List of prime ministers of Canada

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Template:Short description Template:Featured list Template:Use Canadian English Template:Use dmy dates

File:Prime Ministers of Canada to 1963.jpg
Canada's prime ministers during its first century

The prime minister of Canada is the official who serves as the primary minister of the Crown, chair of the Cabinet, and thus head of government of Canada. Twenty-four people (twenty-three men and one woman) have served as prime minister. Officially, the prime minister is appointed by the governor general of Canada, but by constitutional convention, the prime minister must have the confidence of the elected House of Commons. Normally, this is the leader of the party caucus with the greatest number of seats in the house. However, in a minority parliament the leader of an opposition party may be asked to form a government if the incumbent government resigns and the governor general is persuaded that they have the confidence of the House.

By constitutional convention, a prime minister holds a seat in parliament and, since the early 20th century, this has more specifically meant the House of Commons.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>

The 24th and current prime minister is Mark Carney, who assumed office on 14 March 2025. There are currently six living former prime ministers. The most recent former prime minister to die was Brian Mulroney, on 29 February 2024.

Model

The office is not outlined in any of the documents that constitute the written portion of the Constitution of Canada; executive authority is formally vested in the sovereign and exercised on the sovereign's behalf by the governor general. The prime ministership is part of Canada's constitutional convention tradition. The office was modelled after that which existed in the United Kingdom at the time of Confederation. John A. Macdonald was commissioned by the Viscount Monck on 24 May 1867 to form the first government of the Canadian Confederation. On 1 July 1867, the first ministry assumed office.<ref name="1July" />

Term

When the prime minister begins their term is determined by the date that they are sworn in as prime minister or, if they do not take an oath as prime minister, the date they were sworn into another portfolio, as an oath of office as prime minister is not required.<ref name=Guide>Template:Cite web</ref> However, since 1957, all incoming prime ministers have sworn an oath as prime minister.<ref name=Guide/> Before 1920, prime ministers' resignations were accepted immediately by the governor general and the last day of the ministries were the date he died or the date of resignation.<ref name=Guide/> Since 1920, the outgoing prime minister has only formally resigned when the new government is ready to be formed.<ref name=Guide/> 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".<ref name=Guide/> Thus, 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. Some sources, including the Parliament of Canada, apply this convention as far back as 1917.<ref name=Gallery>Template:Cite web</ref> Two prime ministers have died in office: John A. Macdonald (1867–1873, 1878–1891) and John Thompson (1892–1894), both of natural causes. All others have resigned, either after losing an election or upon retirement.

Prime ministers

Template:Further Canadian custom is to count by the individuals who were prime minister, not by terms.<ref name="Library of the Canadian Parliament">Template:Cite web</ref> Since Confederation, 24 prime ministers have been called upon by the governor general to form 30 Canadian ministries.<ref name="Library of the Canadian Parliament"/> Template:Sticky header

Abbreviation key: No.: Incumbent number, Min.: Ministry, Refs: References
Colour key: Template:Legend Template:Legend Template:Legend
Provinces key: AB: Alberta, BC: British Columbia, MB: Manitoba, NS: Nova Scotia,
ON: Ontario, QC: Quebec, SK: Saskatchewan

Template:Canadian first minister list/top

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Timeline

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id:Liberal         value:rgb(0.92,0.43,0.42) legend: Liberal_Party_of_Canada
id:OldConservative value:rgb(0.6,0.6,1)      legend: Conservative_Party_→_Progressive_Conservative_Party
id:Conservative    value:rgb(0.39,0.58,0.93) legend: Conservative_Party_of_Canada
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id:gray2           value:gray(0.9)
id:grid            value:gray(0.5)

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bar:Mackenzie
bar:Abbott
bar:JSDT
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bar:Tupper
bar:Laurier
bar:Borden
bar:Meighen
bar:WLMK
bar:Bennett
bar:St.Laurent
bar:Diefenbaker
bar:Pearson
bar:PTrudeau
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bar:Turner
bar:Mulroney
bar:Campbell
bar:Chretien
bar:Martin
bar:Harper
bar:JTrudeau
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bar:Mackenzie
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bar:Abbott
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bar:JSDT
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bar:Bowell
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bar:Tupper
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bar:Laurier
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bar:Borden
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bar:Meighen
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bar:WLMK
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bar:PTrudeau
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 from: 03/03/1980 till: 30/06/1984 color:Liberal         text:"Pierre Trudeau" fontsize:11
bar:Clark
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bar:Turner
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bar:Mulroney
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bar:Campbell
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bar:Chretien
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bar:Martin
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bar:Harper
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bar:JTrudeau
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bar:Carney
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Lifespan timeline

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Define $start = 1813 Define $end = 2026 Define $now = 2026

