- |
- |
6,360 |
0.08% |
-0.05%
|
Unknown |
4 |
* |
- |
* |
2,783 |
0.04% |
*
|
Independent PC |
4 |
* |
- |
* |
2,713 |
0.04% |
*
|
Candidat libéral des electeurs Historically in Quebec, Canada, there was a number of political parties that were part of the Canadian social credit movement. There were various parties at different times with different names at the provincial level, all broadly following the social credit philosophy; at various times they had...
|
|
1 |
* |
- |
* |
1,836 |
0.02% |
*
|
Capital familial Henri-Georges Grenier was a perennial candidate who ran unsuccessfully in thirteen federal elections and by-elections between 1945 and 1980 in Quebec, Canada, and in at least one provincial by-election...
|
H-G Grenier Henri-Georges Grenier was a perennial candidate who ran unsuccessfully in thirteen federal elections and by-elections between 1945 and 1980 in Quebec, Canada, and in at least one provincial by-election...
|
1 |
|
- |
|
393 |
0.01% |
-0.01%
|
Co-operative Builders In the 1962 federal election in Canada, Edgar-Bernard Charron, a plumber, sought election as a Co-operative Builders of Canada candidate in the south-western Ontario riding of Essex West. He placed last, winning only 261 votes, or 0.7% of the total....
|
|
1 |
* |
- |
* |
261 |
x |
*
|
All Canadian John Darby Naismith, a cattleman by profession, ran as the sole candidate for the All Canadian Party in the 1962 federal election in Canada. He ran in the riding of Acadia in Alberta.He collected 189 of the 12,867 votes cast ....
|
|
1 |
* |
- |
* |
189 |
x |
*
|
Ouvrier Indépendant Ouvrier Indépendant was the label under which three candidates ran in Canadian federal elections between 1962 and 1965. They never won a seat in the Canadian House of Commons. Adélard Patry ran in the 1962 federal election....
|
|
1 |
* |
- |
* |
152 |
x |
* |
| Total |
1,016 |
265 |
265 |
- |
7,698,953 |
100% |
|
| Sources: http://www.elections.ca History of Federal Ridings since 1867 |
Notes:
* Party did not nominate candidates in previous election.
x - less than 0.005% of the popular vote.
1 compared to Labour Progressive Party results from previous election.
Results by province
| Party name |
BC British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
|
ABAlberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
|
SKSaskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
|
MBManitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
|
ONOntario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
|
QCQuebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
|
NBNew Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
|
NSNova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
|
PEPrince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...
|
NLNewfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
|
NWThe Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada.Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, and Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south...
|
YK Yukon is the westernmost and smallest of Canada's three federal territories. It was named after the Yukon River. The word Yukon means "Great River" in Gwich’in....
|
Total
|
Progressive ConservativeThe Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....
|
Seats: |
6 |
15 |
16 |
11 |
35 |
14 |
4 |
9 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
- |
116
|
Popular Vote: |
27.3 |
42.8 |
50.4 |
41.6 |
39.2 |
29.6 |
46.5 |
47.3 |
51.3 |
36.0 |
55.0 |
47.8 |
37.2
|
LiberalThe Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
|
Seats: |
4 |
- |
1 |
1 |
43 |
35 |
6 |
2 |
- |
6 |
- |
1 |
99
|
Vote: |
27.3 |
19.4 |
22.8 |
31.3 |
41.0 |
39.2 |
44.4 |
42.4 |
43.3 |
59.0 |
45.0 |
52.2 |
37.0
|
Social Credit The Social Credit Party of Canada was a conservative-populist political party in Canada that promoted social credit theories of monetary reform...
|
Seats: |
2 |
2 |
- |
- |
- |
26 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
|
30
|
Vote: |
14.2 |
29.2 |
4.6 |
6.8 |
1.8 |
26.0 |
3.6 |
0.8 |
0.2 |
0.1 |
|
|
11.6
|
New DemocratsThe New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
|
Seats: |
10 |
- |
- |
2 |
6 |
- |
- |
1 |
- |
- |
|
|
19
|
Vote: |
30.9 |
8.4 |
22.1 |
19.7 |
17.2 |
4.4 |
5.3 |
9.4 |
5.2 |
4.9 |
|
|
13.6
|
Liberal-Labour The Liberal-Labour banner has also been used several times by candidates in Canadian elections:In the early twentieth century when the idea of trade unionists running for elected office under their own banner gained ground, several working class candidates on the provincial or federal level were...
|
Seats: |
|
|
|
|
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1
|
Vote: |
|
|
|
|
0.6 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
0.2 |
| |
Total Seats |
|
22 |
17 |
17 |
14 |
85 |
75 |
10 |
12 |
4 |
7 |
1 |
1 |
265 |
| Parties that won no seats: |
|
>
Independent Liberal |
Vote: |
|
0.1 |
|
|
|
0.5 |
0.2 |
|
|
|
|
|
0.1
|
Independent |
Vote: |
xx |
0.1 |
|
0.3 |
0.1 |
0.2 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
0.1
|
Communist The Communist Party of Canada is a communist political party in Canada. Although is it currently a minor or small political party without representation in the Federal Parliament or in provincial legislatures, historically the Party has elected representatives in Federal Parliament, Ontario...
|
Vote: |
0.2 |
|
0.1 |
0.6 |
0.1 |
xx |
|
|
|
|
|
|
0.1
|
Unknown |
Vote: |
|
|
|
|
0.1 |
xx |
|
0.1 |
|
|
|
|
xx
|
Independent PC |
Vote: |
|
|
|
|
|
0.1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
xx
|
Candidat libéral des electeurs Historically in Quebec, Canada, there was a number of political parties that were part of the Canadian social credit movement. There were various parties at different times with different names at the provincial level, all broadly following the social credit philosophy; at various times they had...
|
Vote: |
|
|
|
|
|
0.1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
xx
|
Capitale familiale Henri-Georges Grenier was a perennial candidate who ran unsuccessfully in thirteen federal elections and by-elections between 1945 and 1980 in Quebec, Canada, and in at least one provincial by-election...
|
Vote: |
|
|
|
|
|
xx |
|
|
|
|
|
|
xx
|
Co-operative Builders In the 1962 federal election in Canada, Edgar-Bernard Charron, a plumber, sought election as a Co-operative Builders of Canada candidate in the south-western Ontario riding of Essex West. He placed last, winning only 261 votes, or 0.7% of the total....
|
Vote: |
|
|
|
|
xx |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
xx
|
All Canadian John Darby Naismith, a cattleman by profession, ran as the sole candidate for the All Canadian Party in the 1962 federal election in Canada. He ran in the riding of Acadia in Alberta.He collected 189 of the 12,867 votes cast ....
|
Vote: |
|
xx |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
xx
|
Ouvrier Indépendant Ouvrier Indépendant was the label under which three candidates ran in Canadian federal elections between 1962 and 1965. They never won a seat in the Canadian House of Commons. Adélard Patry ran in the 1962 federal election....
|
Vote: |
|
|
|
|
|
xx |
|
|
|
|
|
|
xx |
xx - less than 0.05% of the popular vote
See also
- List of Canadian federal general elections
- List of political parties in Canada
- 25th Canadian Parliament
The 25th Canadian Parliament was in session from September 27, 1962 until February 6, 1963. The membership was set by the 1962 federal election on June 18, 1962, and it changed only somewhat due to resignations and by-elections until it was dissolved prior to the 1963 election.It was controlled by...