The Prime Minister of Canada (French French is a Romance language spoken as a first language by about 136 million people worldwide. Around 190 million people speak French as a second language, and an additional 200 million speak it as an acquired foreign language. French speaking communities are present in 57 countries and territories. Most native speakers of the language live in: Premier ministre du Canada) is the primary Minister of the Crown Minister of the Crown is the formal constitutional term used in the Commonwealth realms to describe a minister to the reigning sovereign. The term indicates that the minister serves at His/Her Majesty's pleasure, and advises the monarch, or viceroy, on how to exercise the Crown prerogatives relative to the minister's department or ministry, chairman of the Cabinet The Cabinet of Canada is a body of ministers of the Crown that, along with the Canadian monarch, and within the tenets of the Westminster system, forms the government of Canada. Chaired by the Prime Minister, the Cabinet is a committee of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada and the senior echelon of the Ministry, the membership of the Cabinet and, and thus head of government Head of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet. In a parliamentary system, the head of government is often styled Prime Minister, President of the Government, Premier, etc. In presidential republics or absolute monarchies, the head of government may be the same person as the head of for Canada The land occupied by Canada was inhabited for millennia by various groups of Aboriginal peoples. Beginning in the late 15th century, British and French expeditions explored, and later settled, along the Atlantic coast. France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763 after the Seven Years' War. In 1867, with the union of three, charged with advising Advice, in constitutional law, is formal, usually binding, instruction given by one constitutional officer of state to another. Especially in parliamentary systems of government, Heads of state often act on the basis of advice issued by prime ministers or other government ministers. For example, Queen Elizabeth II formally appoints her British the Canadian monarch The monarchy of Canada is Canada's constitutional monarchy, headed since 6 February 1952 by Queen Elizabeth II, who as sovereign is shared equally with fifteen other countries within the Commonwealth of Nations, all being independent and the monarchy of each legally distinct. For Canada, the monarch is officially titled Queen of Canada , and she, or viceroy The title was originally used by the Aragonese Crown, where beginning in the 14th century it referred to the governors of Sardinia and Corsica. The absolutist Kings of Spain came to appoint numerous viceroys to rule over various parts of their vast Spanish Empire in Europe, the Americas, and overseas elsewhere on the exercise of the executive powers On the study of political science the executive branch of government has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the republican idea of the separation of powers vested in them by the constitution The Constitution of Canada is the supreme law in Canada; the country's constitution is an amalgamation of codified acts and uncodified traditions and conventions. It outlines Canada's system of government, as well as the civil rights of all Canadian citizens. Interpretation of the Constitution is called Canadian constitutional law.[1] Not outlined in any constitutional document, the office exists only as per long-established convention A convention is a set of agreed, stipulated or generally accepted standards, norms, social norms or criteria, often taking the form of a custom originating in Canada's former colonial power, the United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland[note 7] is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of the island of Ireland, and many small islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK with a land, which stipulate that the monarch's representative, the Governor General of Canada The Governor General of Canada is the viceregal representative in the federal jurisdiction of the Canadian monarch and head of state, Queen Elizabeth II, who is equally shared with 15 other sovereign nations in a form of personal union, but resides predominantly in her oldest realm, the United Kingdom. On the advice of her Canadian Prime Minister, must select as Prime Minister A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and can dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the Government. In most systems, the prime minister is the presiding member and chairman of the the person most likely to command the confidence In a parliamentary democracy confidence and supply are required for a government to hold power. A confidence and supply agreement is an agreement that a minor party or independent member of parliament will support the government in motions of confidence and appropriation votes of the elected House of Commons The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign (represented by the Governor General) and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament (MPs). Members are elected by simple plurality ('first-past-the-post' system) in; this individual is typically the leader of the political party From approximately 1898 to 1905, political parties were active; however, legislative government was eliminated when the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan were created out of the heavily populated area of NWT. Elected legislative government was re-established in 1951. Like Nunavut, NWT elects independent candidates and operates by consensus that holds the largest number of seats in that chamber.[n 1][2]
The current, and 22nd, Prime Minister of Canada is the Conservative Party The Conservative Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Tories, is a political party in Canada which was formed by the merger of the Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 2003. The party is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum. The party received 37.6% of the popular vote in the most's Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper, PC, MP is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada, and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became Prime Minister after his party won a minority government in the 2006 federal election. He is the first Prime Minister from the newly reconstituted Conservative Party, following a merger of the Progressive Conservative, who was appointed as such on 6 February 2006 by Governor General Michaëlle Jean Michaëlle Jean CC CMM COM CD FRCPSC (French pronunciation: [mika.ɛl ʒɑ̃]; born 6 September 1957) is the current Governor General of Canada, the 27th since that country's Confederation. She was appointed as such by Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, on the recommendation of then Prime Minister of Canada Paul Martin, to replace Adrienne Clarkson as, following the general election that took place that year The 2006 Canadian federal election was held on January 23, 2006, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 39th Parliament of Canada. The Conservative Party of Canada won the greatest number of seats: 40.3% of seats, or 124 out of 308, up from 99 seats in 2004, and 36.3% of votes: up from 29.6% in the 2004 election. The election. As with all other Canadian Prime Ministers, Harper is styled A style of office, or honorific, is a legal, official, or recognized title, in other words a term which by tradition or law precedes a reference to a person who holds a post, or which is used to refer to the political office itself. An honorific can also be awarded to an individual in a personal capacity. Such styles are particularly associated as The Right Honourable The Right Honourable is an honorific prefix that is traditionally applied to certain people in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Anglophone Caribbean and other Commonwealth Realms, and occasionally elsewhere (French French is a Romance language spoken as a first language by about 136 million people worldwide. Around 190 million people speak French as a second language, and an additional 200 million speak it as an acquired foreign language. French speaking communities are present in 57 countries and territories. Most native speakers of the language live in: Le Très Honorable), a privilege maintained for life.
