Leaders of Canada
[To the list of countries]
[To the ZPC Homepage]

Look for biographies of the leaders (in Spanish) at CIDOB website. A set of lists providing the rulers of the provinces and territories are available at the site Rulers as Part I and Part II.

Note: the British Monarch is the head of the State and is represented by a Governor-General.

Current parties: CAQ: Coalition Avenir Québec - BQ: Bloc Québécois - CPC: Conservative Party of Canada - Liberal: Liberal Party of Canada - NDP: New Democratic Party - PQ: Parti Québécois - PLQ: Parti Libéral du Québec

Late parties: ADQ: Action Démocratique du Québec (> CAQ) - CA: Canadian (Reform Conservative) Alliance (> CPC) - CCF: Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (> NDP) - CLC: Canadian Labour Congress (> NDP) - MSA: Mouvement Souveraineté-Association (> PQ) - PC: Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (> CPC) - RP: Reform Party (> CA) - RN: Ralliement National (> PQ)


Prime Ministers
William Lyon Mackenzie King  23 Oct 1935 - 15 Nov 1948 (†1950) Liberal
Louis Stephen Saint Laurent  15 Nov 1948 - 21 Jun 1957 (†1973) Liberal
John George Diefenbaker      21 Jun 1957 - 22 Apr 1963 (†1979) PC
Lester Bowles Pearson        22 Apr 1963 - 20 Apr 1968 (†1972) Liberal
Pierre Elliott Trudeau       20 Apr 1968 -  4 Jun 1979 (†2000) Liberal
Charles Joseph (Joe) Clark    4 Jun 1979 -  3 Mar 1980         PC
Pierre Elliott Trudeau        3 Mar 1980 - 30 Jun 1984 (†2000) Liberal
John Napier Wyndham Turner   30 Jun 1984 - 17 Sep 1984 (†2020) Liberal
Martin Brian Mulroney        17 Sep 1984 - 25 Jun 1993 (†2024) PC
Avril Phaedra (Kim) Campbell 25 Jun 1993 -  4 Nov 1993         PC
Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien  4 Nov 1993 - 12 Dec 2003         Liberal
Paul Joseph Martin (Jr.)     12 Dec 2003 -  6 Feb 2006         Liberal
Stephen Joseph Harper         6 Feb 2006 -  4 Nov 2015         CPC
Justin Pierre James Trudeau   4 nov 2015 -                     Liberal            

Governors-General
Augustus A. G. Cambridge 
 (Earl of Athlone)           21 Jun 1940 - 12 Apr 1946 (†1957) 
Harold Alexander (Viscount 
 Alexander of Tunis)         12 Apr 1946 - 28 Feb 1952 (†1969) 
Vincent Massey               28 Feb 1952 - 15 Sep 1959 (†1967) 
George Philias Vanier        15 Sep 1959 -  5 Mar 1967 (†1967) 
Daniel Roland Michener       17 Apr 1967 - 14 Jan 1974 (†1991) 
Jules Léger                  14 Jan 1974 - 22 Jan 1979 (†1980) 
Edward Richard Schreyer      22 Jan 1979 - 14 May 1984         
Jeanne Sauvé                 14 May 1984 - 29 Jan 1990 (†1993) 
Ramon John (Ray) Hnatyshyn   29 Jan 1990 -  8 Feb 1995 (†2002) 
Roméo LeBlanc                 8 Feb 1995 -  7 Oct 1999 (†2009)        
Adrienne Clarkson             7 Oct 1999 - 27 Sep 2005         
Michaëlle Jean               27 Sep 2005 -  1 Oct 2010
David Lloyd Johnston          1 Oct 2010 -  2 Oct 2017
Julie Payette                 2 Oct 2017 - 23 Jan 2021
Richard Wagner               23 Jan 2021 - 26 Jul 2021         (acting) 
Mary Jeannie May Simon       26 Jul 2021 -  

