Canadian federal election, 1993

The Canadian federal election of 1993 was held on October 25th, 1993. In this election 295 seats in the Canadian House of Commons were competed for. One of the most eventful elections in Canadian history, more than half of the electorate switched parties from the 1988 election, and led to major change in the nation's politics.

Issues

The most important issue of the 1993 election was the economy.{{ref|eco}} The nation was mired in the late 1980s recession, and unemployment was especially high. The federal deficit was also extremely high, and both the Reform and Progressive Conservatives focused on cutting it as the path to economic health. Reform proposed deep cuts to federal programs in order to do this, while the Progressive Conservatives were less specific. The Liberals also promised cuts, focusing on the unpopular and expensive plan to buy new military helicopters to replace the aging Sea Kings. All opposition parties pledged to repeal the GST. Once elected, however, the Liberals reneged on this pledged to much outcry, but they stated that the tax needed to remain as the deficit was much higher than the Tories had stated.

Related Topics:
Late 1980s recession - Unemployment - Sea Kings

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The 1988 election had been almost wholly focused on the issue of the Free Trade Agreement with the United States, and similarly the 1993 election was preceded by the agreement on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The Liberals opposed NAFTA, but it was not a central campaign theme. The NDP did focus on opposition to NAFTA, but the Canadian people mostly felt the free trade debate was over. When in office the Liberals signed on to NAFTA with little opposition. Similarly while constitutional issues had dominated the national debate for the last several years, after two failed proposals for reform had failed, most felt it was time to give the issue a rest. In Quebec, however, the election was seen as a prelude to the next Quebec election, and the referendum on secession that was sure to follow.

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