June 28, 2004
Voters elect 135 Liberals in the 38th general election -- not enough to form a majority government in the 308-seat House of Commons. The Conservatives won 99 seats, the Bloc Québécois 54 and the New Democratic Party 19. One Independent MP was elected.
June 29, 2004
Prime Minister Paul Martin says there will be no talks with opposition parties about a formal coalition, insisting he has a "stable" government and can move forward on the Liberal agenda.
Related Articles
Photogallery
- Audio slideshow: The writ drops
- Audio slideshow: The Liberals fall
- Audio slideshow: The campaign begins
- 1979: The government that fell
- Canada's past minority governments
- Decision 2004: Sights and sounds
Interactives
Internet Links
- Decision 2006 page
- Audio: Harper on the election call
- Election history
- Timeline of the 38th Parliament
- Latest party standings
- Federal opinion polls by The Globe
- Decision 2004: The campaign that was
- Results from 2004 election
July 15, 2004
NDP Leader Jack Layton accuses Mr. Martin of running the federal government as if he had a majority, saying the Prime Minister has failed to consult the opposition on crucial issues such as improvements to medicare -- a criticism that was to foreshadow the government's future.
July 20, 2004
Canada Post releases scathing audits showing that the Crown corporation's president, André Ouellet, directed contracts to firms chosen by the Liberal government, skirted hiring rules to help favourites and ran up more than $2-million in expenses over eight years without providing receipts.
Sept. 7, 2004
Testimony begins at Mr. Justice John Gomery's inquiry into the sponsorship scandal.
Sept. 16, 2004
The Liberal government reaches a health-care deal with the provinces that would see Ottawa spend $18-billion more over six years than it would have spent under previous agreements. It contains a clause exempting Quebec from accountability measures imposed on other provinces.
Sept. 16, 2004
Ottawa cuts its last ties to Petro-Canada, selling its 49.4 million shares and ending what the energy giant called the "stigma" of government ownership as it charts an aggressive international expansion.
Oct. 5, 2004
The government averts a possible collapse by striking a compromise with the other three parties two hours before MPs were to vote on a Bloc Québécois motion to amend the Speech from the Throne.
Nov. 1, 2004
The Liberals revive two controversial law-enforcement bills, playing down one that would decriminalize marijuana while emphasizing a get-tough plan to catch drug-impaired drivers.
Nov. 2, 2004
Ottawa and the provinces agree on core principles of a national child-care system that some provincial ministers say will double the number of spots in their jurisdictions over the next four years. It takes a full year for all provinces to finally come on board.
Nov. 30, 2004
U.S. President George W. Bush visits Ottawa and pledges to open the border to Canadian beef and cattle "as quickly as possible," but doesn't give the firm deadline that Canadian cattle farmers wanted.
Dec. 10, 2004
The Supreme Court of Canada gives its blessing to the federal government's proposal to legalize same-sex marriage, saying the power to change the definition of marriage lies exclusively with Ottawa, not the provinces, and that a proposed bill to legalize same-sex marriage is constitutional and fits smoothly within the evolution of the law. It also says churches cannot be forced to perform same-sex marriages.
Jan. 15, 2005
Immigration Minister Judy Sgro resigns from cabinet after an immigrant complains he had worked on her election campaign in return for being able to meet with her to discuss his case, allegations he later retracted. She had been targeted by the opposition since revelations a month earlier that she had given a special visa to a stripper who was a campaign worker.
Jan. 28, 2005
Ottawa reaches a deal worth billions of dollars with the premiers of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia over the rights to retain oil revenues while receiving equalization payments from Ottawa.
Feb. 8, 2005
Former prime minister Jean Chrétien undergoes a five-hour interrogation about his role in the sponsorship program at the Gomery inquiry, saying he was not involved in the "mechanics" of the program and blaming bureaucrats who failed to follow his edict to respect all rules in managing the initiative.
Feb. 10, 2005
Mr. Martin testifies at the Gomery inquiry, confirming that he put $50-million in Ottawa's national-unity reserve in the 1996 budget, but insisting he didn't know it was used to create the sponsorship program while he was finance minister.
Feb. 23, 2005
