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{{short description|Canadian political office}}
{{Needs more citations|date=August 2025}}
{{Politics of Canada}}
In Canada, each political party with representation in the House of Commons has a '''House leader''' who is a [[front bench]] [[member of Parliament]] (MP) and an expert in [[parliamentary procedure]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Jackson |first=Robert L. |date=28 November 2024 |title=House Leader |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/house-leader |encyclopedia=[[The Canadian Encyclopedia]] |location=Toronto |publisher=[[Historica Canada]] |access-date=2 September 2025}}</ref> The same representation is found in the provincial and territorial legislatures. The House leader is in charge of the party's day-to-day business in the [[House of Commons of Canada]] (or provincial or territorial legislatures), and usually conducts negotiations with other parties on the conduct of [[Bill (proposed law)|bills]] and debates.

They also argue [[Point of Order|points of order]] before the [[Speaker of the House of Commons (Canada)|speaker of the House]]. The "House leader" is not the same as the party leader, but is the leader's senior deputy for House business in Opposition parties, including the Official Opposition. The [[Leader of the Government in the House of Commons (Canada)|government House leader]] is a senior [[Canadian cabinet|Cabinet minister]] who navigates the government's business in the House. This system is replicated in the various provincial [[legislature]]s. The position of House Leader is especially important during periods of [[minority government]] where no one party has control of the House and bills can only be passed with the agreement of multiple parties.

The [[Prime Minister of Canada|prime minister of Canada]] and [[Leader of the Official Opposition (Canada)|leader of the Official Opposition]] originally had these responsibilities. In 1944, however, as a result of the increasing burdens placed on government by the [[World War II|Second World War]], Prime Minister [[William Lyon Mackenzie King]] delegated these responsibilities to another member of the [[Canadian Cabinet]]. In 1946, the position of government House leader was formally recognized.

The position of Opposition House leader evolved in the 1950s as each opposition party began to designate a particular MP to question the government House leader on upcoming House business. The title of Opposition House leader became official in 1963, and in 1974, a special annual indemnity was attached to the position of House leader in each of the opposition parties.

Notable Opposition House leaders include [[Stanley Knowles]] of the [[New Democratic Party of Canada|New Democratic Party]] and its predecessor, the [[Cooperative Commonwealth Federation]]; [[Herb Gray]] of the [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal Party]] (also a government House leader); and [[Erik Nielsen]] of the [[Progressive Conservative Party of Canada|Progressive Conservative Party]].

The Office of House Leader has also been instituted at the provincial level, in the provincial legislative assemblies.

The term ''House leader'' has also been used to describe a party's [[parliamentary leader]], who leads a political party in the House of Commons or a provincial legislature due to their either not being a party leader or the party leader not having a seat.

==See also==
* [[Leader of the Government in the House of Commons (Canada)]]
* [[Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons]]
* [[Leader of the House of Commons]]
* [[Floor Leader]]
* [[Deputy leader]]

==References==
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{{House of Commons of Canada navbox}}

[[Category:Legislative leaders in Canada| ]]
[[Category:Political terminology in Canada]]
[[Category:Provincial and territorial ministers in Canada]]