Elections, Forming Governments and Political Parties

Election season is here

On Monday, October 26, 2026, people across Ontario vote for mayors, councillors and school board trustees. Signs are already on lawns. Some candidates may knock on your door. You cannot vote yet, but in about three years you can, and the decisions these people make (transit, parks, snow clearing, property taxes) affect you every day.

This lesson explains how Canadians choose their governments at all three levels, how a government is formed after the votes are counted, and what political parties are and believe.

Federal elections

• Who runs them: Elections Canada, an independent, non-partisan agency.
• Who can vote: Canadian citizens who are 18 or older on election day. The right to vote is protected by section 3 of the Charter.
• How often: section 4 of the Charter says the House cannot continue for more than five years (except in wartime emergencies with very strong support). A federal law sets fixed election dates about every four years, but an election can come earlier if the Prime Minister asks the Governor General to dissolve Parliament or the government loses a confidence vote.
• The map: Canada is divided into 343 ridings. Each elects one MP.
• Ways to vote: on election day, at advance polls, by mail with a special ballot, or at an Elections Canada office. Voting is by secret ballot. Voters must prove their identity and address.
• Campaign rules: spending limits for parties, candidates and third parties, and limits on who can donate (only individual citizens and permanent residents, up to a yearly limit; no corporations or unions).

First-past-the-post

Canada uses first-past-the-post (FPTP): in each riding, the candidate with the most votes wins, even if that is less than half. Supporters say FPTP is simple, produces clear results and gives every riding its own local MP. Critics say a party's share of seats can differ a lot from its share of the national vote, and many votes do not help elect anyone. Other systems exist, such as proportional representation, where seats match each party's share of votes. Ontario voters rejected a proposed mixed-member proportional system in a 2007 referendum.

Forming a government

After an election, the Governor General asks the leader who can win the confidence of the House to form a government. Usually that is the leader of the party with the most seats.

• A majority government has more than half the seats: 172 or more of 343 federally, 63 or more of 124 in Ontario. It can usually pass its bills.
• A minority government has the most seats but not a majority. It must win support from other parties, issue by issue or through a formal agreement. If it loses a confidence vote, it falls.
• A coalition government (ministers from two or more parties) is possible, but rare federally.
• The party with the second-most seats usually becomes the Official Opposition.

A recent example. In the federal election of April 28, 2025, the Liberal Party won 169 seats, the Conservative Party 144, the Bloc Québécois 22, the New Democratic Party 7 and the Green Party 1. The Liberals, led by Mark Carney, formed a minority government; the Conservatives became the Official Opposition. Over the following year, several MPs crossed the floor (switched parties) to join the Liberals, and in April 2026 the Liberals won by-elections, giving them a majority of seats in the House. In Canada, an MP who changes parties keeps their seat; no law requires a new election.

Ontario: in the provincial election of February 27, 2025, the Progressive Conservative Party led by Doug Ford won 80 of 124 seats, a third majority in a row. The Ontario NDP became the Official Opposition. Provincial elections are run by Elections Ontario.

Municipal: Ontario's municipal elections happen every four years, on the fourth Monday in October. Candidates run as individuals, not under party labels. Voters elect a head of council and councillors (by ward or for the whole municipality) and school board trustees.

Political parties

A political party is an organization of people with shared beliefs who run candidates to win power and carry out a platform. Parties choose leaders, write platforms, raise money and organize campaigns.

Federal parties that won seats in 2025:

• Liberal Party of Canada
• Conservative Party of Canada
• Bloc Québécois (runs candidates only in Québec and promotes Québec's interests and sovereignty)
• New Democratic Party (NDP)
• Green Party of Canada

Other registered parties, such as the People's Party of Canada, run candidates but did not win seats. Ontario's main provincial parties are the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, the Ontario NDP, the Ontario Liberal Party and the Green Party of Ontario. Provincial parties are separate organizations from federal parties with similar names.

The political spectrum and the political compass

The left-right spectrum is mostly about the economy:

• The left generally favours a bigger role for government: more public services, more redistribution of wealth through taxes, more regulation of business, stronger protections for workers.
• The right generally favours a smaller role for government: lower taxes, free markets, less regulation, more emphasis on individual responsibility and private enterprise.
• The centre mixes both.

The political compass adds a second axis about social and personal freedom: from authoritarian (more state authority, order and tradition) to libertarian (more individual freedom from government).

Where do Canadian parties sit? Political scientists and journalists commonly describe the NDP as centre-left to left, the Liberals as centre to centre-left, the Conservatives as centre-right to right, the Greens as generally left of centre with the environment at the core of their platform, and the Bloc Québécois, whose central issue is Québec, as often centre-left on economic questions. These are broad labels, not exact points. Parties change over time, take positions that do not fit one spot, and contain members with a range of views. The best source for what a party believes right now is its own current platform.