1988 Canadian federal election

1988 Canadian federal election

November 21, 1988
295 seats in the House of Commons 148 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Turnout	75.3% ()
First party Second party Third party   Leader Brian Mulroney John Turner Ed Broadbent Party Progressive Conservative Liberal New Democratic Leader since June 11, 1983 June 16, 1984 July 7, 1975 Leader's seat Charlevoix Vancouver Quadra Oshawa Last election 211 seats, 50.03% 40 seats, 28.02% 30 seats, 18.81% Seats before 203 38 32 Seats won 169 83 43 Seat change 34 45 11 Popular vote 5,667,543 4,205,072 2,685,263 Percentage 43.02% 31.92% 20.38% Swing 7.02pp 3.89pp 1.57pp
The Canadian parliament after the 1988 election
Prime Minister before election Brian Mulroney Progressive Conservative Prime Minister after election Brian Mulroney Progressive Conservative

The 1988 Canadian federal election was held on November 21, 1988, to elect members to the House of Commons of Canada of the 34th Parliament of Canada. It was an election largely fought on a single issue: the Canada–United States Free Trade Agreement (CUSFTA); the Progressive Conservative Party campaigned in favour of it, whereas the Liberal Party and the New Democratic Party (NDP) campaigned against it.

The incumbent prime minister, Brian Mulroney, led his Progressive Conservative Party to a second majority government. Mulroney was the party's first leader since John A. Macdonald to win a second majority government.

The Liberal Party experienced a recovery after its 1984 wipeout, doubling its seat count. The New Democratic Party won its largest number of seats up to the time (they would beat the 1988 record in 2011).

The election was the last won by the Progressive Conservatives, the last until 2011 in which a right-of-centre party formed a majority government, and the last where a right-of-centre party won the most seats in Quebec. It was also the last election in Canadian history in which only three parties would be elected to Parliament. With Mulroney winning a majority, the agreement was passed into law, even though a majority of the voters had voted for parties opposing free trade.

Background

Brian Mulroney led the Progressive Conservative Party to a landslide majority government victory in the 1984 federal election. Despite this achievement, scandals including patronage damaged his polling numbers. However, in his fourth year in office in 1988, his popularity began to recover; a poll a few days before the election call showed the Progressive Conservatives ahead of the Liberal Party and New Democratic Party.

The Liberal Party led by John Turner suffered a heavy defeat in the 1984 election. Despite this, Turner stayed on as leader and was preparing to campaign for the second election. However, the Liberal Party was in financial and political disarray; by 1986 the party was heavily in debt and the expenses of the national organization continued to rise. Turner's office experienced significant staff turnover, and leaving members were willing to recount stories of the office's disfunction to the press, resulting in Turner's leadership being nicknamed a "reign of error". Some pundits believed the Liberals would permanently drop to third place.

In 1988, Mulroney reached an agreement on free trade with the United States. Turner's Liberal Party and Ed Broadbent's New Democratic Party opposed the agreement; Turner believed that the agreement would "Americanize" Canada. Mulroney used his large majority to pass the bill through the House of Commons, however, the Liberal-dominated Senate demanded an election before they would pass it. The election was called on October 1.

Campaign

The Liberals had some early struggles, notably during one day in Montreal where three different costs were given for the proposed Liberal daycare program. When asked by reporters about the incident, Turner's chief of staff responded using vulgar language. The campaign was also hampered by a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) report that stated there was a movement in the backroom to replace Turner with Jean Chrétien, even though Turner had passed a leadership review in 1986 with 76.3 percent of delegates rejecting a leadership convention.

Turner strongly campaigned against free trade, arguing that it would cost many Canadian jobs. His October 25 debate performance helped polls suggest a Liberal government; a week after the debate, the Liberals were six points ahead of the PCs. The Liberal surge prompted the PCs to stop the relatively calm campaign they had been running and instead run a more negative campaign, capitalizing on the perceived lack of public confidence in Turner, his perceived inability to lead the Liberal Party, and arguing that he only opposed free trade because of political opportunism. The PCs' poll numbers started to rebound.

National results

The Progressive Conservatives won a reduced but strong majority government with 169 seats, and the free trade agreement would go into effect on January 1, 1989. Mulroney was the first Conservative prime minister since John A. Macdonald to win more than one majority.

