Unlike other federal political systems, Canadian political parties at the federal level are often loosely or not at all connected to parties at the provincial level, despite having similar names and policy positions. One exception is the New Democratic Party, which is organizationally integrated with most of its provincial counterparts.
Current parties Represented parties These parties have seats in the House of Commons, which is Canada's elected assembly at the federal level. Members were elected in the 2025 Canadian federal election and subsequent by-elections.
Name Founded Leader Ideology Politicalposition Membership MPs LargestMP caucus Most ridingscontested Liberal Party of Canada 1867 Mark Carney Centre tocentre-left ~400,000 (2025) (1940) (2015–2021) Conservative Party of Canada 2003 Pierre Poilievre Centre-rightto 678,708 (2022) (2011) (2015, 2019) Bloc Québécois 1991 Yves-François Blanchet Centre-left 23,000 (2014) (1993) (1993) New Democratic Party 1961 Avi Lewis Centre-leftto 100,542 (2026) (2011) (2015–2021) Green Party of Canada 1983 Elizabeth May Green politics 9,877 (2025) (2019) (2019)
Registered parties The following political parties are registered with Elections Canada and eligible to run candidates in future federal elections, but are not currently represented in the House of Commons.
Name Founded Leader Ideology Political position Membership Largest MP caucus Most ridings contested Animal Protection Party 2005 Liz White Animal rights, environmentalism — (2019) Canadian Future Party 2024 Dominic Cardy CentrismCentre1,401 (2024)— (2025)Centrist Party of Canada 2020 A.Q. Rana Centrism Centre— (2025) Christian Heritage Party 1986 Rodney L. Taylor Social conservatism, Christian right Right-wing6,000 (2015)— (1988) Communist Party of Canada 1921 Drew Garvie Communism, Marxism–Leninism Far-left (1943) (1953) Marxist–Leninist Party of Canada 1970 Anna Di Carlo Communism, Marxism–Leninism, Anti-revisionism Far-left— (1980) People's Party of Canada 2018 Maxime Bernier Conservatism, right-libertarianism, right-wing populism Right-wing to far-right17,720 (2025) (2018) (2019) Rhinoceros Party 2006 Chinook B. Blais-Leduc Satirical politics260 (2022)— (2019) Reforge Party 2024 Grant Abraham Social conservatism, fiscal conservatism, right-wing populism Right-wing to far-right400–500 (2025)— (2025)
Eligible parties Eligible parties have applied to Elections Canada and met all of the legal requirements to be registered, other than running a candidate in a general election or by-election. Such parties are eligible to run candidates in federal elections but are not be considered "registered" by Elections Canada until they have registered a candidate in an election or by-election. There are currently no eligible parties at the federal level.
Non-party parliamentary groups At various points both the House of Commons and Senate have included non-party parliamentary groups, also called caucuses. These groups are unaffiliated with registered political parties, are not registered with Elections Canada, and do not run candidates in Canadian federal elections. Essentially, these parliamentary groups are equivalent to political parties in the legislative context, but do not exist in an electoral capacity.
Parliamentary groups in the House of Commons of Canada are typically made up of MPs that separate from a party over leadership conflicts. Notable past parliamentary groups in the House of Commons include the Ginger Group (1924–1932; split from Progressive Party), Democratic Representative Caucus (2001–2002; split from Canadian Alliance), and Québec debout (2018; split from Bloc Québécois).
Senate caucuses The Senate of Canada is Canada's unelected upper chamber. It currently has three non-party parliamentary groups: the Independent Senators Group (ISG), the Canadian Senators Group (CSG), and the Progressive Senate Group (PSG). These three groups do not share a formal ideology, platform, or membership in any one political party; the caucuses primarily serve to provide organizational support and better leverage parliamentary resources. Conservative senators remain formally affiliated with the Conservative Party of Canada.
