His Majesty's Loyal Opposition (French: L'Opposition Loyale de Sa Majesté), or simply the Official Opposition (French: L'Opposition officielle), is usually the second-largest party (or group of parties) in the House of Commons. Typically, it is the largest party of the parliamentary opposition, which is composed of members of Parliament (MPs) who are not in government.
The Official Opposition is viewed as the caucus tasked with keeping the government in check.[1][2][3] It is also generally viewed as the alternative government or "government in waiting".[3] The Official Opposition maintains a shadow cabinet, with the leader of the Official Opposition at its head, of members of Parliament (MPs) and senators who often have the same portfolio areas of interest as actual ministers. The spokesperson for each portfolio is known as an opposition critic. In the event the government loses the confidence of the House or the Official Opposition party wins a general election, the party is ready to become the government.
The formal title of "Official Opposition" is used in the Standing Orders of the House of Commons.[4] The Official Opposition is sometimes also referred to as the Loyal Opposition to express the idea that, although the group may be against the sitting government, it remains loyal to the Crown (the embodiment of the Canadian state) and thus to Canada.[5][6][7][8]
Michael Ignatieff, a former leader of the Official Opposition, explains:
"The opposition performs an adversarial function critical to democracy itself… Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of the same sovereign, servants of the same law."[9]
HistoryEdit
After the 1921 election, the Progressive Party, a looseknit largely agrarian "protest" party, won the second largest number of seats to William Lyon Mackenzie King's Liberals, but declined to be the Official Opposition because of their lack of national organization. The third-place Conservative Party, led by Arthur Meighen, thus became the Official Opposition.
As a result of the 1925 election, the Official Opposition was actually the largest party in the House of Commons, the Conservatives. The Liberals, led by Mackenzie King, were able to form a minority government despite the fact that they had a dozen fewer seats than the Conservatives because King's Liberals were able to win the support of the Progressives to remain in government. Similarly, in Ontario, the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party had the largest caucus but were relegated to official opposition not long after the 1985 election, as their minority government was defeated on a motion of non-confidence. The Ontario Liberal Party, the second largest party, governed from 1985 to 1987 with supply provided by the Ontario New Democratic Party.
In 1993, the Reform Party challenged whether the Quebec sovereigntistBloc Québécois could hold the position of official opposition. The Speaker ruled in favour of the Bloc, as they held two more seats than Reform. During the Bloc's time as the official opposition, Quebec issues on national unity dominated Question Period, often to the irritation of the other opposition parties (indeed, Reform was the only other caucus that met official party status, with the NDP and PC parties falling short of that threshold). However, Reform was considered to be main opposition to the Liberals on all other issues that were not specific to Quebec. In 1995, when Bloc leader Lucien Bouchard's position as Opposition Leader granted him a meeting with the visiting American president, Bill Clinton, Reform leader Preston Manning was also given a meeting with Clinton in order to diffuse Bouchard's separatist leverage.[10]
In 1987, the Liberals won every seat in the 51st New Brunswick Legislative Assembly. To ensure the proper functioning of the parliamentary system, Premier Frank McKenna named several members of his own caucus, led by Camille Thériault, to serve as the Official Opposition. The government also allowed the Progressive Conservative Party, which finished second place in the election in the number of votes received, to submit written questions to ministers during Question Period.[citation needed]
PrivilegesEdit
The Official Opposition party has advantages over other opposition parties in the House. They are assigned to speak first after the government, and receive more time in question period than other opposition parties. It also gets more office space, funding for research, and a larger staff than other parties.[11]
The leader of the Opposition has an official residence in Ottawa known as Stornoway and the salary and similar privileges to those of a cabinet minister. Additionally, the leader and other shadow cabinet members have the privilege of meeting with visiting foreign dignitaries, which is not always granted to members of smaller parties.[12]
SenateEdit
There is also an Official Opposition in the Senate of Canada. This is the largest party in the Senate that is not in government. As the governing party is determined in the House of Commons, the Official Opposition in the Senate may actually be larger than the government party in the Senate. It is customary, however, for the Senate to pass legislation approved in the House of Commons even if the government has a minority in the Senate. Although the Senate nominally has the power to block most legislation (excepting bills which would trigger a non-confidence motion if defeated in the House, such as money bills), this power is rarely exercised in practice.
