Canada’s Prime Minister (2023 Updated)

Last Updated: 7 March 2023

The Prime Minister of Canada is an official who serves as the primary minister of the Crown, the Chair of the Cabinet, and the head of the Government of Canada.

The Governor-General of Canada appoints the Prime Minister, but by constitutional convention, the Prime Minister must have the elected House of Commons’ confidence. The Prime Minister typically sits as a Member of Parliament (MP) and leads the largest party or a Coalition of Parties.

The Prime Ministership is part of Canada’s constitutional convention tradition. John A. Macdonald was commissioned by Viscount Monck on 24 May 1867, to form the first government of the Canadian Confederation. On 1 July 1867, the first ministry assumed office.

Canada’s Prime Minister At A Glance

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No.	Header	Details
1	Style	1) The Right Honourable (formal) 2) Prime Minister (informal)
2	Abbreviation	PM
3	Member Of	1) Parliament 2) Privy Council 3) Cabinet
4	Reports To	1) Monarch (Represented by the Governor General) 2) Parliament
5	Residence	24 Sussex Drive
6	Seat	Office of the Prime Minister & Privy Council building
7	Appointer	Monarch (Represented by the Governor General); with the Confidence of the House of Commons
8	Term Length	At His Majesty’s Pleasure
9	Constituting Instrument	None (Constitutional Convention)
10	Inaugural Holder	John A. Macdonald
11	Formation	1st July 1867
12	Present Holder	Justin Trudeau (Since 4th Nov 2015)
13	Deputy	Deputy Prime Minister of Canada
14	Salary	CA$ 379,000 (2023)
15	Website	pm.gc.ca

Facts About Canada’s Prime Minister

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• The Prime Minister’s beginning term has been determined by the date sworn into their portfolio, as an oath of office as Prime Minister is not required.

• Since 1957, the incoming Prime Minister has sworn an oath as Prime Minister.

• Before 1920, Prime Ministers’ resignations were accepted immediately by the Governor.

• Since 1920, the outgoing Prime Minister has only formally resigned when the new government is ready to be formed.

• The Interpretation Act of 1967 states that “where an appointment is made effective or terminates on a specified day, that appointment is considered to be effective or to terminate after the end of the previous day”.

• General and the last day of the ministries was the date he died or the date of resignation.

• Although the outgoing Prime Minister formally resigns only hours before the incoming ministry swears their oaths, both during the day, the ministries are effectively changed at midnight the night before.

• Two Prime Ministers have died in office: John A. Macdonald (1867–1873, 1878–1891), and John Thompson (1892–1894). All others have resigned, either after losing an election or upon retirement.

• Prime Ministers who are not MPs upon their appointment (or who lose their seats while in office) have since been expected to seek election to the House of Commons as soon as possible.

• Prime Minister Mackenzie King was Canada’s longest-serving Prime Minister, holding office in three non-consecutive terms for a total of 21 Years and 154 Days.

• The shortest Minority Government, Prime Minister Meighen’s second government, lasted just under three months.

• Kim Campbell, the 19^th Prime Minister of Canada (1993) is the only female & British Columbia–born person to hold the office.

• Prime Minister Charles Tupper served the shortest term in Canadian history for 68 Days.

