List of Prime Ministers of Canada

Canada's Prime Ministers from 1867 to 1963

The Prime Minister of Canada is an official who serves as the primary Minister of the Crown, chairperson of the Cabinet, and thus Head of Government of Canada. Officially, the Prime Minister is appointed by the Governor General of Canada, but by constitutional convention the Prime Minister must have the confidence of the House of Commons. Normally, this is the leader of the party caucus with the greatest number of seats in the House, but if that leader lacks support of the majority in the House, the Governor General can appoint another leader who has the support of a majority, or may dissolve parliament and call a new election. By constitutional convention, a prime minister holds a seat in parliament, and since the early 20th century this has more specifically meant the elected House of Commons.^[1]

The office is not outlined in any of the documents that constitute the written portion of the Constitution of Canada; executive authority is formally vested in the sovereign and exercised on his or her behalf by the Governor General. The prime ministership is part of Canada's constitutional convention tradition. The office was initially modelled after the job as it existed in Britain at the time. Sir John A. Macdonald was formally commissioned by Lord Monck on 24 May 1867 to form the first Canadian Government under Confederation. On 1 July 1867 the First Ministry assumed office.^[2]

The date for which a Prime Minister begins his or her term has been determined by the date that he or she is sworn into his or her portfolio, as an oath of office as Prime Minister is not required.^[3] However, starting in 1957 the incoming Prime Minister has sworn an oath as Prime Minister; as of 2006, this tradition has continued.^[3] Before 1920, the Prime Ministers' resignations were accepted immediately by the Governor General, and the last day of the ministries were the date he died, or the date of resignation.^[3] Since 1920, the outgoing Prime Minister has only formally resigned when the new government is ready to be formed.^[3] The Interpretation Act of 1967 states that "where an appointment is made effective or terminates on a specified day, that appointment is considered to be effective or to terminate after the end of the previous day."^[3] Although, traditionally, the outgoing Prime Minister formally resigns only hours before the incoming ministry swears their oaths, both during the day, the ministries are effectively changed at midnight, the night before. Some sources, including the Parliament of Canada, apply this convention as far back as 1917.^[4]

