List of Canadian federal parliaments
Politics of Canada |
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Executive (King-in-Council)
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The Parliament of Canada is the legislative body of the government of Canada. The Parliament is composed of the House of Commons (lower house), the Senate (upper house), and the sovereign, represented by the governor general. Most major legislation originates from the House, as it is the only body that is directly elected. A new parliament begins after an election of the House of Commons and can sit for up to five years. The number of seats in parliament has varied as new provinces joined the country and as population distribution between the provinces changed; there are currently 338 House MPs and 105 Senators (when there are no vacancies).
Canada uses a Westminster-style parliamentary government, in which the leader of the party with the most seats in the House of Commons becomes Prime Minister, even if the leader is not an elected member of parliament. The leader of the party with the second-most seats in the House becomes the leader of the Official Opposition, and debate (formally called Oral Questions) between the parties is presided over by the speaker of the House. When the party with the most seats has less than half of the total number of seats, it forms a minority government, which can be voted out of power by the other parties. The Canadian Parliament is located at Parliament Hill in the capital city, Ottawa, Ontario.
Parliaments
Diagram[nb 1] | Parliament Election[1][2] Sessions[3] | Duration (from return of the writs to dissolution)[4] | Government | Opposition | ||
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Governing Party[2][5] • Prime Minister[2][6]—Ministry[2][5][7] | Seat counts as of election[2][8][9] | Official Opposition Party[10] • Leader of the Opposition[10] | Third Parties with official party status | |||
1st Canadian Parliament Elected 1867 5 sessions | Sep 24, 1867 – Jul 8, 1872 | Conservative Party | 100 of 180 House seats[nb 2] | none | ||
2nd Canadian Parliament Elected 1872 2 sessions | Sep 3, 1872 – Jan 2, 1874 | Conservative Party (1872–1873) | 99 of 200 House seats[nb 3] | Liberal Party
| none | |
Liberal Party (1873–1874)[nb 4]
| 95 of 200 House seats (minority) | Conservative Party | ||||
3rd Canadian Parliament Elected 1874 5 sessions | Feb 21, 1874 – Aug 16, 1878 | Liberal Party
| 129 of 206 House seats | Conservative Party | none | |
4th Canadian Parliament Elected 1878 4 sessions | Nov 21, 1878 – May 18, 1882 | Conservative Party | 134 of 206 House seats | Liberal Party
| none | |
5th Canadian Parliament Elected 1882 4 sessions | Aug 7, 1882 – Jan 15, 1887 | Conservative Party | 133 of 211 House seats | Liberal Party | none | |
6th Canadian Parliament Elected 1887 4 sessions | Apr 13, 1887 – Feb 3, 1891 | Conservative Party | 122 of 215 House seats | Liberal Party | none | |
7th Canadian Parliament Elected 1891 6 sessions | Apr 7, 1891 – Apr 24, 1896 | Conservative Party | 117 of 215 House seats | Liberal Party | none | |
8th Canadian Parliament Elected 1896 5 sessions | Jul 13, 1896 – Oct 9, 1900 | Liberal Party | 117 of 213 House seats | Conservative Party | none | |
9th Canadian Parliament Elected 1900 4 sessions | Dec 5, 1900 – Sep 29, 1904 | Liberal Party | 128 of 213 House seats | Conservative Party | none | |
10th Canadian Parliament Elected 1904 4 sessions | Dec 15, 1904 – Sep 17, 1908 | Liberal Party | 137 of 214 House seats | Conservative Party | none | |
11th Canadian Parliament Elected 1908 3 sessions | Dec 3, 1908 – Jul 29, 1911 | Liberal Party | 133 of 221 House seats | Conservative Party | none | |