Deputy Prime Ministers
Allan Joseph MacEachen        1977-1979 (†2017) Liberal
Allan Joseph MacEachen        1980-1984 (†2017) Liberal 
Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien  1984              Liberal
Erik Hersholt Nielsen         1984-1986 (†2008) PC
Donald F. (Don) Mazankowski   1986-1993 (†2020) PC
John James (Jean) Charest     1993              PC
Sheila Maureen Copps          1993-1996         Liberal
Sheila Maureen Copps          1996-1997         Liberal
Herbert Eser (Herb) Gray      1992-2002         Liberal
John Paul Manley              2002-2003         Liberal
Anne McLellan                 2003-2006         Liberal
Christina (Chrystia) Freeland 2019-             Liberal

Ministers of Foreign Affairs
William Lyon Mackenzie King     1935-1946 (†1950) Liberal
Louis Stephen Saint Laurent     1946-1948 (†1973) Liberal
Lester Bowles Pearson           1948-1957 (†1972) Liberal
John George Diefenbaker         1957      (†1979) PC
Sidney Earle Smith              1957-1959 (†1959) PC
Howard Charles Green            1959-1963 (†1989) PC
Paul Joseph Martin (Sr.)        1963-1968 (†1992) Liberal
Mitchell William Sharp          1968-1974 (†2004) Liberal
Allan Joseph MacEachen          1974-1976 (†2017) Liberal
Donald Campbell Jamieson        1976-1979 (†1986) Liberal
Flora Isabel MacDonald          1979-1980 (†2015) PC
Mark MacGuigan                  1980-1982 (†1998) Liberal
Allan Joseph MacEachen          1982-1984 (†2017) Liberal
Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien    1984              Liberal
Charles Joseph (Joe) Clark      1984-1991         PC
Barbara Jean McDougall          1991-1993         PC
André Ouellet                   1993-1996         Liberal
Lloyd Norman Axworthy           1996-2000         Liberal
John Paul Manley                2000-2002         Liberal
William (Bill) Graham           2002-2004 (†2022) Liberal
Pierre Stewart Pettigrew        2004-2006         Liberal 
Peter Gordon MacKay             2006-2007         CPC
Maxime Bernier                  2007-2008         CPC
David Lee Emerson               2008              CPC 
Lawrence Cannon                 2008-2011         CPC
John Russell Baird              2011-2015         CPC
Edward D. (Ed) Fast             2015              CPC (acting)
Robert Douglas (Rob) Nicholson  2015              CPC
Stéphane Maurice Dion           2015-2017         Liberal
Christina (Chrystia) Freeland   2017-2019         Liberal
François-Philippe Champagne     2019-2021         Liberal
Joseph Jean-Pierre Marc Garneau 2021              Liberal 
Mélanie Joly                    2021-             Liberal

Ministers of Defence
Douglas Charles Abbott          1945-1946 (†1987) Liberal
Brian Brooke Claxton            1946-1954 (†1960) Liberal   
Ralph Osborne Campney           1954-1957 (†1967) Liberal 
George Randolph Pearkes         1957-1960 (†1984) PC
Douglas Scott Harkness          1960-1963 (†1999) PC
Gordon Minto Churchill          1963      (†1985) PC
Paul Theodore Hellyer           1963-1967 (†2021) Liberal
Joseph Alphonse Léo Cadieux     1967-1970 (†2005) Liberal
Charles Mills (Bud) Drury       1970      (†1991) Liberal (acting)
Donald Stovel Macdonald         1970-1972 (†2018) Liberal
Edgar John (Ben) Benson         1972      (†2011) Liberal
Jean-Eudes Dubé                 1972      (†2019) Liberal (acting)
Charles Mills (Bud) Drury       1972      (†1991) Liberal (acting)
James Armstrong Richardson      1972-1976 (†2004) Liberal
Barnett Jerome (Barney) Danson  1976-1979 (†2001) Liberal 
Allan Bruce McKinnon            1979-1980 (†1990) PC
J.-G.-Gilles-Claude Lamontagne  1980-1983 (†2016) Liberal
Jean-Jacques Blais              1983-1984         Liberal
Robert Carman Coates            1984-1985 (†2016) PC
Charles Joseph (Joe) Clark      1985              PC (acting)
Erik Hersholt Nielsen           1985-1986 (†2008) PC
Henry Perrin Beatty             1986-1989         PC
William Hunter (Bill) McKnight  1989-1991 (†2019) PC
Marcel Masse                    1991-1993 (†2014) PC
Avril Phaedra (Kim) Campbell    1993              PC
Thomas Edward Siddon            1993              PC
David Michael Collenette        1993-1996         Liberal
Meredith Douglas (Doug) Young   1996-1997         Liberal
Art Eggleton                    1997-2002         Liberal
John McCallum                   2002-2003         Liberal
David Pratt                     2003-2004         Liberal
William Carvel (Bill) Graham    2004-2006 (†2022) Liberal
Gordon James O'Connor           2006-2007         CPC
Peter Gordon MacKay             2007-2013         CPC
Robert Douglas (Rob) Nicholson  2013-2015         CPC
Jason Thomas Kenney             2015              CPC
Harjit Singh Sajjan             2015-2021         Liberal
Anita Anand                     2021-2023         Liberal
William Sterling (Bill) Blair   2023-             Liberal