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Qualifications and selection
Further information: List of Prime Ministers of Canada This is a list of Prime Ministers of Canada. The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary Minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus Head of Government of Canada. 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 CanadianThe Prime Minister, along with the other ministers in Cabinet The Cabinet of Canada is a body of ministers of the Crown that, along with the Canadian monarch, and within the tenets of the Westminster system, forms the government of Canada. Chaired by the Prime Minister, the Cabinet is a committee of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada and the senior echelon of the Ministry, the membership of the Cabinet and, is appointed by the Governor General The Governor General of Canada is the viceregal representative in the federal jurisdiction of the Canadian monarch and head of state, Queen Elizabeth II, who is equally shared with 15 other sovereign nations in a form of personal union, but resides predominantly in her oldest realm, the United Kingdom. On the advice of her Canadian Prime Minister on behalf of the Queen Elizabeth II is the queen regnant of 16 independent sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms, listed here in order of length of possession by the Crown: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,.[3] However, by the conventions of responsible government Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability which is the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. Governments in Westminster democracies are responsible to parliament (and if bicameral, primarily to the lower house, which is more numerous,, designed to maintain administrative stability, the viceroy will almost always call to form a government the leader of that political party From approximately 1898 to 1905, political parties were active; however, legislative government was eliminated when the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan were created out of the heavily populated area of NWT. Elected legislative government was re-established in 1951. Like Nunavut, NWT elects independent candidates and operates by consensus which holds the most seats in the directly elected Direct election is a term describing a system of choosing political officeholders in which the voters directly cast ballots for the person, persons or political party that they desire to see elected. The method by which the winner or winners of a direct election are chosen depends upon the electoral system used. The most commonly used systems are House of Commons The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign (represented by the Governor General) and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament (MPs). Members are elected by simple plurality ('first-past-the-post' system) in.[4] Legally, this may be any citizen of Canada of voting age A voting age is a minimum age established by law that a person must attain to be eligible to vote in a public election. The vast majority of countries in the world have established a voting age. Most governments consider that those of no age lower than the chosen threshold lack the necessary capacity to independently decide how to cast a vote. The (18 years and over) – the requirements to gain election to the House of Commons. It is not actually clear as to whether there are age or citizenship restrictions on the position of Prime Minister itself, as it is not necessary for the incumbent to be a sitting Member of Parliament A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a parliament. In many countries the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a unique title, such as senate, and thus also have unique titles for its members, such as senators. Members of parliament tend to form parliamentary parties with members (MP). However, this is more of an academic question since the constitutional conventions involved in selecting the Prime Minister make the appointment of anyone ineligible for election to the House an obvious infeasibility.
