Most interesting election maps in Canadian history

[Docere]

This is a very good website tracking federal and provincial election results as far back as 1902.

https://www.election-atlas.ca

What are some of the most interesting maps? I'm going to profile a few:

Ontario, 1943: PCs 38, CCF 34, Liberals 16, LPP 2

1943-44 was when the political Left was at its peak in Canada (the CCF actually led national polls in 1943 and Tommy Douglas led the CCF to power in 1944 in Saskatchewan). The CCF in that year's election formed Official Opposition and came within 4 seats of winning power (they would drop to 8 seats in 1945, increase to 21 in 1948 but then remain relegated to the margins until 1967). They clean up in Northern Ontario and the industrial cities. They also have some decent rural support. Toronto itself is split between the PCs and CCF, while the two heavily Jewish districts elect Labour Progressives (Communists). Especially striking is the CCF wins in the then-rural areas surrounding Toronto.

Federal, 1958: PCs 208, Liberals 49, CCF 8

Diefenbaker sweeps the country. Seats that "never go Conservative", like Westmount and Davenport, did in that election. Diefenbaker turns the Prairies into a Conservative stronghold (it wasn't before then, the Tory base was in Ontario and Atlantic Canada). The Tories win every seat in Toronto. The only weak spot for the PCs is Newfoundland where they win nothing outside St. John's. The CCF win only 8 seats and after that they decide to create the NDP.

Ontario, 1990: NDP 74, Liberals 36, PCs 20

A map that couldn't be replicated today. The NDP performs well in Toronto and wins the industrial cities and in Northern Ontario. What's really strange is the rural seats they win in southern and central Ontario (Muskoka, Haliburton, Huron, Norfolk, Elgin!) The NDP benefits from smaller right-wing parties (Family Coalition, Confederation of Regions) doing well in rural ridings. The NDP doesn't do very well in what would soon become known as the 905 region, but it didn't have the influence it does now. It is now crucial to winning all provincial and federal elections (it was first noticed when the Harris Tories swept the 905 in 1995).

Federal, 1993: Liberals 177, BQ 54, Reform 52, NDP 9, PCs 2

One of the most volatile elections in any advanced democracy - and oddly enough the "natural party of government" ends up winning. The BQ ends up Official Opposition. Reform is close behind with a strong performance in the West. PCs get similar vote share to Reform but only two seats. Liberals win all but one seat in Ontario. NDP loses Official Opposition status and 5 of its 9 seats are in Saskatchewan. Their vote bleeds to the Liberals in Ontario while Reform picks up the populist mantle in BC. In my view, the strangest single riding result was the Liberals eking out a victory in a three-way race in the rural Saskatchewan riding of Souris-Moose Mountain(!), which is pretty much their weakest riding today.

British Columbia, 1996: NDP 39, Liberals 33, Reform 2, PDA 1

Lots of Glen Clark/Preston Manning voters in those days. BC Liberals won the popular vote, but the NDP won where it mattered. BC politics has long been defined by a class polarization more in line with Britain and Australia than North America. Strong showing for the NDP in the interior and north. City of Vancouver had a strong east/west split, with even very socially progressive areas of the West Side going Liberal. Under Horgan and Eby, the BC NDP has been transformed into a big-tent center-left, small-"l" liberal party more in line with the NDP in Alberta and Manitoba.

[SignalHillHiker]

For us, provincially, 2007 was the weirdest recent one. We were left with no real opposition at all. Danny was our first post-Confederation leader actually from St. John's and it showed in his attitude toward Canada, which proved very popular. His legacy will always be the Lower Churchill now, but he basically redefined our place in the federation. I still credit his administration with creating the conditions that allowed me to move home and will be forever grateful for that period.

[Taeolas]

I'd say New Brunswick's more interesting one was 1987, the year the Liberals got all 58 seats in the province. I remember very little about that era as I was a bit too young to pay attention to it, but I remember a lot of chatter about how strange it was to have 1 party that in charge. It's rather impressive that with that much power, the McKenna Liberals didn't really blow their power either; they had solid wins in the next 2 election cycles, taking 46/58 and 48/58 seats in '91 and '95. (They finally got blown out in '99 when the Conservatives got 44/55 seats).

[Acajack]

2011 was a doozy.

[MolsonExport]

1993. The Balkanization of Canada. The year that the Tories went down to 2 seats, the Liberals nearly swept Ontario (and Atlantic Canada, save for one seat), the Refooooorrrrrrmmm party grabbed most of Alberta (and BC!!), and the Bloc took most of Quebec.

[Docere]

^ As I said in OP, look at the result in Souris-Moose Mountain.

