Canadian federal election, 2004

Bloc Québécois

Timeline

• April 29 - April 30 Paul Martin is due to visit George W. Bush in Washington, D.C. Some predict an election will be called soon after the visit.
• April 15 - Admitting to shoplifting a diamond ring, Burnaby-Douglas NDP MP Svend Robinson announces he will not run again.
• April 14 - Monia Mazigh wins the NDP nomination in Ottawa South.
• April 3 - Conservative leader Stephen Harper tours Atlantic Canada. The move is widely seen as the kickoff to his election campaign.

Paul Martin

• April 1 - Prime Minister Martin announces Ujjal Dosanjh, David Emerson and Shirley Chan as "star candidates" in Vancouver, British Columbia
• March 31 - Liberals launch four television adds featuring Prime Minister Paul Martin talking about key election issues
• March 30 - Published press reports indicate that Paul Martin will directly nominate BC's former NDP Premier Ujjal Dosanjh, Canfor chair David Emerson, IWA leader Dave Haggard, LPC(BC) President Bill Cunningham and subsidized housing manager Shirley Chan to run in BC ridings.
• March 29 - Progressive Canadian Party registers with Elections Canada
• March 23 - Finance Minister Ralph Goodale tables what is generally seen as a pre-election budget in the House of Commons.
• March 20 - Stephen Harper is elected leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, with 55.5% of the vote on the first ballot.
• March 10 - Sheila Copps accuses the PMO and Tony Valeri's campaign team of using fraudulent tactics to prevent her supporters from voting and to cause their ballots to be ignored. Monia Mazigh announces her intention to seek the NDP nomination in Ottawa South; the NDP had championed the cause of her husband Maher Arar after the US deported him to Syria despite his Canadian citizenship.
• March 9 - Tory leadership hopeful Belinda Stronach wins her party's nomination in Newmarket-Aurora, Ontario.
• March 8 - Former New Brunswick Premier Frank McKenna announces he is prepared to run if a suitable riding becomes available; Connie Fogal is acclaimed as the new leader of the Canadian Action Party.
• March 7 - Carolyn Parrish, MP defeats fellow MP and former cabinet minister Steve Mahoney for the redistributed riding Mississauga--Erindale.
• March 6 - Tony Valeri defeats Sheila Copps in a battle for the Liberal Party of Canada nomination in Hamilton East--Stoney Creek. This battle, brought on by the 2004 redistribution of Canadian ridings, had been seen as an attempt by forces loyal to Prime Minister Paul Martin to push Copps out of politics. Copps is now considering running as an independent; Brother of Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, David McGuinty is chosen over Ottawa city councillor Diane Deans to become the Liberal candidate in the riding of Ottawa South.
• February 20 - Former Ontario Progressive Conservative Party member and Speaker of the Ontario legislature Gary Carr announces his intention to seek the Liberal nomination in Halton riding.
• February 17 - John Bryden, MP for Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Aldershot, announces that he is leaving the Liberals to sit as an independent. He will later join the Conservative Party of Canada.
• February 16 - Saint John Conservative MP Elsie Wayne announces she will not run again.
• February 13 - Former cabinet minister Jane Stewart announces she will not run again.
• February 10 - The Auditor General releases her report, launching the sponsorship scandal; Paul Martin calls for a public inquiry, which may eventually delay the election date.
• February 6 - New Brunswick MP John Herron, currently sitting as an Independent Progressive Conservative, announces he will seek the Liberal nomination for his riding of Fundy in the 2004 election; Bloc co-founder Jean Lapierre announces he will seek the Liberal nomination in Cauchon's former riding of Outremont.
• February 5 - Former cabinet ministers Martin Cauchon and Bob Nault indicate they will not run again.
• February 2 - The first session of Parliament with Paul Martin as Prime Minister opens with the speech from the throne delivered by Governor General Adrienne Clarkson.
• January 23 - The Natural Law Party of Canada de-registers with Elections Canada.

