1986 Manitoba general election

The 1986 Manitoba general election was held on March 18, 1986 to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada. It was won by the New Democratic Party, which took 30 seats out of 57. The Progressive Conservative Party won 26 seats and formed the official opposition. The Manitoba Liberal Party, which had not been represented in the previous legislature, won one seat.

Opinion polls

Polling firm	Last day of survey	Source	NDP	PC	MLP	Other	Sample
Polling firm	Last day of survey	Source					Sample
Election 1986	March 18, 1986		41.50	40.56	13.92	2.96
Institute of Social and Economic Research	February 1986		44.5	39.5	14.1
Institute of Social and Economic Research	April 1984		26.5	59.5	14
Election 1981	November 17, 1981		47.38	43.82	6.70	2.10

Results

¹ "Before" refers to standings in the Legislature at dissolution, and not to the results of the previous election. These numbers therefore reflect changes in party standings as a result of by-elections and members crossing the floor.

Post-election changes

Early in 1988, Laurent Desjardins announced his retirement from the legislature. Soon after this, NDP backbencher Jim Walding voted against his party's budget, causing the government to fall.