12th Canadian Parliament Elected 1911 7 sessions | Oct 7, 1911 – Oct 6, 1917 | Conservative Party | 132 of 221 House seats | Liberal Party
| none | |
13th Canadian Parliament Elected 1917 5 sessions | Mar 16, 1918 – Oct 4, 1921 | Unionist coalition (1918–1920) | 153 of 235 House seats (coalition)[nb 6] | Laurier Liberals | none | |
National Liberal and Conservative Party (1920–1921) | ||||||
14th Canadian Parliament Elected 1921 4 sessions | Jan 15, 1922 – Sep 5, 1925 | Liberal Party | 118 of 235 House seats[nb 7] | Conservative Party[nb 8] | ||
15th Canadian Parliament Elected 1925 1 session | Dec 7, 1925 – Jul 2, 1926 | Liberal Party (1925–1926) | 100 of 245 House seats (minority)[nb 9] | Conservative Party (1925–1926) | ||
Conservative Party (1926) | 115 of 245 House seats (minority)[nb 10] | Liberal Party (1926) | ||||
16th Canadian Parliament Elected 1926 4 sessions | Nov 2, 1926 – May 30, 1930 | Liberal Party | 116 of 245 House seats (minority)[nb 11] | Conservative Party | none | |
17th Canadian Parliament Elected 1930 6 sessions | Aug 18, 1930 – Aug 14, 1935 | Conservative Party | 134 of 245 House seats | Liberal Party | none | |
18th Canadian Parliament Elected 1935 6 sessions | Nov 9, 1935 – Jan 25, 1940 | Liberal Party | 173 of 245 House seats | Conservative Party | ||
19th Canadian Parliament Elected 1940 6 sessions | Apr 17, 1940 – Apr 16, 1945 | Liberal Party | 179 of 245 House seats | Conservative Party[nb 12]
| none | |
20th Canadian Parliament Elected 1945 5 sessions | Aug 9, 1945 – Apr 30, 1949 | Liberal Party | 118 of 245 House seats | Progressive Conservative Party | ||
21st Canadian Parliament Elected 1949 7 sessions | Aug 29, 1949 – Jun 13, 1953 | Liberal Party | 191 of 262 House seats | Progressive Conservative Party | ||
22nd Canadian Parliament Elected 1953 5 sessions | Oct 8, 1953 – Apr 12, 1957 | Liberal Party | 169 of 265 House seats | Progressive Conservative Party | ||
23rd Canadian Parliament Elected 1957 1 session | Aug 8, 1957 – Feb 1, 1958 | Progressive Conservative Party | 111 of 265 House seats (minority) | Liberal Party | ||
24th Canadian Parliament Elected 1958 5 sessions | Apr 30, 1958 – Apr 19, 1962 | Progressive Conservative Party | 208 of 265 House seats | Liberal Party | none | |
25th Canadian Parliament Elected 1962 1 session | Jul 18, 1962 – Feb 6, 1963 | Progressive Conservative Party | 116 of 265 House seats (minority) | Liberal Party |
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26th Canadian Parliament Elected 1963 3 sessions | May 8, 1963 – Sep 8, 1965 | Liberal Party | 128 of 265 House seats (minority)[nb 13] | Progressive Conservative Party |
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27th Canadian Parliament Elected 1965 2 sessions | Dec 9, 1965 – Apr 23, 1968 | Liberal Party | 131 of 265 House seats (minority)[nb 14] | Progressive Conservative Party
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28th Canadian Parliament Elected 1968 4 sessions | Jul 25, 1968 – Sep 1, 1972 | Liberal Party | 154 of 264 House seats | Progressive Conservative Party |
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29th Canadian Parliament Elected 1972 2 sessions | Nov 20, 1972 – May 9, 1974 | Liberal Party | 109 of 264 House seats (minority) | Progressive Conservative Party |
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30th Canadian Parliament Elected 1974 4 sessions | Jul 31, 1974 – Mar 26, 1979 | Liberal Party | 141 of 264 House seats 76 of 102 Senate seats | Progressive Conservative Party |
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31st Canadian Parliament Elected 1979 1 session | Jun 11, 1979 – Dec 14, 1979 | Progressive Conservative Party | 136 of 282 House seats (minority) 18 of 104 Senate seats | Liberal Party |
