Prime Minister of Canada
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The Prime Minister of Canada (French: Premier ministre du Canada), the head of the Government of Canada, is usually the leader of the political party with the most seats in the Canadian House of Commons. The Prime Minister, according to Canadian protocol, is styled The Right Honourable for life.
Rt. Hon. Stephen Harper is the current prime minister since he was sworn in on February 6, 2006. He is the 22nd prime minister since Canada was formed in 1867. The Conservative Party led by Harper won the last federal election on January 23, 2006. His predecessor was Liberal Party leader Paul Martin, whose party was defeated in the election. In the parliament formed by the 2006 election, Harper's Conservatives have a minority of the seats -- 125 of 308 -- in the House of Commons. The defection of former Liberal MP David Emerson to the Conservative Party brought the Conservatives' total number of seats to 125, up by one from 124.
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Qualifications and selection
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The prime minister may be any Canadian citizen of voting age (18 years). It is customary for the prime minister to also be a sitting member of the House of Commons, although two Prime Ministers have governed from the Senate: Sir John Joseph Caldwell Abbott and Sir Mackenzie Bowell. If the prime minister should fail to win his or her seat, a junior Member of Parliament in a safe seat would typically resign to permit a by-election to elect that leader to a seat. However, if the leader of the governing party is changed shortly before an election is due and the new leader is not a Member of Parliament, he or she will normally await the general election before running for a seat. For example, John Turner was briefly prime minister in 1984 without being a member of the House of Commons; he would ironically win his seat in the general election that swept him from power. The official residence of the prime minister is 24 Sussex Drive in Ottawa, Ontario. All prime ministers have lived there since Louis St. Laurent in 1951.
In earlier years, it was tradition that the sovereign bestow a knighthood on each new Canadian prime minister. As such, several carry the prefix "Sir" before their name (of the first eight prime ministers, only Alexander Mackenzie refused knighthood). Since the Nickle Resolution of 1919, it is against policy for the sovereign to grant titles to Canadians; the last prime minister knighted was Sir Robert Laird Borden, who was in power when the Nickle Resolution was passed.
Term
A prime minister does not have a fixed term. A prime minister may resign for personal reasons at any time, but is required to resign only when an opposition party wins a majority of the seats in the House. If his or her party loses a motion of no confidence, a prime minister may resign (allowing another party to form the government), but more often will ask the Governor General to dissolve Parliament and bring about a general election. If a general election gives an opposition party a plurality of the seats, the prime minister's party may still be given the first opportunity to continue as the government. The incumbent prime minister may attempt to gain the support of another party (a coalition government), or he or she may resign and allow the party that won the most seats to form the government. The latter option has been normal practice in recent years, but is not a constitutional requirement.
An election for every seat in the Commons (a "general election") is called at most 5 years after the previous one; however, the prime minister may ask the Governor General to call a general election at virtually any time. No Governor General has refused such a request since 1926 (see the King-Bing Affair). Customarily, when a majority government is in power, elections are called 3.5 to 5 years after the previous election or as a de facto referendum if a major issue is at hand (the last of these being the 1988 election, which revolved around free trade with the United States). If a minority government is in power, a vote of non confidence in the House of Commons may lead to a quick election (nine months in the case of the Joe Clark minority government of 1979-1980).
In contrast to the British government, in which members of Parliament have long tenure but prime ministers have relatively short tenures, the Canadian prime minister typically has a long tenure except in cases of minority government.
Role and authority
Since the prime minister is, in practice, the most powerful member of the Canadian government, he or she is sometimes erroneously referred to as Canada's head of state. The Canadian head of state is Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, who is represented by the Governor General of Canada. The prime minister is the head of government.
The office of Prime Minister of Canada is not mentioned in the Canadian Constitution, save for a recently added clause mandating meetings with the provincial premiers. In modern-day Canada, however, his/her prerogatives are largely the duties to which the constitution refers to as the job of the Governor General (who is a figurehead). The function, duties, responsibilities, and powers of the Prime Minister of Canada were established at the time the country was created as a self-governing dominion in 1867 and were modeled upon those of the existing office of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Over time, the role of the Prime Minister of Canada has undergone some modifications but today has, arguably, the most personal and absolute power of any elected leader of any full democracy in the world.
