The
Canadian federal election of 1979 was held on May 22, 1979 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
31st ParliamentThe 31st Canadian Parliament was a briefly lived parliament in session from October 9 until December 14, 1979. The membership was set by the 1979 federal election on May 22, 1979, and it was dissolved after the minority government of Joe Clark failed to pass a Motion of Confidence on December 13,...
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...
. It resulted in the defeat of
Liberal Party of CanadaThe 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...
after 11 years in power under
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...
Pierre TrudeauJoseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau, , usually known as Pierre Trudeau or Pierre Elliott Trudeau, was the 15th Prime Minister of Canada from April 20, 1968 to June 4, 1979, and again from March 3, 1980 to June 30, 1984.Trudeau began his political career campaigning for socialist ideals,...
.
Joe ClarkCharles Joseph "Joe" Clark, is a Canadian statesman, businessman, and university professor, and former journalist and politician...
led the
Progressive Conservative PartyThe 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....
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.
Overview
The Trudeau Liberals had become very unpopular during their last term in government because of large budget deficits, high inflation, and high unemployment. Although elections in Canada are normally held four years apart, Trudeau deferred calling an election until five years after the previous election in the hope that the Liberal Party would be able to recover some of the support that it had lost. The effort was unsuccessful, however, and the Liberals lost 27 seats. Several high-profile cabinet ministers were defeated. Trudeau resigned as Liberal leader following the election.
The PC Party campaigned on the slogans, "Let's get Canada working again", and "It's time for a change - give the future a chance!" Canadians were not, however, sufficiently confident in the young Joe Clark to give him a majority in the House of Commons. Quebec, in particular, was unwilling to support Clark, and elected only two PC
Members of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MPs) in the province's 75 ridings. Clark, relatively unknown when elected as PC leader at the
1976 PC Party conventionThe first Progressive Conservative Party of Canada leadership election was held in 1927, when the party was called the Conservative Party. Prior to then the party's leader was chosen by caucus....
, was seen as being bumbling and unsure. Clark had had problems with certain right-wing members of his caucus. In particular, when Clark's riding was merged into the riding of another PC MP during a redistribution of ridings, the other MP refused to step aside, and Clark ended up running in another riding. Also, when Clark undertook a tour of the Middle East Asia in order to show his ability to handle foreign affairs issues, his luggage was lost, and Clark appeared to be uncomfortable with the issues being discussed.
The Liberals tried to make leadership and Clark's inexperience the issue, arguing in their advertising that "This is no time for on-the-job training", and "We need tough leadership to keep Canada growing. A leader must be a leader."
The
Social Credit Party of CanadaThe Social Credit Party of Canada was a conservative-populist political party in Canada that promoted social credit theories of monetary reform...
, which had lost its mercurial leader,
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...
, who died in 1976, struggled to remain relevant. After a series of interim leaders, including Caouette's son, the party turned to
Fabien RoyFabien Roy was a politician in Quebec, Canada, in the 1970s. Roy was elected to the National Assembly of Quebec and the Canadian House of Commons, and advocated social credit theories of monetary reform.-Background:...
, a popular member of the
National Assembly of QuebecThe National Assembly of Quebec is the legislative body of the Province of Quebec. The Lieutenant Governor and the National Assembly compose the Parliament of Quebec, which operates in a fashion similar to those of other British-style parliamentary systems.The National Assembly was formerly the...
, who took the reins of the party just before the beginning of the campaign. The party won the tacit support of the separatist
Parti QuébécoisThe Parti Québécois is a centre-left political party that advocates national sovereignty for the province of Quebec and secession from Canada. The Party traditionally has support from the labour movement. Unlike many other social-democratic parties, its ties with the labour movement are informal...
, which formed the government of Quebec. Social Credit attempted to rally the separatist and nationalist vote: Canadian flags were absent at its campaign kick-off rally, and the party's slogan was
C'est à notre tour ("It's our turn"), which was reminiscent of the popular separatist anthem
Gens du pays"Gens du pays" has been called the unofficial national anthem of Quebec. Written by poet, songwriter, and avowed Quebec nationalist Gilles Vigneault , it was first performed by Vigneault on June 24, 1975 during a concert on Montreal's Mount Royal at that year's Fête nationale du Québec ceremony...
that includes the chorus, "
C'est votre tour, de vous laisser parler d'amour". The party focused its platform on constitutional change, promising to fight to abolish the federal government's constitutional power to disallow any provincial legislation, and stating that each province has a "right to choose its own destiny within Canada".