Name Founded Facilitator / Leader Ideology Senators Most senators Independent Senators Group 2016 Raymonde Saint-Germain Non-partisan technical group (2019) Canadian Senators Group 2019 Scott Tannas Non-partisan technical group (2025) Progressive Senate Group 2019 Pierre Dalphond Progressivism, Non-partisan technical group (2025) Conservative Party of Canada 2003 Leo Housakos Conservatism, economic liberalism (2013) Government Representative's Office 2025 Pierre Moreau (2025)
Historical parties Registered parties These are political parties which held seats in the House of Commons and either ceased to exist before Elections Canada was formed, or were once registered with Elections Canada but have become de-registered or ceased to exist due to dissolution.
Name Founded DissolvedIdeology Largest MP caucus Most ridings contestedAbolitionist Party1993Social credit, monetary reform, social liberalism— (1993) Anti-Confederation Party1867Opposition to Confederation (membership in Canada), Nova Scotia separatism (1867) (1867) 1943 Anti-conscription, Canadian nationalism, isolationism, French Canadian rights (1943) (1945)Canada Party (1993)1993— (1993) Canadian Action Party 1997 Canadian nationalism, anti-globalization— (2000) Canadian Nationalist Party 2017 White nationalism— (2019) Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance 2000 Conservatism, right-wing populism, social conservatism (2001) (2000)Co-operative Commonwealth Federation1932 Social democracy, democratic socialism, agrarianism (1948) (1945) Confederation of Regions Party1984 Regionalism, conservatism— (1984)Conservative Party (1867)
Progressive Conservative Party1854 Canadian conservatism, British loyalism, Canadian nationalism (particularly under John Diefenbaker), Red Toryism, economic liberalism (under Brian Mulroney), moderation, occasional populism (1958) (1997) Democratic Party1945— (1945) Direct Democracy Party 2019 Direct democracy — (2019) Equal Rights1890— (1891) First Peoples National Party 2005Aboriginal rights advocacy— (2008) Free Party Canada 2019 2024 Direct democracyVaccine hesitancy— (2021)Labour Party1926Trade unionism, socialism (1926) (1921) Libertarian Party of Canada 1973 2026 Libertarianism, laissez-faire— (1988) Marijuana Party2000 Cannabis law reforms— (2000) Maverick Party20202025 Western separatism, conservatism, right-wing populism — (2021)McCarthyite1896Anti-Catholic, anti-French, British imperialism (1896) (1896) National Citizens Alliance 2014 White nationalism— (2015, 2019, 2021) National Party (1991)1991 Canadian nationalism, protectionism, progressivism— (1993)Nationalist (1873)1873 Socialism, nationalization of industries (1889) (1887) Natural Law Party 1992 New age— (1993) New Capitalist Party19651965 — (1965) Newfoundland and Labrador First Party 2007 Newfoundland and Labrador advocacy— (2008)Non-Partisan League1917Agrarianism— (1917)Parti de la Démocratisation Économique1968— (1968)1983Quebec independence— (1984)Party for the Commonwealth of Canada1984LaRouchite— (1984) Parti Patriote 2019 Quebec nationalism, Quebec sovereignty, right-wing populism— (2021) Patrons of Industry 1890 Pro-labour (1896) (1896) People's Political Power Party 2006 Feminist, centrist, populist— (2008) Pirate Party 2010 Pirate politics— (2011) Parti pour l'Indépendance du Québec 2019 Québec independence— (2019) Progressive Canadian Party2004 Red Toryism— (2006) Progressive Party
United Farmers1921 Agrarian, free trade, progressivism (1921) (1921)Protestant Protective Association18921898Anti-Catholic, Anti-French— (1896)Radical chrétien1958— (1967 by-elections)1963 Split from the Social Credit Party; see Social Credit Party of Canada split, 1963. (1968) (1965) Reconstruction Party 1935 Keynesianism, national conservatism, isolationism (1935) (1935)Reform Party 1987 Fiscal conservatism, regionalism, social conservatism, democratic reform (1997) (1997)Republican Party (1967)1967— (1968)Republican Party (1971)1971— (1971 by-elections)Rhinoceros Party (1963)1968Satirical— (1980) Social Credit Party 1935 Canadian social credit, Canadian conservatism, right-wing populism, social conservatism (1962) (1962)Socialist Labour Party1945Socialism— (1945)Socialist Party (1904)1904Socialism, Classical Marxism, Anti-Leninism— (1911)Socialist Party (1931)1931Socialism, Classical Marxism, Anti-Leninism— (1958) Stop Climate Change 2019 Environmentalism— (2019) Strength in Democracy 2014 Social democracy, regionalism (2015) (2015)1979 Quebecois independence (precursor of Bloc Québécois)— (1979) United Party (2009) 2009 Centrism— (2011) United Party (2018) — (2019)United Reform1939 Left-wing populism, reformism (1939) (1940) Veterans Coalition Party Single issue— (2019) Western Block Party 2005 Western separatism, paleoconservatism, libertarian conservativism— (2006)
Non-party parliamentary groups These caucuses were formed by sitting members of the House of Commons, but never ran in an election as a unified party.
