In contrast with the political party systems of many nations, Canadian political parties at the federal level are often only loosely connected with parties at the provincial level, despite having similar names and policy positions. One exception is the New Democratic Party, which is organizationally integrated with most of its provincial counterparts including a shared membership.
Current parties
Represented parties
These parties have seats in the House of Commons, which is Canada's only elected assembly at the federal level. Members were elected in the 2021 Canadian federal election.
Registered parties
The following political parties are registered with Elections Canada and eligible to run candidates in future federal elections, but are not currently represented in the House of Commons.
Eligible parties
Eligible parties have applied to Elections Canada and met all of the legal requirements to be registered, other than running a candidate in a general election or by-election. Such parties are eligible to run candidates in federal elections but will not be considered "registered" by Elections Canada until they have registered a candidate in an election or by-election. As of September 2023, there are no eligible eligible parties
Non-party parliamentary groups
At various points both the House of Commons and Senate have included non-party parliamentary groups, also called caucuses. These groups are unaffiliated with registered political parties, are not registered with Elections Canada, and do not run candidates in Canadian federal elections. Essentially, these parliamentary groups are equivalent to political parties in the legislative context, but do not exist in an electoral capacity.
Parliamentary groups in the House of Commons of Canada are typically made up of MPs that separate from a party over leadership conflicts. Notable past parliamentary groups in the House of Commons include the Ginger Group (1924–1932; split from Progressive Party), Democratic Representative Caucus (2001–2002; split from Canadian Alliance), and Québec debout (2018; split from Bloc Québécois).
Senate caucuses
The Senate of Canada is Canada's unelected upper chamber. It currently has three non-party parliamentary groups: the Independent Senators Group (ISG), the Canadian Senators Group (CSG), and the Progressive Senate Group (PSG). These three groups do not share a formal ideology, platform, or membership in any one political party; the caucuses primarily serve to provide organizational support and better leverage parliamentary resources. Conservative senators remain formally affiliated with the Conservative Party of Canada.
Historical parties
Registered parties
These are political parties which held seats in the House of Commons and either ceased to exist before Elections Canada was formed, or were once registered with Elections Canada but have become de-registered or ceased to exist due to dissolution.
Non-party parliamentary groups
These caucuses were formed by sitting members of the House of Commons, but never ran in an election as a unified party.
Designations used by single candidates
These titles appear in official records, and may have appeared on ballots, but were only ever used as a personal brand by lone candidates.
Senate technical groups
These groups of Senators each sat together as a caucus, but were not affiliated with an active political party.
Pre-confederation political parties
Parties in the Dominion of Newfoundland
Confederate Association
Conservative Party (including Reform Party, Tory Party, and Liberal-Conservative-Progressive Party) Economic Union Party Fishermen's Protective Union (including Union Party) Liberal Party (including Liberal Reform Movement and Liberal-Progressive Party) Newfoundland People's Party (including Liberal-Labour-Progressive Party) Responsible Government League United Newfoundland Party Parties in Lower Canada and Canada East (now Quebec) Château Clique Parti bleu Parti canadien Parti rouge Patriote movement Parties in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island Anti-Confederation Party Confederation Party Parties in Upper Canada and Canada West (now Ontario) Clear Grits Family Compact Reform Party Upper Canada Tories