Canada 1949 federal election
What was the result of the 1949 federal election in Canada?
Liberal Party of Canada won 190 of 262 seats with 50.1% of the vote. 74.8% of registered voters cast a ballot.
Canada- Held:
- Final result
- ParlGov, read 5 October 2026
Which party won the most seats?
Final results from ParlGov, read : Liberal Party of Canada won 190 of 262 seats with 50.1% of the vote; 74.8% of registered voters cast a ballot, down 1.5 points on 1945.
- Liberal Party of Canada 190 +65 seats 50.1% +8.7 points
- Progressive Conservative Party of Canada 41 −26 seats 29.8% +2.0 points
- Co-operative Commonwealth Federation / New Democratic Party 13 −15 seats 13.4% −2.3 points
- Social Credit Party of Canada 10 −3 seats 2.4% −1.7 points
- Union of Electors 0 1.5%
- Liberal-Labour 1 0.2%
- Liberal-Progressive 1 0 seats 0.2% 0.0 points
- Seats won
- Change on the previous election at the right
- Share of the vote
- Share at the previous election
- Change in points at the right
Changes are against the Canada 1945 federal election, party by party.
- Liberal Party of Canada190
- Progressive Conservative Party of Canada41
- Co-operative Commonwealth Federation / New Democratic Party13
- Social Credit Party of Canada10
- Independents6
- Liberal-Labour1
- Liberal-Progressive1
Key numbers
50.1%
Share of the vote won by Liberal Party of Canada
Liberal Party of Canada won 190 of 262 seats. A majority needs 132.
+65 seats
Seats gained by Liberal Party of Canada
The largest gain in seats compared with 1945. Progressive Conservative Party of Canada lost 26 seats.
74.8%
Voter turnout
Down 1.5 points on 1945.
Seats and votes by party
| Party | Seats | ± seats | % | ± points | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Party of Canada | 190 | +65 | 50.1 | +8.7 | 2,929,391 |
| Progressive Conservative Party of Canada | 41 | −26 | 29.8 | +2.0 | 1,742,276 |
| Co-operative Commonwealth Federation / New Democratic Party | 13 | −15 | 13.4 | −2.3 | 782,410 |
| Social Credit Party of Canada | 10 | −3 | 2.4 | −1.7 | 139,815 |
| Union of Electors | 0 | 1.5 | 86,087 | ||
| Liberal-Labour | 1 | 0.2 | 11,730 | ||
| Liberal-Progressive | 1 | 0 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 9,192 |
| Independents | 6 | −2 |
± is the change against the Canada 1945 federal election, party by party.
Votes by party
- Liberal Party of Canada 2,929,391
- Progressive Conservative Party of Canada 1,742,276
- Co-operative Commonwealth Federation / New Democratic Party 782,410
- Social Credit Party of Canada 139,815
- Union of Electors 86,087
- Liberal-Labour 11,730
- Liberal-Progressive 9,192
- Independents
ParlGov lists parties with at least 1 percent of the vote or 2 seats, so the rows do not add up to the valid votes.
How many people voted?
74.8% of the 7,893,629 registered voters cast a ballot (5,903,572 ballots), down 1.5 points on 1945. 5,848,971 of them were valid votes.
How do the votes compare with the seats?
- Liberal Party of Canada50.1% of votes72.5% of seats
- Progressive Conservative Party of Canada29.8% of votes15.6% of seats
- Co-operative Commonwealth Federation / New Democratic Party13.4% of votes5.0% of seats
- Social Credit Party of Canada2.4% of votes3.8% of seats
- Liberal-Labour0.2% of votes0.4% of seats
- Liberal-Progressive0.2% of votes0.4% of seats
The Gallagher index of disproportionality is 19.8 (0 when seats follow votes exactly); the effective number of parties is 2.8 by votes and 1.8 by seats; Liberal Party of Canada led Progressive Conservative Party of Canada by 20.3 points of the vote.
Time and source Data as of