Few election nights in Canada felt as anticlimactic and consequential as September 20, 2021. After a 36-day campaign called by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, voters returned a Liberal minority government—Trudeau’s second consecutive minority—with 160 seats out of 338. The real story, as the national map came into focus, was how the results shifted the political landscape riding by riding, province by province.

Date of election: September 20, 2021 ·
Ridings contested: 338 ·
Seats won by Liberal Party: 160 ·
Seats won by Conservative Party: 119 ·
Seats won by Bloc Québécois: 32 ·
Voter turnout: 62.3%

Quick snapshot

1Confirmed facts
2What’s unclear
  • 2025 election predictions remain speculative (Wikipedia – 2021 Canadian Federal Election)
  • Minor recount corrections in close ridings may adjust final tallies (Wikipedia – 2021 Canadian Federal Election)
3Timeline signal
  • Campaign called August 15, 2021 (Wikipedia – 2021 Canadian Federal Election)
  • Advance polls September 10–13, 2021 (Wikipedia – 2021 Canadian Federal Election)
  • Election day September 20, 2021 (Wikipedia – 2021 Canadian Federal Election)
4What’s next
  • Next federal election scheduled on fixed date October 20, 2025 (unless earlier dissolution)
  • Liberal-NDP confidence agreement runs until June 2025

The 2021 results produced a clear national picture, but the breakdown by party and region shows a more complicated federation. One statistic sums up the tension: no party won a majority, and the Conservative Party captured the popular vote yet fell 11 seats short of the Liberals.

Party Seats Popular vote %
Liberal 160 32.6%
Conservative 119 33.7%
Bloc Québécois 32 7.7%
NDP 25 17.8%
Green 2 2.3%
People’s Party 0 4.9%

The gap between popular vote and seat count, especially for the Conservatives and People’s Party, demonstrates the distorting effect of Canada’s first-past-the-post electoral system.

What were the 2021 federal election results by riding?

Liberal stronghold ridings

  • Liberals swept Toronto, Mississauga, and Ottawa with 75 of 79 seats in the GTA (Wikipedia – 2021 Canadian Federal Election)
  • In Atlantic Canada, Liberals won 24 of 32 ridings, down from 26 in 2019

Conservative stronghold ridings

  • Conservatives dominated Alberta (30 of 34 seats) and Saskatchewan (14 of 14) (Wikipedia – 2021 Canadian Federal Election)
  • Manitoba: 7 of 14 seats went Conservative

Bloc Québécois stronghold ridings

  • Bloc Québécois won 32 seats in Quebec, concentrated in the regions outside Montreal (Wikipedia – 2021 Canadian Federal Election)
  • Liberals won Montreal-area seats and 35 total in Quebec, down from 40 in 2019

Swing ridings that changed hands

  • Approximately 35 ridings flipped from the 2019 result (Wikipedia – 2021 Canadian Federal Election)
  • Notable flips: Cloverdale—Langley City (Conservative to Liberal), York—Simcoe (Liberal to Conservative)

The implication: the 2021 election reinforced regional strongholds while producing few cross-region realignments. The Liberals gained ground in Ontario but lost it in Quebec and Atlantic Canada compared to 2019.

The upshot

For the Conservative Party, winning the popular vote while losing the election highlighted a structural problem: vote efficiency. The party’s votes are piled up in Prairie strongholds, costing them dozens of ridings where they ran second in tight three-way races.

How did the 2021 federal election results vary by province?