The prime minister plays a prominent role in most legislation passed by the Canadian Parliament. The majority of Canadian legislation originates in the cabinet of Canada, which is a body appointed by the prime minister largely from the ranks of his party's MPs. The Cabinet must have "unanimous" consent on all decisions they make, but in practice whether or not unanimity has been achieved is decided by the prime minister.
Such legislation is referred to as a "Government Bill" and is designated by a number (such as C-18). The members of the governing party in Parliament, elected to represent their constituents, will usually vote in favour of any government legislation. Once passed by the majority vote of the members of the Prime Minister's party in the House of Commons, the legislation will then almost always be passed by the unelected Canadian Senate.
Although any elected member of the House of Commons may introduce new legislation of their own, referred to as a "Private Members' Bill," it is an infrequent occurrence that one is ever enacted. In the 37th Parliament 2nd Session, of the 471 Private Members' bills tabled, only four received royal assent (although some others were passed by the House of Commons). None of these were significant changes to socio-economic matters affecting the country and each of these were dramatically modified in the process. Private Member's Bills require considerable amount of time, energy, research and other resources needed just to prepare a bill for introduction into Parliament. However, few of these receive the time and Government support needed to pass them. Often, though, popular private members' bills are adopted by the government and become part of a government bill.
As to the Prime Minister's broad de facto authority over the Canadian military, see Canadian Forces.
Criticisms of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO)
An elected member of the Canadian House of Commons is expected to follow strict party discipline and voting against the party line can have serious disciplinary consequences. Votes in the House of Commons are generally treated as motions of confidence in Canada, engendering a climate of party solidarity out of strategic necessity. If any elected member of the prime minister's governing party votes against any new legislation, the party caucus may exercise the authority to expel that person from the party. A Member of Parliament (MP) who has been expelled from the party will then sit as an independent MP with extremely limited resources to conduct their work and almost no procedural right to ask a question or raise any issue in Parliament. This happened to Liberal MP John Nunziata who was expelled by Jean Chrétien for voting against the 1995 budget, or NDP MP Bev Desjarlais, who voted against the same-sex marriage legislation. In the next election, the expelled member will usually not be allowed to run for the party again. Members who vote against less important legislation jeopardize their reputation in the party ranks, affecting chances of Cabinet posts or committee chairmanship. Abstentions, as a result, tend to be more common in the chamber.
Former Prime Minister, Pierre Trudeau is credited with consolidating power in the Office of the Prime Minister (PMO). The PMO consists of the Prime Minister's political and administrative staff hired solely at the PM's discretion. By coordinating communication with the other agents in policy arenas, as well as with the central party apparatus, the PMO can wield considerable influence. This may have the positive effect of a productive parliament, which in turn provides a valid criticism of centralized power in majority governments and the PMO.
The Prime Minister (and the PMO) also exerts varying degrees of influence on the following appointments:
- all members of the Cabinet, and may replace them at any time;
- vacant seats on the Supreme Court of Canada;
- vacant seats in the Senate;
- all heads of Canadian Crown Corporations whom the prime minister may replace at any time;
- all executive positions such as the head of the Transportation Safety Board, the president of the Business Development Bank;
- all ambassadors to Foreign Countries;
- the Governor General of Canada;
- plus approximately 3,100 other powerful government positions, the bulk of which the Prime Minister usually designates a member of his staff to appoint with his concurrence.
As well, the prime minister appoints the head of the Office of the Ethics Counsellor whose job is to monitor, and when necessary to investigate, the ethical conduct of the members of Parliament, including the prime minister to whom the Ethics Counsellor reports.
In recent times, a few Canadians and some members of Parliament have begun to question the powers the Canadian Constitution confers on the prime minister. In particular, their goal is to find ways to change the insignificant and ineffectual role of elected members of the House of Commons, to create a Parliamentary committee to review appointments to the Supreme Court, and the need to abolish or radically restructure the appointed Senate.
