If you live in the United States, you are no doubt aware that we, as a country, have two neighbors: one to our south (Mexico), and one to our north (Canada). This article will be looking at the different federal provinces and how Canadian elections work. To get some historical perspective into how the Canadian system evolved, one must look at its past, at least politically.
In the early colonial period, Canada was really a set of two dueling pieces of territory that were allied with two different countries. British Canada was perpetually threatened by French Canada, which included modern day Quebec, and the same was true in reverse. It was not until the British and French fought against each other in the Seven Year’s War, which in the outcome of a French loss, France was forced to cede a slew of its territorial possessions overseas to the British Empire, which included Quebec. Quebec went through a few different iterations until it was incorporated into Dominion of Canada along with Ontario, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick on July 1st, 1867. Over the centuries, other additions were acquired, such as most of the modern-day Canadian area from the Hudson’s Bay Company, and several other areas joined as well to create the modern-day sovereign iteration in 1982.
Canadian Provinces
Canada is divided into ten provinces and three territories. The provinces are, in alphabetical order, Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, and Saskatchewan. The territories are, in the same type of order, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Yukon.
The geographical groupings that I will use to describe Canada’s provinces are Atlantic Canada (New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island), Middle Canada (Ontario and Quebec), the Plains (Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba), and the West Coast (British Columbia).
Political Institutions and Officers
Canada is what political scientists call a Westminster style parliamentary democracy with an added Monarch, meaning that the reigning King or Queen of the Commonwealth of Nations is the head of state of Canada. It should be noted that the Royal Family of Canada and other Commonwealth nations is the United Kingdom’s Royal Family. On the advice of the Canadian Prime Minister (who is elected by the House of Commons), the King will appoint an executive called the governor general, who is the de facto representation of the monarch
Canada also, like the United States and the United Kingdom, has a bicameral legislature (meaning two houses). The Senate of Canada is composed of 105 members appointed by the Governor General from advice given by the Prime Minister of the House of Commons to serve until the mandatory retirement age of seventy-five. The Senate is divided equally with twenty-four senators in each Senatorial region: Maritime (which includes Nova Scotia [10], New Brunswick [10], and Prince Edward Island [4]), Ontario [24], Quebec [24], and Western Canada (which includes Britsh Columbia [6], Alberta [6], Manitoba [6], and Saskatchewan [6]). The province of Newfoundland and Labrador does not belong to any of the four divisions and possess six senators total, while the three territories (Northwest, Nunavut, and Yukon) have one senator each.
The House of Commons – the lower house and the only federal house directly elected by the voters of Canada – has 338 members. They are elected in single member districts by a first past the post voting system; the candidate who wins the most votes wins that district, regardless of whether they achieved a majority of the vote or not. In Canada, these districts are referred to as ridings. The House of Commons must hold elections within a maximum time of five years from the last election, so the timing of any general elections is variable.
A Prime Minister may call a snap election to discover if his party can win more ridings to build a better majority – and does happen from time to time, even recently. Altogether, the 338 members of the House of Commons elect the Prime Minister. Occasionally, a party may not have a majority, and thus the Prime Minister has to come from a coalition or supply-and-confidence agreement. The current Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau of the Liberal Party, serves in such an arrangement, with the New Democratic Party offering supply and confidence.
It should also be noted that each province and territory also have its own legislature. Elections are held in the various provinces in various years, and the federal parties are usually – but not always – affiliated with one of the state parties.
Political Parties of Canada’s Federal Government
Currently, there are five main parties in the federal system. The current ruling party is the Liberal Party of Canada (LPC, or PLC in French). It is oriented to the center-left. The Liberal Party is the oldest major political party still standing in Canada, having been created in 1867. It is a socially and fiscally liberal party, although it has been accused of pursuing much more left-leaning legislation than its ideological orientation would suggest. The Liberal Party has won the most seats in the three most recent elections, although polling numbers for the current Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, have shown that currently the federal majority is likely to go to the Conservative Party, which is the next political party on our list. Currently, the Liberal Party controls 156 ridings.
