2006 Canadian federal election

2006 Canadian federal election

← 2004 January 23, 2006 (2006-01-23) 2008 →
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308 seats in the House of Commons 155 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Turnout	64.7% (3.8pp)
First party Second party   Leader Stephen Harper Paul Martin Party Conservative Liberal Leader since March 20, 2004 November 14, 2003 Leader's seat Calgary Southwest LaSalle—Émard Last election 99 seats, 29.63% 135 seats, 36.73% Seats before 98 133 Seats won 124 103 Seat change 26 30 Popular vote 5,374,071 4,479,415 Percentage 36.27% 30.23% Swing 6.64pp 6.50pp   Third party Fourth party   Leader Gilles Duceppe Jack Layton Party Bloc Québécois New Democratic Leader since March 15, 1997 January 24, 2003 Leader's seat Laurier— Sainte-Marie Toronto—Danforth Last election 54 seats, 12.39% 19 seats, 15.68% Seats before 53 18 Seats won 51 29 Seat change 2 11 Popular vote 1,553,201 2,589,597 Percentage 10.48%[i] 17.48% Swing 1.91pp 1.80pp
Results by electoral district, shaded by winners' vote share Results by province and territory
The Canadian parliament after the 2006 election
Prime Minister before election Paul Martin Liberal Prime Minister after election Stephen Harper Conservative

The 2006 Canadian federal election was held on January 23, 2006, to elect members to the House of Commons of Canada of the 39th Parliament of Canada.

New details of the sponsorship scandal were released through the Gomery Commission, and the three opposition parties aimed to bring down Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin's minority government, contending that it was corrupt. On November 28, 2005, Martin's government was defeated on a motion of non-confidence. The day later, Martin met with Governor General Michaëlle Jean to dissolve parliament, triggering an unusual winter election.

The Conservative Party, that was formed in 2003 from the merger of the Progressive Conservative Party and the Canadian Alliance, scored its first-ever victory as they won the greatest number of seats in the House of Commons, winning 124 out of 308, up from 99 seats in 2004. Due to the emerging details of the sponsorship scandal, as well as a unified right-of-centre party, the Tories led by Stephen Harper went on to end over 12 years of Liberal rule. Harper formed the smallest minority government in Canadian history (in terms of proportion of seats), becoming prime minister. The New Democratic Party experienced a modest boost in support whereas the Bloc Québécois' seat count nearly stayed the same.
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