1993

Liberals 32.2%
Reform 30.7%
NDP 16.5%
PCs 15%

2021

Conservatives 76.4%
PPC 9.1%
NDP 7.9%
Liberals 4.2%
Maverick 2.5%

[Build.It]

Thanks for sharing. Very interesting to look at.

[Docere]

Originally Posted by Acajack

2011 was a doozy.

It was a realignment election - or looked like one - though I think 1993 was wilder. Still, it was pretty remarkable to watch the "orange wave" sweep through Quebec. Not much sign of that now (the NDP vote lines up with the QS vote).

[Docere]

More recently are elections in Alberta in 2012 and 2015. In 2012, rural southern Alberta is much more into Wildrose than northern Alberta. In 2015, NDP ends up winning in some strange places like Red Deer and Medicine Hat due to right-wing vote-splitting.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Docere

It was a realignment election - or looked like one - though I think 1993 was wilder. Still, it was pretty remarkable to watch the "orange wave" sweep through Quebec. Not much sign of that now (the NDP vote lines up with the QS vote).

Yet 1993 had more lasting effects. We're basically still living with a variation of the 1993 alignment today.

[SignalHillHiker]

The weirdest federal one for me was 2011. It invigorated me politically, made me feel it was crucial, existential even, that Newfoundland and Labrador become independent. It was my Canadian equivalent of watching George W. Bush win re-election and wondering what the fuck was wrong with people.

I've calmed down a lot since 2011, though - COVID and Brexit, especially, have assuaged my sense of urgency.

[OttCity16]

Election Atlas is such a great resource!

Personally I find Ontario 1990, Nova Scotia 2009, and Alberta 2015 to be three examples of wild election results. In each case the NDP was swept into power seemingly out of nowhere for the first time in the provinces' history. It's worth noting the NDP was swept out of power after one term in all three cases as well.

[VANRIDERFAN]

1993 - The Liberals had no business winning 12 of 14 seats in Manitoba where the Reform/PC vote split caused the Liberals to win in areas where they outright surprised everyone especially themselves.

[Docere]

Another interesting one is the 1980 federal election, with its staggering east/west split.

Pierre Trudeau came back with a majority, with two seats in Western Canada (both in Winnipeg). In fact he actually approached Ed Broadbent about forming a coalition government. He wanted to shore up national support for his constitutional initiatives. The NDP that year had a more Western-heavy caucus than usual (all but 5 of its 32 seats were in the West). Broadbent rejected the idea though because he didn't want to betray supporters and furthermore Trudeau didn't need NDP support to stay in power.

[Docere]

Originally Posted by VANRIDERFAN

1993 - The Liberals had no business winning 12 of 14 seats in Manitoba where the Reform/PC vote split caused the Liberals to win in areas where they outright surprised everyone especially themselves.

Every now and then Manitoba votes more like Ontario than a Prairie province. That happened in 1993 and that happened in 2015.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by VANRIDERFAN

1993 - The Liberals had no business winning 12 of 14 seats in Manitoba where the Reform/PC vote split caused the Liberals to win in areas where they outright surprised everyone especially themselves.

The Liberals won Souris-Moose Mountain SK with 32% of the vote, but Reform + Conservative there was 46%.

[Docere]

And in the last election the Liberals barely outpolled the Maverick Party in that riding.

[VANRIDERFAN]

Originally Posted by Acajack

The Liberals won Souris-Moose Mountain SK with 32% of the vote, but Reform + Conservative there was 46%.

Similar split in Brandon-Souris which butts up against Souris-Moose Mountain.

I've said many times before that the border between that part of SK and MB is imaginary. There is zero difference between the people who live in that region of the prairies.

[Docere]

Originally Posted by VANRIDERFAN

Similar split in Brandon-Souris which butts up against Souris-Moose Mountain.

I've said many times before that the border between that part of SK and MB is imaginary. There is zero difference between the people who live in that region of the prairies.

Where do you draw a non-arbitrary line in the Prairie provinces?

[VANRIDERFAN]

Originally Posted by Docere

Where do you draw a non-arbitrary line in the Prairie provinces?

There is no real physical borders on the Prairie. Attitudes and norms evolve as you head west, especially in the Ag community. The Red River Valley is different from the Manitoba escarpment, which is different from the Regina Plain, which is different from the Short Grass Prairie Ranching folks of SW SK/Southern AB.

What I'm trying to say is that cultural differences on the Prairie will follow a more a Latitudinal line vice a Longitudinal line if you know what I mean. So there is kind of 3 entities that are bisected by the TCH and the Yellowhead highways.

South of the TCH is one. Between the TCH and the Yellowhead is another. North of the Yellowhead to the Canadian shield is a third. And these 3 sections can then be divided by the type of agriculture (depending of soil type and moisture levels as you head west)

Have I confused you enough?