A 2001 book titled The Friendly Dictatorship by The Globe and Mail newspaper's respected national affairs columnist, Jeffrey Simpson, pointed out the potential dangers by detailing what he argues to be near absolute power vested in the prime minister. There are still, however some checks on the prime minister's power. Cabinet or caucus revolts will bring down a sitting prime minister quickly, and even the threat of caucus revolts can force a prime minister out of office as happened to Chrétien in 2003.
The prime minister is also restricted by the effectively anemic Senate. The Senate can delay and impede legislation, as occurred when Brian Mulroney attempted to introduce the Goods and Services Tax (GST), and when Chrétien tried to cancel the privatization of Toronto Pearson International Airport. In both cases, the conflicts arose primarily because the Senate was dominated by members appointed by previous governments. The aforementioned Prime Ministers proceeded to shift the Senate in their favour with a flurry of senate appointments to ensure the smooth passage of legislation. Mulroney's government used a constitutional provision to receive approval from the Queen for the creation of eight new Senate seats in 1991.
The main case given in favour of Prime Ministerial power has to do with the federal structure of the nation. Canada is one of the most decentralized of the world's federations, and provincial premiers have a great deal of power. Constitutional changes must be approved by the provincial premiers, and they must be consulted for any new initiatives in their areas of responsibility, which include many important sectors such as health care and education. In light of regional forces such as the Quebec sovereignty movement, some have argued there is a need for a national counterbalance to these pressures.
List of Canadian prime ministers
| Prime Ministers of Canada since 1867.edit | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime Minister (party) |
Period | Parl. | Elections (District) | |||
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1st | Sir John A. Macdonald (L.-Cons., 1st time of 2) |
Jul 1, 1867 Nov 5, 1873 |
... 1st 2nd ... |
Designated Jul 1, 1867 Elected Aug-Sep, 1867 (Kingston, ON) Re-elected Jul-Oct, 1872 (Kingston, ON) Resigned Nov 5, 1873 (Pacific Scandal) |
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2nd | Alexander Mackenzie (Lib.) |
Nov 7, 1873 Oct 8, 1878 |
... 3rd |
Designated Nov 7, 1873 (Lambton, ON) Elected Jan 22, 1874 (Lambton, ON) |
|
| |
... | Sir John A. MacDonald (L.-Cons., 2nd time of 2) |
Oct 17, 1878 Jun 6, 1891 |
4th 5th 6th 7th ... |
Elected Sep 17, 1878 (Victoria, BC, Marquette, MB, Kingston[1], ON) Re-Elected Jun 20, 1882 (Carleton, Lennox, ON) Re-elected Feb 22, 1887 (Kingston, Carleton, ON) Re-elected Mar 5, 1891 (Kingston, ON) Died in office Jun 6, 1891 |
|
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3rd | Sir John Abbott (L.-Cons.) |
Jun 16, 1891 Nov 11, 1892 |
... ... |
Desisgnated Jun 16, 1891 (Inkerman[2], QC) Resigned 1892 |
|
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4th | Sir John Thompson (Cons.) |
Dec 5, 1892 Dec 12, 1894 |
... ... |
Designated Dec 5, 1892 (Antigonish, NS) Died in office Dec 12, 1894 |
|
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5th | Sir Mackenzie Bowell (Cons.) |
