1997 Canadian Federal Election

Canada held a snap parliamentary election on June 2, 1997. All 301 seats in the House of Commons were up for election, and a party needed at least 151 seats to secure a majority government.

Incumbent Prime Minister Jean Chrétien called the early election to capitalize on his Liberal Party's popularity in the polls.

The election call proved unpopular, costing the Liberals nearly two-dozen seats compared to the 1993 election. Chrétien himself very nearly lost his riding in Quebec.

The Progressive Conservatives gained 18 seats over their near-complete wipeout four years earlier. The lion's share of these gains occurred in the Maritimes, as well as Quebec's Eastern Townships.

This would be the last election contested by Preston Manning’s Reform Party.