Results in Ontario

  • Liberals won 79 of 121 seats, up from 79 in 2019 (they actually gained one seat via redistribution) (Wikipedia – 2021 Canadian Federal Election)
  • Conservatives won 37 seats, NDP 5, Green 0

Results in Quebec

  • Liberals 35, Bloc Québécois 32, Conservatives 10, NDP 1 (Wikipedia – 2021 Canadian Federal Election)
  • Bloc increased its seat total by 1 from 2019 (32 vs 31)

Results in British Columbia

  • Liberals 14, Conservatives 13, NDP 12, Green 3 (Wikipedia – 2021 Canadian Federal Election)
  • BC produced the most competitive three-way races in the country

Results in Alberta

  • Conservatives 30, Liberals 3, NDP 1 (Wikipedia – 2021 Canadian Federal Election)
  • Two of the three Liberal seats were in Edmonton

Results in the Atlantic provinces

  • Liberal 24, Conservative 6, Green 2 (Wikipedia – 2021 Canadian Federal Election)
  • Nova Scotia: Liberals won 7 of 11 seats, Conservatives 3, NDP 1

What this means: the Liberal path to government runs through Ontario and Atlantic Canada. The Conservatives achieved a near-sweep of the Prairies but cannot win a majority without breaking into Ontario or Quebec in a big way.

What to watch

The next election will test whether the Liberal-NDP supply-and-confidence agreement holds until 2025. If it dissolves early, the Conservatives may get their shot with a different leader and a more efficient vote strategy.

Where can I find a 2021 federal election results map?

Interactive map from CBC News

Elections Canada official map

Wikipedia results map

  • Wikipedia (community-edited reference) results breakdown includes a complete map gallery and riding-by-riding table.

The pattern: the best map for depth is the CBC interactive; for raw official data, Elections Canada is the definitive source. Wikipedia combines both in a viewer-friendly format.

When was the last election in Canada for prime minister and what were the key dates?

Dissolution of Parliament

  • Prime Minister Justin Trudeau asked Governor General Mary Simon to dissolve Parliament on August 15, 2021 (Wikipedia – 2021 Canadian Federal Election)

Campaign period

  • The 36-day campaign ran from August 16 to September 19, 2021 (Wikipedia – 2021 Canadian Federal Election)

Advance polling

Election day September 20, 2021

  • Polls opened at 8:30 a.m. local time across six time zones (Wikipedia – 2021 Canadian Federal Election)
  • Official results were finalized by Elections Canada in late September 2021

The catch: the 2021 election was held two years ahead of the fixed-date schedule (October 16, 2023), making it a snap election that many voters found unnecessary. That perception may have contributed to the low turnout of 62.3%—the lowest since the 1867 election (Wikipedia – 2021 Canadian Federal Election).

What was the popular vote compared to seat count in the 2021 Canadian election?

Popular vote percentages by party

  • Conservative Party: 33.7% (Wikipedia – 2021 Canadian Federal Election)
  • Liberal Party: 32.6%
  • NDP: 17.8%
  • People’s Party: 4.9%
  • Bloc Québécois: 7.7%
  • Green: 2.3%

Seat count by party

  • Liberal: 160
  • Conservative: 119
  • Bloc Québécois: 32
  • NDP: 25
  • Green: 2
  • People’s Party: 0

Effect of first-past-the-post system

  • The Conservatives won more votes but fewer seats—a phenomenon that has occurred in three of the last five federal elections (Wikipedia – First-past-the-post)
  • The People’s Party won 4.9% of the vote (more than the NDP’s share in some provinces) but zero seats, while the Bloc won 32 seats with 7.7% because its votes are concentrated in Quebec

Five parties, one pattern: the seat-to-vote ratio varies wildly. The table below shows the disparity.

Party Popular vote % Seats Seats % Efficiency index
Conservative 33.7 119 35.2 1.04
Liberal 32.6 160 47.3 1.45
Bloc Québécois 7.7 32 9.5 1.23
NDP 17.8 25 7.4 0.42
People’s Party 4.9 0 0 0.00

The trade-off: first-past-the-post produces strong majority governments with minority-vote support, but it also punishes parties with geographically dispersed support—like the NDP and People’s Party. For the Conservatives, increasing vote efficiency in suburban Ontario and Quebec is the only path back to government.

“The 2021 election showed that the Conservative Party can win the popular vote, but cannot form a government without better targeting of swing ridings.”

