This is the electoral history of Stephen Harper, the twenty-second prime minister of Canada. Harper served as prime minister from February 6, 2006 to November 4, 2015, having won three general elections.
A conservative, Harper was unsuccessful in his first general election as leader of the Conservative Party, which re-elected then-Prime Minister Paul Martin and the Liberals with a minority government. However, less than two years later Harper defeated Martin in the general election of 2006 and formed a minority government. Harper was re-elected with a minority government in 2008, and then a majority government in the election of 2011.
Harper was defeated in the 2015 general election by Justin Trudeau and the Liberals, who succeeded him as prime minister. His successor as leader of the Conservative Party was Andrew Scheer.
Harper stood for election to the House of Commons eight times, first for the Reform Party, then for the Canadian Alliance, and finally for the Conservative Party. He was defeated on his first attempt, but elected the next seven times.
Harper took a break from electoral politics from 1998 to 2002, when he was the president of the National Citizens Coalition.
Following the 2015 general election defeat, Harper resigned as leader of the Conservative Party. He retired from politics in 2016.
Summary
Harper ranks sixth out of twenty-three prime ministers for time in office, serving as prime minister for nine years, 271 days.PARLINFO: Prime Ministers of Canada. He is the third Conservative to win three elections, following Sir John A. Macdonald and John Diefenbaker, and the second-longest serving Conservative prime minister, after Macdonald.
Harper was the third prime minister from Alberta, the others being R. B. Bennett and Joe Clark.
Harper was originally from Ontario and a Liberal Party supporter, but in his early twenties he moved to Alberta. He became involved in Progressive Conservative politics and then gradually in the formation of the new Reform Party, working as Reform's chief policy officer. He served one term as a Reform Member of Parliament, but then resigned to become the president of the National Citizens Coalition (1998–2002).Canadian Encyclopedia: "Stephen Harper".
In 2002, Harper was elected leader of the Canadian Alliance, the successor to the Reform Party, and began merger talks with the Progressive Conservative party, known as the Unite the Right movement. After the merger was achieved, he became the first leader of the new Conservative Party of Canada, and led the party in the 2004 general election. Although defeated by Prime Minister Paul Martin and the Liberal Party, Harper and the Conservatives become the Official Opposition. Two years later, Harper and the Conservatives won the 2006 general election, forming a minority government. Harper successfully led the Conservative Party in the next two elections, being returned with a minority government in 2008, and then with a majority government in 2011. He was defeated by the Liberals led by Justin Trudeau in the 2015 general election. On election night, he announced he would be resigning as leader of the Conservative Party.PARLINFO: The Right Hon. Stephen Harper, P.C.
Harper stood for election to the House of Commons eight times, all in Alberta ridings. He was unsuccessful in his first election (1988), but was elected the next five times (four general elections and one by-election).
Following his resignation as prime minister and Conservative leader, Harper remained a Member of Parliament and sat as a Conservative back-bencher in the House of Commons until he resigned his seat and retired from politics in 2016.Library of Parliament – History of Federal Ridings since 1867: Calgary Heritage.
Federal general elections: 2004 to 2015 Harper led the Conservative Party in five general elections. He won three (2006, 2008 and 2011) and lost two (2004 and 2015). He won two minority governments in the 2006 and 2008 elections, and a majority government in the 2011 election. He lost the 2015 election to Justin Trudeau.
Federal general election: 2004
In his first general election as a party leader, Harper reduced Martin's government from a majority to a minority government. Harper retained his position as Leader of the Official Opposition.
+ Canadian Federal Election, 2004 - Parties, Leaders, Seats Won and Popular VotePartyLeadersSeats WonPopular VotePaul Martin113536.7%Stephen Harper29929.6%Gilles Duceppe5412.4%New Democratic PartyJack Layton1915.7%Independent–10.5%Total 308 94.9%3Sources: Library of Parliament – History of Federal Ridings since 1867
1 Prime Minister when election was called; Prime Minister after election. 2 Leader of the Opposition when election was called; Leader of the Opposition after the election. 3 Table does not include parties which received votes but did not elect any members.
Federal general election: 2006
In his second general election, Harper defeated Prime Minister Martin and formed a minority government.
+ Canadian Federal Election, 2006 - Parties, Leaders, Seats Won and Popular VotePartyLeadersSeats WonPopular VoteStephen Harper112436.3%Paul Martin210330.2%Gilles Duceppe5110.5%New Democratic PartyJack Layton2917.5%Independent–10.6%Total 308 95.1%3Sources: Library of Parliament – History of Federal Ridings since 1867
1 Leader of the Opposition when election was called; Prime Minister after election. 2 Prime Minister when election was called; Member of Parliament after the election. 3 Table does not include parties which received votes but did not elect any members.
Federal general election: 2008
In his third general election, Harper was re-elected with another minority government, defeating the new Liberal leader, Stéphane Dion.
+ Canadian Federal Election, 2008 - Parties, Leaders, Seats Won and Popular VotePartyLeadersSeats WonPopular VoteStephen Harper114337.7%Stéphane Dion27726.3%Gilles Duceppe4910.0%New Democratic PartyJack Layton3718.2%Independent–20.7%Total 308 92.9%3Sources: Library of Parliament – History of Federal Ridings since 1867
1 Prime Minister when election was called; Prime Minister after election. 2 Leader of the Opposition when election was called; Leader of the Opposition after the election. 3 Table does not include parties which received votes but did not elect any members.
Federal general election: 2011
In his fourth general election, Harper was re-elected with a majority government, defeating the new Liberal leader, Michael Ignatieff.