The party that forms Official Opposition in the Senate is not necessarily the same party as in the House of Commons. From 1993 to 2003, the Official Opposition in the Senate was the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, even though the Bloc Québécois was the Official Opposition in the House from 1993 to 1997, followed by the Reform Party of Canada, and then the Canadian Alliance from 1997 to 2003. This is because the BQ, and Reform Party had no Senators. However, when Senator Gerry St. Germaincrossed the floor from the Progressive Conservatives to the Canadian Alliance in 2000, he argued that he should be recognized as the leader of the Opposition in the Senate as the Canadian Alliance formed the Official Opposition in the House of Commons. The speaker of the Senate of Canada ruled against him, however, as the Progressive Conservatives were the larger opposition party.[13]
Lists of Official Oppositions in the Parliament of CanadaEdit
^ abThe Liberal-Conservative Party became the Conservative Party in 1873, however, some members still sat and were elected as Liberal-Conservatives after the change.
^From 1921 to 1924, the Progressive Party of Canada had more MPs than the Conservative Party, but it turned down the chance of being Official Opposition, and the position passed to the Conservatives.
^ abcThe Conservative Party became the Progressive Conservative Party in 1945.
^The Reform Party became the Canadian Alliance in 2000.
^ abThe Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party merged to form the Conservative Party in 2004
^"Scott Thompson: Even during a crisis like COVID-19, our leaders must be kept in check". 900 CHML. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
^"The Canadian Parliamentary system - Our Procedure - House of Commons". www.ourcommons.ca. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
^ ab"Globe editorial: Who put Canadian democracy in quarantine, and when will they let it out?". Retrieved 2020-08-18.
^Standing Orders of the House of Commons, ss. 35(2), 45(5), 73(1), 83(2), 106(2), 114(2); reproduced in Marc Bosc and André Gagnon (eds.), House of Commons Procedure and Practice (3rd ed., 2017), Appendix 14.
^House of Commons Practice and Procedure, Chapter 1 —Parliamentary Institutions (text accompanying note 190).
^Ignatieff, Michael (2012), Ibbitson, John (ed.), "Michael Ignatieff's timely warning on the politics of fascism", The Globe and Mail (published 30 October 2012)
^"Clinton visits Cretien", Maclean's March 6, 1995. Originally at The Canada Encyclopedia, later . Archived from the original on April 28, 2009. Retrieved 2009-09-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^"Liberal Leader gets 30 minutes with Obama". CTV.ca. 19 February 2009. from the original on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
^Daniel Hays, Speaker of the Senate of Canada (February 21, 2001). "SELECTION OF THE LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION—SPEAKER'S RULING" (PDF). Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Canada: Senate. pp. 152–155.
External linksEdit
The Opposition in the Canadian House of Commons: Role, Structure, and Powers | Mapleleafweb.com
September 28, 2023
official, opposition, canada, majesty, loyal, opposition, french, opposition, loyale, majesté, simply, official, opposition, french, opposition, officielle, usually, second, largest, party, group, parties, house, commons, typically, largest, party, parliamenta. His Majesty s Loyal Opposition French L Opposition Loyale de Sa Majeste or simply the Official Opposition French L Opposition officielle is usually the second largest party or group of parties in the House of Commons Typically it is the largest party of the parliamentary opposition which is composed of members of Parliament MPs who are not in government Incumbent and former Leaders of the Opposition Pierre Poilievre 2022 and Andrew Scheer 2017 2020 on Parliament Hill February 28 2018The Official Opposition is viewed as the caucus tasked with keeping the government in check 1 2 3 It is also generally viewed as the alternative government or government in waiting 3 The Official Opposition maintains a shadow cabinet with the leader of the Official Opposition at its head of members of Parliament MPs and senators who often have the same portfolio areas of interest as actual ministers The spokesperson for each portfolio is known as an opposition critic In the event the government loses the confidence of the House or the Official Opposition party wins a general election the party is ready to become the government The current Official Opposition is the caucus of the Conservative Party assuming the role following the 2015 federal election The Opposition is led by Pierre Poilievre who became Conservative leader following the 2022 leadership election Contents 1 Nomenclature 