Prime Ministers

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death) District	Min.	Term of office		Electoral mandates (Parliaments)	Political party	Refs
1 (1 of 2)		Sir John A. Macdonald (1815–1891) MP for Kingston, ON	1st	1 July 1867	5 November 1873	Title created (no parl't) 1867 election (1st Parl't) 1872 election (2nd Parl't)	Liberal-Conservative Party	[2][5]
			Minister of Justice; Integration of Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory into Canada; Manitoba Act; Red River Rebellion; British Columbia and Prince Edward Island join confederation; Creation of the North-West Mounted Police; Resigned over Pacific Scandal
2		Alexander Mackenzie (1822–1892) MP for Lambton, ON	2nd	7 November 1873	8 October 1878	Inter-election appt. (2nd Parl't)[Min.] 1874 election (3rd Parl't)	Liberal Party	[6][7]
			Pacific Scandal; Creation of the Supreme Court; Establishment of the Royal Military College; Created the office of the Auditor General
1 (2 of 2)		Sir John A. Macdonald (1815–1891) MP for Victoria, BC until 1882 MP for Carleton, ON until 1887 MP for Kingston, ON	3rd	17 October 1878	6 June 1891	1878 election (4th Parl't) 1882 election (5th Parl't) 1887 election (6th Parl't) 1891 election (7th Parl't)	Liberal-Conservative Party	[8][9]
			National Policy; Railway to the Pacific; North-West Rebellion; Hanging of Louis Riel. Died in office (stroke).
3		Sir John Abbott (1821–1893) Senator for Quebec	4th	16 June 1891	24 November 1892	Inter-election appt. (7th Parl't)	Liberal-Conservative Party	[10][11]
			Succeeded on Macdonald's death due to objections to the Catholic John Thompson. In ill health; retired.
4		Sir John Thompson (1845–1894) MP for Antigonish, NS	5th	5 December 1892	12 December 1894	Inter-election appt. (7th Parl't)	Liberal-Conservative Party	[12][13]
			Minister of Justice; First Catholic Prime Minister. Manitoba Schools Question. Died in office (heart attack).
5		Sir Mackenzie Bowell (1823–1917) Senator for Ontario	6th	21 December 1894	27 April 1896	Inter-election appt. (7th Parl't)	Conservative Party (historical)	[14][15]
			Manitoba Schools Question.
6		Sir Charles Tupper (1821–1915) Did not serve in Parliament while Prime Minister	7th	1 May 1896	8 July 1896	Inter-election appt. (no parl't)	Conservative Party (historical)	[16][17]
			Oldest Canadian PM. Aimed to defeat Patrons of Industry, but dominated by Manitoba Schools Question. Never sat in parliament as Prime Minister.
7		Sir Wilfrid Laurier (1841–1919) MP for Quebec East, QC	8th	11 July 1896	6 October 1911	1896 election (8th Parl't) 1900 election (9th Parl't) 1904 election (10th Parl't) 1908 election (11th Parl't)	Liberal Party	[18][19]
			Manitoba Schools Question; Boer War; Alberta and Saskatchewan created; Creation of the Royal Canadian Navy; Reciprocity with the US; Department of External Affairs established; First French Canadian Prime Minister, removed the right of status Indians to vote.
8		Sir Robert Borden (1854–1937) MP for Halifax, NS until 1917 MP for Kings, NS	9th	10 October 1911	11 October 1917	1911 election (12th Parl't)	Conservative Party (historical)	[19][20][21]
			10th	12 October 1917	10 July 1920	1917 election (13th Parl't)	Unionist Party
			First World War; Military Service Act; Conscription Crisis of 1917; Creation of Union government; Creation of the National Research Council; Introduction of income tax; Winnipeg General Strike; Nickle Resolution; Women's suffrage; Canada demands and is granted a seat at the Paris Peace Conference, signs the Treaty of Versailles and joins League of Nations.
9 (1 of 2)		Arthur Meighen (1874–1960) MP for Portage la Prairie, MB	11th	10 July 1920	29 December 1921	Inter-election appt. (13th Parl't)	National Liberal and Conservative Party	[22][23]
			Grand Trunk Railway placed under control of Canadian National Railways.
10 (1 of 3)		William Lyon Mackenzie King (1874–1950) MP for York North, ON until 1925 MP for Prince Albert, SK	12th	29 December 1921	28 June 1926	1921 election (14th Parl't) 1925 election (15th Parl't)[LS] [Min.]	Liberal Party	[24][25]
			Chanak Crisis; lower tariffs; reinstated Crowsnest Pass Agreement; 1923 Imperial Conference; Halibut Treaty; Meighen had won a plurality of seats in the 1925 election, but King continued in office with the unofficial support of the third party Progressives until corruption scandal in the Department of Customs and Excise led to his government's defeat on a confidence vote. The King-Byng Affair saw the Governor General refuse King's request for a new election causing him to resign and Meighen to be invited to form a government.