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32nd Canadian Parliament Elected 1980 2 sessions | Mar 10, 1980 – Jul 9, 1984 | Liberal Party | 147 of 282 House seats 71 of 104 Senate seats | Progressive Conservative Party |
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33rd Canadian Parliament Elected 1984 2 sessions | Sep 24, 1984 – Oct 1, 1988 | Progressive Conservative Party | 211 of 282 House seats 23 of 104 Senate seats | Liberal Party |
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34th Canadian Parliament Elected 1988 3 sessions | Dec 12, 1988 – Sep 8, 1993 | Progressive Conservative Party | 169 of 295 House seats 36 of 104 Senate seats[nb 15] | Liberal Party |
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35th Canadian Parliament Elected 1993 2 sessions | Nov 15, 1993 – Apr 27, 1997 | Liberal Party | 177 of 295 House seats 41 of 104 Senate seats | Bloc Québécois | ||
36th Canadian Parliament Elected 1997 2 sessions | Jun 23, 1997 – Oct 22, 2000 | Liberal Party | 155 of 301 House seats 51 of 104 Senate seats | Reform Party (1997–2000) |
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Canadian Alliance (2000) | ||||||
37th Canadian Parliament Elected 2000 3 sessions | Dec 18, 2000 – Aug 23, 2004 | Liberal Party | 172 of 301 House seats 55 of 105 Senate seats | Canadian Alliance (2000–2004)
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Conservative Party (2004)
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38th Canadian Parliament Elected 2004 1 session | Oct 19, 2004 – Nov 29, 2005 | Liberal Party | 135 of 308 House seats (minority)[nb 16] 64 of 105 Senate seats | Conservative Party |
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39th Canadian Parliament Elected 2006 2 sessions | Feb 13, 2006 – Sep 7, 2008 | Conservative Party | 124 of 308 House seats (minority) 23 of 105 Senate seats | Liberal Party
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40th Canadian Parliament Elected 2008 3 sessions | Nov 4, 2008 – Mar 26, 2011 | Conservative Party | 143 of 308 House seats (minority) 21 of 105 Senate seats | Liberal Party |
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41st Canadian Parliament Elected 2011 2 sessions | May 23, 2011 – Aug 2, 2015 | Conservative Party | 166 of 308 House seats 52 of 105 Senate seats | New Democratic Party | ||
42nd Canadian Parliament Elected 2015 1 session | Dec 3, 2015 – Sep 11, 2019 | Liberal Party | 184 of 338 House seats 0 of 105 Senate seats | Conservative Party |
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43rd Canadian Parliament Elected 2019 2 sessions | Dec 5, 2019 – Aug 15, 2021 | Liberal Party | 157 of 338 House seats (minority) 0 of 105 Senate seats | Conservative Party |
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44th Canadian Parliament Elected 2021 | Nov 22, 2021 – present | Liberal Party | 160 of 338 House seats (minority) 0 of 105 Senate seats | Conservative Party
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Notes
- ^ The diagrams show the composition of each parliament, colour-coded by party (click on an image to see its key) and arranged as the MPs might sit. The speaker of the house is shown on the left hand side, with the governing party on the speaker's right (the bottom of the diagram) and the opposition on the speaker's left (the top).
- ^ In Canada's early parliaments, many members of the Conservative Party, including the Prime Minister, used other labels for themselves, the most common being "Liberal-Conservative". The seat totals here is the sum of all labels Conservative Party labels.
- ^ There were two Independent Conservatives in the 2nd Parliament, giving the government an effective majority.