Dec 21, 1894 Apr 27, 1896 |
... ... |
Designated Dec 21, 1894 (Hastings[3], ON) Resigned Apr 27, 1896 |
|
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6th | Sir Charles Tupper (Cons.) |
May 1, 1896 Jul 8, 1896 |
... | Designated May 1, 1896 (Cape Breton, NS) | |
 |
7th | Sir Wilfrid Laurier (Lib.) |
Jul 11, 1896 Oct 10, 1911 |
8th 9th 10th 11th |
Elected Jun 23, 1896 (Québec-Est, QC, Saskatchewan, NWT) Re-Elected Nov 7, 1900 (Québec-Est, QC) Re-Elected Nov 3, 1904 (Québec-Est, Wright, QC) Re-Elected Oct 26, 1908 (Québec-Est, QC, Ottawa, ON) |
|
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8th | Sir Robert Borden (Cons./Union.) |
Oct 10, 1911 Jul 10, 1920 |
12th 13th ... |
Elected Sep 21, 1911 (Halifax, NS) Re-Elected Dec 17, 1917 (Kings, NS) Resigned Jul ,1920 |
|
 |
9th | Arthur Meighen (Union./N.L.C., 1st time of 2) |
Jul 10, 1920 Dec 29, 1921 |
... | Party Leader Jul 7, 1920 (Portage La Prairie, MB) | |
| |
10th | William Lyon Mackenzie King (Lib., 1st time of 3) |
Dec 29, 1921 Jun 29, 1926 |
14th 15th ... ... |
Elected Dec 06, 1921 (Minority) (York North, ON) Re-Elected[4] (Minority) Oct 29, 1925 (York North[5], ON) By-Election Feb 15, 1926 (Prince Albert, SK) Resign Jun 28, 1926 (King-Byng Affair) |
|
| |
- | Arthur Meighen (Cons., 2nd time of 2) |
Jun 29, 1926 Nov 25, 1926 |
... | Designated Jun 29, 1926 (Portage La Prairie, MB) | |
| |
- | William Lyon Mackenzie King (Lib., 2nd time of 3) |
Nov 25, 1926 Aug 7, 1930 |
16th | Elected Sep 14, 1926 (Minority) (Prince Albert, SK) | |
 |
11th | Richard Bedford Bennett (Cons.) |
Aug 7, 1930 Oct 23, 1935 |
17th ... |
Elected Jul 28, 1930 (Calgary West, AB) | |
| |
- | William Lyon Mackenzie King (Lib., 3rd time of 3) |
Oct 23, 1935 Nov 15, 1948 |
18th 19th 20th ... ... |
Elected Oct 14, 1935 (Prince Albert, SK) Re-Elected Mar 26, 1940 (Prince Albert, SK) Re-Elected Jun 11, 1945 (Prince Albert)[6], SK)) By-Election Aug 6, 1945 (Glengarry, ON) Resigned 1948 |
|
 |
12th | Louis St. Laurent (Lib.) |
Nov 15, 1948 Jun 21, 1957 |
... 21st 22nd |
Party Leader Aug 7, 1948 (Québec-Est, QC) Elected Jun 27, 1949 (Québec-Est, QC) Re-Elected Aug 10, 1953 (Québec-Est, QC) |
|
| |
13th | John Diefenbaker (Prog.Cons.) |
Jun 21, 1957 Apr 22, 1963 |
23rd 24th 25th |
Elected (Minority) Jun 10, 1957 (Prince Albert, SK) Re-Elected Mar 31, 1958 (Prince Albert, SK) Re-Elected (Minority) Jun 18, 1962 (Prince Albert, SK) |
|
 |
14th | Lester Pearson (Lib.) |
Apr 22, 1963 Apr 20, 1968 |
26th 27th ... |
Elected (Minority) Apr 8, 1963 (Algoma East, ON) Re-Elected (Minority) Nov 8, 1965 (Algoma East, ON) Resignation announced Dec 14, 1967 |
|
 |
15th | Pierre Trudeau (Lib., 1st time of 2) |
Apr 20, 1968 Jun 4, 1979 |
... 28th 29th 30th |
Party Leader Apr 6, 1968 (Mont-Royal, QC) Elected Jun 25, 1968 (Mont-Royal, QC) Re-Elected (Minority) Oct 30, 1972 (Mont-Royal, QC) Re-Elected Jul 8, 1974 (Mont-Royal, QC) |
|
 |
16th | Joe Clark (Prog.Cons.) |
Jun 4, 1979 Mar 3, 1980 |
31st | Elected (Minority) May 22, 1979 (Yellowhead, AB) | |
| |
- | Pierre Trudeau (Lib., 2nd time of 2) |
Mar 3, 1980 Jun 30, 1984 |
32nd ... |
Elected Feb 18, 1980 (Mont-Royal, QC) Resignation announced Feb 29, 1984 |
|
 |
17th | John Turner (Lib.) |
Jun 30, 1984 Sep 17, 1984 |
... | Party Leader Jun 16, 1984 (non-MP) | |
 |
18th | Brian Mulroney (Prog.Cons.) |
