Prime Minister of Canada
The
Prime Minister of Canada (
French:
Premier ministre du Canada), is the head of the
Government of Canada. The office does not formally exist in the
Constitution of Canada, where
executive authority is vested in the
Canadian Sovereign. The office evolved a de facto existence in the mid
19th century and has become a central feature of Canadian Government.
The Prime Minister is usually the leader of the
political party with the most seats in the Canadian
House of Commons. According to Canadian protocol, all holders of the office are
styled The Right Honourable for life.
Stephen Harper is the current Prime Minister, and was sworn in on
February 6,
2006. He is the 22nd Prime Minister since
Confederation, with his
Conservative party winning 124 of 308 seats in the
last federal election.
The Prime Minister, along with the other ministers of the Cabinet, is technically appointed by the Governor General. However, to maintain stability of government, the Governor General will almost always call on the leader of the party which holds the most seats in the House of Commons to form a government.
[Parliamentary Government]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. The prime minister also has a secondary residence at
Harrington Lake in
Gatineau Park near
Ottawa.
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. In addition one prime minister,
Richard Bennett was created a
viscount after his retirement and the
widow of Sir John A. Macdonald was created a
baroness.
A prime minister does not have a fixed mandate. A prime minister 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 than not 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 incumbent prime minister may attempt to gain the support of another party to retain confidence, or 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 (barring war or insurrection) 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-Byng Affair). Customarily, when a
majority government is in power, elections are called 3.5 to 5 years after the previous election. 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).
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. 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 acts as a
figurehead). The function, duties, responsibilities, and powers of the Prime Minister of Canada were established at Confederation, modeled upon the existing office of the
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Over time, the role of the Prime Minister of Canada has evolved, mainly gaining power over the years.
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. An elected member of the Canadian House of Commons is usually expected to follow strict
party discipline, and voting against the party line can have serious disciplinary consequences, up to and including expulsion from the party. Most 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.
As the Monarch or Governor General almost always follows the advice of his or her ministers, the Prime Minister (and the PMO) essentially controls the appointments of the following positions:
* all members of the
Cabinet;
* 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;
* the 10
Lieutenant-Governors of the Canadian provinces, and the three Commissioners of the Canadian territories ;
* plus approximately 3,100 other government positions, the bulk of which the Prime Minister usually designates a member of his staff to appoint with his concurrence.
As to the Prime Minister's broad
de facto authority over the Canadian military, see
Canadian Forces.
Former Prime Minister
Pierre Trudeau is credited with consolidating power in the
Office of the Prime Minister (PMO), although the evolution can be seen throughout Canadian history. 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.
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 decayed 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,
The Friendly Dictatorship by 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 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 Jean Chrétien in 2003. The prime minister is also restricted by the effectively anemic Senate. The Senate can delay and impede legislation, which occurred when
Brian Mulroney introduced the
Goods and Services Tax (GST). In many 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.
As well, as executive power is actually vested in the
Canadian Monarch, and "exercised" by the
Governor General as the
vice-regal, either body has the power to oppose a Prime Minister's will. Senator and constitutional expert
Eugene Forsey stated that a "Governor General must take all steps necessary to thwart the will of a ruthless prime minister." This power of the Governor General was used by
Lord Byng against Prime Minister
William Lyon Mackenzie King in what is known as the
King-Byng Affair of 1926. Some, such as the
CBC's Larry Zolf, also speculated whether Governor General
Adrienne Clarkson would refuse a recommendation from Prime Minister
Jean Chretien to dissolve Parliament in 2002.
[1] Near the end of her time as Governor General, Clarkson stated: "My constitutional role has lain in what are called 'reserve powers:' making sure that there is a prime minister and a government in place, and exercising the right 'to encourage, to advise, and to warn' [...] Without really revealing any secrets, I can tell you that I have done all three."
[2]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.
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Five Prime Ministers in an official portrait taken during an event by the National Archives of Canada in 1994. Pictured from left to right are Trudeau (died in 2000), Turner, Campbell, Chrétien, and Clark |
There are six living former Prime Ministers of Canada. In order from most recent they are:
*
Paul Martin*
Jean Chrétien*
Kim Campbell*
Brian Mulroney*
John Turner *
Joe ClarkOnly Martin holds a seat in the House of Commons. Chrétien left the House in 2003 and Clark in 2004.
*
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
