Canadian general election, 1972

Canadian federal election, 1972

← 1968 October 30, 1972 1974 →
← outgoing members elected members →
264 seats in the 29th Canadian Parliament 133 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	76.7% (1.0pp)
First party Second party   Leader Pierre Trudeau Robert Stanfield Party Liberal Progressive Conservative Leader since April 6, 1968 September 9, 1967 Leader's seat Mount Royal Halifax Last election 155 seats, 45.37% 72 seats, 31.36% Seats before 147 73 Seats won 109 107 Seat change 38 34 Popular vote 3,717,804 3,388,980 Percentage 38.42% 35.02% Swing 6.95pp 3.59pp   Third party Fourth party   Leader David Lewis Réal Caouette Party New Democratic Social Credit Leader since April 24, 1971 October 9, 1971 Leader's seat York South Témiscamingue Last election 22 seats, 16.96% 14 seats, 5.28%1 Seats before 25 15 Seats won 31 15 Seat change 6 0 Popular vote 1,725,719 730,759 Percentage 17.83% 7.55% Swing 0.87pp 2.27pp
Prime Minister before election Pierre Trudeau Liberal Prime Minister-designate Pierre Trudeau Liberal

Pierre Trudeau
Liberal

Pierre Trudeau
Liberal

The Canadian federal election of 1972 was held on October 30, 1972, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 29th Parliament of Canada. It resulted in a slim victory for the governing Liberal Party, which won 109 seats, compared to 107 seats for the opposition Progressive Conservatives. A further 48 seats were won by other parties and independents. On election night, the results appeared to give 109 seats to the Tories, but once the counting had finished the next day, the final results gave the Liberals a minority government and left the New Democratic Party led by David Lewis holding the balance of power. See 29th Canadian parliament for a full list of MPs elected.

The election was the second fought by Liberal leader, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. The Liberals entered the election high in the polls, but the spirit of Trudeaumania had worn off, and a slumping economy hurt his party. The Tories were led by Robert Stanfield, the former premier of Nova Scotia, who had an honest but bumbling image. The Tories tried to capitalize on the public's perception that the Liberals were mismanaging the economy with the slogan, "A Progressive Conservative government will do better."

The Liberals campaigned on the slogan, "The Land is Strong", and television ads illustrating Canada's scenery. The slogan quickly became much derided, and the entire campaign is viewed as being one of the worst managed in recent decades. The party had developed few real issues to campaign on. One program that hurt the Liberals in many parts of the country was official bilingualism, which many English-Canadians viewed as an expensive waste of money.

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