Since Confederation, there have been 26 Ministries, although only 20 individuals have served as Prime
Minister. A Prime Minister whose party is re-elected in successive general elections simply continues in
office as the head of the same government. For example, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, who became Prime Minister
in 1896, continued in office through the general elections of 1900, 1904 and 1908 before resigning after
his party was defeated in the 1911 general election. On the other hand, a Prime Minister who resigns from
office following a party defeat in a general election, but who is later returned to power, forms a new
Ministry. For example, Pierre E. Trudeau, who first became Prime Minister in 1968 forming the Twentieth
Ministry, resigned from office in 1979, only to be re-elected with a majority in 1980, thus again becoming
Prime Minister, forming the Twenty-Second Ministry. There can, as well, be several Ministries within the
same Parliament. This was the case for the Seventh Parliament. Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald died
in office not long after being re-elected in 1891. From the time of his death to the 1896 general election,
no less than four more administrations took office. Figure 2.2 illustrates the sometimes ephemeral,
sometimes lengthy duration of Ministries. [19]
Figure 2.2 – Duration of Ministries
MINISTRY |
PRIME MINISTER |
YEARS |
DURATION |
years |
months |
days |
|
1 |
Macdonald |
1867-1873 |
5 |
4 |
4 |
2 |
Mackenzie |
1873-1878 |
4 |
11 |
30 |
3 |
Macdonald |
1878-1891 |
12 |
7 |
20 |
4 * |
Abbott |
1891-1892 |
1 |
5 |
8 |
5 |
Thompson |
1892-1894 |
2 |
|
7 |
6 * |
Bowell |
1894-1896 |
1 |
4 |
6 |
7 |
Tupper |
1896 |
|
2 |
7 |
8 |
Laurier |
1896-1911 |
15 |
2 |
5 |
9 |
Borden |
1911-1917 |
6 |
|
2 |
10 |
Borden ** |
1917-1920 |
2 |
6 |
28 |
11 |
Meighen |
1920-1921 |
1 |
5 |
19 |
12 |
King |
1921-1926 |
4 |
5 |
30 |
13 |
Meighen |
1926 |
|
2 |
27 |
14 |
King |
1926-1930 |
3 |
10 |
13 |
15 |
Bennett |
1930-1935 |
5 |
2 |
16 |
16 |
King |
1935-1948 |
13 |
|
23 |
17 |
St-Laurent |
1948-1957 |
8 |
7 |
6 |
18 |
Diefenbaker |
1957-1963 |
5 |
10 |
1 |
19 |
Pearson |
1963-1968 |
4 |
11 |
29 |
20 |
Trudeau |
1968-1979 |
11 |
1 |
14 |
21 |
Clark |
1979-1980 |
|
8 |
26 |
22 |
Trudeau |
1980-1984 |
4 |
3 |
27 |
23 |
Turner |
1984 |
|
2 |
18 |
24 |
Mulroney |
1984-1993 |
8 |
9 |
8 |
25 |
Campbell |
1993 |
|
4 |
10 |
26 |
Chrétien |
1993- |
|
|
|
|
The End of a Ministry
The end of a Ministry is triggered by the death, resignation or dismissal of the Prime Minister. [20]
It does not necessarily entail the end of a Parliament. While, on one hand, the operation of the confidence
convention can lead and has led to early dissolution of a Parliament, [21]
there are, on the other hand, examples of multiple Ministries during the same Parliament. [22]
The procedural consequences of the end of a Ministry vary depending on how the Ministry ends. The
procedural effect of dissolution is of course well known: sittings cease immediately and all proceedings in
Parliament are quashed. A new Parliament, once summoned, begins with a clean slate. [23]
Death of a Prime Minister
The death of a Prime Minister holds few procedural implications. If death occurs during a session of
Parliament while the House is sitting, tributes may be made in the House or the House may adjourn for
an extended period. [24]
Since Confederation, only two Prime Ministers have died in office: Sir John A. Macdonald, in 1891, during a
session, and Sir John Thompson, in 1894, while Parliament was prorogued. [25]
Resignation of a Prime Minister
Resignation may be prompted by a defeat in a general election, by the operation of the confidence
convention alone, by the operation of the confidence convention followed by a defeat in a general
election, or by other reasons, including the Prime Minister’s desire to retire from public life.
