The Parliament of Canada is the legislative body of the government of Canada. The Parliament is composed of the House of Commons (lower house), the Senate (upper house), and the sovereign, represented by the governor general. Most major legislation originates from the Commons, as it is the only body that is directly elected. A new parliament begins after an election of the House of Commons and can sit for up to five years. The number of seats in parliament has varied as new provinces joined the country and as population distribution between the provinces changed; there are currently 343 House MPs and 105 Senators (when there are no vacancies).
Canada uses a Westminster-style parliamentary government, in which the leader of the party with the most seats in the House of Commons becomes Prime Minister, even if the leader is not an elected member of parliament. The leader of the party with the second-most seats in the House becomes the leader of the Official Opposition, and debate (formally called Oral Questions) between the parties is presided over by the speaker of the House. When the party with the most seats has less than half of the total number of seats, it forms a minority government, which can be voted out of power by the other parties. The Canadian Parliament is located at Parliament Hill in the capital city, Ottawa, Ontario.
Parliaments
| Diagram | Parliament Election Sessions | Duration (from return of the writs to dissolution) | Government | Opposition | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governing Party • Prime Minister—Ministry | Seat counts as of election | Official Opposition Party • Leader of the Opposition | Third Parties with official party status | |||
| 1st Canadian Parliament Elected 1867 5 sessions | Sep 24, 1867 – Jul 8, 1872 | Conservative Party
| 100 of 180 House seats | none |
| |
| 2nd Canadian Parliament Elected 1872 2 sessions | Sep 3, 1872 – Jan 2, 1874 | Conservative Party (1872–1873)
| 99 of 200 House seats | Liberal Party
| none | |
Liberal Party (1873–1874)
| 95 of 200 House seats (minority) | Conservative Party
| ||||
| 3rd Canadian Parliament Elected 1874 5 sessions | Feb 21, 1874 – Aug 16, 1878 | Liberal Party
| 129 of 206 House seats | Conservative Party
| none | |
| 4th Canadian Parliament Elected 1878 4 sessions | Nov 21, 1878 – May 18, 1882 | Conservative Party
| 134 of 206 House seats | Liberal Party
| none | |
| 5th Canadian Parliament Elected 1882 4 sessions | Aug 7, 1882 – Jan 15, 1887 | Conservative Party
| 133 of 211 House seats | Liberal Party
| none | |
| 6th Canadian Parliament Elected 1887 4 sessions | Apr 13, 1887 – Feb 3, 1891 | Conservative Party
| 122 of 215 House seats | Liberal Party
| none | |
| 7th Canadian Parliament Elected 1891 6 sessions | Apr 7, 1891 – Apr 24, 1896 | Conservative Party
| 117 of 215 House seats | Liberal Party
| none | |
| 8th Canadian Parliament Elected 1896 5 sessions | Jul 13, 1896 – Oct 9, 1900 | Liberal Party
| 117 of 213 House seats | Conservative Party
| none | |
| 9th Canadian Parliament Elected 1900 4 sessions | Dec 5, 1900 – Sep 29, 1904 | Liberal Party
| 128 of 213 House seats | Conservative Party
| none | |
| 10th Canadian Parliament Elected 1904 4 sessions | Dec 15, 1904 – Sep 17, 1908 | Liberal Party
| 137 of 214 House seats | Conservative Party
| none | |
| 11th Canadian Parliament Elected 1908 3 sessions | Dec 3, 1908 – Jul 29, 1911 | Liberal Party
| 133 of 221 House seats | Conservative Party
| none | |
| 12th Canadian Parliament Elected 1911 7 sessions | Oct 7, 1911 – Oct 6, 1917 | Conservative Party
| 132 of 221 House seats | Liberal Party
| none | |
| 13th Canadian Parliament Elected 1917 5 sessions | Mar 16, 1918 – Oct 4, 1921 | Unionist coalition (1918–1920)
| 153 of 235 House seats (coalition) | Laurier Liberals
| none | |
National Liberal and Conservative Party (1920–1921)
| ||||||
| 14th Canadian Parliament Elected 1921 4 sessions | Jan 15, 1922 – Sep 5, 1925 | Liberal Party
| 118 of 235 House seats | Conservative Party
|
| |
| 15th Canadian Parliament Elected 1925 1 session | Dec 7, 1925 – Jul 2, 1926 | Liberal Party (1925–1926)
| 100 of 245 House seats (minority) | Conservative Party (1925–1926)
|
| |
Conservative Party (1926)
| 115 of 245 House seats (minority) | Liberal Party (1926)
| ||||
| 16th Canadian Parliament Elected 1926 4 sessions | Nov 2, 1926 – May 30, 1930 | Liberal Party
| 116 of 245 House seats (minority) | Conservative Party
| none | |
| 17th Canadian Parliament Elected 1930 6 sessions | Aug 18, 1930 – Aug 14, 1935 | Conservative Party
| 134 of 245 House seats | Liberal Party
| none | |
| 18th Canadian Parliament Elected 1935 6 sessions | Nov 9, 1935 – Jan 25, 1940 | Liberal Party
| 173 of 245 House seats | Conservative Party
| ||