Ministers of Finance
James Lorimer Ilsley            1940-1946 (†1967) Liberal            
Douglas Charles Abbott          1946-1954 (†1987) Liberal 
Walter Edward Harris            1954-1957 (†1999) Liberal
Donald Methuen Fleming          1957-1962 (†1986) PC
George Clyde Nowlan             1962-1963 (†1965) PC         
Walter Lockhart Gordon          1963-1965 (†1987) Liberal
Mitchell William Sharp          1965-1968 (†2004) Liberal
Edgar John (Ben) Benson         1968-1972 (†2011) Liberal
John Napier Wyndham Turner      1972-1975 (†2020) Liberal    
Charles Mills (Bud) Drury       1975      (†1991) Liberal (acting)
Donald Stovel Macdonald         1975-1977 (†2018) Liberal 
Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien    1977-1979         Liberal
John Carnell Crosbie            1979-1980 (†2020) PC
Allan Joseph MacEachen          1980-1982 (†2017) Liberal
Marc Lalonde                    1982-1984 (†2023) Liberal
Michael Holcombe Wilson         1984-1991 (†2019) PC
Donald Frank (Don) Mazankowski  1991-1993 (†2020) PC
Gilles Loiselle                 1993      (†2022) PC
Paul Joseph Martin (Jr.)        1993-2002         Liberal
John Paul Manley                2002-2003         Liberal
Ralph Edward Goodale            2003-2006         Liberal
James Michael (Jim) Flaherty    2006-2014 (†2014) CPC
Joseph (Joe) Oliver             2014-2015         CPC
William Francis (Bill) Morneau  2015-2020         Liberal
Christina (Chrystia) Freeland   2020-             Liberal

Speakers of the House of Commons
Gaspard Fauteux                 1945-1949 (†1963) Liberal
William Ross Macdonald          1949-1953 (†1976) Liberal 
Louis-René Beaudoin             1953-1957 (†1970) Liberal
Daniel Roland Michener          1957-1962 (†1991) PC 
Marcel Joseph Aimé Lambert      1962-1963 (†2000) PC
Alan Aylesworth Macnaughton     1963-1966 (†1999) Liberal 
Lucien Lamoureux                1966-1974 (†1998) Liberal 
James Alexander Jerome          1974-1979 (†2005) Liberal 
Jeanne Sauvé                    1980-1984 (†1993) Liberal
Cyril Lloyd Francis             1984      (†2007) Liberal 
John William Bosley             1984-1986 (†2022) PC 
John Allen Fraser               1986-1994         PC 
Gilbert (Gib) Parent            1994-2001 (†2009) Liberal
Peter Stewart Milliken          2001-2011         Liberal
Andrew James Scheer             2011-2015         CPC
Geoffrey Paul (Geoff) Regan     2015-2019         Liberal
Anthony Michael Gerard Rota     2019-2023         Liberal
Louis Plamondon                 2023              BQ (interim)
Gregory Cristophe (Greg) Fergus 2023-             Liberal

