Most Canadians Not Keen on a Two-Party System While Third Parties Unlikely to Want an Early Election: Poll

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre (L) and Liberal Leader Mark Carney talk following the French-language federal leaders' debate at Maison de Radio-Canada in Montreal on April 16, 2025. Christopher Katsarov/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

While the recent federal election was mainly a contest between the Liberals and Conservatives, most Canadians say they don’t think the country would be better off with a two-party system, a new poll suggests. Meanwhile, most NDP and Bloc Québécois supporters say they don’t want an election in the next two years.

Nearly half of Canadians say they don’t favour the idea of two parties dominating the political landscape in Canada, while just over 21 percent say the country would benefit from it, according to a recent Leger poll conducted for the Association for Canadian Studies. Nearly 30 percent said they didn’t know.

In the April 28 federal election, Liberal Leader Mark Carney led a closely contested race against Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, ultimately securing a fourth term for the Liberals with 43.8 percent of the vote. The party won 170 seats, two short of a majority, while the Conservatives secured 143 seats with 41.3 percent of the vote, according to the latest data.

However, Poilievre lost his seat in the Ottawa-area riding of Carleton, which he had held for two decades. He is planning to run in the Alberta riding of Battle River—Crowfoot, a longtime Conservative stronghold.

The NDP, meanwhile, won seven seats in the election and lost 17, including that of its leader, Jagmeet Singh, bringing the party below the threshold for official party status. Singh, who stepped down after the election, finished third in his B.C. riding of Burnaby Central, with the Liberals winning the seat and the Conservatives finishing second.

The Bloc, for its part, won 22 seats with 6.3 percent of the vote, a loss of 11 seats.

Conservative supporters are more likely than those of other parties to favour a two-party system, with 29.8 percent in support, though nearly 43 percent say they oppose it, according to the Leger poll. Among Liberal voters, 16.4 percent are open to the idea, along with 13.6 percent of NDP supporters and 16.9 percent of Bloc supporters.

When broken down by province, support for a two-party system is highest in Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta, with roughly 22 to 23 percent of voters in each province in favour. Nearly half of the population in most provinces oppose the idea, while the rest say they don’t know.

Appetite for an Early Election

When asked if they want an election in the next two years, a majority of NDP and Bloc supporters, 56 percent of voters from both parties, say they don’t. Jack Jedwab, president of the Association for Canadian Studies, attributes this to the need for both parties to “rebuild” their voter base.

Liberals are the least likely to want an early election, with 71 percent opposed to the idea, while 70 percent of Conservatives want an election in the next two years. Only 15 percent of Liberals support an early election, the same proportion of Conservatives who don’t.

With the Liberals holding a minority government, an early election could be triggered by various factors, such as being defeated in a motion of no confidence.

Prime Minister Carney has said he does not plan to form a formal agreement with the NDP, unlike his predecessor, Justin Trudeau. In March 2022, the Liberals and NDP entered a “supply and confidence agreement,” where the NDP supported the Liberals on confidence votes in the House of Commons, and the Liberals backed NDP priorities.

“We campaigned on a very clear set of objectives, very clear policies to back those up,” Carney said in a May 2 press conference, noting he received the highest number of votes.

“By definition in Parliament, we will need to get majority support to pass legislation ... we will be putting forth legislation that’s consistent with our platform and consistent with the requirements of the time.”

The Leger poll also asked participants if they were “happy” with the election results. Despite the party’s losses, most NDP supporters, 46 percent of them, responded affirmatively, while 33 percent said they were not. The NDP has selected MP Don Davies, re-elected in the B.C. riding of Vancouver Kingsway, as its interim leader.

The majority of Conservative and Bloc supporters said they were not happy with the election results, at 78.7 percent and 51.1 percent respectively.

When broken down by province, voters in Alberta and the Prairie provinces were the least satisfied with the election results, with 51 percent and 46 percent, respectively, saying they were not happy. Acceptance was highest in the Atlantic provinces at 54 percent, followed by British Columbia at 47 percent, and Quebec and Ontario at 46 percent.

The Leger poll surveyed 1,626 Canadians between May 1 and May 3.