Skip to main content
Menu Menu Close
Asia and the Pacific
Western Asia
Flag

Canada

https://www.idea.int/democracytracker/

April 2025

Liberal Party remains in government after General Election
Election flag

On 28 April, Canada held its 45th General Election. With 43.7 per cent of the vote, the Liberal Party will remain in government, though it fell short (by three seats) of the 172 seats required for a majority. Mark Carney will continue as Prime Minister. The Conservative Party won 41.3 per cent of the vote and 143 seats in the House of Commons. The leaders of the Conservative and New Democratic Parties lost their seats. Preliminary estimates show that turnout was 68.7 per cent (an increase from the 62.5 per cent in 2021), the highest in over 30 years.

Women’s representation in the House of Commons remained essentially unchanged, at 30.0 per cent. The representation of Indigenous people in the House of Commons remains low at 12 MPs (3.3 per cent). However, the proportion of minority lawmakers experienced a modest increase of about 2.6 percentage points (now estimated at 18.1 per cent).

 

Sources:  Elections Canada, The Globe and MailCanadian Broadcasting CorporationBritish Broadcasting Corporation, Aboriginal Peoples Television Network

Turnout for the 45th General Election is the highest in 32 years

Voter turnout for the 45th General Election held on 28 April was the highest in 32 years (in 1993 turnout reached 69.6 per cent). Over 19.5 million people voted in the 2025 federal election, representing about 68.7 per cent of eligible voters in Canada. Advanced voting also saw high turnout numbers, with about 2 million people casting their ballots in the first day of advanced voting alone, and 7.2 million in total voting early over four days (a record, and a 25.0 per cent increase from the 5.8 million people who voted early in 2021, according to Elections Canada).

Sources:  Elections CanadaCTV News, CBC, The Guardian

December 2024

Conservative ‘filibuster’ stalls legislation in House of Commons for months

Since late September, the business of the House of Commons has been brought to a halt due to a Conservative party filibuster of their own motion. As the motion relates to a question of privilege, it takes priority over all other matters. Key legislation on matters such as online harms, protection of nature, and First Nations’ clean water has been held up. The substance of the Conservative motion concerns an order for the government to turn over documentation to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) related to the management of a sustainable technology fund with which the Auditor General had found significant faults. Conservatives accuse the government of failing to comply fully, however, critics of the Conservative motion consider that it is outside the scope of the powers of the House of Commons to order the government to turn over documentation to the RCMP.

On 6 January, the Governor General approved the Prime Minister’s unrelated request to prorogue Parliament until 24 March. 

Sources: CBC (1), CBC (2), Toronto Star

July 2024

Supreme Court rules against government in annuities case

Canada’s Supreme Court ruled that the Ontario and federal governments made a “mockery” of the 1850 Robinson Treaties, by which Anishinaabe First Nations of Lake Huron and Lake Superior ceded territory to the British Crown, in exchange for perpetual annual payments. The Robinson agreements included an augmentation clause, through which payments would increase, depending on the profits obtained by the Crown through the exploitation of resources from the ceded land. However, a limit to the annuities was set at CAD 4 per status member of the First Nation, and was not increased since 1874 despite development and growth excluding First Nations. The Court ruled that annuities should have been augmented, and the government’s failure to do so constituted an egregious and longstanding breach of agreed terms. It further decided that compensation, which Lake Superior First Nations asked should reach CAD 126 billion, should be negotiated between the parties. Other First Nations from the Lake Huron region settled with the government last year for CAD 10 billion.

Sources: Supreme Court of Canada, Canada’s National ObserverThe Guardian

March 2024

Supreme Court of Canada rules on collective rights of Indigenous Peoples

The Supreme Court of Canada issued a ruling about collective rights of Indigenous Peoples. The ruling upheld the requirement that individuals who wish to be elected to the Vuntut Giwtchin First Nation of Yukon’s Council must reside on traditional lands. The case was brought by a member of the community who lives outside of traditional lands. The Court determined that the collective rights of Indigenous Peoples, protected by Section 25 of Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms, prevail in certain circumstances over individual rights. That is, when a collision of irreconcilable rights occurs, those that are indispensable to the preservation of cultural differences and self-government should prevail. Dissenting judges, including Michelle O’Bonsawin, an Odenak First Nation Member, considered that Section 25 was applicable to cases brought by non-Indigenous people, and not to cases in which an Indigenous person alleges a transgression to her rights in her own Nation. The Court’s decision was hailed by the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation as a recognition of Indigenous self-government.   

Sources: The Globe and Mail , Supreme Court of Canada 

See all event reports for this country

Global ranking per category of democratic performance in 2023

Chevron
Representation
17/173
Rights
27/173
Rule of Law
21/173
Participation
21/173

Basic Information

Chevron
Population
40 097 760
System of government
Parliamentary system
Head of government
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (since 2015)
Head of government party
Liberal Party
Electoral system for lower or single chamber
First Past the Post
Women in lower or single chamber
30.4%
Women in upper chamber
55.7%
Last legislative election
2021
Effective number of political parties Tooltip
3.83
Head of state
King Charles III
Selection process for head of state
Hereditary or election by hereditary state rulers
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) date
10/11/2023
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) percentage of recommendations supported
66.87%
Tooltip text

Human Rights Treaties

Chevron
State Party State party
Signatory Signatory
No Action No action
United Nations Human Right Treaties
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
State Party
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
State Party
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
State Party
Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
State Party
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment
State Party
Convention on the Rights of the Child
State Party
International Convention on Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families
No Action
International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance 
No Action
International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
State Party
International Labour Organisation Treaties
Forced Labour Convention
State Party
Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention
State Party
Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention
State Party
Equal Remuneration Convention
State Party
Abolition of Forced Labour Convention
State Party
Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention
State Party
Convention concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment
State Party
Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention
State Party
Regional Treaties
American Convention on Human Rights
No Action
Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights in the Area of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
No Action
in
Tooltip text

Create your monthly alerts

and receive a customized selection of reports directly in your inbox

Sign up

Performance by category over the last 6 months

Representation neutral Representation
Dec 2024
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May 2025
Representation neutral Rights
Dec 2024
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May 2025
Representation neutral Rule of law
Dec 2024
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May 2025
Representation neutral Participation
Dec 2024
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May 2025

Global State of Democracy Indices

Hover over the trend lines to see the exact data points across the years

Explore the indices
Representation
Representation
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Rights
Rights
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Rule of Law
Rule of Law
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Participation
Participation
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4

Factors of Democratic Performance Over Time

Use the slider below to see how democratic performance has changed over time

0 10
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Mobile < 640px