Speakers of the Senate
James Horace King            1945-1948 (†1955) Liberal
Elie Beauregard              1949-1953 (†1954) Liberal
Wishart McLea Robertson      1953-1957 (†1967) Liberal
Mark Robert Drouin           1957-1962 (†1963) PC
George Stanley White         1962-1963 (†1977) PC
Maurice Bourget              1963-1966 (†1979) Liberal
Sydney John Smith            1966-1968 (†1976) Liberal
Jean-Paul Deschatelets       1968-1972 (†1986) Liberal 
Muriel McQueen Fergusson     1972-1974 (†1997) Liberal
Louise Marguerite Lapointe   1974-1979 (†2002) Liberal
Allister Grosart             1979-1980 (†1984) PC
Jean Marchand                1980-1983 (†1988) Liberal
Maurice Riel                 1983-1984 (†2007) Liberal
Guy Charbonneau              1984-1993 (†1998) PC
Roméo Leblanc                1993-1994 (†2009) Liberal
Gildas Molgat                1994-2001 (†2001) Liberal
Daniel Philip (Dan) Hays     2001-2006         Liberal
Noël Augustus Kinsella       2006-2014 (†2023) CPC
Pierre Claude Nolin          2014-2015 (†2015) CPC
Leonidas (Leo) Housakos      2015              CPC
George J. Furey              2015-2023         Liberal, n/p
Raymonde Gagné               2023-             n/p

Leaders of the Liberal Party of Canada
William Lyon Mackenzie King  1919-1948 (†1950) 
Louis Stephen Saint Laurent  1948-1958 (†1973) 
Lester Bowles Pearson        1958-1968 (†1972) 
Pierre Elliott Trudeau       1968-1984 (†2000) 
John Napier Wyndham Turner   1984-1990 (†2020)        
Herbert Eser (Herb) Gray     1990      (†2014) (interim)    
Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien 1990-2003         
Paul Joseph Martin (Jr.)     2003-2006         
William (Bill) Graham        2006       (†2022) (interim) 
Stéphane Maurice Dion        2006-2008
Michael Grant Ignatieff      2008-2011
Robert Keith (Bob) Rae       2011-2013         (interim)
Justin Pierre James Trudeau  2013- 

Leaders of CPC
John George Lynch-Staunton   2003-2004 (†2012) (interim)
Stephen Joseph Harper        2004-2015
Ronalee (Rona) Ambrose       2015-2017         (interim)    
Andrew James Scheer          2017-2020
Erin Michael O'Toole         2020-2022
Candice Bergen               2022              (interim)
Pierre Marcel Poilievre      2022-

The CPC was registered on 8 Dec 2003 as the merger of the PC and the CA.
Leaders of CCF, NDP
Major James Coldwell           1942-1960 (†1974)
Hazen Robert Argue             1960-1961 (†1991)     
Thomas Clement (Tommy) Douglas 1961-1971 (†1986)
David Lewis                    1971-1975 (†1980)
John Edward (Ed) Broadbent     1975-1989 (†2024)        
Audrey Marlene McLaughlin      1989-1995         
Alexa Ann McDonough            1995-2003 (†2022)        
John Gilbert (Jack) Layton     2003-2011 (†2011)
Nycole Turmel                  2011-2012         (interim) 
Thomas Joseph (Tom) Mulcair    2012-2017
Jagmeet Singh Dhaliwal         2017-           

The NDP was founded on 17 Jun 1961 as the merger of the CCF (founded 1932) and the CLC.
Leaders of BQ
Lucien Bouchard              1990-1996         
Gilles Duceppe               1996              (interim) 
Michel Gauthier              1996-1997 (†2020)         
Gilles Duceppe               1997-2011
Vivian Barbot                2011              (interim)      
Daniel Paillé                2011-2013
André Bellavance             2013-2014         (acting) 
Jean-François Fortin         2014              (acting)
Mario Beaulieu               2014-2015
Gilles Duceppe               2015
Rhéal Fortin                 2015-2017         (interim)     
Martine Ouellet              2017-2018
Mario Beaulieu               2018-2019         (interim) 
Yves-François Blanchet       2019-