Sep 17, 1984 Jun 26, 1993 |
33rd 34th ... |
Elected Sep 4, 1984 (Manicouagan, QC) Re-Elected Nov 21, 1988 (Charlevoix, QC) Resignation announced Feb 1993. |
|
 |
19th | Kim Campbell (Prog.Cons.) |
Jun 26, 1993 Nov 4, 1993 |
... | Party Leader Jun 13, 1993 (Vancouver Centre, BC) | |
| |
20th | Jean Chrétien (Lib.) |
Nov 4, 1993 Dec 12, 2003 |
35th 36th 37th ... |
Elected Oct 25, 1993 (Saint-Maurice, QC) Re-Elected Jun 2, 1997 (Saint-Maurice, QC) Re-Elected Nov 27, 2000 (Saint-Maurice, QC) Resignation announced Aug 21, 2002[7] |
|
 |
21st | Paul Martin (Lib.) |
Dec 12, 2003 Feb 6, 2006 |
... 38th |
Party Leader Nov 15, 2003 Elected (Minority) Jun 28, 2004 (Lasalle-Émard, QC) |
|
 |
22nd | Stephen Harper (Cons.) |
Feb 6, 2006 ... |
39th | Elected (Minority) Jan 23, 2006 (Calgary Southwest, AB) | |
Notes
- ^ In 1878, John A. Macdonald present himself in the electoral districts of Kingston, Ontario, Marquette, Manitoba and Victoria, BC. He was defeated in Kingston, Ontario by Liberal Alexander Gunn. However, since Macdonald was elected in the two other districts and chose to sit as a MP from Victoria, BC, he has not presented himself in another by-election.
- ^ John Abbott was a senator from the Quebec Senate District of Inkerman when he was appointed as Prime Minister.
- ^ Mackenzie Bowell was a senator from the Ontario Senate District of Hastings when he was appointed as Prime Minister.
- ^ In the 15th general election, P.M. King's Liberals elected less seats than Arthur Meighen's Conservatives. However, King stayed in power with the support of the Progressive Party.
- ^ Defeated in his electoral district.
- ^ Defeated in his electoral district.
- ^ Jean Chrétien announced on Aug 21, 2002, his intention to step down in Feb 2004.
Living former prime ministers
There are six living former Prime Ministers of Canada. In order from most recent they are:
- The Right Honourable Paul Martin
- The Right Honourable Jean Chrétien
- The Right Honourable Kim Campbell
- The Right Honourable Brian Mulroney
- The Right Honourable John Turner
- The Right Honourable Joe Clark
Only Paul Martin holds a seat in the House of Commons. Chrétien left the House in 2003 and Clark in 2004.
| Lists about Prime Ministers of Canada | |
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|---|---|---|
| List of Canadian Prime Ministers | by time in office | by constituency | by religion | by residence | by place of birth | by longevity | by age | by military service spouses of | children of | books by | Graphical Timeline Pre-confederation prime ministers | Pre-confederation prime ministers by time in office | Leaders of the Opposition |
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External links
- Official government Web site of the Office of the Prime Minister
- primeministers.ca, Prime Ministers Online
- Library of Parliament of Canada
- Historians rank the BEST AND WORST Canadian Prime Ministers - 1997 Maclean's article
| Prime Ministers of Canada |  |
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|---|---|---|
| Macdonald | Mackenzie | Abbott | Thompson | Bowell | Tupper | Laurier | Borden | Meighen | King | Bennett | St. Laurent | Diefenbaker | Pearson | Trudeau | Clark | Turner | Mulroney | Campbell | Chrétien | Martin | Harper | ||
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