Despite the Liberals more than doubling their seat count from 38 to 83, the results were considered a disappointment for Turner, after polls in mid-campaign predicted a Liberal government. In an ironic reversal of most prior federal elections, the Liberals were kept out of power by their inability to make any headway into the overwhelming Tory majority in Quebec. Indeed, the Liberals actually lost five seats in Quebec. This second election loss sealed Turner's fate; he would eventually resign in 1990, and was succeeded by Jean Chrétien, who proved to be a more effective leader and when in government, accepted free trade with the United States and did not overturn CUSFTA.

Despite the New Democratic Party enjoying their best result at the time (winning 43 seats), Ed Broadbent resigned as leader in 1989. Some NDP members were disappointed by the fact that they didn't become the Official Opposition.

Party		Party leader	# of candidates	Seats				Popular vote
				1984	Dissol.	Elected	% Change	#	%	Change
	Progressive Conservative	Brian Mulroney	295	211	203	169	-19.9%	5,667,543	43.02%	-7.02pp
	Liberal	John Turner	294	40	38	83	+107.5%	4,205,072	31.92%	+3.89pp
	New Democratic Party	Ed Broadbent	295	30	32	43	+34.4%	2,685,263	20.38%	+1.57pp
	Reform	Preston Manning	72	*	-	-	*	275,767	2.09%	*
	Christian Heritage	Ed Vanwoudenberg	63	*	-	-	*	102,533	0.78%	*
	Rhinoceros	Cornelius the First	74	-	-	-	-	52,173	0.40%	-0.39pp
	Green	Seymour Trieger	68	-	-	-	-	47,228	0.36%	+0.14pp
	Confederation of Regions	Elmer Knutson	51	-	-	-	-	41,342	0.31%	-0.68pp
	Libertarian	Dennis Corrigan	88	-	-	-	-	33,135	0.25%	+0.06pp
	No affiliation		100	-	-	-		24,516	0.19%	-0.12pp
	Independent		55	1	4	-	-	22,982	0.17%	-0.01pp
	Commonwealth of Canada	Gilles Gervais	58	-	-	-	-	7,467	0.06%	-0.21pp
	Communist	George Hewison	51	-	-	-	-	7,066	0.05%	-0.01pp
	Social Credit	Harvey Lainson	9	-	-	-	-	3,407	0.03%	-0.10pp
	Vacant				5
	Total		1,573	282	282	295	+4.6%	13,175,494	100%

Note:

"% change" refers to change from previous election

Vote and seat summaries

Popular vote PC   43.02% Liberal   31.92% NDP   20.38% Reform   2.09% Others   2.59%

Seat totals PC   57.29% Liberal   28.14% NDP   14.58%

A number of unregistered parties also contested the election. The Western Canada Concept party, led by Doug Christie, fielded three candidates in British Columbia. The Western Independence Party ran one candidate in British Columbia, seven in Alberta, and three in Manitoba (although one of the Manitoba candidates appears to have withdrawn before election day).

The Liberal candidate in Etobicoke-Lakeshore, Emmanuel Feuerwerker, withdrew from the race after suffering a heart attack, resulting in the Liberals not running a candidate in all 295 ridings during this election.

The Marxist–Leninist Party fielded candidates in several ridings.

Blair T. Longley campaigned in British Columbia as a representative of the "Student Party". Newspaper reports indicate that this was simply a tax-avoidance scheme.

The moribund Social Credit Party fielded nine candidates, far short of the 50 required for official recognition. However, the Chief Electoral Officer allowed the party's name to appear on the ballot by virtue of its half-century history as a recognized party. It would be the last time that the party, which had been the third-largest or fourth-largest party in Canada at its height, would fight an election under its own name. The party was deregistered before the 1993 election after it failed to nominate enough candidates to keep its registration.

