The October 1993 Election and the Canadian Party System

As a result of the 1993 Canadian General Election the Canadian party system has undergone a profound change. The Liberal Party that dominated Canadian politics for much of the century prior to 1984 won a majority in the House of Commons, but the opposition has been fragmented between a Quebec separatist party (Bloc Québécois) and a western-based neoconservative populist party (Reform Party), with the governing Conservatives, and what was formerly the largest third party, the social democratic NDP, together reduced to fewer than 4 percent of seats. The brokerage character that distinguished the Canadian party system in the past has been altered with the success of the Reform Party and the tradition of governments based on combining votes in English-speaking Canada with substantial support in Quebec has been challenged as a result of Bloc's majority in Quebec. With uncertainty concerning Quebec's future in Canada and a volatile electorate in the rest of Canada, the future shape of the Canadian party system remains unpredictable.