The Canadian federal election of 1963 was held on April 8 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons

Canadian House of Commons

The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...

 of the 26th Parliament

26th Canadian Parliament

The 26th Canadian Parliament was in session from May 16, 1963 until September 8, 1965. The membership was set by the 1963 federal election on April 8, 1963, and it changed only somewhat due to resignations and by-elections until it was dissolved prior to the 1965 election.It was controlled by a...

 of Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. It resulted in the defeat of the minority

Minority government

A minority government or a minority cabinet is a cabinet of a parliamentary system formed when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in the parliament but is sworn into government to break a Hung Parliament election result. It is also known as a...

 Progressive Conservative

Progressive Conservative Party of Canada

The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....

 (Tory) government of Prime Minister

Prime Minister of Canada

The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...

 John Diefenbaker

John Diefenbaker

John George Diefenbaker, PC, CH, QC was the 13th Prime Minister of Canada, serving from June 21, 1957, to April 22, 1963...

.

Overview

During the Tories'

Tory

Toryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...

 last year in office, members of the Diefenbaker Cabinet attempt to remove him from the leadership of the party, and therefore from the Prime Minister's office. In addition to concern within the party about Diefenbaker's mercurial style of leadership, there had been a serious split in party ranks over the issue of stationing American nuclear missiles (see Bomarc missile) on Canadian soil for protection from possible Soviet

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 attack. Diefenbaker and his allies opposed this proposal, while many other Conservatives and the opposition Liberal Party

Liberal Party of Canada

The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...

 were in favour. Minister of National Defence

Minister of National Defence (Canada)

The Minister of National Defence is a Minister of the Crown; the Canadian politician within the Cabinet of Canada responsible for the Department of National Defence which oversees the Canadian Forces....

 Douglas Harkness

Douglas Harkness

Douglas Scott Harkness, PC, OC, GM, ED , was a Canadian politician, teacher, farmer and former Lieutenant Colonel in the Royal Canadian Artillery....

 resigned from Cabinet on February 4, 1963, because of Diefenbaker's opposition to accepting the missiles. The next day, the government lost two non-confidence motions on the issue, prompting the election.

The Liberal Party of Lester Pearson ran on a platform promising that, if elected, they would begin their term with "60 Days of Decision" on questions such as introducing a new Canadian flag

Flag of Canada

The national flag of Canada, also known as the Maple Leaf, and , is a red flag with a white square in its centre, featuring a stylized 11-pointed red maple leaf. Its adoption in 1965 marked the first time a national flag had been officially adopted in Canada to replace the Union Flag...

, reforming health care

Health care

Health care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...

, and a public pension

Pension

In general, a pension is an arrangement to provide people with an income when they are no longer earning a regular income from employment. Pensions should not be confused with severance pay; the former is paid in regular installments, while the latter is paid in one lump sum.The terms retirement...

 plan, along with other legislative reforms.

Despite winning 41% of the vote, which is usually sufficient for ensuring the election of a majority government

Majority government

A majority government is when the governing party has an absolute majority of seats in the legislature or parliament in a parliamentary system. This is as opposed to a minority government, where even the largest party wins only a plurality of seats and thus must constantly bargain for support from...

, the Liberals fell seven seats short of their target. The Liberals formed a minority government

Minority government

A minority government or a minority cabinet is a cabinet of a parliamentary system formed when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in the parliament but is sworn into government to break a Hung Parliament election result. It is also known as a...

 that was dependent on the support of the social democratic

Social democracy

Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...

 New Democratic Party

New Democratic Party

The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...

 (NDP) in order to pass legislation.

The NDP had been formed in 1961 by another social democratic party, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation

Co-operative Commonwealth Federation

The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation was a Canadian political party founded in 1932 in Calgary, Alberta, by a number of socialist, farm, co-operative and labour groups, and the League for Social Reconstruction...

, and by the Canadian Labour Congress

Canadian Labour Congress

The Canadian Labour Congress, or CLC is a national trade union centre, the central labour body in English Canada to which most Canadian labour unions are affiliated.- Formation :...

. The 1963 election was the second vote contested by the NDP. The party won slightly fewer votes, and two fewer seats, than they had received in the 1962 election

Canadian federal election, 1962

The Canadian federal election of 1962 was held on June 18, 1962 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 25th Parliament of Canada...