Seats which changed hands

Defeated MPs

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Party Riding MP First elected Defeated by Party █ Progressive Conservative Burin—St. George's Joe Price 1984 Roger Simmons █ Liberal █ Progressive Conservative Cardigan Pat Binns 1984 Lawrence MacAulay █ Liberal █ Progressive Conservative Charlottetown Thomas McMillan 1979 George Proud █ Liberal █ Progressive Conservative Cape Breton Highlands—Canso Lawrence O'Neil 1984 Francis LeBlanc █ Liberal █ Progressive Conservative Dartmouth Michael Forrestall 1965 Ron MacDonald █ Liberal █ Progressive Conservative Halifax Stewart McInnes 1984 Mary Clancy █ Liberal █ Progressive Conservative South West Nova Gerald Comeau 1984 Coline Campbell █ Liberal █ Progressive Conservative Miramichi Bud Jardine 1984 Maurice Dionne █ Liberal █ Progressive Conservative Moncton Dennis Cochrane 1984 George Rideout █ Liberal █ Progressive Conservative Restigouche—Chaleur Al Girard 1984 Guy Arseneault █ Liberal █ Progressive Conservative Gatineau—La Lièvre Claudy Mailly 1984 Mark Assad █ Liberal █ Progressive Conservative Lasalle (contested LaSalle—Émard) Claude Lanthier 1984 Paul Martin █ Liberal █ Progressive Conservative Charlevoix (contested Laurier—Sainte-Marie) Charles Hamelin 1984 Jean-Claude Malepart █ Liberal █ Progressive Conservative Essex-Kent James Eber Caldwell 1984 Jerry Pickard █ Liberal █ Progressive Conservative Etobicoke North Bob Pennock 1984 Roy MacLaren █ Liberal █ Progressive Conservative Haldimand—Norfolk Bud Bradley 1979 Bob Speller █ Liberal █ Progressive Conservative Hamilton West Peter Peterson 1984 Stan Keyes █ Liberal █ Progressive Conservative Kent Elliott Hardey 1984 Rex Crawford █ Liberal █ Progressive Conservative Kingston and the Islands Flora MacDonald 1972 Peter Milliken █ Liberal █ Progressive Conservative Lambton—Middlesex Sidney Fraleigh 1984 Ralph Ferguson █ Liberal █ Progressive Conservative Leeds—Grenville Jennifer Cossitt 1982 by-election Jim Jordan █ Liberal █ Progressive Conservative London East Jim Jepson 1984 Joe Fontana █ Liberal █ Progressive Conservative Nepean—Carleton (contested Nepean) William Tupper 1984 Beryl Gaffney █ Liberal █ Progressive Conservative Nipissing Moe Mantha Sr. 1984 Bob Wood █ Liberal █ Progressive Conservative Ottawa—Carleton (contested Ottawa South) Barry Turner 1984 John Manley █ Liberal █ Progressive Conservative Ottawa West David Daubney 1984 Marlene Catterall █ Liberal █ Progressive Conservative Parkdale—High Park Andrew Witer 1984 Jesse Flis █ Liberal █ Progressive Conservative Sault Ste. Marie Jim Kelleher 1984 Steve Butland █ New Democratic █ Progressive Conservative Scarborough West Reg Stackhouse 1984 Tom Wappel █ Liberal █ Progressive Conservative York—Scarborough (contested Scarborough—Agincourt) Paul McCrossan 1984 Jim Karygiannis █ Liberal █ Progressive Conservative Timmins—Chapleau Aurèle Gervais 1984 Cid Samson █ New Democratic █ Progressive Conservative Welland (contested Welland—St. Catharines—Thorold) Allan Pietz 1984 Gilbert Parent █ Liberal █ Progressive Conservative Willowdale John Oostrom 1984 Jim Peterson █ Liberal █ Progressive Conservative Saint Boniface Léo Duguay 1984 Ron Duhamel █ Liberal █ Progressive Conservative Mackenzie Jack Scowen 1984 Vic Althouse █ New Democratic █ Progressive Conservative Saskatoon West (contested Saskatoon—Clark's Crossing) Ray Hnatyshyn 1974 Chris Axworthy █ New Democratic █ Progressive Conservative The Battlefords—Meadow Lake John Kenneth Gormley 1984 Len Taylor █ New Democratic █ Progressive Conservative Edmonton East William Lesick 1984 Ross Harvey █ New Democratic █ Progressive Conservative Kootenay East Stan Graham 1984 Sid Parker █ New Democratic █ Progressive Conservative Kootenay West (contested Kootenay West—Revelstoke) Robert Brisco 1984 (1974) Lyle Kristiansen █ New Democratic █ Progressive Conservative Mission—Port Moody (contested Mission—Coquitlam) Gerry St. Germain 1983 by-election Joy Langan █ New Democratic █ Progressive Conservative Nanaimo—Alberni (contested Nanaimo—Cowichan) Ted Schellenberg 1984 David Stupich █ New Democratic █ Progressive Conservative Okanagan—Similkameen (contested Okanagan—Similkameen—Merritt) Fred King 1979 Jack Whittaker █ New Democratic █ Progressive Conservative Esquimalt—Saanich (contested Saanich—Gulf Islands) Patrick Crofton 1984 Lynn Hunter █ New Democratic █ Progressive Conservative Western Arctic Dave Nickerson 1984 Ethel Blondin █ Liberal █ New Democratic St. John's East Jack Harris 1987 by-election Ross Reid █ Progressive Conservative █ New Democratic Broadview—Greenwood Lynn McDonald 1982 by-election Dennis Mills █ Liberal █ New Democratic Hamilton Mountain Marion Dewar 1987 by-election Beth Phinney █ Liberal █ New Democratic Kenora—Rainy River John Edmund Parry 1984 Bob Nault █ Liberal █ New Democratic Ottawa Centre Mike Cassidy 1984 Mac Harb █ Liberal █ New Democratic Thunder Bay—Nipigon Ernie Epp 1984 Joe Comuzzi █ Liberal █ New Democratic Winnipeg North Centre Cyril Keeper 1984 David Walker █ Liberal █ New Democratic Winnipeg North David Orlikow 1962 Rey Pagtakhan █ Liberal █ Liberal Outremont Lucie Pépin 1984 Jean-Pierre Hogue █ Progressive Conservative

