Prime Minister of Canada
Categories: Government of Canada | Canadian Prime Ministers | Politics of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada (French: Premier ministre du Canada), the head of the Canadian government, is usually the leader of the political party with the most seats in the Canadian House of Commons. The Prime Minister has the right to the style of Right Honourable. The current prime minister is the Right Honourable Paul Martin.
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Qualifications and selection
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 and able to speak French and English, although two Prime Ministers have governed from the Senate, Sir John Joseph Caldwell Abbott & Sir Mackenzie Bowell. If the prime minister should fail to win his or her seat, a junior MP 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.
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 8 Prime Ministers, only Alexander Mackenzie refused knighthood). Since the Nickle Resolution, it is against policy for the sovereign to grant titles to Canadians.
Term
A prime minister does not a have a fixed term. A prime minister may resign for personal reasons at any time, but 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), or more often will appeal to the people by having Parliament dissolved and a general election held. If a general election gives an opposition party a plurality of the seats, the prime minister's party is still given the first opportunity to continue as the government. The incumbent prime minister may attempt to gain the support of another party (a coalition government), or he/she may resign and allow the party that won the most seats to form the government.
An election for every seat in the Commons (a general election) is called at most 5 years after the previous one; however, the prime minister has the power to call a general election at virtually any time. Customarily, when a majority government is in power, elections are called 3.5 to 5 years after the previous election or as a de facto referendum if a major issue is at hand (the last of these being the 1988 election, which revolved around free trade with the United States). 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 second-most recent Canadian minority government, the Clark government of 1979-1980).
In contrast to the British government, in which members of Parliament have long tenure but prime ministers have relatively short tenures, the Canadian prime minister typically has a long tenure except in cases where there is a minority government.
Role and authority
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, save for a recently added clause mandating meetings with the provincial premiers. 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 is a figurehead). The function, duties, responsibilities, and powers of the Prime Minister of Canada were established at the time the country was created as self-governing dominion in 1867 and were modeled upon those of the existing office of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Over time, the role of the Prime Minister of Canada has undergone some modifications but today has, arguably, the most personal and absolute power of any elected leader of any full democracy in the world.
The Prime Minister plays a prominent role in most legislation passed by the Canadian Parliament. Most 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.
Such legislation is referred to as a "Government Bill" and is designated by a number (such as C-18). The members of the governing party in Parliament, elected to represent their constituents, will usually vote in favour of any government legislation. Once passed by the majority vote of the members of the Prime Minister's party in the House of Commons, the legislation will then almost always be passed by the unelected Canadian Senate.
Although any elected member of the House of Commons may introduce new legislation of their own, referred to as a "Private Members' Bill," it is an infrequent occurrence that one is ever enacted. In the 37th Parliament 2nd Session, of the 471 Private Members' bills tabled, only four received royal assent (although some others were passed by the House of Commons). None of these were significant changes to socio/economic matters affecting the country and each of these were dramatically modified in the process. Private Member's Bills require considerable amount of time, energy, research and other resources needed just to prepare a bill for introduction into Parliament. However, few of these receive the time and Government support needed to pass them. Often, though, popular private members' bills are adopted by the government and become part of a government bill.
Too much power?
Unlike the Presidential system of government used in countries such as the United States, an elected member of the Canadian House of Commons follows strict party discipline and has difficulty voting against the party line. If any elected member of the Prime Minister's governing party votes against any new legislation, the party caucus has the exclusive authority to expel that person from the party. A Member of Parliament (MP) who has been expelled from the party will then sit as an independent MP with extremely limited resources to conduct their work and almost no procedural right to ask a question or raise any issue in Parliament. This happened to Liberal MP John Nunziata who was expelled by Jean Chrétien for voting against the 1995 budget. At the next election, the expelled member will usually not be allowed to run for the party again. They may run as an independent candidate but they will not receive money from the party to fund their re-election campaign. Members who vote against less important legislation jeopardize their chances of joining/remaining in the Cabinet, or chairing committees. A far more common form of protest, that rarely has serious repercussions is abstaining from a vote. Members of the governing party almost always “toe the party line,” guaranteeing that the will of the Prime Minister of Canada is carried out.
Former Prime Minister, Pierre Trudeau, who more than any previous Prime Minister consolidated power in the PMO (Prime Minister's Office), once derisively referred to federal backbenchers in the Liberal party as "trained seals." As well he once referred to opposition backbenchers as "nobodies when they are 50 yards away from the House of Commons." It should be noted that he made the "trained seals" comment prior to joining the Liberal Party. In 1998, during a break at a G7 summit meeting, the microphone of Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien was left open and he was heard to complain that President Bill Clinton of the United States was basically powerless to solve international problems (in this case a Pacific coast salmon fishing dispute between Canada and the U.S.) because the American President had no authority and had to answer to Congress. One of the main benefits of the Canadian system is thus that things can be done quickly, and it is easy to see who is accountable for government actions. However, critics likewise allege that such power is far too concentrated, and that the Canadian system lacks the checks and balances present in mixed systems like the US.
