How could strategic voting have affected the federal election of 2008?
Consider how strategic voting could have affected the result of the election in 2008. We use a simple model: if some proportion of the voters for the Liberal Party, the NDP and the Green Party had voted strategically, and had not voted for the Conservative Party, what would the House of Commons look like?
The following is based on the validated "Official Reports" of the Elections Canada - Elections Night Results. The following ridings could have different results if a proportion of the voters voted strategically. If only 0.3 of the NDP and Green supporters in Kitchener-Waterloo had votes strategically, the Liberal candidate would have won the seat. If 86% of the Liberal and NDP supporters in Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound had voted strategically, the Greens would have won the riding. If 75% of the voters voted strategically, the Liberals would have won more seats than the Conservatives. Notice how it is good for all of the parties participating to have their supporters vote strategically; all of the parties get more seats.
# | % voters who need to vote strategically | Riding | New Winner | # Conservative seats | # Liberal seats | # NDP seats | # BQ seats | # Green seats |
1 | 0.295403 | Kitchener--Waterloo | Lib | 142 | 77 | 37 | 50 | 0 |
2 | 2.70035 | Egmont | Lib | 141 | 78 | 37 | 50 | 0 |
3 | 2.83801 | Kitchener Centre | Lib | 140 | 79 | 37 | 50 | 0 |
4 | 4.42729 | Oak Ridges--Markham | Lib | 139 | 80 | 37 | 50 | 0 |
5 | 4.72057 | Mississauga--Erindale | Lib | 138 | 81 | 37 | 50 | 0 |
6 | 6.67293 | Saint John | Lib | 137 | 82 | 37 | 50 | 0 |
7 | 8.01651 | South Shore--St. Margaret's | NDP | 136 | 82 | 38 | 50 | 0 |
8 | 10.8264 | Saskatoon--Rosetown--Biggar | NDP | 135 | 82 | 39 | 50 | 0 |
9 | 15.1079 | London West | Lib | 134 | 83 | 39 | 50 | 0 |
10 | 15.4642 | Surrey North | NDP | 133 | 83 | 40 | 50 | 0 |
11 | 16.0856 | Nunavut | Lib | 132 | 84 | 40 | 50 | 0 |
12 | 17.3204 | West Nova | Lib | 131 | 85 | 40 | 50 | 0 |
13 | 24.3418 | North Vancouver | Lib | 130 | 86 | 40 | 50 | 0 |
14 | 24.43 | Miramichi | Lib | 129 | 87 | 40 | 50 | 0 |
15 | 25.2186 | Saanich--Gulf Islands | Lib | 128 | 88 | 40 | 50 | 0 |
16 | 28.7989 | Oshawa | NDP | 127 | 88 | 41 | 50 | 0 |
17 | 31.6464 | Kenora | Lib | 126 | 89 | 41 | 50 | 0 |
18 | 35.358 | Essex | Lib | 125 | 90 | 41 | 50 | 0 |
19 | 36.063 | Vancouver Island North | NDP | 124 | 90 | 42 | 50 | 0 |
20 | 36.4625 | Brant | Lib | 123 | 91 | 42 | 50 | 0 |
21 | 37.4367 | Ottawa--Orléans | Lib | 122 | 92 | 42 | 50 | 0 |
22 | 41.3852 | Pontiac | Lib | 121 | 93 | 42 | 50 | 0 |
23 | 43.0585 | Fredericton | Lib | 120 | 94 | 42 | 50 | 0 |
24 | 46.5978 | Palliser | NDP | 119 | 94 | 43 | 50 | 0 |
25 | 49.5295 | Ottawa West--Nepean | Lib | 118 | 95 | 43 | 50 | 0 |
26 | 53.7549 | Haldimand--Norfolk | Lib | 117 | 96 | 43 | 50 | 0 |
27 | 57.1953 | Kamloops--Thompson--Cariboo | NDP | 116 | 96 | 44 | 50 | 0 |
28 | 58.2097 | Huron--Bruce | Lib | 115 | 97 | 44 | 50 | 0 |
29 | 61.9511 | Saint Boniface | Lib | 114 | 98 | 44 | 50 | 0 |
30 | 62.1374 | Oakville | Lib | 113 | 99 | 44 | 50 | 0 |
31 | 62.346 | West Vancouver--Sunshine Coast--Sea to Sky Country | Lib | 112 | 100 | 44 | 50 | 0 |
32 | 63.6559 | Fleetwood--Port Kells | Lib | 111 | 101 | 44 | 50 | 0 |
33 | 65.9446 | Glengarry--Prescott--Russell | Lib | 110 | 102 | 44 | 50 | 0 |
34 | 68.3611 | St. Catharines | Lib | 109 | 103 | 44 | 50 | 0 |
35 | 70.9628 | Nanaimo--Alberni | NDP | 108 | 103 | 45 | 50 | 0 |
36 | 71.4286 | Halton | Lib | 107 | 104 | 45 | 50 | 0 |
37 | 74.174 | Newmarket--Aurora | Lib | 106 | 105 | 45 | 50 | 0 |
38 | 74.2507 | Ancaster--Dundas--Flamborough--Westdale | Lib | 105 | 106 | 45 | 50 | 0 |
39 | 74.9446 | Niagara Falls | Lib | 104 | 107 | 45 | 50 | 0 |
40 | 75.8646 | Peterborough | Lib | 103 | 108 | 45 | 50 | 0 |
41 | 75.9103 | Desnethé--Missinippi--Churchill River | Lib | 102 | 109 | 45 | 50 | 0 |
42 | 81.918 | Chatham-Kent--Essex | Lib | 101 | 110 | 45 | 50 | 0 |
43 | 82.9012 | Thornhill | Lib | 100 | 111 | 45 | 50 | 0 |
44 | 84.6161 | Burlington | Lib | 99 | 112 | 45 | 50 | 0 |
45 | 85.6746 | Bruce--Grey--Owen Sound | Green | 98 | 112 | 45 | 50 | 1 |
46 | 88.0375 | Winnipeg South | Lib | 97 | 113 | 45 | 50 | 1 |
47 | 88.6729 | Northumberland--Quinte West | Lib | 96 | 114 | 45 | 50 | 1 |
48 | 90.1906 | Cambridge | Lib | 95 | 115 | 45 | 50 | 1 |
49 | 93.5729 | Edmonton Centre | Lib | 94 | 116 | 45 | 50 | 1 |
50 | 94.04 | Perth--Wellington | Lib | 93 | 117 | 45 | 50 | 1 |
51 | 94.7304 | Kitchener--Conestoga | Lib | 92 | 118 | 45 | 50 | 1 |
52 | 95.3539 | Elgin--Middlesex--London | Lib | 91 | 119 | 45 | 50 | 1 |
53 | 96.9642 | Simcoe North | Lib | 90 | 120 | 45 | 50 | 1 |