| Canadian Federal Election, 1997 |
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The Canadian federal election of 1997 was held on June 2 , 1997 , to elect members of the Canadian House Of Commons of the 36th Parliament of Canada . Prime Minister Jean Chrétien 's Liberal Party Of Canada won a second majority government. The Reform Party Of Canada replaced the Bloc Québécois as the Official Opposition . The election closely reflected the pattern that had been set out in the 1993 Election . The Liberals swept Ontario , a divided Bloc managed a reduced majority in Quebec , and much of the west was won by Reform, particularly its Alberta base, enabling the Reform to overtake the Bloc as the second largest party. The major change was that the New Democratic Party (NDP) and the Progressive Conservative Party Of Canada all but wiped out the Liberals in Atlantic Canada (only Prince Edward Island remained entirely Liberal). Atlantic voters, upset over cuts to Employment Insurance and other programs, defeated two cabinet ministers. David Dingwall , Minister Of Public Works from Nova Scotia , and Doug Young , Minister Of National Defence from New Brunswick , both lost to NDP candidates in a major blow to the Liberals. When the election was called, many commentators noted that it ended the second shortest majority mandate in Canadian history; only Wilfrid Laurier 's term of office from 1908-1911 was shorter. Chrétien's decision to hold an early election was seen as cynical by some, as Manitoba was still recovering from the devastating Red River Flood earlier in the year. Reg Alcock and several others inside the Liberal Party had opposed the timing of the vote, and the poor results prompted Paul Martin's supporters to Organize Against Chrétien . Some commentators on election night were even predicting that the Liberals would be cut down to a Minority Government , although it was clear that none of the opposition parties could manage a plurality of seats. The Liberals would manage a 4 seat majority thanks to some gains in Quebec at the expense of the Bloc, although they finished considerably lower than the 1993 total due to the losses in Atlantic Canada. Mostly because of these wins in Atlantic Canada, Jean Charest 's Tories and Alexa McDonough 's NDP both regained official party status in the House of Commons. Independent member John Nunziata , who had been expelled from the Liberal Party for opposing the Goods And Servcies Tax , was re-elected in his riding in Toronto . Interestingly, a change of 718 votes in 5 different ridings: Bonavista—Trinity—Conception, Simcoe—Grey, Humber—St. Barbe—Baie Verte, Cardigan, and Bellechasse—Etchemins—Montmagny—L'Islet; 286, 241, 117, 50, and 24 votes respectively; from the Liberals to the second place candidate (NDP, Ref, PC, PC, and BQ, respectively) would have resulted in a minority government. NATIONAL RESULTS Voter turnout was 67.0%, one of the lowest federal election turnouts ever. Notes:
x - less than 0.005% of the popular vote RESULTS BY PROVINCE Source: Elections Canada NOTES
10 closest ridings #''', NDP def. Ken Streatch, PC by 41 votes #''', Lib def. François Langlois, BQ by 47 votes #''', Ref def. Jon Gerrard , Lib by 66 votes #''', Lib def. Dan Hughes, PC by 99 votes #''', BQ def. Patrick Gagnon, Lib by 179 votes #''', Ref def. Dennis Gruending , NDP by 220 votes #''', Lib def. Art Bull, PC by 232 votes #''', PC def. Gilbert Fillion, BQ by 317 votes #''', BQ def. Manon Lecours, Lib by 465 votes #''', Lib def. Paul Shaw, Ref by 481 votes SEE ALSO Articles on parties' candidates in this election:
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