In addition, the Prime Minister of Canada has virtual control over the appointment of the people to fill the following positions:
- all members of the Cabinet, and may replace them at any time;
- 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;
- plus approximately 3,100 other powerful government positions, the bulk of which the Prime Minister usually designates a member of his staff to appoint with his concurrence.
As well, the Prime Minister appoints the head of the Office of the Ethics Counsellor whose job is to monitor, and when necessary to investigate, the ethical conduct of the members of Parliament, including the Prime Minister to whom the Ethics Counsellor reports.
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 insignificant and ineffectual 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 titled The Friendly Dictatorship by The Globe and Mail newspaper's respected 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 of Canada. There are still, however some 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 Chrétien in 2003.
The Prime Minister is also restricted by the usually powerless Senate. The Senate can delay and impede legislation, as occurred when Brian Mulroney attempted to introduce the Goods and Services Tax (GST), and when Chrétien tried to cancel the privatization of Toronto Pearson International Airport. In both cases, the conflicts arose primarily because the Senate was dominated by members appointed by previous governments. Both PMs ended up "stacking" the Senate in their favour with a flurry of senate appointments in order to pass their legislation. Mulroney's government used a constitutional provision to receive approval from the Governor General for the creation of eight new Senate seats in 1991.
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.
Graphical timeline
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from:1914 till:1918 text:"World War I" from:1939 till:1945 text:"World War II"
width:25 fontsize:S textcolor:black from:start till:1873 color:Libcons $left text:"John A. Macdonald_1867-1873" from:1873 till:1878 color:Lib $right text:"1873-1878_Alexander Mackenzie" from:1878 till:1891 color:Cons $left text:"John A. Macdonald_1878-1891" from:1891 till:1892 color:Cons $right text:"1891-1892_John Abbot" from:1892 till:1894 color:Cons $left text:"John Thompson_1892-1894" from:1894 till:1896 color:Cons $right text:"1894-1896_Mackenzie Bowell" from:1896 till:1896 color:Cons $left text:"Charles Tupper_1896" from:1896 till:1911 color:Lib $right text:"1896-1911_Wilfrid Laurier" from:1911 till:1917 color:Cons $right text:"1911-1917_Robert Laird Borden" from:1917 till:1920 color:Uni $left text:"Robert Laird Borden_1917-1920" from:1920 till:1921 color:Uni $right text:"1920-1921_Arthur Meighen" from:1921 till:1926 color:Lib $left text:"William Lyon Mackenzie King_1921-1926" from:1926 till:1926 color:Cons $right text:"1926_Arthur Meighen" from:1926 till:1930 color:Lib $left text:"William Lyon Mackenzie King_1926-1930" from:1930 till:1935 color:Cons $right text:"1930-1935_Richard Bedford Bennett" from:1935 till:1948 color:Lib $right text:"1935-1948_William Lyon Mackenzie King" from:1948 till:1957 color:Lib $left text:"Louis St. Laurent_1948-1957" from:1957 till:1963 color:PC $right text:"1957-1963_John Diefenbaker" from:1963 till:1968 color:Lib $left text:"Lester B. Pearson_1963-1968" from:1968 till:1979 color:Lib $right text:"1968-1979_Pierre Trudeau" from:1979 till:1980 color:PC $left text:"Joe Clark_1979-1980" from:1980 till:1984 color:Lib $right text:"1980-1984_Pierre Trudeau" from:1984 till:1984 color:Lib $left text:"John Napier Turner_1984" from:1984 till:1993 color:PC $right text:"1984-1993_Brian Mulroney" from:1993 till:1993 color:PC $left text:"Kim Campbell_1993" from:1993 till:2003 color:Lib $right text:"1993-2003_Jean Chrétien" from:2003 till:end color:Lib $left text:"Paul Martin_2003-present" </timeline>
Living former prime ministers
There are five living former Prime Ministers of Canada. In order from most recent they are:
None currently hold a seat in parliament. Jean Chrétien left the House in 2003 and Joe Clark left in 2004.
See also
- List of Canadian Prime Ministers
- List of Joint Premiers of the Province of Canada
- List of Canadian Prime Ministers by religious affiliation
- List of Canadian Prime Ministers by residence
- List of Canadian Prime Ministers by place of birth
- List of Canadian Prime Ministers by time in office
- List of Canadian Prime Ministers by military service
- Spouses of the Prime Ministers of Canada
- Children of the Prime Ministers of Canada
External links
- Official government Web site of the Office of the Prime Minister
- primeministers.ca, Prime Ministers Online