Election Simulations
Lead a real party through a real Canadian election. Choose your leader, make the calls the campaign faced, and see if you can win the ridings that mattered.
Available simulations
More elections are planned. For now, one to start.
New Brunswick 2014
Brian Gallant's Liberals, far ahead in the polls, against David Alward's governing Progressive Conservatives, in an election that became a referendum on shale gas. Five weeks, five real decisions.
How it works
- 1
Choose a side
Pick a real party in a real election. Each starts from where it really stood, and the game rates how hard its path to a majority is.
- 2
Pick your leader
Take the leader the party actually chose, or try a real alternative who might have led it. Each has strengths, weaknesses and home regions.
- 3
Face the real decisions
Every week of the campaign has a documented event. You decide how to respond, and each choice lands differently across the regions.
- 4
Spend your week
Choose three actions: tour a region, work the ground game, run ads or go negative. Doing the same thing again counts for less.
- 5
Watch election night
Ridings report one by one. Then compare your result with what really happened, and see where your vote came from.
The decisions of the 2014 campaign
Each week of the New Brunswick simulation is built on something that really happened.
Shale gas takes over the campaign
Alward called the election on August 18. Hydraulic fracturing for shale gas, which his government backed and the opposition parties wanted stopped, dominated the opening days.
The jobs promise
The Liberals' platform promised 10,000 jobs, the headline of Gallant's campaign.
The tax figures
In a CBC interview Gallant gave inaccurate figures for his proposed tax increase on high earners, and the campaign had to correct them.
The leaders' debate
The leaders met for a televised debate in September, sparring over records ahead of the vote.
The final week
Polls tightened in the final days; the last Forum poll, on September 21, had the Liberals and PCs tied at 40.
Choose who leads
Take the leader the party picked, or a real alternative. Each has strengths and weaknesses that change your campaign.
Liberal
A 32-year-old lawyer from Shediac Bridge who had never held a seat, and who wrote a party-reform paper after the 2010 loss.
A former Moncton North MLA and cabinet minister under Shawn Graham, and former Liberal Party president.
A Fredericton former cabinet minister and sharp debater who considered a run before deciding against it.
Progressive Conservative
The sitting premier, defending a government that backed shale gas and had cut spending.
The Quispamsis MLA and former Irving Oil executive who ran the government's books, and who beat Gallant in 2018.
A cabinet minister and MLA for Riverview, who took over as interim leader after Alward resigned.
A game built on real results
Every riding starts from its real 2014 result, so a party strong in Moncton or the Acadian northeast behaves the way it did on election night. Dates, polls and leaders come from the public record. How much each choice moves votes is invented for play balance, so the simulation is a game, not a prediction of real-life results.
Want the real numbers? See the interactive New Brunswick election map, follow the Alberta and British Columbia poll averages, or browse all maps.
Election simulations: frequently asked questions
What are The Electorate's election simulations?
They are games in which you run a real party's campaign in a real Canadian election. You choose the party and leader, respond to the actual events of the campaign, and try to win a majority of the seats on the real riding map.
Are the results a prediction?
No. The simulations are games, not predictions of real-life results. Real dates, polls, results and leaders come from the public record, but how much each choice moves votes is invented for play balance.
Which elections can I play?
The first scenario is the 2014 New Brunswick election, with Brian Gallant's Liberals or David Alward's Progressive Conservatives. More elections are planned.
Where do the numbers come from?
Riding results come from Elections New Brunswick, and the campaign polls are the public polls from Corporate Research Associates, Forum Research and Nordic Research Group.
Can I lead a different leader than the one the party chose?
Yes. Each party offers three leaders, including real alternatives, with in-game strengths and weaknesses. They change your starting vote, your regional strength and how your campaign runs.
Is it free to play?
Yes. There is nothing to download, and it runs in your browser on a phone or a computer.