The Conservative Party of Canada (CPC, or PCC in French) is oriented to the center-right, with some more right-wing leaning positions. There is a debate in Canada around which direction the Conservative Party should go, with the debate being squarely between two factions: Red Tories and Blue Tories. To explain: Red Toryism is a center-right political movement that is associated with advocating for a greater role for government in the economy and is a more government friendly type of conservatism, while Blue Toryism is much more of a free-market oriented conservative philosophy, with advocating for limited government a key cornerstone. The current Conservative party of Canada was founded in 2003 as the result of a merger between the two largest right-of-center parties in Canada: the Progressive Conservative Party and the Canadian Alliance. Although the party won a plurality of votes in the last two elections, it won the second-most seats in both. The Conservative Party currently maintains control of 118 ridings, making it the official opposition party to the Liberals.
The third-most prominent party in the House of Commons is a regional party in Quebec, the Bloc Québécois (BQ), which advocates for pro-Quebec policies. Traditionally, the party has been associated with Quebec secessionism, although in the most recent election the party has downplayed this. The party advocates for sovereigntist positions as secession has faded as a political issue. It is oriented to the center-left and was founded in 1991. The party has captured a sizable number of ridings in Quebec in recent elections and is strong in certain key ridings in that province. The current leader of the BQ is Yves-François Blanchet. The party currently holds 32 ridings in the House of Commons.
The New Democratic Party, or NDP, is the fourth-largest party in the House of Commons, and the third-largest by popular vote. It is considered more progressive in orientation than the Liberal Party. The party is mostly concentrated in cities like Toronto, although a fair number of more rural and suburban ridings have been won by the NDP as well. In the cities, the NDP and Liberal Party often compete for control of urban ridings. The party was founded in 1961 and the current leader is Jagmeet Singh. The party currently holds 24 ridings in the House of Commons.
The last major political party, the Green Party of Canada (GPC), advocates mostly for environmental policies, but is considered more left-wing overall. The party was founded in 1983 and is led by Elizabeth May. It currently possesses two ridings in the House of Commons, but won less than 3% of the vote in the last federal election.
Party Bases by Province
Atlantic Canada: Currently, Atlantic Canada is considered a region where the Liberal Party has an advantage, although Conservative Party candidates did make inroads in the 2021 election. This region is composed of Newfoundland and Labrador, which sent six Liberals and one Conservative to the House of Commons, Nova Scotia, which sent eight Liberals and three Conservatives, Prince Edward Island, which sent four Liberals, and New Brunswick, which sent six Liberals and four Conservatives for a combined total of twenty-four Liberals and eight Conservatives members.
Middle Canada: Currently, Ontario is considered the province which will make or break a Liberal or Conservative majority. It is the quintessential swing region of Canada, with cities like Toronto that have NDP-Liberal competition, suburbs that can see any one of the Liberal, Conservatives, or NDP parties win, and more outlying rural ridings that the Conservative Party often wins. Quebec on the other hand, sees the most competition between the Liberal and BQ parties, but there are pockets that the Conservative party holds, while a few ridings could see NDP victories. Ontario sent 78 Liberal candidates, 37 Conservative candidates, 5 NDP candidates, and 1 Green candidate to the House of Commons in 2021, while Quebec sent 35 Liberal candidates, 32 BQ candidates, 10 Conservative candidates, and 1 NDP candidate in 2021, for a combined 113 Liberals, 47 Conservatives, 32 BQ candidates, 6 NDP candidates, and 1 Green party candidate.
The Plains: This is a Conservative Party stronghold, with the NDP retaining residual strength in some rural ridings and the Liberals being competitive in the cities, although Conservatives win the urban ridings frequently. The region is known for being a heavily rural and natural gas and petroleum producing area, which a lot of oil workers have been included in the Conservative Party coalition. Alberta sent 30 Conservatives, 2 Liberals, and 2 NDP candidates to the House of Commons in the 2021 elections, Manitoba sent 7 Conservatives, 4 Liberals, and 3 NDP candidates, and Saskatchewan sent fourteen conservatives to the House of Commons. The region overall sent a combined 51 Conservatives, 6 Liberals, and 5 NDP candidates to the House of Commons in 2021.
West Coast: British Columbia is another swing region, as it possesses many ridings, which are evenly divided based on the 2021 results. The province is heavily forested, and the Liberals, Conservatives, and NDP are all competitive. British Columbia sent 15 Liberals, 13 Conservatives, 13 NDP candidates, and 1 Green party member to the House of Commons in 2021.
The Territories: The territories of the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Yukon are politically competitive. Each territory is awarded one seat in the House of Commons. There was a split result in 2021, with the NDP retaining control of Nunavut, and the Liberals winning the two other territories.