2011 Canadian federal election

Canadian federal election, 2011

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308 seats in the House of Commons of Canada 155 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Turnout	61.1% (2.3pp)
First party Second party Third party   Leader Stephen Harper Jack Layton Michael Ignatieff Party Conservative New Democratic Liberal Leader since March 20, 2004 January 24, 2003 May 2, 2009 Leader's seat Calgary Southwest Toronto—Danforth Etobicoke—Lakeshore (lost re-election) Last election 143 seats, 37.65% 37 seats, 18.18% 77 seats, 26.26% Seats before 143 36 77 Seats won 166 103 34 Seat change 23 67 43 Popular vote 5,832,401 4,508,474 2,783,175 Percentage 39.62% 30.63% 18.91% Swing 1.97pp 12.45pp 7.35pp   Fourth party Fifth party   Leader Gilles Duceppe Elizabeth May Party Bloc Québécois Green Leader since March 15, 1997 August 27, 2006 Leader's seat Laurier—Sainte-Marie (lost re-election) Saanich—Gulf Islands Last election 49 seats, 9.98% 0 seats, 6.78% Seats before 47 0 Seats won 4 1 Seat change 43 1 Popular vote 889,788 576,221 Percentage 6.04% 3.91% Swing 3.94pp 2.87pp
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 Stephen Harper Conservative Prime Minister-designate Stephen Harper Conservative

Stephen Harper
Conservative

Stephen Harper
Conservative

The 2011 Canadian federal election (formally the 41st Canadian general election) was held Monday, May 2, 2011, to elect members to the House of Commons of Canada of the 41st Canadian Parliament.

The writs of election for the 2011 election were issued by Governor General David Johnston on March 26. Prime Minister Stephen Harper advised the Governor General to dissolve parliament after the House of Commons passed a motion of non-confidence against the government, finding it to be in contempt of parliament. A few days before, the three opposition parties had rejected the government's proposed budget.

The Conservative Party remained in power, increasing its seat count from a minority to a majority government. The Liberal Party won the fewest seats in its history, and party leader Michael Ignatieff was defeated in his riding. The Bloc Québécois lost official party status for the first time since contesting general elections in 1993. Party leader Gilles Duceppe was defeated in his riding and subsequently resigned as leader. The New Democratic Party won the largest number of seats in its history, enabling it to form the Official Opposition for the first time. The Green Party elected its first member to the House of Commons with its leader, Elizabeth May, becoming MP for Saanich—Gulf Islands.