+ Canadian Federal Election, 2011 - Parties, Leaders, Seats Won and Popular VotePartyLeadersSeats WonPopular VoteStephen Harper116639.6%New Democratic PartyJack Layton210330.6%Michael Ignatieff33418.9%Gilles Duceppe46.0%Elizabeth May13.9%Total 308 99.0%4Sources: Library of Parliament – History of Federal Ridings since 1867
1 Prime Minister when election was called; Prime Minister after election. 2 Leader of a third party when election was called; Leader of the Opposition after the election. 3 Leader of the Opposition when election was called; not a Member of Parliament after the election. 4 Table does not include parties which received votes but did not elect any members.
Federal general election: 2015
In his fifth general election, Harper was defeated by the new Liberal leader, Justin Trudeau, who formed a majority government.
+ Canadian Federal Election, 2015 - Parties, Leaders, Seats Won and Popular VotePartyLeadersSeats WonPopular VoteJustin Trudeau118439.47%Stephen Harper29931.9%New Democratic PartyThomas Mulcair34419.7%Gilles Duceppe104.7%Elizabeth May13.5%Total 338 99.3%4Sources: Library of Parliament – History of Federal Ridings since 1867
1 Leader of a third party when election was called; Prime Minister after election. 2 Prime Minister when election was called; Member of Parliament after the election. 3 Leader of the Opposition when election was called; leader of a third party after the election. 4 Table does not include parties which received votes but did not elect any members.
Federal constituency elections: 1988, 1993; 2002 to 2015
Harper stood for election to the House of Commons eight times. He was defeated the first time, in the general election of 1988, but was elected the next seven times (six general elections and one by-election).
1988 Federal Election: Calgary West
+ Federal Election, 1988: Calgary West, AlbertaPartyCandidatePopular Vote % Progressive Conservative X Jim Hawkes32,02558.5%Stephen Harper9,07416.6% John Phillips6,88012.6%New Democratic PartyRichard D. Vanderberg6,35511.6%David Faren2250.4%Brent Morin1700.2%Total54,729 99.9%1Source: Library of Parliament – History of Federal Ridings since 1867: Calgary West
Elected. X Incumbent. 1 Rounding error.
1993 Federal Election: Calgary West
+ Federal Election, 1993: Calgary West, AlbertaPartyCandidatePopular Vote % Stephen Harper30,20952.2% Karen Gainer15,31426.5%Progressive Conservative X Jim Hawkes9,09015.7%New Democratic PartyRudy Rogers1,1942.1%Kathleen McNeil1,0681.8%Frank Haika4830.8%Don Francis3470.6%Larry R. Heather1160.2%Total57,821 99.9%1Source: Library of Parliament – History of Federal Ridings since 1867: Calgary West
Elected. X Incumbent. 1 Rounding error.
2002 Federal By-Election: Calgary Southwest
The by-election was called following the resignation of the incumbent, Preston Manning, the former leader of the Reform Party, to give Harper, recently elected leader of the Alliance, an opportunity to enter the House of Commons.
+ Federal By-Election, May 13, 2002: Calgary Southwest, AlbertaPartyCandidatePopular Vote % Stephen Harper13,20071.7%New Democratic PartyBill Phipps3,81320.7%James S. Kohut6603.6%IndependentGordon Barrett4282.3%Ron Gray3201.7%Total18,421 100.0%Source: Library of Parliament – History of Federal Ridings since 1867: Calgary Southwest
Elected.
2004 Federal Election: Calgary Southwest
+ Federal Election, 2004: Calgary Southwest, AlbertaPartyCandidatePopular Vote % X Stephen Harper35,29768.4%Avalon Roberts9,50118.4%Darcy Kraus3,2106.2%New Democratic PartyDaria Fox2,8845.6%Mark De Pelham5161.0%Larry R. Heather2290.4%Total51,637 100.0%Source: Library of Parliament – History of Federal Ridings since 1867: Calgary Southwest
Elected. X Incumbent.
2006 Federal Election: Calgary Southwest
+ Federal Election, 2006: Calgary Southwest, AlbertaPartyCandidatePopular Vote % X Stephen Harper41,54972.4%Mike Swanson6,55311.4%New Democratic PartyHolly Heffernan4,6288.1%Kim Warnke4,4077.7%Larry R. Heather2790.5%Total57,416 100.1%1Source: Library of Parliament – History of Federal Ridings since 1867: Calgary Southwest
Elected. X Incumbent. 1 Rounding error.
2008 Federal Election: Calgary Southwest
+ Federal Election, 2008: Calgary Southwest, AlbertaPartyCandidatePopular Vote % X Stephen Harper38,54873.0%Marlene Lamontagne4,9189.3%Kelly Christie4,7439.0%New Democratic PartyHolly Heffernan4,1027.8%Dennis Young2650.5%Larry R. Heather2560.5%Total52,832 100.1%1Source: Library of Parliament – History of Federal Ridings since 1867: Calgary Southwest
Elected. X Incumbent. 1 Rounding error.
2011 Federal Election: Calgary Southwest
+ Federal Election, 2011: Calgary Southwest, AlbertaPartyCandidatePopular Vote % X Stephen Harper42,99875.1%New Democratic PartyHolly Heffernan6,82311.9%Marlene Lamontagne4,1217.2%Kelly Christie2,9915.2%Larry R. Heather3030.5%Total57,236 99.9%1Source: Library of Parliament – History of Federal Ridings since 1867: Calgary Southwest
Elected. X Incumbent. 1 Rounding error.
Note: the electoral district was abolished in 2015.
2015 Federal Election: Calgary Heritage