. They were again disappointed by the failure of their new partnership with the labour movement

Labour movement

The term labour movement or labor movement is a broad term for the development of a collective organization of working people, to campaign in their own interest for better treatment from their employers and governments, in particular through the implementation of specific laws governing labour...

 to produce an electoral breakthrough, particularly in the province of Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

, which has the largest population and the largest number of seats in the House of Commons.

Social Credit

Social Credit Party of Canada

The Social Credit Party of Canada was a conservative-populist political party in Canada that promoted social credit theories of monetary reform...

 was unable to increase its representation in western Canada, and lost four of its Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

 seats. The continuing lop-sided result led to a split in the party when Thompson refused to step aside so that Caouette could become party leader. Caouette and his followers left the Social Credit Party to sit as a separate social credit caucus, the Ralliement des créditistes

Ralliement créditiste

Historically in Quebec, Canada, there was a number of political parties that were part of the Canadian social credit movement. There were various parties at different times with different names at the provincial level, all broadly following the social credit philosophy; at various times they had...

.

National results

Party		Party leader	# of candidates	Seats			Popular vote
				1962 Canadian federal election, 1962 The Canadian federal election of 1962 was held on June 18, 1962 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 25th Parliament of Canada...	Elected	% Change	#	%	% Change	Liberal Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...	Lester Pearson Lester B. Pearson Lester Bowles "Mike" Pearson, PC, OM, CC, OBE was a Canadian professor, historian, civil servant, statesman, diplomat, and politician, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957 for organizing the United Nations Emergency Force to resolve the Suez Canal Crisis...	265	99	128	+29.3%	3,276,995	41.52%	+4.55%	Progressive Conservative Progressive Conservative Party of Canada The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....	John Diefenbaker John Diefenbaker John George Diefenbaker, PC, CH, QC was the 13th Prime Minister of Canada, serving from June 21, 1957, to April 22, 1963...	265	116	95	-18.1%	2,582,322	32.72%	-4.50%	Social Credit Social Credit Party of Canada The Social Credit Party of Canada was a conservative-populist political party in Canada that promoted social credit theories of monetary reform...	R.N. Thompson Robert N. Thompson Robert Norman Thompson was a Canadian politician, chiropractor, and educator. He was born in Duluth, Minnesota, to Canadian parents and moved to Canada in 1918 with his family...	224	30	24	-20.0%	940,703	11.92%	+0.32%	New Democrats New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...	Tommy Douglas Tommy Douglas Thomas Clement "Tommy" Douglas, was a Scottish-born Baptist minister who became a prominent Canadian social democratic politician...	232	19	17	-10.5%	1,044,701	13.24%	-0.33%	Liberal-Labour Liberal-Labour (Canada) The Liberal-Labour banner has also been used several times by candidates in Canadian elections:In the early twentieth century when the idea of trade unionists running for elected office under their own banner gained ground, several working class candidates on the provincial or federal level were...		1	1	1	-	16,794	0.21%	+0.01%	Independent Liberal		6	-	-	-	14,658	0.19%	+0.05%	Independent		9	-	-	-	5,236	0.07%	-0.04%	Communist Communist Party of Canada The Communist Party of Canada is a communist political party in Canada. Although is it currently a minor or small political party without representation in the Federal Parliament or in provincial legislatures, historically the Party has elected representatives in Federal Parliament, Ontario...	Leslie Morris Leslie Morris Leslie Tim Morris was a Welsh-Canadian politician, journalist and long time member of the Communist Party of Canada and, its front group, the Labour-Progressive Party....	12	-	-	-	4,234	0.05%	-0.03%	Independent PC		2	-	-	-	1,965	0.02%	-0.01%	Independent Conservative		2	*	-	*	1,159	0.01%	*	Ouvrier Indépendant Ouvrier Indépendant Ouvrier Indépendant was the label under which three candidates ran in Canadian federal elections between 1962 and 1965. They never won a seat in the Canadian House of Commons. Adélard Patry ran in the 1962 federal election....		1	-	-	-	1,064	0.01%	+0.01%	Independent Social Credit		2	*	-	*	717	0.01%	*	Nationalist		1	*	-	*	540	0.01%	*	Candidat libéral des electeurs Ralliement créditiste Historically in Quebec, Canada, there was a number of political parties that were part of the Canadian social credit movement. There were various parties at different times with different names at the provincial level, all broadly following the social credit philosophy; at various times they had...		1	-	-	-	496	0.01%	-0.02%	Socialist Labour Socialist Labour Party (Canada) The Socialist Labour Party was a political party in Canada that was formed by Canadian supporters of the ideas of American socialist Daniel De Leon and the Socialist Labor Party of America. The party never won any seats...		1	*	-	*	43	x	*
Total			1,023	265	265	-	7,891,627	100%
Sources: http://www.elections.ca History of Federal Ridings since 1867

