John Diefenbaker Progressive Conservative John Diefenbaker Progressive Conservative The 1958 Canadian federal election was held to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada of the 24th Parliament of Canada on March 31, 1958, just nine months after the 23rd election.

It transformed Prime Minister John Diefenbaker's minority into the largest majority government in Canadian history and the second-largest percentage of the popular vote; only Conservative Prime Minister Robert Borden’s triumph in the 1917 federal election, at 56.93 percent, was higher.

Although the Tories would surpass their 1958 seat total in the 1984 election, the 1958 result (achieved in a smaller House) remains unmatched both in terms of percentage of seats (78.5%) and the size of the government majority over all opposition parties (a 151-seat majority).

[1] Diefenbaker called a snap election and capitalized on three factors: Notes: "Previous" refers to standings at previous election, not to standings in the House of Commons at dissolution.

* The party did not nominate candidates in the previous election.