• Defeat in a General Election
If Parliament is dissolved when the Ministry resigns, there are of course no procedural implications.
This is typically the case for majority governments which, at a moment of their own choosing, seek a
dissolution, are defeated at the polls and subsequently resign in the days that follow. [26]
It falls to the new government to meet the new House.
An election may be triggered by the Prime Minister of a minority government, in the same manner as a
Prime Minister of a majority government. For example, throughout the Sixteenth Parliament (1926-30),
Prime Minister Mackenzie King headed a minority government but was able to retain the support of the third
party in the House and thus govern for almost four years. He then sought and obtained a dissolution
in the usual manner, was defeated at the polls and resigned.
In an unusual and controversial case, following the general election of 1925, the Mackenzie King
government lost its majority status when the Liberals received fewer seats than the former Official
Opposition party, the Conservatives. [27]
Nevertheless, it decided to meet the House to test its confidence, and did so successfully until
June 1926. For further details of this case, see below.
• Operation of the Confidence Convention
The role of procedure in the operation of the confidence convention revolves around the decision-making
process in the House of Commons. When the government is defeated on a vote on a question of confidence
in the House, the Prime Minister must either resign [28]
or seek a dissolution. The Speaker does not decide what constitutes a matter of confidence. Successive
Speakers have stated that it is not for the Chair to interfere to prevent debate, or a vote, on a
question relating to the issue of confidence, unless the motion being put forward is clearly defective
or irregular on procedural grounds. [29]
Naturally, when numbers are close, the procedural implications of pairing and the manner in which a vote
is recorded become critically important. The rules and practices governing these areas of parliamentary
procedure are discussed in
Chapter 12, “The Process of Debate”.
Four governments have been defeated in a vote in the House on a clear, uncontested question of
confidence. In 1926, the three-day old Meighen minority government lost a vote (96-95) on what amounted
to a motion of censure of the government. [30]
In 1963, the Diefenbaker minority government was defeated by a wide margin (142-111) on a Supply
motion. [31]
In 1974, the Trudeau minority government and, in 1979, the Clark minority government both lost a
vote on a Budget motion sub-amendment, by votes of 137-123 and 139-133 respectively. [32]
All four Prime Ministers sought and obtained a dissolution following defeat in the House. Of the
four governments, the Meighen, Diefenbaker and Clark governments were subsequently defeated in
general elections and, in each case, the Prime Minister resigned without meeting the new House. The
Trudeau government was returned with a majority and met the new House.
The government of Mackenzie King in 1925-26 faced a more complex set of circumstances and ultimately
resigned without a dissolution. The case has been cited by some as one of a resignation due to the
operation of the confidence convention, [33]
although Mackenzie King himself stated that he resigned because he did not obtain the dissolution he
had sought. [34]
In any case,the events leading to the government’s resignation illustrate that it is not always
clear what constitutes a question of confidence.
