List of premiers of Quebec

This is a list of the premiers of the province of Quebec, Canada, since Confederation in 1867. Quebec uses a unicameral (originally bicameral) Westminster-style parliamentary government, in which the premier is the leader of the party that controls the most seats in the National Assembly (previously called the Legislative Assembly). The premier, sometimes called the prime minister, is Quebec's head of government, while the Queen of Canada is its head of state and is represented by the Lieutenant Governor of Quebec. The premier picks a cabinet from the elected members to form the Executive Council of Quebec, and presides over that body.

Members are first elected to the legislature during general elections. General elections must be conducted every five years from the date of the last election, but the premier may ask for early dissolution of the legislative assembly. An election may also happen if the Governing party loses the confidence of the legislature, by the defeat of a supply bill or tabling of a confidence motion.

This article only covers the time since the Canadian Confederation was created in 1867. For the premiers of the Canada East from 1840 to 1867, see List of Joint Premiers of the Province of Canada. The governments of Lower Canada from 1792 to 1840 were mostly controlled by representatives of the Crown.

Premiers of Quebec since 1867

      Parti conservateur du Québec       Union Nationale       Parti libéral du Québec       Parti Québécois

Living former premiers

As of March 2011^[update], five former premiers are alive, the oldest being Jacques Parizeau (1994–1996, born 1930). The most recent former premier to die was Robert Bourassa (1970–1976, 1985–1994), on October 2, 1996.

Footnotes

1. ^ Charles Boucher de Boucherville was not a member of the Legislative Assembly during his tenure as Premier. He was a member of the upper house, the Legislative Council.
2. ^ John Jones Ross was not a member of the Legislative Assembly during his tenure as Premier. He was a member of the upper house, the Legislative Council.
3. ^ In the aftermath of the execution of Louis Riel, Honoré Mercier founded the Parti National, in order to bring Conservative dissidents to the Liberal Party. From 1885 to 1891, the Liberal Party is also called Parti National.
4. ^ Charles Boucher de Boucherville was not a member of the Legislative Assembly during his tenure as Premier. He was a member of the upper house, the Legislative Council.
5. ^ In 1985, Liberal Leader Robert Bourassa lost his seat in the district of Bertrand. On January 20, 1986, he won a by-election in the district of Saint-Laurent, after a member of the legislature from his party resigned his seat.

References

• Government of Québec (2010-06-26). "Nombre de premiers ministres et de gouvernements depuis 1867" (in French). Informations historiques. National Assembly of Quebec. http://www.assnat.qc.ca/fr/patrimoine/pm1.html. Retrieved 2011-03-19. 
• Quebec Politique. "Élections English". QuébecPolitique.com. http://www.quebecpolitique.com/election/index-en.html. Retrieved 2006-12-16. 

See also

• Timeline of Quebec history
• List of Deputy Premiers of Quebec
• List of third party leaders (Quebec)

For more lists of this type, see Lists of incumbents.