Federal minority governments in Canada
During the history of Canadian politics, thirteen minority governments have been elected at the federal level. There have also been two minority governments resulting from governments being replaced between elections, for a total of fifteen federal minority governments in thirteen separate minority parliaments. There have been historical cases where the governing party had fewer than half of the seats but had the support of independents who called themselves members of the party; these cases are not included, as there was never any serious chance of the government falling.
In a minority situation, governments must rely on the support of other parties to stay in power, providing less stability than a majority government. At the federal level, no minority government (excepting the odd case of the 14th) has lasted a standard four-year term. Most minority governments have lasted less than two years. The average duration of completed minorities in Canada is 479 days or approximately 1 year, 140 days counting only that part of the 14th Parliament that was a minority, or 1 year, 207 days counting the entire duration of it.
In addition to the minorities below, the
In the United Kingdom and elsewhere in the world, minority governments are referred to as hung parliaments.
Alexander Mackenzie
Alexander Mackenzie replaced John A. Macdonald in 1873 after the latter was involved in the Pacific Scandal. Mackenzie became the prime minister of a minority government, but he immediately called an election in which he then won a majority.
William Lyon Mackenzie King
- Seats short of a majority 1921: 0. Term of office 1,339 days.[1] (Due to seat fluctuations, the government was not in a minority for the entire duration of the parliament.)
- Seats short of a majority 1925: 23. Term of office 204 days.
Liberal minority after the 1921 election. Initially, the Liberal Party had the exact number of seats required for a majority. It maintained that majority until December 1923 when it lost two seats in by-elections returning it to a minority. It continued as a minority until November 1924 when the Liberals gained a seat in a by-election and became a majority again. Therefore, although this particular Parliament lasted for 3 years and 7 months, for only about half of that time (one year and ten months) was it an actual minority Parliament.
Liberal minority after the 1925 election- This was a truly minority Parliament throughout its life. The election resulted in the incumbent Liberal government of Mackenzie King being reduced to 101 seats in the House of Commons, while the opposition Conservatives took the most seats (116). All others won 26 seats, 24 of them won by the Progressives. King chose to carry on in government and face the new Parliament seeking its confidence. From January to July 1926, King's government sustained such confidence with the support of most of the Progressives (although in many cases only by one or two votes). On June 26, after virtually losing control of the House and sustaining a loss on a sub-amendment to a censure motion and facing a final vote on the main censure motion, King asked the Governor-General for dissolution and was refused. King therefore immediately resigned and the Conservative leader Arthur Meighen agreed to form a government which itself, although larger, was also a minority one. However, a few days later on July 1, 1926, the new Meighen minority government was defeated on a matter of confidence (by one vote). Meighen then requested and obtained a dissolution from the Governor-General. Therefore, the Parliament arising from this election was throughout a minority one.
Quasi-minorities
After the 1926 election, the Liberal party proper was seven seats short of a majority. However, eight MPs were elected as Liberal-Progressive members and usually voted with the Liberals giving the government a working majority.
As well, following the 1945 election the official Liberal candidates did not win a majority of seats leaving the King government five seats short of a majority. However, the election of eight "Independent Liberal" MPs, most of whom did not run as official Liberals because of their opposition to conscription (see Conscription Crisis of 1944), as well as one Liberal-Progressive, gave the King government an effective working majority in parliament. Most of the Independent Liberal MPs joined (or re-joined) the Liberal caucus following World War II when the conscription issue became moot.
Arthur Meighen
- Seats short of a majority 1926: 8. Term of office 88 days.
1Not elected as such
John Diefenbaker
- Seats short of a majority 1957: 22. Term of office 177 days.
- Seats short of a majority 1962: 17. Term of office 203 days.
After 22 years of Liberal rule, the
The Diefenbaker government ended badly with party infighting, a poor economy and controversies over relations with the United States during the
Lester B. Pearson
- Seats short of a majority 1963: 5. Term of office 2 year, 123 days (854 days).
