Canada 1979 federal election
What was the result of the 1979 federal election in Canada?
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada won 136 of 282 seats with 35.9% of the vote. 75.8% 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 : Progressive Conservative Party of Canada won 136 of 282 seats with 35.9% of the vote; 75.8% of registered voters cast a ballot, up 4.8 points on 1974.
- Liberal Party of Canada 114 −27 seats 40.1% −3.0 points
- Progressive Conservative Party of Canada 136 +41 seats 35.9% +0.5 points
- Co-operative Commonwealth Federation / New Democratic Party 26 +10 seats 17.9% +2.4 points
- Social Credit Party of Canada 6 −5 seats 4.6% −0.5 points
- Rhinoceros Party 0 0.6%
- 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 1974 federal election, party by party.
- Progressive Conservative Party of Canada136
- Liberal Party of Canada114
- Co-operative Commonwealth Federation / New Democratic Party26
- Social Credit Party of Canada6
Key numbers
35.9%
Share of the vote won by Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada won 136 of 282 seats. A majority needs 142.
+41 seats
Seats gained by Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
The largest gain in seats compared with 1974. Liberal Party of Canada lost 27 seats.
75.8%
Voter turnout
Up 4.8 points on 1974.
Seats and votes by party
| Party | Seats | ± seats | % | ± points | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Party of Canada | 114 | −27 | 40.1 | −3.0 | 4,594,319 |
| Progressive Conservative Party of Canada | 136 | +41 | 35.9 | +0.5 | 4,111,559 |
| Co-operative Commonwealth Federation / New Democratic Party | 26 | +10 | 17.9 | +2.4 | 2,048,779 |
| Social Credit Party of Canada | 6 | −5 | 4.6 | −0.5 | 527,604 |
| Rhinoceros Party | 0 | 0.6 | 62,601 |
± is the change against the Canada 1974 federal election, party by party.
Votes by party
- Liberal Party of Canada 4,594,319
- Progressive Conservative Party of Canada 4,111,559
- Co-operative Commonwealth Federation / New Democratic Party 2,048,779
- Social Credit Party of Canada 527,604
- Rhinoceros Party 62,601
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?
75.8% of the 15,233,653 registered voters cast a ballot (11,541,000 ballots), up 4.8 points on 1974. 11,455,702 of them were valid votes.
How do the votes compare with the seats?
- Progressive Conservative Party of Canada35.9% of votes48.2% of seats
- Liberal Party of Canada40.1% of votes40.4% of seats
- Co-operative Commonwealth Federation / New Democratic Party17.9% of votes9.2% of seats
- Social Credit Party of Canada4.6% of votes2.1% of seats
The Gallagher index of disproportionality is 10.8 (0 when seats follow votes exactly); the effective number of parties is 3.1 by votes and 2.5 by seats; Liberal Party of Canada led Progressive Conservative Party of Canada by 4.2 points of the vote.
Time and source Data as of