Open seats that changed hands

Extended content

Party Candidate Incumbent retiring from the House Riding Won by Party █ Progressive Conservative Morrissey Johnson Morrissey Johnson Bonavista—Trinity—Conception Fred Mifflin █ Liberal █ Progressive Conservative Gordon Lank Melbourne Gass Malpeque Catherine Callbeck █ Liberal █ Progressive Conservative Jean Gauvin Roger Clinch Gloucester Doug Young █ Liberal █ Progressive Conservative Reg Jewell George Hees Northumberland Christine Stewart █ Liberal █ Progressive Conservative Jack Arthur Jack Ellis Prince Edward—Hastings Lyle Vanclief █ Liberal █ Progressive Conservative Eric J. Cameron Norman Warner Stormont—Dundas Bob Kilger █ Liberal █ Progressive Conservative Sedluk Bryan Pearson Thomas Suluk Nunatsiaq Jack Iyerak Anawak █ Liberal █ Progressive Conservative Valerie Kordyban Lorne McCuish Prince George—Bulkley Valley Brian Gardiner █ New Democratic █ Progressive Conservative Geoff Young Allan McKinnon Victoria John F. Brewin █ New Democratic █ Independent N/A Tony Roman York North Maurizio Bevilacqua █ Liberal

New seats

Old Riding	New Riding	New seat won by	Party
Mississauga North	Mississauga East	Albina Guarnieri	█ Liberal
Mississauga North	Mississauga West	Robert Horner	█ Progressive Conservative

Results by province

Party name			BC	AB	SK	MB	ON	QC	NB	NS	PE	NL	NT	YK	Total
	Progressive Conservative	Seats:	12	25	4	7	46	63	5	5	-	2	-	-	169
		Popular Vote:	35.3	51.8	36.4	36.9	38.2	52.7	40.4	40.9	41.5	42.2	26.4	35.3	43.0
	Liberal	Seats:	1	-	-	5	43	12	5	6	4	5	2	-	83
		Vote:	20.4	13.7	18.2	36.5	38.9	30.3	45.4	46.5	49.9	45.0	41.4	11.3	31.9
	New Democratic Party	Seats:	19	1	10	2	10	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	43
		Vote:	37.0	17.4	44.2	21.3	20.1	14.4	9.3	11.4	7.5	12.4	28.3	51.4	20.38
Total seats			32	26	14	14	99	75	10	11	4	7	2	1	295
Parties that won no seats:
	Reform	Vote:	4.8	15.4		3.3									2.1
	Christian Heritage	Vote:		1.1			1.4							2.0	0.8
	Rhinoceros	Vote:						1.2							0.4
	Green	Vote:													0.4
	Confederation of Regions	Vote:							4.3						0.3
	Libertarian	Vote:													0.3
	Commonwealth of Canada	Vote:						0.2							0.1
	Communist	Vote:													0.1
	Social Credit	Vote:													xx
	Other	Vote:													0.4

xx - less than 0.05% of the popular vote.

Note: Parties that captured less than 1% of the vote in a province are not recorded.

Election milestones

Until the 2011 federal election, the 1988 election was the most successful in the New Democratic Party's history. The party dominated in British Columbia and Saskatchewan, won significant support in Ontario and elected its first (and, until the 2008 election, only) member from Alberta.

This was the second election contested by the Green Party, and it saw a more than 50 percent increase in its vote, but it remained a minor party.