| 19th Canadian Parliament Elected 1940 6 sessions | Apr 17, 1940 – Apr 16, 1945 | Liberal Party
| 179 of 245 House seats | Conservative Party
| none | |
| 20th Canadian Parliament Elected 1945 5 sessions | Aug 9, 1945 – Apr 30, 1949 | Liberal Party
| 118 of 245 House seats (minority) | Progressive Conservative Party
|
| |
| 21st Canadian Parliament Elected 1949 7 sessions | Aug 29, 1949 – Jun 13, 1953 | Liberal Party
| 191 of 262 House seats | Progressive Conservative Party
|
| |
| 22nd Canadian Parliament Elected 1953 5 sessions | Oct 8, 1953 – Apr 12, 1957 | Liberal Party
| 169 of 265 House seats | Progressive Conservative Party
|
| |
| 23rd Canadian Parliament Elected 1957 1 session | Aug 8, 1957 – Feb 1, 1958 | Progressive Conservative Party
| 111 of 265 House seats (minority) | Liberal Party
|
| |
| 24th Canadian Parliament Elected 1958 5 sessions | Apr 30, 1958 – Apr 19, 1962 | Progressive Conservative Party
| 208 of 265 House seats | Liberal Party
| none | |
| 25th Canadian Parliament Elected 1962 1 session | Jul 18, 1962 – Feb 6, 1963 | Progressive Conservative Party
| 116 of 265 House seats (minority) | Liberal Party
|
| |
| 26th Canadian Parliament Elected 1963 3 sessions | May 8, 1963 – Sep 8, 1965 | Liberal Party
| 128 of 265 House seats (minority) | Progressive Conservative Party
|
| |
| 27th Canadian Parliament Elected 1965 2 sessions | Dec 9, 1965 – Apr 23, 1968 | Liberal Party
| 131 of 265 House seats (minority) | Progressive Conservative Party
|
| |
| 28th Canadian Parliament Elected 1968 4 sessions | Jul 25, 1968 – Sep 1, 1972 | Liberal Party
| 154 of 264 House seats | Progressive Conservative Party
|
| |
| 29th Canadian Parliament Elected 1972 2 sessions | Nov 20, 1972 – May 9, 1974 | Liberal Party
| 109 of 264 House seats (minority) | Progressive Conservative Party
|
| |
| 30th Canadian Parliament Elected 1974 4 sessions | Jul 31, 1974 – Mar 26, 1979 | Liberal Party
| 141 of 264 House seats 76 of 102 Senate seats | Progressive Conservative Party
|
| |
| 31st Canadian Parliament Elected 1979 1 session | Jun 11, 1979 – Dec 14, 1979 | Progressive Conservative Party
| 136 of 282 House seats (minority) 18 of 104 Senate seats | Liberal Party
|
| |
| 32nd Canadian Parliament Elected 1980 2 sessions | Mar 10, 1980 – Jul 9, 1984 | Liberal Party
| 147 of 282 House seats 71 of 104 Senate seats | Progressive Conservative Party
|
| |
| 33rd Canadian Parliament Elected 1984 2 sessions | Sep 24, 1984 – Oct 1, 1988 | Progressive Conservative Party
| 211 of 282 House seats 23 of 104 Senate seats | Liberal Party
|
| |
| 34th Canadian Parliament Elected 1988 3 sessions | Dec 12, 1988 – Sep 8, 1993 | Progressive Conservative Party
| 169 of 295 House seats 36 of 104 Senate seats | Liberal Party
|
| |
| 35th Canadian Parliament Elected 1993 2 sessions | Nov 15, 1993 – Apr 27, 1997 | Liberal Party
| 177 of 295 House seats 41 of 104 Senate seats | Bloc Québécois
|
| |
| 36th Canadian Parliament Elected 1997 2 sessions | Jun 23, 1997 – Oct 22, 2000 | Liberal Party
| 155 of 301 House seats 51 of 104 Senate seats | Reform Party (1997–2000)
|
| |
Canadian Alliance (2000)
| ||||||
| 37th Canadian Parliament Elected 2000 3 sessions | Dec 18, 2000 – May 23, 2004 | Liberal Party
| 172 of 301 House seats 55 of 105 Senate seats | Canadian Alliance (2000–2004)
|
| |
Conservative Party (2004)
|
| |||||
| 38th Canadian Parliament Elected 2004 1 session | Aug 23, 2004 – Nov 29, 2005 | Liberal Party
| 135 of 308 House seats (minority) 64 of 105 Senate seats | Conservative Party
|
| |
| 39th Canadian Parliament Elected 2006 2 sessions | Feb 13, 2006 – Sep 7, 2008 | Conservative Party
| 124 of 308 House seats (minority) 23 of 105 Senate seats | Liberal Party
|
| |
| 40th Canadian Parliament Elected 2008 3 sessions | Nov 4, 2008 – Mar 26, 2011 | Conservative Party
| 143 of 308 House seats (minority) 21 of 105 Senate seats | Liberal Party
|
| |
| 41st Canadian Parliament Elected 2011 2 sessions | May 23, 2011 – Aug 2, 2015 | Conservative Party
| 166 of 308 House seats 52 of 105 Senate seats | New Democratic Party
|
| |
| 42nd Canadian Parliament Elected 2015 1 session | Dec 3, 2015 – Sep 11, 2019 | Liberal Party
| 184 of 338 House seats 0 of 105 Senate seats | Conservative Party
|
| |
| 43rd Canadian Parliament Elected 2019 2 sessions | Dec 5, 2019 – Aug 15, 2021 | Liberal Party
| 157 of 338 House seats (minority) 0 of 105 Senate seats | Conservative Party
|
| |
| 44th Canadian Parliament Elected 2021 1 session | Nov 22, 2021 – Mar 23, 2025 | Liberal Party
| 160 of 338 House seats (minority) 0 of 105 Senate seats | Conservative Party
|
| |
| 45th Canadian Parliament Elected 2025 1 session | May 26, 2025 – present | Liberal Party
| 169 of 343 House seats (minority) 0 of 105 Senate seats | Conservative Party
|
| |
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