9 (2 of 2)		Arthur Meighen (1874–1960) MP for Portage la Prairie, MB	13th	29 June 1926	25 September 1926	Inter-election appt. (15th Parl't)[Min.]	Conservative Party (historical)	[22][26]
			Appointed as a result of the King–Byng Affair.
10 (2 of 3)		William Lyon Mackenzie King (1874–1950) MP for Prince Albert, SK	14th	25 September 1926	7 August 1930	1926 election (16th Parl't)[Min.]	Liberal Party	[24][27]
			Balfour Declaration; Introduction of old age pensions; first Canadian envoys with full diplomatic status sent to foreign countries (USA, France, Japan); Great Depression.
11		R. B. Bennett (1870–1947) MP for Calgary West, AB	15th	7 August 1930	23 October 1935	1930 election (17th Parl't)	Conservative Party (historical)	[28][29]
			Great Depression; Imperial Preference; Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission; Canadian Wheat Board; Creation of the Bank of Canada.
10 (3 of 3)		William Lyon Mackenzie King (1874–1950) MP for Prince Albert, SK until 1945 MP for Glengarry, ON	16th	23 October 1935	15 November 1948	1935 election (18th Parl't) 1940 election (19th Parl't) 1945 election (20th Parl't)	Liberal Party	[24][30]
			Creation of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation; National Film Board of Canada; Unemployment Insurance Act of 1940; Nationalization of the Bank of Canada; Second World War; Conscription Crisis of 1944; Canada's entry into the United Nations; Trans-Canada Airlines; Gouzenko Affair.
12		Louis St. Laurent (1882–1973) MP for Quebec East, QC	17th	15 November 1948	21 June 1957	Inter-election appt. (20th Parl't) 1949 election (21st Parl't) 1953 election (22nd Parl't)	Liberal Party	[31][32]
			Newfoundland joins confederation; right of appeal to Judicial Committee of the Privy Council ended; Canada's entrance into NATO; Suez Crisis; Creation of the United Nations Emergency Force; London Declaration; Newfoundland Act; Equalization; Trans-Canada Highway; St. Lawrence Seaway; Trans-Canada Pipeline; Pipeline Debate.
13		John Diefenbaker (1895–1979) MP for Prince Albert, SK	18th	21 June 1957	22 April 1963	1957 election (23rd Parl't)[Min.] 1958 election (24th Parl't) 1962 election (25th Parl't)[Min.]	Progressive Conservative Party	[33][34]
			Avro Arrow cancellation; Coyne Affair; Cuban Missile Crisis; NORAD; Canadian Bill of Rights; Allowed status aboriginals to vote in federal elections 1960; Alouette 1 satellite programme.
14		Lester B. Pearson (1897–1972) MP for Algoma East, ON	19th	22 April 1963	20 April 1968	1963 election (26th Parl't)[Min.] 1965 election (27th Parl't)[Min.]	Liberal Party	[35][36]
			Bomarc missile program; Introduction of Canadian universal healthcare; Canada Pension Plan; Canada Student Loans; Creation of a new Canadian flag; Auto Pact; Rejection of troop deployment to Vietnam; Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism; Creation of the Canadian Forces; 1967 Canadian Centennial celebrations.
15 (1 of 2)		Pierre Trudeau (1919–2000) MP for Mount Royal, QC	20th	20 April 1968	3/4 June[*] 1979	Inter-election appt. (27th Parl't) 1968 election (28th Parl't) 1972 election (29th Parl't)[Min.] 1974 election (30th Parl't)	Liberal Party	[37]
			Minister of Justice; "Trudeaumania"; "Just Society"; October Crisis; Use of the War Measures Act; Official Languages Act; Establishment of relations with China; Banned the sale of nuclear technology to India and Pakistan, both NPT non-signatories, after India used plutonium from Canada's CIRUS reactor for conducting its Smiling Buddha nuclear test; Creation of Petro-Canada; Membership in the G7; Metric Commission.
16		Joe Clark (b. 1939) MP for Yellowhead, AB	21st	4 June 1979	2/3 March[*] 1980	1979 election (31st Parl't)[Min.]	Progressive Conservative Party	[38]
			Youngest Canadian PM. Defeated in a motion of no confidence on tax proposals.
15 (2 of 2)		Pierre Trudeau (1919–2000) MP for Mount Royal, QC	22nd	3 March 1980	29/30 June[*] 1984	1980 election (32nd Parl't)	Liberal Party	[37]
			Introduction of the NEP; Quebec referendum, 1980; Access to Information Act; Patriation of the Canadian Constitution; Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms; Canada Health Act; Western alienation.
17		John Turner (b. 1929) Did not serve in Parliament while Prime Minister	23rd	30 June 1984	16/17 September[*] 1984	Inter-election appt. (32nd Parl't)	Liberal Party	[39]
			Trudeau Patronage Appointments. Never sat in parliament as Prime Minister.