The Socreds' support from the Parti Québécois was not welcome by everyone; for instance,
Gilles CaouetteGilles Caouette was a Canadian politician and Member of Parliament.Caouette was born in Rouyn, Quebec. His father, Réal Caouette, was a prominent Social Credit politician, and leader of the Ralliement créditiste and later the Social Credit Party of Canada.Gilles followed in his father’s...
publicly denounced what he called "
péquistes déguisés en créditistes" ("Péquistes disguised as Socreds"). While the party did manage to somewhat increase its vote in Péquiste areas, it also lost many votes in areas of traditional Socred strength, with the end result being a drop from eleven to six seats and a slightly reduced share of the popular vote compared to the 1974 election.
(See also: Social Credit Party candidates, 1979 Canadian federal electionThe Social Credit Party of Canada won six seats in the 1979 federal election, all in the province of Quebec. It also fielded candidates in other provinces...
.)
Clark's
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...
lasted less than nine months. It was defeated in the House of Commons in a vote of non-confidence over a budget bill that proposed to increase the excise tax on gasoline by 18¢ per Imperial gallon (about 4¢ per litre). This resulted in the
1980 electionThe Canadian federal election of 1980 was held on February 18, 1980 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 32nd Parliament of Canada...
, in which the PCs were defeated by the resurgent Trudeau Liberals.
National results
Clark won the popular vote in seven provinces, while losing the popular vote nation-wide, and because his Tories could only muster 2 seats in Quebec, he only won a minority government. The Liberals won only one seat west of Manitoba. This election was the last in which the
Social Credit Party of CanadaThe Social Credit Party of Canada was a conservative-populist political party in Canada that promoted social credit theories of monetary reform...
won seats. An unusual event occurred in the Northwest Territories: the Liberals won the popular vote in the territory, but won neither seat.
| Party |
Party leader |
# of
candidates |
Seats |
Popular vote |
1974The Canadian federal election of 1974 was held on July 8, 1974 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 30th Parliament of Canada. The governing Liberal Party won its first majority government since 1968, and gave Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau his third term...
|
font style="font-size: 75%;">Dissolution In parliamentary systems, a dissolution of parliament is the dispersal of a legislature at the call of an election.Usually there is a maximum length of a legislature, and a dissolution must happen before the maximum time...
|
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....
|
Joe ClarkCharles Joseph "Joe" Clark, is a Canadian statesman, businessman, and university professor, and former journalist and politician...
|
282 |
95 |
98 |
136 |
+43.2% |
4,111,606 |
35.89% |
+0.43%
|
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...
|
Pierre TrudeauJoseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau, , usually known as Pierre Trudeau or Pierre Elliott Trudeau, was the 15th Prime Minister of Canada from April 20, 1968 to June 4, 1979, and again from March 3, 1980 to June 30, 1984.Trudeau began his political career campaigning for socialist ideals,...
|
282 |
141 |
133 |
114 |
-19.1% |
4,595,319 |
40.11% |
-3.04%
|
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...
|
Ed BroadbentJohn Edward "Ed" Broadbent, is a Canadian social democratic politician and political scientist. He was leader of the federal New Democratic Party from 1975 to 1989. In the 2004 federal election, he returned to Parliament for one additional term as the Member of Parliament for Ottawa Centre.-Life...
|
282 |
16 |
17 |
26 |
+62.5% |
2,048,988 |
17.88% |
+2.45%
|
Social Credit The Social Credit Party of Canada was a conservative-populist political party in Canada that promoted social credit theories of monetary reform...
|
Fabien Roy Fabien Roy was a politician in Quebec, Canada, in the 1970s. Roy was elected to the National Assembly of Quebec and the Canadian House of Commons, and advocated social credit theories of monetary reform.-Background:...
|
103 |
11 |
9 |
6 |
-45.5% |
527,604 |
4.61% |
-0.46%
|
Rhinoceros |
Cornelius I Cornelius the First was a Canadian black rhinoceros from the Granby Zoo in Granby, Quebec, who was the nominal leader of the federal political party, the Rhinoceros Party of Canada from 1965 to 1993...
|
63 |
|
|
- |
|
62,601 |
0.55% |
|
Independent |
48 |
1 |
5 |
- |
-100% |
30,518 |
0.27% |
-0.14%
|
Unknown |
19 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
21,268 |
0.19% |
+0.01%
|
Union Populaire The Union populaire was a federal political party in Canada that nominated candidates in the 1979 and 1980 federal elections. The party also nominated one candidate in the 4 May 1981 by-election in the riding of Levis, Quebec....
