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 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 '' ...

, not to be confused with the Leader of the Official Opposition, but is generally a senior member of the

frontbench In many parliaments and other similar assemblies, seating is typically arranged in banks or rows, with each political party or caucus grouped together. The spokespeople for each group will often sit at the front of their group, and are then kno ...

. The House Leader is responsible for questioning the

Government House Leader The leader of the government in the House of Commons (), more commonly known as the government house leader, is the Cabinet minister responsible for planning and managing the government's legislative program in the House of Commons of Canada. D ...

on the forthcoming business of 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. ...

, negotiating with the Government House Leader and other parties' house leaders on the progress of business in the House, and managing the Official Opposition's business in the House of Commons. 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. The House Leader also coordinates the Official Opposition's floor strategy, often with the House Leaders of smaller opposition parties. The position is particularly important when there is a

minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in ...

, or a government with a slim majority, which may be defeated by a

vote of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

if all opposition parties work together. Notable Opposition House Leaders include

Herb Gray Herbert Eser Gray (May 25, 1931 – April 21, 2014) was a Canadian lawyer who became a prominent federal politician. He was a Liberal member of parliament for the Windsor area over the course of four decades, from 1962 to 2002, making Gray on ...

of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

(also a Government House Leader) and

Erik Nielsen Erik Hersholt Nielsen (February 24, 1924 – September 4, 2008) was a Canadian lawyer and politician. He served as the longtime Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament for Yukon, and was Leader of the Opposition and the third deputy pr ...

of the Progressive Conservative Party. Notable third party House Leaders include

Stanley Knowles Stanley Howard Knowles (June 18, 1908 – June 9, 1997) was a Canadian parliamentarian. Knowles represented the riding of Winnipeg North Centre from 1942 to 1958 on behalf of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) and again from ...

who was the House Leader for the NDP from 1962 to 1981, and

Bill Blaikie William Alexander Blaikie (June 19, 1951 – September 24, 2022) was a Canadian politician. He served as a member of Parliament (MP) from 1979 to 2008, representing Elmwood—Transcona and its antecedent ridings in the House of Commons of Cana ...

(1996–2003).

List of Official Opposition House Leaders

List of
official An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either their own or that of their s ...
third party House Leaders

New Democratic Party

1962–1984 *

Ian Deans Ian Deans (August 16, 1937 – May 3, 2016) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a New Democratic member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1967 to 1979 and was a member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1980 to 1986. Back ...

1984–1986 (acting 1981–1984) *

Nelson Riis Nelson Andrew Riis (born January 10, 1942) is a Canadian businessman and former politician and New Democratic Party (NDP) Member of Parliament (MP). Career A geographer and teacher by profession, Riis taught in public schools and at the post- ...

1986–1994 * Len Taylor 1994–1996 *

1996–2003 *

Libby Davies Libby Davies (born February 27, 1953) is a Canadian politician from British Columbia. She was the member of Parliament for Vancouver East from 1997 to 2015, House Leader for the New Democratic Party (NDP) from 2003 to 2011, and Deputy Leade ...

2003–2011 *''Official Opposition 2011–2015'' * Peter Julian 2015–2016 *

Murray Rankin Murray Rankin (born January 26, 1950) is a Canadian lawyer, politician and public law expert who serves as British Columbia's Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation. A member of the New Democratic Party, Rankin represents the rid ...

2016–2018 * Ruth Ellen Brosseau 2018–2019 * Peter Julian 2019–present

Reform Party

* Elwin Hermanson 1993–1995 *

Raymond Speaker Raymond Albert "Ray" Speaker, (born December 13, 1935) is a Canadian farmer and politician. Speaker was born and raised in Enchant, Alberta, where he farms to this day. He was an elected official at the federal and provincial levels for 34 years ...

1995–1997 *''Official Opposition after 1997''

Progressive Conservative Party

*''Government or Official Opposition before 1993'' *''None 1993–1997'' *

Peter MacKay Peter Gordon MacKay (born September 27, 1965) is a Canadian lawyer and politician. He was a Member of Parliament from 1997 to 2015 and has served as Minister of Justice and Attorney General (2013–2015), Minister of National Defence (2007� ...

1997–2002 *

Loyola Hearn Loyola Hearn, (born March 25, 1943) is a Canadian diplomat and former politician. Hearn is the former Canadian Ambassador to Ireland. He served as a Member of the House of Commons of Canada from 2000 to 2008, and as Minister of Fisheries and Oc ...

2002–2004

Bloc Quebecois

*''Official Opposition 1993–1997'' *

Michel Gauthier Michel Gauthier (; February 18, 1950 – May 30, 2020) was a Canadian politician, who served as leader of the Bloc Québécois from 1996 to 1997. As the party was the Official Opposition in the Parliament of Canada, Gauthier was also the ...

1997–2007 * Pierre Paquette 2007–2011 *

Louis Plamondon Louis Plamondon (born July 31, 1943) is a Canadian politician who has represented Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel (formerly known as Bas-Richelieu—Nicolet—Bécancour and Richelieu) in the House of Commons since 1984, making him the Dean o ...

2011–2013 * André Bellavance 2013–2014 * Jean-François Fortin 2014 *

2014–2015 *

Luc Thériault Luc Thériault (born January 31, 1960) is a Canadian academic and politician.Adam, Melanie (March 26, 2007)Luc Thériault : une longue journée.'' Le Trait d'Union'' As a member of the Parti Québécois, he served as a Member of the National ...

2015–2019 * Alain Therrien 2019–present

References

{{reflist Politics of Canada Provincial and territorial ministers in Canada House of Commons of Canada