Leader of the Official Opposition (Canada)

 ( Official Opposition In Canada ) 

The leader of the Official Opposition () is the member of Parliament (MP) who leads the Official Opposition in Canada. This is typically the leader of the party possessing the most seats in the House of Commons that is neither the governing party nor part of a governing coalition.

Pierre Poilievre, MP for Battle River—Crowfoot, has been the leader of the Official Opposition since August 2025. Poilievre previously served in the role from September 2022 to April 2025, when he lost his seat in Carleton in the 2025 federal election. He was elected to his current seat in an August by-election, once again becoming leader of the Opposition.

The office should not be confused with Opposition House leader, who is a frontbencher charged with managing the business of the Opposition in the House of Commons and is formally titled Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons. There is also a leader of the Opposition in the Senate, who is usually of the same party as the leader of the Opposition in the house.

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Name The term leader of the opposition is used in the Parliament of Canada Act and the Standing Orders of the House of Commons, as is the term official opposition. The terms leader of the loyal opposition, his majesty's opposition, and loyal opposition are sometimes used, but are not in either the act or the standing orders. The word loyal is used to communicate the party's loyalty to monarch of Canadaas the nonpartisan personification of the nation and the state's authorityeven as its members oppose the governing party.

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Privileges

The leader of the Opposition is entitled to the same levels of pay and protection as a Cabinet minister and is often made a member of the King's Privy Council, generally the only non-government member of the House of Commons afforded that privilege. The leader of the Opposition is entitled to reside at the official residence of Stornoway and ranks thirteenth on the Order of Precedence, after Cabinet ministers and before lieutenant governors of the provinces. In the House of Commons seating plan, the leader of the Opposition sits directly across from the prime minister.

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History

During the 1st Canadian Parliament, the position of the leader of the opposition was not clearly established. The Liberal Party sat on the opposition benches, but it remained a loose coalition of various interests and chose not to name a leader until becoming a more united group. Several historians note that John Sandfield Macdonald was granted the seat reserved for the Opposition leader, though he was an ally of John A. Macdonald and the two had campaigned together in the preceding election.

Joseph Schull (1975). 077051278X, Macmillan of Canada. 077051278X

As Sandfield Macdonald was concurrently Premier of Ontario, he did not play a major role in holding the government to account. Instead, Alexander Mackenzie emerged as a prominent opponent of the government, with some historians describing him as the de facto leader of the Opposition from 1869. Mackenzie was recognized as Leader of the Opposition in 1873, after formally assuming the leadership of the Liberal Party.

Despite its importance in the Westminster system, the role was not enshrined in law until 1905. In proposing the measure, Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier said "the leader of the opposition under our system is just as much a part of the constitutional system of government as the Prime Minister himself." The leader was also granted a $7,000 allowance, per session, in addition to his salary as MP. According to Dean E. Henry, this "made Canada the first entity in the British Empire, probably the first in the world, to pay a state salary to an opposition leader."

Two leaders of the Opposition have died in office: Wilfrid Laurier in 1919 and Jack Layton in 2011.

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Leaders of the Official Opposition