Notes:

* The party did not nominate candidates in the previous election.

x - less than 0.005% of the popular vote

Results by province

>

Party name			BC British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...	AB Alberta Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...	SK Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....	MB Manitoba Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...	ON Ontario Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....	QC Quebec Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....	NB New Brunswick New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...	NS Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...	PE Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...	NL Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...	NW Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada.Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, and Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south...	YK Yukon Yukon is the westernmost and smallest of Canada's three federal territories. It was named after the Yukon River. The word Yukon means "Great River" in Gwich’in....	Total	Liberal Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...	Seats:	7	1	-	2	51	47	6	5	2	7	-	-	128	Popular Vote:	32.3	22.1	24.1	33.8	45.8	45.6	47.3	46.7	46.4	64.5	41.0	43.2	41.5	Progressive Conservative Progressive Conservative Party of Canada The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....	Seats:	4	14	17	10	27	8	4	7	2	-	1	1	95	Vote:	23.4	45.3	53.7	42.3	35.0	19.5	40.4	46.9	52.0	30.1	49.6	56.8	32.7	Social Credit Social Credit Party of Canada The Social Credit Party of Canada was a conservative-populist political party in Canada that promoted social credit theories of monetary reform...	Seats:	2	2	-	-	-	20	-	-			-		24	Vote:	13.3	25.8	3.9	7.0	2.0	27.3	8.6	0.1			9.4		11.9	New Democrats New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...	Seats:	9	-	-	2	6	-	-	-	-	-			17	Vote:	30.3	6.5	18.2	16.7	16.2	7.1	3.7	6.4	1.6	4.2			13.2	Liberal-Labour Liberal-Labour (Canada) The Liberal-Labour banner has also been used several times by candidates in Canadian elections:In the early twentieth century when the idea of trade unionists running for elected office under their own banner gained ground, several working class candidates on the provincial or federal level were...	Seats:					1								1	Vote:					0.6								0.2
Total seats:			22	17	17	14	85	75	10	12	4	7	1	1	265
Parties that won no seats:
Independent Liberal	Vote:					0.3	0.1				1.3			0.2	Independent	Vote:	xx	0.1	xx	0.2	xx	0.1							0.1	Communist Communist Party of Canada The Communist Party of Canada is a communist political party in Canada. Although is it currently a minor or small political party without representation in the Federal Parliament or in provincial legislatures, historically the Party has elected representatives in Federal Parliament, Ontario...	Vote:	0.1	0.1	0.1		0.1	xx							0.1	Independent PC	Vote:					xx	0.1							xx	Independent Conservative	Vote:					xx								xx	Ouvrier Indépendant Ouvrier Indépendant Ouvrier Indépendant was the label under which three candidates ran in Canadian federal elections between 1962 and 1965. They never won a seat in the Canadian House of Commons. Adélard Patry ran in the 1962 federal election....	Vote:						0.1							xx	Independent Social Credit	Vote:						xx							xx	Nationalist	Vote:						xx							xx	C. l. des electeurs Ralliement créditiste Historically in Quebec, Canada, there was a number of political parties that were part of the Canadian social credit movement. There were various parties at different times with different names at the provincial level, all broadly following the social credit philosophy; at various times they had...	Vote:						xx							xx	Socialist Labour Socialist Labour Party (Canada) The Socialist Labour Party was a political party in Canada that was formed by Canadian supporters of the ideas of American socialist Daniel De Leon and the Socialist Labor Party of America. The party never won any seats...	Vote:						xx							xx

• xx - less than 0.05% of the popular vote

See also

• List of Canadian federal general elections
• List of political parties in Canada
• 26th Canadian Parliament
  26th Canadian Parliament
  The 26th Canadian Parliament was in session from May 16, 1963 until September 8, 1965. The membership was set by the 1963 federal election on April 8, 1963, and it changed only somewhat due to resignations and by-elections until it was dissolved prior to the 1965 election.It was controlled by a...
  
  

External links

• A Sordid Affair, by Norman Hillmer