In rare circumstances individuals who are not members of the House can be appointed Prime Minister. Two former Prime Ministers — Sir John Joseph Caldwell Abbott and Sir Mackenzie Bowell — served in the 1890s while members of the Senate The Senate of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the sovereign (represented by the governor general) and the House of Commons. The Senate consists of 105 members appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the prime minister. Seats are assigned on a regional basis, with each of the four major regions receiving 24;[5] both, in their roles as Government Leader in the Senate, succeeded Prime Ministers who died in office (John A. Macdonald Sir John Alexander Macdonald, GCB, KCMG, PC, PC , (11 January 1815 – 6 June 1891) was the first Prime Minister of Canada and the dominant figure of Canadian Confederation. Macdonald's tenure in office spanned 18 years, making him the second longest serving Prime Minister of Canada. He is the only Canadian Prime Minister to win six majority in 1891 and John Sparrow David Thompson in 1894), a convention that has since evolved toward the appointment of an interim leader An interim leader, in Canadian politics, is a party leader appointed by the party's legislative caucus or the party's executive to temporarily act as leader when a gap occurs between the resignation or death of a party leader and the election of a formal successor. Usually a party leader retains the leadership until a successor is formally chosen â in such a scenario. It should be noted that the Senate was considered a much more powerful body in the first half century after Confederation. By the 1920s however the Senate had lost much of its original influence, and hence no sitting Senator had been known to have serious aspirations of becoming Prime Minister whilst remaining in the Senate. Prime Ministers who are not Members of Parliament upon their appointment (or who lose their seats while in office) have since been expected to seek election to the House as soon as possible. For example William Lyon Mackenzie King William Lyon Mackenzie King, PC, OM, CMG was a Canadian lawyer, economist, university professor, consultant, civil servant, journalist, teacher, and politician. He served as the tenth Prime Minister of Canada from December 29, 1921, to June 28, 1926; September 25, 1926, to August 6, 1930; and October 23, 1935, to November 15, 1948. With an, after losing his seat in the same general election that his party won, briefly "governed from the hallway" before winning a by-election a few weeks later. Similarly, John Turner replaced Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau, PC, CC, CH, QC, MSRC , usually known as Pierre Trudeau or Pierre Elliott Trudeau, was the 15th Prime Minister of Canada from 20 April 1968 to 4 June 1979, and again from 3 March 1980 to 30 June 1984 as leader of the Liberal Party The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party lies between the centre, and the centre-left.. The Liberal Party has dominated federal politics for much of Canada's history, holding power for almost 69 years in the 20th century, in 1984 and subsequently was appointed Prime Minister even though he did not hold a seat in the lower chamber of parliament; Turner won a riding in the next election but the Liberal Party was swept from power. Turner was the last sitting Prime Minister to not hold a Commons seat.
Should a sitting Prime Minister today lose his seat in the legislature (or should a new Prime Minister be appointed without holding a seat), the typical process that follows is that a junior member in the governing political party will immediately resign to allow the Prime Minister to run in the resulting by-election.[5] A safe seat A safe seat is a seat in a legislative body which is regarded as fully secured, either by a certain political party, the incumbent representative personally or a combination of both. In such seats, there is very little chance of a seat changing hands because of the political leanings of the electorate in the constituency concerned and/or the is usually chosen; while the Liberal and now defunct Progressive Conservative The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (French: Parti progressiste-conservateur du Canada) (1942–2003) was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and a centrist stance on social issues parties traditionally observed a convention of not running a candidate against another party's new leader in the by-election, the New Democrats and other smaller parties typically do not follow the same convention. However, if the governing party selects a new leader shortly before an election is due, and that new leader is not a member of the legislature, he or she will normally await the upcoming election before running for a seat in parliament.
Mandate
Sir John A. Macdonald Sir John Alexander Macdonald, GCB, KCMG, PC, PC , (11 January 1815 – 6 June 1891) was the first Prime Minister of Canada and the dominant figure of Canadian Confederation. Macdonald's tenure in office spanned 18 years, making him the second longest serving Prime Minister of Canada. He is the only Canadian Prime Minister to win six majority, the first Prime Minister of Canada (1867–1873, 1878–1891)The Canadian Prime Minister serves At Her Majesty's pleasure, meaning the post does not have a fixed term; once appointed and sworn in by the Governor General, the Prime Minister remains in office until he or she resigns, is dismissed, or dies.[6] The lifespan of parliament is limited by the constitution to five years, and, after 2007, by the Canada Elections Act Canada Elections Act is an Act of the Parliament of Canada respecting the election of members of parliament to the Canadian House of Commons, repealing other Acts relating to elections and making consequential amendments to other Acts to four years, though the Governor General may still, on the advice of the Prime Minister, dissolve parliament and issue the writs of election A writ of election is a writ issued by the government ordering the holding of a special election for a political office prior to the expiry of four years; the King-Byng Affair was the only time since Confederation Canadian Confederation was the process by which the federal Dominion of Canada was formed, officially beginning on July 1, 1867, with the new provinces of Ontario and Quebec (until then together comprising the Province of Canada) along with two other British colonies, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, which also became provinces that the viceroy deemed it necessary to refuse his Prime Minister's request for a general vote.
Following parliamentary dissolution, the Prime Minister must run in the resulting general election if he or she wishes to maintain a seat in the House of Commons. Should the Prime Minister's party win such an election, it is unnecessary to re-appoint the Prime Minister or again swear him or her into office.[6] If, however, an opposition party Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. Note that this article uses the term government as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning the administration or the cabinet rather than the state wins a majority of seats in the House of Commons, the Prime Minister is required to resign. Should the Prime Minister's party achieve a minority while an opposition party wins a plurality — i.e., more seats than any other party but less than a majority — the Prime Minister can attempt to maintain the confidence of the House by forming a coalition A coalition government is a cabinet of a parliamentary government in which several parties cooperate. The usual reason given for this arrangement is that no party on its own can achieve a majority in the parliament. A coalition government might also be created in a time of national difficulty or crisis, for example during wartime, to give a with other minority parties; this option has almost never been entertained in Canada, the last time being in 1925.