|
|
69 |
|
|
- |
|
19,514 |
0.17% |
|
Libertarian The Libertarian Party of Canada is a political party in Canada that subscribes to the tenets of the libertarian movement across Canada.-History:...
|
Alex Eaglesham Alex W. Eaglesham is a former Canadian politician. He was the leader of the Libertarian Party of Canada in 1978 and 1979, and officially led the party in the 1979 federal election....
|
60 |
|
|
- |
|
16,042 |
0.14% |
|
Marxist-LeninistThe Communist Party of Canada is a Canadian federal Marxist–Leninist political party.The party is registered with Elections Canada as the Marxist–Leninist Party of Canada...
|
Hardial Bains Hardial Bains was the founder of the Communist Party of Canada and its leader until his death...
|
144 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
14,231 |
0.12% |
-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...
|
William Kashtan William Kashtan became general secretary of the Communist Party of Canada in January 1965, several months following the death of Leslie Morris. The delay in his assuming the position was due to the opposition of Tim Buck to his appointment....
|
71 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
9,141 |
0.08% |
-0.05%
|
No affiliation |
1 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
176 |
x |
x |
| |
Vacant |
2 |
|
| Total |
1,424 |
265 |
265 |
282 |
+6.8% |
11,457,008 |
100.00% |
|
| Sources: http://www.elections.ca History of Federal Ridings since 1867 |
Notes:
"% change" refers to change from previous election.
x - less than 0.005% of the popular vote.
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...
|
NTThe 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: |
19 |
21 |
10 |
7 |
57 |
2 |
4 |
8 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
136
|
Popular Vote: |
44.3 |
65.6 |
41.2 |
43.4 |
41.8 |
13.5 |
40.0 |
45.4 |
52.8 |
29.7 |
32.3 |
40.6 |
35.9
|
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: |
1 |
- |
- |
2 |
32 |
67 |
6 |
2 |
- |
4 |
- |
- |
114
|
Vote: |
23.0 |
22.1 |
21.8 |
23.5 |
36.4 |
61.7 |
44.6 |
35.5 |
40.6 |
40.6 |
34.1 |
36.4 |
40.1
|
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...
|
Seats: |
8 |
- |
4 |
5 |
6 |
- |
- |
1 |
- |
1 |
1 |
- |
26
|
Vote: |
31.9 |
9.9 |
35.8 |
32.7 |
21.1 |
5.1 |
15.3 |
18.7 |
6.5 |
29.7 |
31.9 |
23.1 |
17.9 |
| 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: |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
6 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
6
|
Vote: |
0.2 |
1.0 |
0.5 |
0.2 |
xx |
16.0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
4.6 |
| Total seats: |
28 |
21 |
14 |
14 |
95 |
75 |
10 |
11 |
4 |
7 |
2 |
1 |
282 |
Parties that won no seats
|
Rhinoceros |
Vote: |
xx |
|
|
|
xx |
1.9 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
0.5
|
Independent |
Vote: |
0.2 |
1.1 |
0.7 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.3 |
0.1 |
0.3 |
|
|
1.6 |
|
0.3
|
Unknown |
Vote: |
0.1 |
0.2 |
xx |
xx |
xx |
0.5 |
|
xx |
|
|
|
|
0.2
|
Union Populaire The Union populaire was a federal political party in Canada that nominated candidates in the 1979 and 1980 federal elections. The party also nominated one candidate in the 4 May 1981 by-election in the riding of Levis, Quebec....
|
Vote: |
|
|
|
|
|
0.6 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
0.2
|
Libertarian The Libertarian Party of Canada is a political party in Canada that subscribes to the tenets of the libertarian movement across Canada.-History:...
|
Vote: |
xx |
xx |
|
|
0.3 |
0.1 |
|
|
xx |
|
|
|
0.1
|
Marxist-LeninistThe Communist Party of Canada is a Canadian federal Marxist–Leninist political party.The party is registered with Elections Canada as the Marxist–Leninist Party of Canada...
|
Vote: |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.2 |
|
xx |
|
|
|
|
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 |
xx |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
|
xx |
|
|
|
|
0.1
|
No affiliation |
Vote: |
xx |
xx |
xx |
xx |
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
- 31st Canadian parliament
The 31st Canadian Parliament was a briefly lived parliament in session from October 9 until December 14, 1979. The membership was set by the 1979 federal election on May 22, 1979, and it was dissolved after the minority government of Joe Clark failed to pass a Motion of Confidence on December 13,...
Articles on parties' candidates in this election:
- Communist
- Liberal
- Progressive Conservative
- Social Credit
External links