Name Founded DissolvedDescription Largest caucus Most ridings contested Democratic Representative Caucus2001Formed in the 37th Canadian Parliament by MPs who left the Canadian Alliance due to the leadership of Stockwell Day. The group was dissolved after Day lost the party leadership to Stephen Harper. (2002)—Ginger Group1924Split from the Progressive Party. Supported Progressivism and socialism. In 1932 formed the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation. (1926) Likely some number of Labour candidates Liberal–Progressive1925 Nominated jointly by or aligned with both the Liberal Party and Progressive Party. (1926) (1926)Liberal–Unionist19171921Members of the Liberal Party who supported Robert Borden's coalition government. (1917)Likely some number of Unionist candidatesNationalist Conservative1878Used by Quebec Members in order to distinguish themselves from what has been referred by the party as the "British imperialist" reputation of the Conservative Party. (1887) (1887)Nationalist Liberal1867 (1891)—Parti canadien19421944Anti-conscription. In addition to the MP who adopted this label, two candidates ran in by-elections using this label. (1942)—Progressive–Conservative1925 Probably indicates that these candidates were supporters of both the Progressive Party of Canada and the historical Conservative Party. (1930) (1926) Québec debout2018Formed when several MPs left the Bloc Québécois due to the leadership of Martine Ouellet. The group was dissolved after Ouellet lost a leadership review vote and resigned. (2018)—
Designations used by single candidates These titles appear in official records, and may have appeared on ballots, but were only ever used as a personal brand by lone candidates.
Action Canada (Paul Hellyer), 1971–1972 All Canadian Party (John Darby Naismith), 1962–1962 Alliance of the North (François Bélanger), 2013–2019 Anti-Communist (Jean Tissot), 1935 Anti-Communist (Patrick Walsh), 1953 Anti-Conscriptionist (Louis-Gérard Gosselin), 1940 Autonomist candidate (Paul Massé), 1947 The Bridge Party of Canada (David Berlin), 2015–2017 Canada Party (II) (Jim Pankiw) 2015–2016 Canadian Democrat (Gerry Goeujon), 1957 Capital familial (Henri-Georges Grenier), 1957–1962 Christian Democrat Party of Canada (Sydney Thompson), 1981 Christian Liberal (Howard A. Prentice), 1953 Co-operative Builders of Canada (Edgar-Bernard Charron), 1962 Droit vital personnel (Henri-Georges Grenier), 1965 Esprit Social (Henri-Georges Grenier), 1967–1971 Franc Lib (Alfred Edward Watts), 1930 Franc Lib (Jean-Roger Marcotte), 1968 League for Socialist Action, 1961–1977 Liberal Conservative Coalition (George Rolland), 1957 National Credit Control (John Bernard Ball), 1957 Nationalist (Adrien Arcand), 1949, 1953