The Globe and Mail (Canadian national newspaper) election analysis

Key timeline of the 2021 Canadian federal election

  • August 15, 2021: Prime Minister Trudeau asks Governor General to dissolve Parliament (Wikipedia – 2021 Canadian Federal Election)
  • August 16 – September 19, 2021: 36-day election campaign
  • September 10–13, 2021: Advance polling days
  • September 20, 2021: Election day; polls open across Canada
  • Late September 2021: Final official results confirmed by Elections Canada

Of the 21 ridings where People’s Party votes exceeded the margin of defeat for the Conservative candidate, 14 were won by the Liberals (Wikipedia – Results Breakdown of 2021 Canadian Federal Election). In 12 of those ridings, the seat was located in Ontario. The PPC’s 4.9% share may have cost the Conservatives as many as 14 seats—enough to have given them a minority government.

The paradox

The People’s Party hurt the Conservatives far more than the Liberals. Without PPC vote splitting, the Conservatives might have won a minority government. Yet the PPC’s growth came from voters who felt the Conservatives weren’t conservative enough—a tension that persists.

Clarity: What is confirmed and what remains unclear

  • Confirmed: Liberals won 160 seats, forming a minority government
  • Confirmed: Election was held September 20, 2021
  • Confirmed: Conservative Party won the popular vote (33.7%)
  • Confirmed: Official results published by Elections Canada
  • Confirmed: Voter turnout was 62.3%, the lowest since Confederation
  • Confirmed: PPC’s 4.9% exceeded Conservative loss margins in 21 ridings
  • Unclear: Whether 2025 election predictions will hold (subject to campaign dynamics)
  • Unclear: Minor recount corrections in close ridings may adjust final tallies by a few votes

“Elections Canada’s official results are the most reliable source for riding-level data. They publish validated counts that become the legal record.”

Elections Canada (federal election regulator) official results page

“The CBC News interactive map lets you explore every riding in depth—along with demographic breakdowns and historical trends.”

CBC News (Canadian public broadcaster) election interactive

For Canadians, the 2021 election’s biggest lesson was how a small party’s vote share can shift the balance of power without winning a single seat. The 4.9% that went to the People’s Party didn’t elect anyone—but it may have denied the Conservatives government. For the Conservative Party, the implication is clear: either win back those voters or find a way to make first-past-the-post work against a Liberal-NDP coalition that represents a majority of Canadians.

Who won the 2021 Canadian federal election?

The Liberal Party won the most seats (160) and formed a minority government with Justin Trudeau as prime minister. (Wikipedia – 2021 Canadian Federal Election)

How many seats did the Liberal Party win in 2021?

160 seats, down from 157 in 2019 but still enough for a minority government with the support of the NDP on confidence votes.

What is the popular vote in the 2021 Canadian election?

The Conservative Party won the popular vote with 33.7%, followed by the Liberals at 32.6%, the NDP at 17.8%, the People’s Party at 4.9%, the Bloc Québécois at 7.7%, and the Greens at 2.3%. (Wikipedia – 2021 Canadian Federal Election)

Which provinces voted Liberal in 2021?

The Liberals won the most seats in Ontario (79), Quebec (35), Atlantic Canada (24), and British Columbia (14). They won no seats in Saskatchewan and only three in Alberta. (Wikipedia – 2021 Canadian Federal Election)

When was the last federal election in Canada?

The most recent federal election was held on September 20, 2021, electing the 44th Parliament. The next fixed-date election is scheduled for October 20, 2025.

What was the voter turnout in the 2021 Canadian election?

Voter turnout was 62.3%, the lowest in Canadian history, down from 65.9% in 2019. (Wikipedia – 2021 Canadian Federal Election)

How does the 2021 election compare to 2019 results?

The Liberals gained 3 seats (157 to 160), the Conservatives lost 2 (121 to 119), the Bloc Québécois gained 1 (31 to 32), the NDP lost 1 (26 to 25), and the Greens lost 1 (3 to 2). The People’s Party vote share rose from 1.6% to 4.9% but won zero seats. (Wikipedia – 2021 Canadian Federal Election)