Survey of Candidates Following the 40th General Election
Demographics
This section provides a description of the demographic and other characteristics of survey respondents. This includes age, language, gender, region, number of candidacies, election outcomes, and political representation.
Age
Candidates in the 40th federal general election tended to be older, more than half (53%) of whom were at least 50 years of age. Following this, 35% were between 30 and 49, and 11% were under 30.
Language
Just over three-quarters (79%) of candidates completed the survey in English, while about one in five (21%) did so in French.
Gender
Most candidates were male (72%), while less than one-third (28%) were female.
Region
Consistent with the number of ridings in each region, the greatest proportion of candidates were in Ontario (36%), followed by Quebec (24%), the Prairies (19%), and B.C. (13%). A smaller percentage of candidates were from Atlantic Canada (8%) or the territories (1%).
Total Number of Candidacies
In total, 61% of surveyed candidates report that the 40th federal general election was their first time running for office at the federal level. More than one-quarter (27%) said that this was either their second or third candidacy, while 12% mention having participated in more federal elections than this.
40th General Election Outcome
Overall, 8% of surveyed candidates are sitting Members of Parliament.
Political Representation
A majority of candidates are members of political parties currently represented in the House of Commons (58%), while almost all other respondents belong to parties not currently represented (38%). In total, 4% are unaffiliated.