Belinda Stronach

• January 20 - Belinda Stronach announces that she will be running to become the leader of the new Conservative Party of Canada.
• January 20 - Ed Broadbent wins the NDP nomination for the riding of Ottawa Centre. He will be running against Paul Martin loyalist Richard Mahoney.
• January 14 - Vancouver Island MP Dr. Keith Martin resigns from the Conservative Party to sit as an Independent and announces he will seek the Liberal nomination for his riding of Equimalt--Juan de Fuca. Former Deputy Prime Minister Sheila Copps indicates that she may consider running for the NDP if she does not win the Liberal nomination battle in her riding.
• Quebec MP André Bachand, elected as a Progressive Conservative, confirms he will sit as an Independent and not run again.
• January 9 - The new Conservative Party of Canada announces its new caucus officers, dividing the positions equally between the former Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservative caucuses. Grant Hill is the new interim Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons until the party's leadership race in March.

• December 18 - Former NDP leader Ed Broadbent announces he will be running in the riding of Ottawa Centre for the NDP in the upcoming election.
• December 12 - Paul Martin is sworn in as Canada's 21st Prime Minister, along with his cabinet. Notable Ministers include Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan in Domestic Security, Ralph Goodale in Finance, Pierre Pettigrew in Health and Intergovernmental Affairs, Lucienne Robillard in Industry, Irwin Cotler in Justice, Bill Graham in Foreign Affairs and David Pratt in Defence. Jean Chrétien, who had is last day as Prime Minister of Canada, resigned his seat in the Canadian House of Commons.
• December 11 - Former Agriculture Minister Lyle Vanclief announced he would not be running in the 2004 election.
• December 10 - Scott Brison, Progressive Conservative MP, crosses the floor, and sits with the Liberal Party of Canada. Brison is the fourth PC MP, out of an original caucus of 15, to decide not to sit with the new Conservative Party of Canada.

Sheila Copps

• December 9 - Canadian Senators Lowell Murray, Norman Atkins and William Doody are the first senators to decide not join the new Conservative Party of Canada, choosing to remain in the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada if the Speaker will let them. Also on December 9, Liberal leadership runner-up Sheila Copps refuses Prime Minister-designate Paul Martin's patronage appointment proposal for Copps. She will have to fight to retain her riding, as Canada's ridings have been redrawn, and she now shares it with MP Tony Valeri.
• December 8 - The Conservative Party of Canada is officially registered with Elections Canada. The party's first interim leader is Senator John Lynch-Staunton, with a formal leadership race scheduled for March 2004. Three Progressive Conservative MPs (Joe Clark, John Herron and André Bachand) announce that they will not sit as members of the new party, but will serve out their terms as Independent Progressive Conservatives.
• December 6 - The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada votes with a 90% majority in favour of merging with the Canadian Alliance.
• December 5 - The Canadian Alliance votes with a 96% majority in favour of merging with the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada.
• December 3 - Member of Parliament Robert Lanctôt announced he was quitting the Bloc Québécois and joining the Liberal Party of Canada saying to the press: "After dreaming about sovereignty for 40 years, I said to myself that dreaming is fine, but at a certain point you have to wake up." Also on December 3, Natural Resources Minister Herb Dhaliwal stated that he was not going to seek re-election.
• November 28 - Liberal Party of Canada member John Manley announces his retirement from politics.
• November 27 - Canadian Alliance Party leader Stephen Harper fires Alliance Member of Parliament Larry Spencer as Family Values Critic after his anti-gay remarks.
• November 14 - Paul Martin officially becomes leader of the Liberal Party of Canada winning 3242 of 3455 votes against Sheila Copps.
• October 15 - It was announced that the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party would plan to unite to form a new party called the Conservative Party of Canada.
• September 9 - Ottawa Centre MP Mac Harb was called to the Senate of Canada leaving the seat vacant until the 2004 election. Ottawa lawyer Richard Mahoney will be the Liberals' representative for the riding in the up coming election.
• June 16 - The Bloc Québécois lose two more seats, this time in by-elections as the Liberal Party of Canada's Christian Jobin replaces the out-going BQ Antoine Dubé in Lévis–Chutes-de-la-Chaudière, and the Liberals' Gilbert Barrette replaces the out-going BQ Pierre Brien in Témiscamingue.