	Alexander Mackenzie	March 6, 1873	November 5, 1873		Liberal		Sir John A. Macdonald
	Sir John A. Macdonald	November 6, 1873	October 16, 1878		Liberal-Conservative		Alexander Mackenzie
	Alexander Mackenzie	October 17, 1878	April 27, 1880		Liberal		Sir John A. Macdonald
Vacant
	Edward Blake	May 4, 1880	June 2, 1887		Liberal
Vacant
	Wilfrid Laurier	June 23, 1887	July 10, 1896		Liberal
							John Abbott
							Sir John Thompson
							Mackenzie Bowell
							Charles Tupper
	Charles Tupper	July 11, 1896	February 5, 1901		Conservative		Wilfrid Laurier
	Robert Borden	February 6, 1901	October 9, 1911
	Wilfrid Laurier	October 10, 1911	February 17, 1919		Liberal		Robert Borden
	Daniel Duncan McKenzie	February 17, 1919	October 20, 1919
	William Lyon Mackenzie King	October 20, 1919	December 28, 1921
							Arthur Meighen
Vacant							William Lyon Mackenzie King
	Arthur Meighen	January 26, 1922	June 28, 1926		Conservative
	William Lyon Mackenzie King	June 29, 1926	September 24, 1926		Liberal		Arthur Meighen
Vacant''							William Lyon Mackenzie King
	Hugh Guthrie	October 11, 1926	October 11, 1927		Conservative
	R. B. Bennett	October 12, 1927	August 6, 1930
	William Lyon Mackenzie King	August 7, 1930	October 22, 1935		Liberal		R. B. Bennett
	R. B. Bennett	October 23, 1935	July 6, 1938		Conservative		William Lyon Mackenzie King
Vacant
	Robert James Manion	November 15, 1938	May 13, 1940		Conservative
	Richard Hanson	May 14, 1940	January 1, 1943
					Progressive Conservative
	Gordon Graydon	January 1, 1943	June 10, 1945		Progressive Conservative
	John Bracken	June 11, 1945	July 20, 1948
Vacant
	George A. Drew	December 20, 1948	November 1, 1954		Progressive Conservative
							Louis St. Laurent
	William Earl Rowe	November 1, 1954	February 1, 1955
	George A. Drew	February 1, 1955	August 1, 1956
	William Earl Rowe	August 1, 1956	December 13, 1956
	John Diefenbaker	December 14, 1956	June 20, 1957
	Louis St. Laurent	June 21, 1957	January 16, 1958		Liberal		John Diefenbaker
	Lester B. Pearson	January 16, 1958	April 22, 1963
	John Diefenbaker	April 22, 1963	September 9, 1967		Progressive Conservative		Lester B. Pearson
	Michael Starr	September 9, 1967	November 6, 1967
	Robert Stanfield	November 6, 1967	February 22, 1976
							Pierre Trudeau
	Joe Clark	February 22, 1976	June 4, 1979
	Pierre Trudeau	June 4, 1979	March 3, 1980		Liberal		Joe Clark
	Joe Clark	March 3, 1980	February 2, 1983		Progressive Conservative		Pierre Trudeau
	Erik Nielsen	February 2, 1983	August 29, 1983
	Brian Mulroney	August 29, 1983	September 17, 1984
							John Turner
	John Turner	September 17, 1984	February 8, 1990		Liberal		Brian Mulroney
	Herb Gray	February 8, 1990	December 10, 1990
	Jean Chrétien	December 10, 1990	November 4, 1993
							Kim Campbell
	Lucien Bouchard	November 4, 1993	January 15, 1996		Bloc Québécois		Jean Chrétien
	Gilles Duceppe	January 15, 1996	February 17, 1996
	Michel Gauthier	February 17, 1996	March 15, 1997
	Gilles Duceppe	March 15, 1997	June 2, 1997
	Preston Manning	June 2, 1997	March 27, 2000		Reform
	Deborah Grey	March 27, 2000	September 11, 2000		Canadian Alliance
	Stockwell Day	September 11, 2000	December 12, 2001
	John Reynolds	December 12, 2001	May 21, 2002
	Stephen Harper	May 21, 2002	January 9, 2004
							Paul Martin
	Grant Hill	January 9, 2004	March 20, 2004
					Conservative
	Stephen Harper	March 20, 2004	February 6, 2006		Conservative
	Bill Graham	February 6, 2006	December 2, 2006		Liberal		Stephen Harper
	Stéphane Dion	December 2, 2006	December 10, 2008
	Michael Ignatieff	December 10, 2008	May 2, 2011
	Jack Layton	May 2, 2011	August 22, 2011		New Democratic
	Nycole Turmel	August 22, 2011	March 24, 2012
	Tom Mulcair	March 24, 2012	November 4, 2015
	Rona Ambrose	November 4, 2015	May 27, 2017		Conservative		Justin Trudeau
	Andrew Scheer	May 27, 2017	August 24, 2020
	Erin O'Toole	August 24, 2020	February 2, 2022
	Candice Bergen	February 2, 2022	September 10, 2022
	Pierre Poilievre	September 10, 2022	April 28, 2025
							Mark Carney
Vacant
	Andrew Scheer	May 6, 2025	August 18, 2025		Conservative
	Pierre Poilievre	August 18, 2025	present

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Timeline

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Deputy leaders of the Opposition

	Denis Lebel	November 19, 2015	July 24, 2017		Conservative	Rona Ambrose
						Andrew Scheer
	Lisa Raitt	July 24, 2017	October 21, 2019
	Leona Alleslev	November 28, 2019	July 12, 2020
	Candice Bergen	September 2, 2020	February 2, 2022			Erin O'Toole
	Luc Berthold	February 6, 2022	September 13, 2022			Candice Bergen
	Melissa Lantsman	September 13, 2022	Incumbent			Pierre Poilievre Andrew Scheer Pierre Poilievre
	Tim Uppal	September 13, 2022	Incumbent

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Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet

The Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet in Canada is composed of members of the main opposition party and is responsible for holding the government to account and for developing and disseminating the party's policy positions. Members of the Official Opposition are generally referred to as opposition critics, but the term Shadow Minister (which is generally used in other Westminster systems) is also used.

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See also

• Opposition House Leader
• Leader of the Opposition in the Senate (Canada)

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Notes

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External links

• Leaders of the Official Opposition – Library of Parliament
• Leader of the Opposition – The Canadian Encyclopedia

Categories: Official Opposition In Canada, Featured List, Official Opposition, Government Of Canada, Opposition Leaders

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