Canadian federal elections 2015: Get to know the parties

Twenty-two parties have been registered to compete for the 308 seats in the House of Commons of Canada as the country gears up for its 42nd federal elections on Oct. 19, 2015.

The 13 provinces that will be going into polls are Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been at the helm of the Conservative government of Canada since 2006. He served his first two terms in the minority government but assumed a majority status in the 2011 elections.

His party managed to secure 39.4 percent of votes and 166 of the 308 seats in the House of Commons in 2011. The New Democratic party finished second with 30.4 percent votes while the Liberal Party of Canada slid down to the third position with 18.8 percent of votes.

A total of 1,792 candidates have been fielded by 23 registered political parties across 13 provinces. Ninety-six registered third parties will also be taking part in the 42nd Canadian federal elections. The registered political parties that would be taking part in the Canadian Federal election 2015 and their leaders are listed as follows:

1. Alliance of the North

Number of candidate: 1.

Leader: François Bélanger

2. Animal Alliance Environment Voters Party of Canada

Number of Candidates: 8

Leader: Liz White

3. Bloc Québécois

Number of Candidates: 78.

Leader: Gilles Duceppe

4. Canada Party

Number of Candidates: 337

Leader: James K. Pankiw