- ^ After the 2nd parliament's Pacific Scandal, the Liberals took power between elections.[11]
- ^ After the dissolution of the 7th Canadian Parliament, Mackenzie Bowell stepped down and Sir Charles Tupper became Prime Minister on May 1, 1896. Tupper was the only Prime Minister during the 1896 election campaign, which he lost, so he was never Prime Minister of a sitting parliament and is therefore not included in this list.[12]
- ^ During the First World War, Borden governed from a united party with a Cabinet of 12 Conservatives, 9 Liberals and Independents, and 1 "Labour" MP. There were, however, still a number of MPs in opposition to him.[13]
- ^ In the 14th Parliament, King’s Liberals won exactly enough seats to form a slim majority government, and due to resignations and floor crossing, they shifted back and forth between majority and minority status. However, the government was in little danger of losing a confidence vote because the Progressive party usually allowed free votes among its members, some of whom would always vote with the government.
- ^ In the 14th parliament, the new Progressive Party led by Thomas Crerar had the second-most seats, yet Arthur Meighen's Conservatives formed official opposition.
- ^ In the 15th parliament, Mackenzie King's Liberals were initially supported by some members of the Progressive Party of Canada until one of King's appointees in the Department of Customs and Excise was revealed to have taken bribes.
- ^ In the 15th parliament, Arthur Meighen's Conservatives had the most seats, but Mackenzie King formed the government with the support of the Progressive Party. After the King–Byng Affair, Arthur Meighen's Conservatives took power between elections.
- ^ In the 16th parliament, Mackenzie King's Liberals were supported by some members of the Progressive Party of Canada, which did not enforce strict party discipline.
- ^ In the 1940 election, Hanson's Conservative's ran under the name "National Government".
- ^ In the 26th parliament, Pearson's Liberals were initially supported by Tommy Douglas's New Democratic Party without forming an official coalition.
- ^ In the 27th parliament, Pearson's Liberals relied on the small opposition parties in order to remain in power without forming an official coalition.
- ^ In 1990, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney used Section 26 of the Constitution, a never-before used clause, to fill the Senate above its regular limit, giving his party 54 of 112 seats.
- ^ In the 38th parliament, Martin's Liberals were initially supported by Jack Layton's New Democratic Party without forming an official coalition.
References
- ^ Canada. "General Elections". Library of Parliament. Retrieved 2011-06-14.
- ^ a b c d e Canada. "Prime Ministers of Canada: Political Information - Governmental Majorities and Minorities". Library of Parliament. Retrieved 2011-10-31.
- ^ Canada. "Parliaments - Duration of Sessions". Library of Parliament. Retrieved 2011-06-18.
- ^ Canada. "Key Dates for each Parliament". Library of Parliament. Retrieved 2011-06-18.
- ^ a b Canada. "Duration of Canadian Ministries: 1867 to Date". Library of Parliament. Retrieved 2011-10-31.
- ^ Canada. "Prime Ministers of Canada". Library of Parliament. Retrieved 2011-06-18.
- ^ Canada. "Guide to Canadian Ministries since Confederation". Privy Council Office. Archived from the original on 2016-01-05. Retrieved 2011-06-18.
- ^ Canada. "Party Standings (1980 to Date): In the House of Commons". Library of Parliament. Retrieved 2011-10-31.
- ^ Canada. "Party Standings (1974 to date): In the Senate". Library of Parliament. Retrieved 2011-10-31.
- ^ a b Canada. "Leaders of the Official Opposition in the House of Commons Since 1873". Library of Parliament. Retrieved 2011-06-18.
- ^ Terence Allan Crowley; Rae Murphy (1993). Canadian History: Canada Since 1867 Essentials. Research & Education Association. p. 8. ISBN 0-87891-917-1.
- ^ Frances Stanford (2002). The Prime Ministers of Canada. S&S Learning Materials. p. 24. ISBN 1-55035-721-2.
- ^ Robert Bothwell; Ian Drummond; John English (1990). Canada, 1900-1945. University of Toronto Press. p. 129. ISBN 0-8020-6801-4.