Minority governments in Canada

For a list of minority governments at the federal level, see Federal minority governments in Canada.

In Canada's Westminster-style parliamentary system of responsible government, minority governments occurs when no party has a majority of seats in the legislature, and the party with a plurality forms government. In a minority situation, governments must rely on the support of other parties to stay in power, providing less stability than a majority government. For much of Canada's history it has had a multi-party system, resulting in several minority governments at the federal level and in most of the provinces at various times. Ontario (1943-5, 1975-7, 1977-81, 2011-present) Quebec (2007-8), Nova Scotia (1998-9, 2003-6, 2006-9), British Columbia (1924-8, 1952-3), Manitoba (1936-41, 1958-59, 1988-90), New Brunswick (1920-5), Saskatchewan (1999-2003), Newfoundland (1970-1) and Prince Edward Island (1873-6, 1876-9, 1890-3) have all had minority governments as well as Yukon territory (1985-9).