A general election was held on October 29, 1925. Prior to the election, Prime Minister Mackenzie King
held a bare majority of 118 of 235 seats. (The number of seats he held had fluctuated throughout the
Fourteenth Parliament, giving him sometimes a majority, sometimes a minority.) [35]
The 1925 election returned 101 Liberals (supporters of the King government), 116 Conservatives, 24
Progressives, 2 Labour and 2 Independents. [36]
Parliament met on January 7, 1926. The King government did not resign but instead chose to meet the
House, despite having received fewer seats than the Conservative Party. It retained the support of the
House until June 1926 when the official opposition moved an amendment to a motion to concur in a
committee report that amounted to a censure of the government; at that time, the King government was not
able to command the support of the House on a series of procedural motions meant to set aside the
censure amendment. [37]
Before the censure amendment was ever put to a vote, Prime Minister King announced his resignation to
the House on the afternoon of Monday, June 28, 1926. He stated that, having sought and been refused a
dissolution, he was resigning. [38]
After the announcement, the House adjourned. The next morning, Arthur Meighen, the Leader of the
Opposition, was asked by the Governor General to form a new government. When the House convened later
the same day, the government and the official opposition had changed sides in the House and acting House
Leader Sir Henry Drayton made a statement announcing changes to the Ministry. [39]
The House then resumed the transaction of its business. Two days later, the Meighen government lost a
vote on a motion of censure. [40]
Not all government defeats on a vote are automatically considered matters of confidence. [41]
On February 19, 1968, a motion for the third reading of a tax bill was defeated by a vote of 82-84. [42]
Prime Minister Pearson did not agree that this defeat constituted an expression of non-confidence in the
government, as some were arguing. The government introduced a motion “That this House does not
regard its vote on February 19th in connection with third reading of Bill C-193, which had
carried in all previous stages, as a vote of non-confidence in the Government”. This motion was
carried on February 28 by a vote of 138-119. [43]
From February 20 to February 28, all House business was concerned with the resolution of this matter, and
in fact the House transacted no business at all from February 20 to 22. [44]
Similarly, on December 20, 1983, a clause of a bill amending the Income Tax Act and other acts was defeated
in a Committee of the Whole by a vote of 28-67. [45]
The Official Opposition claimed that this constituted a defeat on a question of confidence and demanded
that the government resign or seek a dissolution. The government disagreed. [46]
As in other, similar circumstances, this was not a procedural matter upon which the Chair could rule. [47]
• Resignation Due to Other Causes
Several Prime Ministers have resigned for reasons other than those referred to above. Most have done so
out of a stated desire to retire from public life. [48]
There are, however, a few cases where the departure was prompted by other reasons.
In one case, the government of Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald (Second Parliament, 1873), embroiled
in a scandal, resigned rather than face near-certain defeat on a no-confidence motion. [49]
According to an eyewitness, on November 5, 1873, “ … Sir John got up and briefly announced
that the Government had resigned. The announcement was received in perfect silence. The Opposition,
directly [after] it was over, crossed the House to their new desks.” [50]
The Leader of the Opposition, Alexander Mackenzie, formed a new government and Parliament was prorogued
on November 7, 1873. On January 2, 1874, he sought and obtained a dissolution without having met the House
with a legislative program.
In 1896, the Prime Minister, Senator Sir Mackenzie Bowell, faced a serious Cabinet revolt (seven Ministers
resigned) and ultimately resigned himself on April 27 of that year, three days after he had been granted a
dissolution. [51]
He was succeeded by Sir Charles Tupper, who in turn resigned after his defeat in the election. [52]
Dismissal of a Prime Minister
Since Confederation, no Prime Minister has been dismissed. [53]
The circumstances that might give rise to dismissal have nevertheless been the subject of considerable
academic debate.
Ministerial Crisis
If the House is sitting when the composition of the Ministry is being changed in circumstances of
ministerial crisis, it is normal for the House to adjourn from day to day (unless it decides otherwise)
until such time as the changes are complete. [54]
In such cases, the House normally transacts only routine business on the days it meets and questions
may be asked concerning the progress being made in reconstituting the Ministry. [55]
When a new Ministry is to be formed following the death, resignation or dismissal of the Prime Minister,
it is likewise appropriate for the House to adjourn from day to day (again, unless it decides otherwise), [56]
but no questions may be asked as to the progress being made, there being no Ministry. [57]
However, party leaders may make statements. [58]
When the ministerial crisis is resolved, it is usual for a leading Member of the government caucus to
make a statement explaining the ministerial changes to the House. [59]