The election was the last for Canada's Social Credit Party. The party won no seats, and won an insignificant portion of the popular vote.

This was the first election for the newly founded Reform Party which for this vote only contested seats in Western Canada. The party at this stage was filled to a large extent with former Socreds along with some former PC supporters disaffected at the perceived lack of support from the Mulroney government for western interests. It was led by Preston Manning, who was himself a one time Socred candidate and the son of longtime Alberta Social Credit premier Ernest Manning.

Reform won no seats and was not yet considered a major party at the national level. However, Deborah Grey would win the first seat for Reform, Beaver River in Alberta, in a by-election held four months later. Grey, who had finished a distant fourth running in the same riding in the general election, succeeded rookie Progressive Conservative MP John Dahmer. Dahmer died of pancreatic cancer before taking office.

For the Progressive Conservatives, this was the last federal election they would ever win.

Notes

• Number of parties: 11
  • First appearance: Christian Heritage Party, Reform Party
  • Final appearance: Confederation of Regions Party, Social Credit Party
  • Final appearance before hiatus: Communist Party (returned in 2000), Rhinoceros Party (returned in 2006)

10 closest ridings

1. London-Middlesex, ON: Terry Clifford (PC) def. Garnet Bloomfield (Lib) by 8 votes
2. Northumberland, ON: Christine Stewart (Lib) def. Reg Jewell (PC) by 28 votes
3. Hamilton Mountain, ON: Beth Phinney (Lib) def. Marion Dewar (NDP) by 73 votes
4. York North, ON: Maurizio Bevilacqua (Lib) def. Micheal O'Brien (PC) by 77 votes
5. Rosedale, ON: David MacDonald (PC) def. Bill Graham (Lib) by 80 votes
6. London East, ON: Joe Fontana (Lib) def. Jim Jepson (PC) by 102 votes
7. Haldimand-Norfolk, ON: Bob Speller (Lib) def. Bud Bradley (PC) by 209 votes
8. Hillsborough, PE: George Proud (Lib) def. Thomas McMillan (PC) by 259 votes
9. Cariboo—Chilcotin, BC: Dave Worthy (PC) def. Jack Langford (NDP) by 269 votes
10. Vancouver Centre, BC: future Prime Minister Kim Campbell (PC) def. Johanna Den Hertog (NDP) by 269 votes

See also

• 1911 Canadian federal election, an election similarly contested over free trade with the United States.
• List of Canadian federal general elections
• List of political parties in Canada

Articles on parties' candidates in this election:

• Independents
• Confederation of Regions
• Commonwealth
• Communist
• Green
• Libertarian
• Liberal
• New Democrats
• Progressive Conservative
• Rhinoceros

References

Party platforms

• New Democratic Party of Canada (1988). Meeting the Challenge: Ed Broadbent and the New Democrats speak up for average Canadians (PDF). New Democratic Party of Canada. OCLC 66068520.
• Liberal Party of Canada (1988). This is more than an Election, it's your Future (PDF). Liberal Party of Canada. OCLC 51242562.

Further reading

• Leyton-Brown, David, ed. (1995). Canadian Annual Review of Politics and Public Affairs, 1988. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-0-8020-5849-2.
• LeDuc, Lawrence; Pammett, Jon H.; McKenzie, Judith L.; Turcotte, André (2010). Dynasties and Interludes: Past and Present in Canadian Electoral Politics. Toronto: Dundurn Press. ISBN 978-1-55488-886-3.
• Johnston, Richard; Blais, André; Brady, Henry E.; Crête, Jean (1992). Letting the People Decide: Dynamics of a Canadian Election. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-2078-6.
• Fraser, Graham (1989). Playing for Keeps: the Making of the Prime Minister, 1988. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart. ISBN 978-0-7710-3208-0.
• Argyle, Ray (2004). Turning Points: The Campaigns that Changed Canada 2004 and Before. Toronto: White Knight Publications. ISBN 978-0-9734186-6-8.
• Frizzell, Alan; Pammett, Jon H.; Westell, Anthony, eds. (1989). The Canadian General Election of 1988. Toronto: Dundurn Press. ISBN 978-0-88629-089-4.
  • Clarkson, Stephen (1989). "The Liberals: Disoriented in Defeat". In Frizzell, Alan; Pammett, Jon H.; Westell, Anthony (eds.). The Canadian General Election of 1988. Toronto: Dundurn Press. ISBN 978-0-88629-089-4.

External links

• Riding map
• Election 1988, by Stephen Azzi
• Debate '88