On September 7, 2008 the Parliament of Canada was dissolved for a general federal election, which was held October 14, 2008. The effect of dissolution of the House of Commons is that all unfinished business is ended. That means that any bills that have not received Royal Assent would have to be re-introduced in the next Parliament and start the legislative process from scratch. The government is not obligated to answer written questions or produce papers that have been requested by the House of Commons. Committees also cease to exist on dissolution, and must be re-constituted in the new Parliament.
At the dissolution of the House in 2008, there were 308 seats in the House of Commons, with the following party standings.
| Party | Standings | Party Leader | |
| Conservative Party | 127 | Stephen Harper | |
| Liberal Party | 95 | Stéphane Dion | |
| Bloc Québécois | 48 | Gilles Duceppe | |
| NDP | 30 | Jack Layton | |
| Green Party | 1 | Elizabeth May* | |
| Independent | 3 | na | |
| Vacant | 4 | na | |
| * Elizabeth May did not hold a seat in the House of Commons. | |||
| Also see: Canadian Federal Election Results 2008 | |||
