39th Canadian Parliament
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The initial seat distribution of the 39th Canadian Parliament
The 39th Canadian Parliament was elected on January 23, 2006, in the 39th federal election. The longest it could run, barring war or national emergency, is five years (to February 13, 2011). Historically, however, Canadian Parliaments such as the current one with minority governments have rarely lasted more than two years. Parliament was called into session on Monday, April 3, 2006, at which point Liberal Peter Milliken was re-elected as Speaker; this was followed by the Speech from the Throne the next day. The Conservative Party government presented its first budget on May 2nd, 2006.
The government is led by the Conservative Party, with Stephen Harper as Prime Minister. The Official Opposition is the Liberal Party. On January 23, Liberal leader Paul Martin announced his intention to resign, but did not indicate when, other than saying he would not lead the party into the next election. On February 1, the Liberal Party Caucus chose Bill Graham as parliamentary leader, meaning he will serve as Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons. Martin announced that he would resign at the time of the next Liberal Party leadership convention, to be held December 2-3, and the executive of the Liberal Party plans to appoint Bill Graham as the Interim Leader (meaning he would lead the party into a campaign in the event of the sudden collapse of Harper's government before a new Liberal leader was elected). On February 6, David Emerson, elected as the Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) for Vancouver Kingsway, crossed the floor to join Harper's cabinet as Minister of International Trade. On March 18, 2006, Martin resigned the leadership of the Liberal Party, and Graham assumed that role in addition to his duties as opposition leader.
Some political observers have questioned whether Martin may lead the Liberals into an election should the Harper minority fall in the next few months[link]. In 1979, Pierre Trudeau's Liberals lost to Joe Clark's Progressive Conservatives who only won a minority on May 22 of that year. The Clark minority was defeated less than seven months after on a confidence vote over the budget, which was much earlier than most observers had expected the government to fall. Trudeau had announced his resignation as leader of the Liberals on November 21, 1979, however in light of the collapse of the government on December 13, 1979, and the Liberal Party not having chosen a successor, Trudeau was persuaded to change his mind and lead the party into the 1980 election winning a majority government. However, while Trudeau had announced his resignation, he unlike Martin, did not appoint an interim leader or withdraw from the day-to-day leadership of the party.
As of March 18, 2006 Martin officially tendered his resignation as Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. This move was widely seen as a move by Martin to stop any talk of him leading the party into the next election.
Liberal Peter Milliken was re-elected as the Speaker of the House for the 39th Parliament on April 3, 2006. The Speaker only votes in a tie so that reduces the Liberal caucus by one, enabling the Conservatives to pass legislation with the cooperation of any one of the Liberals, Bloc, or NDP.
As of February 6, party standings are:
- Conservative Party of Canada: 125
- Liberal Party of Canada: 102
- Bloc Québécois: 51
- New Democratic Party: 29
- Independent: 1 (André Arthur)
Major Bills
Important bills of the 39th parliament include:
- C-2 - The Federal Accountability Act
- C-9 - A bill to set minimum penalties for offences involving firearms
- C-13 - The 2006 Canadian federal budget
- C-16 - A bill to set fixed election dates
- C-22 - A bill to raise the age of consent from 14 to 16
- S-4 - A Senate bill to limit Senator's tenure to 8 year terms.
Members
Legend
- Bold text denotes cabinet ministers (two cabinet members, Senator Michael Fortier and Senator Marjory LeBreton are not members of the House of Commons)
- Italic text denotes leaders
| Conservative
|
| Liberal
|
| Bloc Québécois
|
| New Democrat
|
| Independent
|
Newfoundland and Labrador
| Name | Party | Electoral district | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fabian Manning | Conservative | Avalon | |
| Scott Simms | Liberal | Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor | |
| Gerry Byrne | Liberal | Humber—St. Barbe—Baie Verte | |
| Todd Russell | Liberal | Labrador | |
| Bill Matthews | Liberal | Random—Burin—St. George's | |
| Norman Doyle | Conservative | St. John's East | |
| Loyola Hearn | Conservative | St. John's South—Mount Pearl |
Nova Scotia
| Name | Party | Electoral district | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rodger Cuzner | Liberal | Cape Breton—Canso | |
| Peter MacKay | Conservative | Central Nova | |
| Bill Casey | Conservative | Cumberland—Colchester—Musquodoboit Valley | |
| Michael Savage | Liberal | Dartmouth—Cole Harbour | |
| Alexa McDonough | New Democrat | Halifax | |
| Geoff Regan | Liberal | Halifax West | |
| Scott Brison | Liberal | Kings—Hants | |
| Peter Stoffer | New Democrat | Sackville——Eastern Shore | |
| Gerald Keddy | Conservative | South Shore—St. Margaret's | |
| Mark Eyking | Liberal | Sydney—Victoria | |
| Robert Thibault | Liberal | West Nova |
Prince Edward Island
| Name | Party | Electoral district | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lawrence MacAulay | Liberal | Cardigan | |
| Shawn Murphy | Liberal | Charlottetown | |
| Joe McGuire | Liberal | Egmont | |
| Wayne Easter | Liberal | Malpeque |
New Brunswick
| Name | Party | Electoral district | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yvon Godin | New Democrat | Acadie—Bathurst | |
| Dominic LeBlanc | Liberal | Beauséjour | |
| Andy Scott | Liberal | Fredericton | |
| Rob Moore | Conservative | Fundy Royal | |
| Jean-Claude D'Amours | Liberal | Madawaska—Restigouche | |
| Charles Hubbard | Liberal | Miramichi | |
| Brian Murphy | Liberal | Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe | |
| Greg Thompson | Conservative | New Brunswick Southwest | |
| Paul Zed | Liberal | Saint John | |
| Michael Allen | Conservative | Tobique—Mactaquac |
Quebec
Ontario
Manitoba
Saskatchewan
Alberta
British Columbia
The North
Changes in party affiliation
Officeholders
Speakers
- Peter Milliken (the Liberal Member for Kingston and the Islands) was re-elected Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons on April 3, 2006. He defeated Diane Marleau (the Liberal Member for Sudbury) and Marcel Proulx (the Liberal Member for Hull—Aylmer) on the first ballot, becoming only the third Speaker from an opposition party in history.
- Deputy Speaker and Chair of Committees of the Whole—Bill Blaikie (the New Democratic Party Member for Elmwood—Transcona),
- Deputy Chair of Committees of the Whole—Royal Galipeau (the Conservative Member for Ottawa—Orléans),
- Assistant Deputy Chair of Committees of the Whole—Andrew Scheer (the Conservative Member for Regina—Qu'Appelle)
Leaders
- Prime Minister of Canada: Rt. Hon. Stephen Harper (Conservative)
- Leader of the Opposition: Hon. Bill Graham (Liberal)
- BQ leader: Gilles Duceppe
- NDP leader: Hon. Jack Layton
Front Bench
- Government: see Canadian Cabinet
- Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (Liberal Party of Canada)
- Bloc Québécois Shadow Cabinet
- New Democratic Party Shadow Cabinet
House Leaders
- Government House Leader: Hon. Rob Nicholson
- Opposition: Hon. Ralph Goodale
- BQ: Michel Gauthier
- NDP: Libby Davies
Whips
- Chief Government Whip: Hon. Jay Hill
- Deputy Government Whip: Guy Lauzon
- Official Opposition Whip: Hon. Karen Redman
- BQ Whip: Michel Guimond
- NDP Whip: Yvon Godin
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