- Seats short of a majority 1965: 2. Term of office 2 years, 136 days (866 days).
In the 1963 election, the Liberals, led by
Canada's constitutional convention dealing with minority governments was altered in 1968 when Pearson's government was unexpectedly defeated on a matter of confidence. While this should have led to an immediate dissolution of parliament, none of the parties were ready, and Pearson was in the process of being replaced as leader of the Liberals. By mutual agreement among the party leaders, a new motion was passed that retroactively declared that the budgetary matter on which the government was defeated was not a matter of confidence, setting a new precedent.
Pierre E. Trudeau
- Seats short of a majority 1972: 232. Term of office 1 year, 170 days (535 days).
In the 1972 election, the Liberals under Pierre Trudeau won only two seats more than the Tories. It was the second election for Trudeau as party leader. However, even though the Liberals entered the election strong in the polls, the Trudeaumania buzz had all but ended, and the party was further damaged by a weak economy. With few issues to campaign on and one of the weakest campaigns in Canadian history, they were again forced to rely on the NDP to remain in power. In this instance, the NDP demanded the creation of Petro-Canada among other things to support the Liberals. The government fell on May 8, 1974, on a sub-amendment to the budget (thus a question of confidence). The Trudeau Liberals won a large majority government in the resulting 1974 federal election.
2Speaker was elected as independent
Joe Clark
- Seats short of a majority 1979: 6. Term of office 186 days.
To improve his situation slightly, Clark supported the selection of Liberal member James Jerome, House Speaker in the 30th Parliament, to serve as speaker once again, and this was seconded by Opposition Leader Pierre Trudeau. (Starting in 1986, the speaker was elected in a secret ballot vote by the members of the house.)
While the Liberals had first the Progressives and later the NDP to support them in minority situations, the Progressive Conservatives had little experience attracting support as a minority government. Seven months after the 1979 election which ended 11 years of Trudeau Liberal government, the Tory government of Joe Clark was defeated in motion of no confidence in the government and its budget moved by Bob Rae of the NDP and supported by the Liberals.
Clark might have prevented this defeat had his government agreed to support the
Paul Martin
- Seats short of a majority 2004: 20. Term of office 1 year, 133 days (498 days).
Although the
On May 10, 2005, a motion was passed by the
On May 19, 2005, the House voted on two budget bills, deemed unquestionable matters of confidence. With the support of two independents and Conservative MP
On November 24, 2005, the opposition Conservatives introduced a motion of no confidence. The motion was seconded by the NDP. On November 28, the government was defeated by a margin of 171 to 133, having been defeated by the united opposition forces (Conservatives, NDP, and Bloc Québécois). In the early morning of November 29, 2005, Martin went to
Stephen Harper
- Seats short of a majority 2006: 31. Term of office 2 years, 207 days (937 days).
- Seats short of a majority 2008: 12. Term of office 2 years, 142 days (872 days).
Although several public opinion polls predicted that the 2006 election would result in either a strong Conservative minority or a slight majority, the
The initial results of the 2006 election indicated that the Conservatives would fall 31 seats short of a majority. However, after the election but before the new Parliament took office, Liberal David Emerson crossed the floor to join the Conservatives and Stephen Harper's cabinet amidst some controversy. This increased the size of the Conservative caucus to 125 seats, only 30 seats short of a majority.
The 39th Parliament was dissolved on September 7, 2008, ending the longest-running minority government between the return of writs and dissolution. On October 14, Harper's Conservative Party was re-elected with a plurality of seats, though still 12 seats short of a majority. It is the first time since Pearson's 1965 minority that a minority government was re-elected as such.
The 40th Parliament was dissolved following the government's defeat in a motion of no confidence, however, the Conservatives were re-elected to a majority government on May 2, 2011. Excluding the odd case of the 14th Parliament, Harper led the government through two longest-lasting federal minority governments in Canadian history and was also the first prime minister to win a federal election (by majority or minority) after winning two minority governments (consecutive or not).