The BQ started on 25 Jul 1990 as an informal coalition of members of PC and the Liberal Party. It registered as a party on 11 Sep 1993.
Presidents of PQ
René Lévesque                1968-1985 (†1987) 
Pierre-Marc Johnson          1985-1988         
Jacques Parizeau             1988-1996 (†2015)        
Lucien Bouchard              1996-2001         
Jean-Bernard Landry          2001-2005 (†2018)        
André Boisclair              2005-2007         
François Gendron             2007              (interim)
Pauline Marois               2007-2014
Stéphane Bédard              2014-2015         (interim)
Pierre Karl Péladeau         2015-2016
Sylvain Gaudreault           2016              (interim)
Jean-François Lisée          2016-2018
Pascal Bérubé                2018-2020         (interim)
Paul St-Pierre Plamondon     2020-

The PQ was born on 11 Oct 1968 as the merger of MSA and RN.
Leaders of PLQ
Joseph-Adélard Godbout       1936-1950 (†1956) 
Georges-Émile Lapalme        1950-1958 (†1985) 
Jean Lesage                  1958-1970 (†1980) 
Robert Bourassa              1970-1976 (†1996)
Gérard Levesque              1976-1978 (†1993) (interim)
Claude Ryan                  1978-1982 (†2004) 
Gérard Levesque              1982-1983 (†1993) (interim)
Robert Bourassa              1983-1993 (†1996)
Daniel Johnson               1993-1998         
John James (Jean) Charest    1998-2012
Jean-Marc Fournier           2012-2013         (interim)
Philippe Couillard           2013-2018
Pierre Arcand                2018-2020         (interim)    
Dominique Anglade            2020-2022
Marc Tanguay                 2022-             (interim)

Leaders of CAQ
François Legault             2011-

The CAQ was founded on 4 Nov 2011
Leaders of PC (1867-2003)
John Bracken                 1942-1948 (†1969) 
George Alexander Drew        1948-1956 (†1973) 
John George Diefenbaker      1956-1967 (†1979) 
Robert Lorne Stanfield       1967-1976 (†2003)        
Charles Joseph (Joe) Clark   1976-1983         
Erik Hersholt Nielsen        1983      (†2008) (interim)
Martin Brian Mulroney        1983-1993 (†2024)        
Avril Phaedra (Kim) Campbell 1993              
John James (Jean) Charest    1993-1998         
Elsie Eleanore Wayne         1998              (interim)
Charles Joseph (Joe) Clark   1998-2003         
Peter Gordon MacKay          2003              

The PC ceased to exist on 8 Dec 2003 as it merged with the CA. Nevertheless, on 9 Jan 2004 a group of members opposed to the merger filed application to register a new party called like the old one: the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada.
Leaders of RP, CA (1987-2003)
Ernest Preston Manning       1987-2000         
Deborah Cleland Grey         2000              (interim)
Stockwell Burt Day           2000-2001         
John Douglas Reynolds        2001-2002         (interim)
Stephen Joseph Harper        2002-2003         

The RP, founded on 31 Oct 1987, was disbanded and replaced by the new CA on 25 Mar 2000. The CA ceased to exist on 8 Dec 2003 in the merger with the PC and the registration of the new CPC.
Leaders of ADQ (1994-2012)
Jean Allaire                 1994              
Mario Dumont                 1994-2009
Sylvie Roy                   2009              (interim)
Gilles Taillon               2009
Gérard Deltell               2009-2012           

The ADQ was founded in Jan 1994 by splinters of the PLQ. It merged with the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) on 21 Jan 2012, ceasing to exist.

[To the list of countries] [To the ZPC Homepage]


ZPC homepage© Copyright ZPC, Roberto Ortiz de Zárate, 1996-2024
URL of this page: http://zarate.eu/canada.htm | E-mail: zpc@zarate.eu