The leader of the Official Opposition (french: chef de l'Opposition officielle), formally known as the leader of Majesty's Loyal Opposition (french: chef de la loyale opposition de Sa Majesté, links=no), is the politician who leads the

Official Opposition Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term ''government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ''th ...

in Canada, typically the leader of the party possessing the most seats in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

that is not the governing party or part of the governing coalition.

Pierre Poilievre Pierre Marcel Poilievre ( ; born June 3, 1979) is a Canadian politician who has served as the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada and the leader of the Official Opposition since 2022. Poilievre has served as a member of Parliament (MP) ...

has been the leader of the Opposition since September 10, 2022, when he was elected as the Conservative leader following the 2022 leadership election. He succeeded

Candice Bergen Candice Patricia Bergen (born May 9, 1946) is an American actress. She won five Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards for her portrayal of the title character on the CBS sitcom ''Murphy Brown'' (1988–1998, 2018). She is also know ...

, who had served as her party's interim leader from February 2, 2022. Though the leader of the Opposition must be a member of the House of Commons, the office should not be confused with

Opposition House leader The Opposition House Leader (french: Leader à la Chambre de l'opposition, link=no), officially known as Leader of the Official Opposition in the House of Commons of Canada, is a member of the Official Opposition, not to be confused with the ...

, 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. If the leader of the opposition party is not a

member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP), then a sitting MP acts as

parliamentary leader A parliamentary leader is a political title or a descriptive term used in various countries to designate the person leading a parliamentary group or caucus in a legislative body, whether it be a national or sub-national legislature. They are the ...

and assumes the role of the leader of the Opposition until the party leader can obtain a seat. The leader of the Opposition is entitled to the same levels of pay and protection as a

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

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 Stornoway (; gd, Steòrnabhagh; sco, Stornowa) is the main town of the Western Isles and the capital of Lewis and Harris in Scotland. The town's population is around 6,953, making it by far the largest town in the Outer Hebrides, as well a ...

and ranks fourteenth on the

Order of Precedence An order of precedence is a sequential hierarchy of nominal importance and can be applied to individuals, groups, or organizations. Most often it is used in the context of people by many organizations and governments, for very formal and state o ...

, 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 A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

. The term "Leader of the Opposition" is used in the ''Parliament of Canada Act''. The term "Leader of the Opposition" is used in 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 those terms are not used in either the act or the standing orders. Two leaders of the Opposition have died in office:

Wilfrid Laurier Sir Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier, ( ; ; November 20, 1841 – February 17, 1919) was a Canadian lawyer, statesman, and politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911. The first French Canadian prime minis ...

in 1919 and

Jack Layton John Gilbert Layton (July 18, 1950 – August 22, 2011) was a Canadian academic and politician who served as the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) from 2003 to 2011 and leader of the Official Opposition in 2011. He previously sat on To ...

in 2011.

Leaders of the Official Opposition

Deputy leaders of the Opposition

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.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leader Of The Official Opposition (Canada) * Government of Canada

Opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * ''The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Comed ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Leaders of the Official Opposition

Deputy leaders of the Opposition

Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet

See also

Notes

References