Justin Trudeau
- Seats short of a majority 2019: 13. Term of office 1 year, 253 days (619 days). He won 157 seats, 13 seats away from a majority.
- Seats short of a majority 2021: 10. Term of office 2 years, 155 days (885 days) (as of April 25, 2024). He won 160 seats, 10 seats away from a majority. He currently serves his third mandate as Prime Minister of Canada.
In the 2019 election, the Liberals under Justin Trudeau won the most seats, though still 13 seats short of a majority, and formed a minority government. It was the second election for Trudeau as party leader.
The 43rd Parliament was dissolved on August 15, 2021. On September 20, Trudeau's Liberal Party was
Minority governments by term of office
Rank | Prime Minister | Party | Parliament | Seats (Minority size) | Year(s) | Duration from return of writs to dissolution |
Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | William Lyon Mackenzie King | Liberal | 14th | 116 of 235 (2 short) |
1921–1925 | 3 years, 233 days[3] | Due to resignations and floor crossing, the 14th Parliament shifted back and forth between majority and minority status. |
2 | Stephen Harper | Conservative | 39th | 124 of 308 (31 short) |
2006–2008 | 2 years, 207 days | |
3 | Justin Trudeau | Liberal | 44th | 160 of 338 (10 short) |
2021–present | 2 years, 155 days | Justin Trudeau's government has been supported by the New Democratic Party in a Confidence and supply agreement since March 22, 2022. |
4 | Stephen Harper | Conservative | 40th | 143 of 308 (12 short) |
2008–2011 | 2 years, 142 days | |
5 | Lester B. Pearson | Liberal | 27th | 131 of 265 (2 short) |
1965–1968 | 2 years, 136 days | |
6 | Lester B. Pearson | Liberal | 26th | 129 of 265 (4 short) |
1963–1965 | 2 years, 123 days | |
7 | Justin Trudeau | Liberal | 43rd | 157 of 338 (13 short) |
2019–2021 | 1 year, 253 days | |
8 | Pierre Trudeau | Liberal | 29th | 109 of 264 (23 short) |
1972–1974 | 1 year, 170 days | |
9 | Paul Martin | Liberal | 38th | 135 of 308 (20 short) |
2004–2006 | 1 year, 133 days | |
10 | William Lyon Mackenzie King | Liberal | 15th | 99 of 245 (24 short) |
1925–1926 | 208 days | |
11 | John Diefenbaker | Progressive Conservative | 25th | 116 of 265 (17 short) |
1962–1963 | 203 days | |
12 | Joe Clark | Progressive Conservative | 31st | 136 of 282 (5 short) |
1979–1980 | 186 days | |
13 | John Diefenbaker | Progressive Conservative | 23rd | 112 of 265 (21 short) |
1957–1958 | 177 days | |
14 | Alexander Mackenzie | Liberal | 2nd | 95 of 200 (5 short) |
1873–1874 | 56 days | Mackenzie's government replaced Macdonald's government in the 2nd Parliament without an election. For more information, see Pacific Scandal. |
15 | Arthur Meighen | Conservative (1867) | 15th | 115 of 245 (8 short) |
1926 | 3 days | Meighen's government replaced King's government in the 15th Parliament without an election. For more information, see King–Byng Affair .
|
See also
- Minority governments in Canada, for a list of provincial minority governments in Canada.
References
- ^ "Duration of Minority Governments". Parliament of Canada. Archived from the original on June 27, 2013. Retrieved June 26, 2013.
- ^ "Liberals will not quit despite losing vote". CBC News. May 10, 2005. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
- ^ Only a minority Parliament for approximately 1 year, 2 months.
Bibliography
- Canada. "Key Dates for each Parliament". Library of Parliament. Archived from the original on September 14, 2005. Retrieved May 12, 2006.
- Canada. "Duration of Minority Governments". Library of Parliament. Archived from the original on May 7, 2013. Retrieved September 2, 2008.
- Minority Government, by Stephen Azzi, D. Kwavnick