18		Brian Mulroney (b. 1939) MP for Manicouagan, QC until 1988 MP for Charlevoix, QC	24th	17 September 1984	24/25 June[*] 1993	1984 election (33rd Parl't) 1988 election (34th Parl't)	Progressive Conservative Party	[40]
			Cancellation of the NEP; Meech Lake Accord; Air India bombing; Canada-US Free Trade Agreement; Introduction of the GST; Charlottetown Accord; Good relations with Ronald Reagan; Petro-Canada privatization; Gulf War; École Polytechnique massacre; Oka Crisis; Environmental Protection Act; NAFTA; Airbus affair.
19		Kim Campbell (b. 1947) MP for Vancouver Centre, BC	25th	25 June 1993	3/4 November[*] 1993	Inter-election appt. (34th Parl't)	Progressive Conservative Party	[41]
			First female Prime Minister of Canada. Defeated and lost her seat in 1993 election.
20		Jean Chrétien (b. 1934) MP for Saint-Maurice, QC	26th	4 November 1993	11/12 December[*] 2003	1993 election (35th Parl't) 1997 election (36th Parl't) 2000 election (37th Parl't)	Liberal Party	[42]
			Red Book; HST; Quebec referendum, 1995; Clarity Act; Assassination attempt; Kosovo War; 1997 Red River Flood; Social Union Framework Agreement; Creation of Nunavut Territory; Youth Criminal Justice Act; Shawinigan Handshake; Invasion of Afghanistan; Opposition to the Invasion of Iraq; Sponsorship scandal; Kyoto Protocol; Gomery Inquiry.
21		Paul Martin (b. 1938) MP for LaSalle—Émard, QC	27th	12 December 2003	5/6 February[*] 2006	Inter-election appt. (37th Parl't) 2004 election (38th Parl't)[Min.]	Liberal Party	[40]
			Minority government. Civil Marriage Act; Kelowna Accord; Rejection of US Anti-Missile Treaty; Sponsorship scandal; Gomery inquiry; G20; Atlantic Accord.
22		Stephen Harper (b. 1959) MP for Calgary Southwest, AB	28th	6 February 2006	Incumbent	2006 election (39th Parl't)[Min.] 2008 election (40th Parl't)[Min.] 2011 election (41st Parl't)	Conservative Party of Canada	[43]
			Federal Accountability Act; GST Reduction; Afghan Mission Extension; Chuck Cadman Affair; Québécois nation motion; Apology for Chinese Head Tax; Israel-Lebanon Conflict; Veterans' Bill of Rights; Residential Schools Apology; Financial crisis of 2007–2010; 2008–2009 Canadian parliamentary dispute; 2009 Budget; Abousfian Abdelrazik; 2009 flu pandemic; Canadian Afghan detainee issue; CF-35 procurement deal; Overturned the 1974 ban on the sale of nuclear technology to NPT non-signatory nations by signing a nuclear deal with India; Parliamentary contempt; Withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol; Withdrawal from the UN Convention to Combat Desertification; Withdrawal of Canadian troops from Afghanistan; Repeal of the Long-Gun Registry; Succession to the Throne Act, 2013; Canadian Senate expenses scandal; Office of Religious Freedom.
Min. Minority government LS Party won the election, but prime minister lost own seat * The Interpretation Act of 1967 states that "where an appointment is made effective or terminates on a specified day, that appointment is considered to be effective or to terminate after the end of the previous day." Under the Act, Prime Ministers' tenures are therefore credited as having concluded at the end of their last full day in office (the earlier date given), although their resignation was received by the Governor General on the following day. This provision applies to Trudeau in 1979[44] and 1984,[45] Clark,[46] Turner,[47] Mulroney,[48] Campbell,[49] Chrétien,[50] and Martin.[50]

Living former Prime Ministers

As of May 2015, there are six living former Prime Ministers of Canada, the oldest being John Turner (born 1929). The most recent former Prime Minister to die was Pierre Trudeau (1968–1979, 1980–1984), on 28 September 2000. John A. Macdonald (1867–1873, 1878–1891) and John Thompson (1892–1894) are the only serving Prime Ministers to die in office.

See also

• Fathers of Confederation
• List of Joint Premiers of the Province of Canada
• List of Canadian Leaders of the Opposition
• List of Canadian federal parliaments
• List of Canadian monarchs

References

Further reading

• Coucill, Irma (2005). Canada's Prime Ministers, Governors General and Fathers of Confederation. Pembroke Publishers. ISBN 1-55138-185-0. 
• Lotz, Jim (1986), Prime Ministers of Canada, Bison Books, ISBN 0-86124-377-3 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Prime ministers of Canada.

• Prime Minister's Official Site - Government of Canada
• The Prime Ministers of Canada – The Historica Dominion Institute
• Prime Ministers of Canada – Library of Parliament
• Prime Ministers – Canada History

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