2 History 3 Privileges 4 Senate 5 Lists of Official Oppositions in the Parliament of Canada 6 See also 7 References 8 External linksNomenclature EditThe formal title of Official Opposition is used in the Standing Orders of the House of Commons 4 The Official Opposition is sometimes also referred to as the Loyal Opposition to express the idea that although the group may be against the sitting government it remains loyal to the Crown the embodiment of the Canadian state and thus to Canada 5 6 7 8 Michael Ignatieff a former leader of the Official Opposition explains The opposition performs an adversarial function critical to democracy itself Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose them Adversaries remain citizens of the same state common subjects of the same sovereign servants of the same law 9 History EditAfter the 1921 election the Progressive Party a looseknit largely agrarian protest party won the second largest number of seats to William Lyon Mackenzie King s Liberals but declined to be the Official Opposition because of their lack of national organization The third place Conservative Party led by Arthur Meighen thus became the Official Opposition As a result of the 1925 election the Official Opposition was actually the largest party in the House of Commons the Conservatives The Liberals led by Mackenzie King were able to form a minority government despite the fact that they had a dozen fewer seats than the Conservatives because King s Liberals were able to win the support of the Progressives to remain in government Similarly in Ontario the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party had the largest caucus but were relegated to official opposition not long after the 1985 election as their minority government was defeated on a motion of non confidence The Ontario Liberal Party the second largest party governed from 1985 to 1987 with supply provided by the Ontario New Democratic Party In 1993 the Reform Party challenged whether the Quebec sovereigntist Bloc Quebecois could hold the position of official opposition The Speaker ruled in favour of the Bloc as they held two more seats than Reform During the Bloc s time as the official opposition Quebec issues on national unity dominated Question Period often to the irritation of the other opposition parties indeed Reform was the only other caucus that met official party status with the NDP and PC parties falling short of that threshold However Reform was considered to be main opposition to the Liberals on all other issues that were not specific to Quebec In 1995 when Bloc leader Lucien Bouchard s position as Opposition Leader granted him a meeting with the visiting American president Bill Clinton Reform leader Preston Manning was also given a meeting with Clinton in order to diffuse Bouchard s separatist leverage 10 In 1987 the Liberals won every seat in the 51st New Brunswick Legislative Assembly To ensure the proper functioning of the parliamentary system Premier Frank McKenna named several members of his own caucus led by Camille Theriault to serve as the Official Opposition The government also allowed the Progressive Conservative Party which finished second place in the election in the number of votes received to submit written questions to ministers during Question Period citation needed Privileges EditThe Official Opposition party has advantages over other opposition parties in the House They are assigned to speak first after the government and receive more time in question period than other opposition parties It also gets more office space funding for research and a larger staff than other parties 11 The leader of the Opposition has an official residence in Ottawa known as Stornoway and the salary and similar privileges to those of a cabinet minister Additionally the leader and other shadow cabinet members have the privilege of meeting with visiting foreign dignitaries which is not always granted to members of smaller parties 12 Senate EditThere is also an Official Opposition in the Senate of Canada This is the largest party in the Senate that is not in government As the governing party is determined in the House of Commons the Official Opposition in the Senate may actually be larger than the government party in the Senate It is customary however for the Senate to pass legislation approved in the House of Commons even if the government has a minority in the Senate Although the Senate nominally has the power to block most legislation excepting bills which would trigger a non confidence motion if defeated in the House such as money bills this power is rarely exercised in practice The party that forms Official Opposition in the Senate is not necessarily the same party as in the House of Commons From 1993 to 2003 the Official Opposition in the Senate was the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada even though the Bloc Quebecois was the Official Opposition in the House from 1993 to 1997 followed by the Reform Party of Canada and then the Canadian Alliance from 1997 to 2003 This is because the BQ and Reform Party had no Senators However when Senator Gerry St Germain crossed the floor from the Progressive Conservatives to the Canadian Alliance in 2000 he argued that he should be recognized as the leader of the Opposition in the Senate as the Canadian Alliance formed the Official Opposition in the House of Commons The speaker of the Senate of Canada ruled against him however as the Progressive Conservatives were the larger opposition party 13 Lists of Official Oppositions in the Parliament of Canada EditYears Official Opposition Commons Official Opposition Senate1867 1874 Liberal Party Liberal Party1874 1878 Conservative Party a Conservative Party a 1878 1896 Liberal Party Liberal Party1896 1911 Conservative Party Conservative Party1911 1921 Liberal Party Liberal Party1921 1926 Conservative Party b Conservative Party1926 Liberal Party Liberal Party1926 1930 Conservative Party Conservative Party1930 1935 Liberal Party Liberal Party1935 1945 Conservative Party c Conservative Party1945 1957 Progressive Conservative Party c Progressive Conservative Party c 1957 1963 Liberal Party Liberal Party1963 1979 Progressive Conservative Party Progressive Conservative Party1979 1980 Liberal Party Liberal Party1980 1984 Progressive Conservative Party Progressive Conservative Party1984 1993 Liberal Party Liberal Party1993 1997 Bloc Quebecois Progressive Conservative Party1997 2000 Reform Party2000 2004 Canadian Alliance d 2004 2006 Conservative Party e Conservative Party e 2006 2011 Liberal Party Liberal Party2011 2014 New Democratic Party2014 2015 Senate Liberal Caucus2015 present Conservative Party Conservative PartyNotes a b The Liberal Conservative Party became the Conservative Party in 1873 however some members still sat and were elected as Liberal Conservatives after the change From 1921 to 1924 the Progressive Party of Canada had more MPs than the Conservative Party but it turned down the chance of being Official Opposition and the position passed to the Conservatives a b c The Conservative Party became the Progressive Conservative Party in 1945 The Reform Party became the Canadian Alliance in 2000 a b The Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative Party merged to form the Conservative Party in 2004See also Edit nbsp Canada portal nbsp Politics portalLeader of the Official Opposition Canada List of leaders of the Opposition in the Senate of Canada Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet Canada References Edit Scott Thompson Even during a crisis like COVID 19 our leaders must be kept in check 900 CHML Retrieved 2020 08 18 The Canadian Parliamentary system Our Procedure House of Commons www ourcommons ca Retrieved 2020 08 18 a b Globe editorial Who put Canadian democracy in quarantine and when will they let it out Retrieved 2020 08 18 Standing Orders of the House of Commons ss 35 2 45 5 73 1 83 2 106 2 114 2 reproduced in Marc Bosc and Andre Gagnon eds House of Commons Procedure and Practice 3rd ed 2017 Appendix 14 House of Commons Practice and Procedure Chapter 1 Parliamentary Institutions text accompanying note 190 Citizenship and Immigration Canada 2009 Discover Canada PDF Ottawa Queen s Printer for Canada p 31 ISBN 978 1 100 12739 2 Ci1 11 2009E archived from the original PDF on 2009 11 22 retrieved 2009 11 13 Schmitz Gerald December 1988 The Opposition in a Parliamentary System Ottawa Queen s Printer for Canada archived from the original on 21 March 2015 Responsible Government learn parl ca Retrieved 2023 04 20 Ignatieff Michael 2012 Ibbitson John ed Michael Ignatieff s timely warning on the politics of fascism The Globe and Mail published 30 October 2012 Clinton visits Cretien Maclean s March 6 1995 Originally at The Canada Encyclopedia later Clinton Visits Chretien Archived from the original on April 28 2009 Retrieved 2009 09 09 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint bot original URL status unknown link https www google com hostednews canadianpress article ALeqM5hgm9nT2wIDq x8ON9kUdwSTJulvA docId 6818485 dead link Liberal Leader gets 30 minutes with Obama CTV ca 19 February 2009 Archived from the original on 22 March 2012 Retrieved 9 May 2011 Daniel Hays Speaker of the Senate of Canada February 21 2001 SELECTION OF THE LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION SPEAKER S RULING PDF Parliamentary Debates Hansard Canada Senate pp 152 155 External links EditThe Opposition in the Canadian House of Commons Role Structure and Powers Mapleleafweb com Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Official Opposition Canada amp oldid 1160202009, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
