Chamber:
	House of Commons
Dates of elections / renewal (from/to):
	25 October 1993
Purpose of elections:
	Elections were held for all the seats of the House of Commons on the normal expiry of their term of office.
Background and outcome of elections:
	The election date was announced on 8 September 1993 by Prime Minister Kim Campbell (Progressive Conservative Party – PCP), one day after Parliament was dissolved. The 47-day electoral campaign focused on issues directly related to the economy: job creation, the national debt and deficit, and the shape and future of social programs. In contrast to the previous election (November 1988) the issue of international trade received only passing attention. Canadians appear to have been principally concerned with job creation, the issue on which the opposition Liberal Party under its leader Jean Chrétien focused its campaign in light of the country’s unemployment rate of 11.2%. Altogether, the election was contested by 14 registered parties and a total of 2,155 candidates (including 278 women), record numbers in both cases. There was also an unprecedented number of registered voters. After nine years in office, the Conservatives, led by Ms. Campbell (who had succeeded Mr. Brian Mulroney a Prime Minister in June 1993), had developed a record that had disenchanted many voters. In light of their main opponents’ difficulties, the Liberals had only to conduct a careful, well-managed campaign that spoke to the leading concerns of Canadian voters. The party succeeded in doing this and was rewarded with a 177-seat majority while the Conservatives suffered an enormous defeat, winning only two seats. The New Democratic Party under leader Audrey McLaughlin was reduced to nine seats. Neither the Progressive Conservatives nor the New Democratic Party won enough seats (12) to obtain official party status in the House of Commons. The real story of this election was the success of two relatively new parties, the Reform Party and the Bloc Québécois (BQ). Led by Mr. Preston Manning, the former campaigned on a platform of fiscal conservatism, restoring integrity to government, and reforms to the electoral and parliamentary systems. These themes helped the party attract 19% of the popular vote and win 52 seats, most of them in the western provinces. In many constituencies where the party did not win, it succeeded in splitting the conservative vote, allowing Liberal victories. Led by Mr. Lucien Bouchard, the BQ’s stated goals were to act as a voice for Quebec’s interests at the federal level and to promote sovereignty for the province. The BQ’s strength was another major factor in the defeat of the Conservative Party, which had won 63 seats in the province during the previous election. The overall polling outcome in fact bore out the widespread public disenchantment with established practice, politicians, and governing institutions in Canada. Of the 295 Commons members, 205 were newcomers to the House. On 4 November, Mr. Chrétien was sworn in as Prime Minister; he appointed 22 Liberal Ministers to the federal Cabinet the same day.

STATISTICS

Round no 1 (25 October 1993): Elections results
Number of registered electors	19,472,074
Voters	13,575,622 (69.72%)
Blank or invalid ballot papers	187,122
Valid votes	13,388,500

Round no 1: Distribution of votes
Political Group	Candidates	Votes	%
Liberal Party	295	5,597,425	41.23
Bloc Québécois (BQ)	75	1,835,763	13.52
Reform Party	207	2,536,986	18.69
New Democratic Party	294	932,880	6.87
Progressive Conservative Party (PCP)	295	2,177,984	16.04

Round no 1: Distribution of seats
Political Group	Total	Gain/Loss
Liberal Party	177	+94
Bloc Québécois (BQ)	54	+54
Reform Party	52	+52
New Democratic Party	9	-34
Progressive Conservative Party (PCP)	2	-167

Comments:
	Plus one independent

Distribution of seats according to sex:
Men:	242
Women:	53

Distribution of seats according to age:
20-29 years	3
30-39 years	42
40-49 years	105
50-59 years	88
60-69 years	29
Unknown	28
Distribution of seats according to profession:
Professors, teachers and educators	68
Businessmen and women, industrialists, managers, merchants and owners	57
Lawyers, notaries, solicitors and barristers	50
Consultants	25
Farmers and ranchers	22
Politicians at the provincial or municipal level	14
Administrators	13
Journalists	10
Chartered accountants	7
Doctors	7
Economists	6
Engineers	6
Public servants	6
Authors	4
Brokers and insurance agents	4
Members of the clergy	2
Others	19

Comments:
	Because some members have more than one occupation, total is higher than total membership.