Peter MacKay

• May 31 - Peter MacKay wins the Progressive Conservative leadership after forming a deal with leadership candidate David Orchard. MacKay promised a review of the NAFTA free trade agreement, and also promised that no deal on electoral cooperation would be made with the Canadian Alliance, a promise he would later break.
• May 12 - The Liberal Party of Canada loses another seat through by-elections, this time to the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada as Gary Schellenberger replaces John Alexander Richardson in the riding of Perth--Middlesex.
• February 14 - Jim Harris is elected as the new leader of the Green Party of Canada.
• February 5 - Pierrette Venne was suspended from the caucus of the Bloc Québécois, and on February 6 she would sit as an Independent member of the Bloc.
• January 25 - Jack Layton is elected leader of the NDP at the party's convention in Toronto. Layton won on the first ballot, with 53.5% of the vote.

• December 9 - The Bloc Québécois is able to hold on to two seats in by-elections electing Roger Gaudet in Berthier--Montcalm, replacing Michel Bellehumeur, and electing Sébastien Gagnon in Lac-Saint-Jean--Saguenay, replacing Stéphane Tremblay. Despite winning both elections, these elections were very close, especially since in the 2000 election these seats were won by 15 000 and 14 000 votes respectively.
• August 21 - Prime Minister Jean Chrétien tells Canadians he will step down in February, 2004.
• June 2, 2002- Paul Martin resigns as Finance Minister of Canada. John Manley is named to replace him.
• May 13 - In seven by-elections across the country, the Liberal Party of Canada was re-elected in two ridings in Quebec, one in Newfoundland and Labrador, and one in Manitoba while they lost one to the NDP in Windsor West, where Brian Masse was elected, and one to the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, when Rex Barnes was elected. The leader of the Canadian Alliance, Stephen Harper won easily in Calgary Southwest replacing out-going former Reform Party of Canada leader Preston Manning.

• 2004 Conservative Party of Canada leadership race
• 2003 Liberal Party of Canada leadership race
• 2003 PC Party of Canada leadership race
• 2003 New Democratic Party leadership race

Note: the Bloc Québécois runs candidates only in Quebec, so its Canada-wide poll percentage is not very meaningful. Therefore the relevant poll numbers isolated for Quebec only are also shown, if available.

• Last Ipsos-Reid poll (06/04/04 - 08/04/04): Liberal 35%, Conservative 28%, NDP 18%, BQ 10%, Green 5%
  • Québec only: BQ 45%, Liberal 30%, Conservative 11%, NDP 10%
• Last Leger Marketing poll (03/28/04): Liberal 38%, Conservative 26%, NDP 16%, BQ 13%
  • Québec only [1]: BQ 45%, Liberal 36%, Conservative 8%, NDP 8%
• Last Ekos poll (23/02/04-25/02/04): Liberal 42%, Conservative 32%, NDP 15%, BQ 9%
  • Québec only [1]: BQ 40%, Liberal 38%, Conservative 11%, NDP 9%
• Last Compas poll (14/02/04): Liberal 44%, Conservative 26%, NDP 19%, BQ 9%
• Last SES Research poll (02/02/04): Liberal 48%, Conservative 23%, NDP 15%, BQ 11%

2004 federal representation

• Changes since last representation
  • Ontario +3
  • Alberta +2
  • British Columbia +2

• Average population per seat (seats in 2004)
  • Newfoundland and Labrador: 73,276 (7)
  • Prince Edward Island: 33,824 (4)
  • Nova Scotia: 82,546 (11)
  • New Brunswick: 72,950 (10)
  • Quebec: 96,500 (75)
  • Ontario: 107,642 (106)
  • Manitoba: 79,970 (14)
  • Saskatchewan: 69,924 (14)
  • Alberta: 106,243 (28)
  • British Columbia: 108,548 (36)
  • Nunavut: 26,745 (1)
  • Northwest Territories: 37,360 (1)
  • Yukon: 28,675 (1)

Seat by seat breakdown

Cabinet Ministers and Party Leaders are denoted in bold

Candidates not yet officially nominated are denoted in italics. Candidates who were automatically granted their party's nomination by their leader are denoted with a dagger (†)

Atlantic

Québec

Ontario