2006 Canadian federal election

Canadian federal election, 2006

← 2004 January 23, 2006 (2006-01-23) 2008 →
← outgoing members elected members →
308 seats in the 39th Canadian Parliament 155 seats were needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Turnout	64.7% (3.8pp)
First party Second party   Leader Stephen Harper Paul Martin Party Conservative Liberal Leader since March 20, 2004 November 14, 2003 Leader's seat Calgary Southwest LaSalle—Émard Last election 99 seats, 29.63% 135 seats, 36.73% Seats before 98 133 Seats won 124 103 Seat change 26 30 Popular vote 5,374,071 4,479,415 Percentage 36.27% 30.23% Swing 6.64pp 6.50pp   Third party Fourth party   Leader Gilles Duceppe Jack Layton Party Bloc Québécois New Democratic Leader since March 15, 1997 January 24, 2003 Leader's seat Laurier— Sainte-Marie Toronto—Danforth Last election 54 seats, 12.39% 19 seats, 15.68% Seats before 53 18 Seats won 51 29 Seat change 2 11 Popular vote 1,553,201 2,589,597 Percentage 10.48% 17.48% Swing 1.91pp 1.80pp
Prime Minister before election Paul Martin Liberal Prime Minister-designate Stephen Harper Conservative

Paul Martin
Liberal

Stephen Harper
Conservative

The 2006 Canadian federal election (more formally, the 39th General Election) was held on January 23, 2006, to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada of the 39th Parliament of Canada. The Conservative Party of Canada won the greatest number of seats: 40.3% of seats, or 124 out of 308, up from 99 seats in 2004, and 36.3% of votes: up from 29.6% in the 2004 election.

The election resulted in a minority government led by the Conservative Party with Stephen Harper becoming the 22nd Prime Minister of Canada. By proportion of seats, this was Canada's smallest minority government since Confederation. Despite this it was the longest-serving minority government overall.

Voter turnout was 64.7%.

An investigation by Elections Canada into improper election spending by the Conservative Party became widely known as the In and Out scandal. Charges were eventually dropped in a plea deal.

This unusual winter general election was caused by a motion of no confidence passed by the House of Commons on November 28, 2005, with Canada's three opposition parties contending that the Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin was corrupt. The following morning Martin met with Governor General Michaëlle Jean, who then dissolved parliament, summoned the next parliament, and ordered the issuance of writs of election. The last set January 23, 2006, as election day and February 13 as the date for return of the writs. The campaign was almost eight weeks in length, the longest in two decades, in order to allow time for the Christmas and New Year holidays.

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