List Of Prime Minister Of Canada

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No.	Prime Minister	Term In	Term Out	Party
1	John A. Macdonald (1815–1891)	01 Jul 1867	05 Nov 1873	Liberal– Conservative
2	Alexander Mackenzie (1822–1892)	07 Nov 1873	08 Oct 1878	Liberal
	John A. Macdonald[1] (1815–1891)	17 Oct 1878	06 Jun 1891	Liberal– Conservative
3	John Abbott (1821–1893)	16 Jun 1891	24 Nov 1892	Liberal– Conservative
4	John Thompson (1845–1894)	05 Dec 1892	12 Dec 1894	Liberal– Conservative
5	Mackenzie Bowell (1823–1917)	21 Dec 1894	27 Apr 1896	Conservative
6	Charles Tupper (1821–1915)	01 May 1896	08 Jul 1896	Conservative
7	Wilfrid Laurier (1841–1919)	11 Jul 1896	06 Oct 1911	Liberal
8	Robert Borden (1854–1937)	10 Oct 1911	10 Jul 1920	Government (Unionist)
9	Arthur Meighen (1874–1960)	10 Jul 1920	29 Dec 1921	Conservative
10	William Lyon Mackenzie King (1874–1950)	29 Dec 1921	28 Jun 1926	Liberal
	Arthur Meighen[9] (1874–1960)	29 Jun 1926	25 Sep 1926	Conservative
	William Lyon Mackenzie King[10] (1874–1950)	25 Sep 1926	07 Aug 1930	Liberal
11	R. B. Bennett (1870–1947)	07 Aug 1930	23 Oct 1935	Conservative
	William Lyon Mackenzie King[10] (1874–1950)	23 Oct 1935	15 Nov 1948	Liberal
12	Louis St. Laurent (1882–1973)	15 Nov 1948	21 Jun 1957	Liberal
13	John Diefenbaker (1895–1979)	21 Jun 1957	22 Apr 1963	Progressive Conservative
14	Lester B. Pearson (1897–1972)	22 Apr 1963	20 Apr 1968	Liberal
15	Pierre Trudeau (1919–2000)	20 Apr 1968	03 Jun 1979	Liberal
16	Joe Clark (born 1939)	03 Jun 1979	02 Mar 1980	Progressive Conservative
	Pierre Trudeau[15] (1919–2000)	02 Mar 1980	29 Jun 1984	Liberal
17	John Turner (1929–2020)	29 Jun 1984	16 Sep 1984	Liberal
18	Brian Mulroney (born 1939)	16 Sep 1984	24 Jun 1993	Progressive Conservative
19	Kim Campbell (born 1947)	24 Jun 1993	03 Nov 1993	Progressive Conservative
20	Jean Chrétien (born 1934)	03 Nov 1993	11 Dec 2003	Liberal
21	Paul Martin (born 1938)	11 Dec 2003	05 Feb 2006	Liberal
22	Stephen Harper (born 1959)	05 Feb 2006	03 Nov 2015	Conservative
23	Justin Trudeau (born 1971)	03 Nov 2015	Incumbent	Liberal

Prime Ministers Of Canada By Time In Office

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No.	Prime Minister	Total Time	Number Of Governments
1	William Lyon Mackenzie King	21 Years 154 Days	Majority Governments 1921–1925 1935–1940 1940–1945 Minority Governments 1925–1926 1926–1930 1945–1948
2	Sir John A. Macdonald	18 Years 359 Days	Majority Governments 1867–1872 1872–1873 1878–1882 1882–1887 1887–1891 1891
3	Pierre Trudeau	15 Years 164 Days	Majority Governments 1968–1972 1974–1979 1980–1984 Minority Government 1972–1974
4	Sir Wilfrid Laurier	15 Years 86 Days	Majority Governments 1896–1900 1900–1904 1904–1908 1908–1911
5	Jean Chrétien	10 Years 38 Days	Majority Governments 1993–1997 1997–2000 2001–2003
6	Stephen Harper	9 Years 271 Days	Minority Governments 2006–2008 2008–2011 Majority Government 2011–2015
7	Brian Mulroney	8 Years 281 Days	Majority Governments 1984–1988 1988–1993
8	Sir Robert Borden	8 Years 274 Days	Majority Governments 1911–1917 1917–1921
9	Louis St. Laurent	8 Years 218 Days	Majority Governments 1948–1953 1953–1957
10	Justin Trudeau (Incumbent)	7 Years 111 Days+	Majority Government 2015–2019 Minority Governments 2019–2021 2021–present
11	John Diefenbaker	5 Years 305 Days	Minority Governments 1957–1958 1962–1963 Majority Government 1958–1962
11	R. B. Bennett	5 Years 77 Days	Majority Government 1930–1935
12	Lester B. Pearson	4 Years 363 Days	Minority Governments 1963–1965 1965–1968
14	Alexander Mackenzie	4 Years 336 Days	Majority Government 1873 – 1878
15	Paul Martin	2 Years 56 Days	Majority Government 2003–2004 Minority Government 2004–2006
16	Sir John Thompson	2 Years 7 Days	Majority Government 1892–1894
17	Arthur Meighen	1 Year 260 Days	Majority Government 1920–192 Minority Government 1926
18	Sir John Abbott	1 Year 161 Days	Majority Government 1891–1892
19	Sir Mackenzie Bowell	1 Year 128 Days	Majority Government 1894–1896
20	Joe Clark	273 Days	Minority Government 1979–1980
21	Kim Campbell	132 Days	Majority Government 1993
22	John Turner	79 Days	Majority Government 1984
23	Sir Charles Tupper	68 Days	Majority Government 1896

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