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    id:HISTCON         value:rgb(0.5977, 0.5977, 1) Legend: Conservative_(historical)
    id:LIB             value:red Legend: Liberal
    id:CONS            value:blue Legend: Conservative
    id:UNIONIST        value:purple Legend: Unionist
    id:NAME            value:rgb(0.00, 0.00, 0.05)
    id:TODAY           value:green

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   from:1822 till:1873 shift:(-0,$dy) textcolor:NAME text:Alexander Mackenzie
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   from:1821 till:1891 shift:(-0,$dy) textcolor:NAME text:John Abbott
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   from:1845 till:1892 shift:(-0,$dy) textcolor:NAME text:John Thompson
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bar:5 width:18
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   from:1823 till:1894 shift:(-0,$dy) textcolor:NAME text:Mackenzie Bowell
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   from:1894 till:1896
   color:LIFESPAN
   from:1896 till:1917

 bar:6 width:18
   color:LIFESPAN align:center fontsize:M
   from:1821 till:1896 shift:(-0,$dy) textcolor:NAME text:Charles Tupper
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   from:1896 till:1896.4
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   from:1841 till:1896.4 shift:(-0,$dy) textcolor:NAME text:Wilfrid Laurier
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   from:1854 till:1911 shift:(-0,$dy) textcolor:NAME text:Robert Borden
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bar:9 width:18
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   from:1874 till:1920 shift:(-0,$dy) textcolor:NAME text:Arthur Meighen
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   from:1920 till:1921
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   from:1921 till:1926
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   from:1926 till:1926.4
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   from:1926.4 till:1960

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   from:1874 till:1921 shift:(-0,$dy) textcolor:NAME text:William Lyon Mackenzie King
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   from:1921 till:1926
   color:LIFESPAN
   from:1926 till:1926.4
   color:LIB
   from:1926.4 till:1930
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   from:1930 till:1935
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   from:1935 till:1948
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   from:1948 till:1950

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   from:1870 till:1930 shift:(-0,$dy) textcolor:NAME text:R. B. Bennett
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bar:12 width:18
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   from:1882 till:1948 shift:(-0,$dy) textcolor:NAME text:Louis St. Laurent 
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   from:1957 till:1973

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   color:LIFESPAN align:center fontsize:M
   from:1895 till:1957 shift:(-0,$dy) textcolor:NAME text:John Diefenbaker
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   from:1963 till:1979

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   from:1897 till:1963 shift:(-0,$dy) textcolor:NAME text:Lester B. Pearson
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   from:1968 till:1972

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   from:1919 till:1968 shift:(-0,$dy) textcolor:NAME text:Pierre Trudeau
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   from:1968 till:1979
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   from:1979 till:1980
  color:LIB
   from:1980 till:1984
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   from:1984 till:2000

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   color:LIFESPAN align:center fontsize:M
   from:1939 till:1979 shift:(-0,$dy) textcolor:NAME text:Joe Clark
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   from:1979 till:1980
   color:LIFESPAN
   from:1980 till:$now

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   color:LIFESPAN align:center fontsize:M
   from:1929 till:1984 shift:(-0,$dy) textcolor:NAME text:John Turner
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   from:1984.4 till:2020

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   from:1939 till:1984.4 shift:(-0,$dy) textcolor:NAME text:Brian Mulroney
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   from:1984.4 till:1993
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   from:1993 till:2024

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   color:LIFESPAN align:center fontsize:M
   from:1947 till:1993 shift:(-0,$dy) textcolor:NAME text:Kim Campbell
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   from:1934 till:1993.4 shift:(-0,$dy) textcolor:NAME text:Jean Chrétien
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   from:2003 till:$now

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   from:1938 till:2003 shift:(-0,$dy) textcolor:NAME text:Paul Martin
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   from:2003 till:2006
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   from:2006 till:$now

 bar:22 width:18
   color:LIFESPAN align:center fontsize:M
   from:1959 till:2006 shift:(-0,$dy) textcolor:NAME text:Stephen Harper
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   from:2006 till:2015
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   from:2015 till:$now

 bar:23 width:18
   color:LIFESPAN align:center fontsize:M
   from:1971 till:2015 shift:(-0,$dy) textcolor:NAME text:Justin Trudeau
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   from:2015 till:2025
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   from:1965 till:2025 shift:(-0,$dy) textcolor:NAME text:Mark Carney
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TextData = 

 fontsize:M
 textcolor:black
 pos:($warning,30)
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  pos:(320,$height)
  fontsize:L
  textcolor:black
  text:"Lifespan of each Canadian prime minister"

</timeline>

See also

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References

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Further reading

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Template:Commons category

Template:Lists of prime ministers of Canada Template:CanPM Template:Canadian First Ministers Template:Canada topics

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