Leader of the Government in the Senate

Canada

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The Leader of the Government in the Senate (French: Leader du gouvernement au Sénat) is a Canadian cabinet minister who leads the government side in the Canadian Senate and is chiefly responsible for promoting and defending the government's program in the Upper House. The government leader's counterpart on the Opposition benches is the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate. The Leader of the Government in the Senate is selected by the Prime Minister.

History

Early Canadian cabinets included several senators who would be answerable to the Senate for government actions. In the nineteenth century, it was not considered unusual for a senator to be Prime Minister. Sir John Joseph Caldwell Abbott and Sir Mackenzie Bowell served as prime minister from the Senate. Abbott and Bowell both found it difficult to lead the government from the Senate, however, and over time, the perceived legitimacy of the Senate declined. As time progressed, it became less common for senators to occupy prominent positions in Cabinet. From 1935 on, it was typical for a Cabinet to have only one senator who would have the position of minister without portfolio and act as Government Leader in the Senate. There has only been one Leader of the Government in the Senate who was not included in the Cabinet, William Benjamin Ross who served in the position in 1926.

In 1969, the position of Leader of the Government in the Senate became an official cabinet position in its own right with the appointment of Paul Martin, Sr. (father of Canada's 21st prime minister, Paul Martin).

Occasionally, senators still hold senior cabinet positions in order to ensure regional balance in Cabinet if the governing party is unable to elect members in a particular region or province, e.g., when the Progressive Conservative Party formed the government under the leadership of Joe Clark in 1979, and when the Liberal Party formed the government under the leadership of Pierre Trudeau in 1980. However, it is usually the case that the Leader of the Government in the Senate is the sole senator serving in Cabinet.

The responsibilities of the Leader of the Government in the Senate include:

1. Planning and managing the government's legislative program in the Senate
2. Answering all questions for the government during the Senate's Question Period
3. Maintaining relations with the Opposition on all matters concerning Senate activities
4. Working with the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons to ensure the effective coordination of the government's legislative programme.

The government side in the Senate is the party that forms the government in the Canadian House of Commons. This means that the government party in the Senate may have fewer seats than the Opposition, particularly when a general election results in a new party forming government.

The current Leader of the Government in the Senate is Marjory LeBreton

Leaders of the Government in the Senate

Leaders of the Government in the Senate prior to 1969

• Alexander Campbell, July 1, 1867 - November 7, 1873, Liberal-Conservative
• Luc Letellier de St-Just, November 7, 1873 - December 14, 1876, Liberal
• Sir Richard William Scott, December 14, 1876 - October 7, 1878, Liberal
• Alexander Campbell, October 18, 1878 - January 26, 1887, Conservative
• Sir John Joseph Caldwell Abbott¹, May 12, 1887 - October 30, 1893, Conservative
• Sir Mackenzie Bowell², October 31, 1893 - April 27, 1896, Conservative
• Sir Oliver Mowat, August 19, 1896 - November 18, 1897, Liberal
• David Mills, November 18, 1897 - February 7, 1902, Liberal
• Sir Richard William Scott, December 14, 1902 - 1908, Liberal
• Sir Richard John Cartwright, 1909 - October 6, 1911, Liberal
• Sir James Alexander Lougheed, October 10, 1911 - December 28, 1921, Conservative
• Raoul Dandurand, December 29, 1921 - June 28, 1926, Liberal
• William Benjamin Ross³, June 28, 1926 - September 24, 1926, Conservative
• Raoul Dandurand, September 25, 1926 - August 6, 1930, Liberal
• Wellington Bartley Willoughby, August 7, 1930 - February 3, 1932, Conservative
• Arthur Meighen, February 3, 1932 - October 22, 1935, Conservative
• Raoul Dandurand, October 23, 1935 - March 11, 1942, Liberal
• James Horace King, May 26, 1942 - August 24, 1945, Liberal
• Wishart McLea Robertson, August 24, 1945 - October 14, 1953, Liberal
• William Ross Macdonald, October 14, 1953 - June 20, 1957, Liberal
• John Thomas Haig, October 9, 1957 - May 11, 1958, Progressive Conservative
• Walter Morley Aseltine, May 12, 1958 - August 31, 1962, Progressive Conservative
• Alfred Johnson Brooks, August 31, 1962 - April 21, 1963, Progressive Conservative
• William Ross Macdonald, April 22, 1963 - February 2, 1964, Liberal
• John Joseph Connolly, February 3, 1964 - April 19, 1968, Liberal
• Paul Joseph James Martin⁴, April 20, 1968 - April 1, 1969

Notes

¹ Prime Minister of Canada from June 16, 1891 to November 24, 1892.

² Prime Minister of Canada from December 21, 1894 to April 27, 1896.

³ Had no concurrent portfolio in Cabinet.

⁴ Minister without portfolio and de facto government leader in the Senate until April 1, 1969 when Leader of the Government in the Senate became an official ministerial office.

Sources

• Parliament of Canada biography of current Leader of the Government in the Senate
• Official Leader of the Government in the Senate website

See also

• Leader of the Opposition in the Senate (Canada)

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