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Appendix 7Leaders of the Official Opposition in the House of Commons Since 1873The Member who is the leader of the largest party sitting in opposition to the Government in the House of Commons becomes the “Leader of Her Majesty’s Opposition”. Provisions governing the position are defined in the Parliament of Canada Act, in the Standing Orders and in various practices of the House. To become the Leader of the Official Opposition, a person must hold a seat in the House of Commons. Consequently, in instances where the national leader of a party was not a Member of the House of Commons, another Member of Parliament of that party served as Leader of the Official Opposition. Those instances are indicated with an asterisk.
[1] In the First Parliament, following the general election of 1867, the Members who sat in the House opposite the government of Sir John A. Macdonald did not constitute a party but a coalition of various interests, just as the government did. A number of historians state that John Sandfield Macdonald (Reform Member for Cornwall and the first Premier of Ontario), who had campaigned in alliance with Sir John A. Macdonald in the general election, was appointed Leader of the Opposition by the government. Other historians hold that although Alexander Mackenzie (Lambton) was not formally appointed Leader of the Opposition until March 6, 1873, when he assumed the leadership of the Liberal Party, he was de facto Leader of the Opposition as early as 1869 (see Buckingham, W. and Ross, G.W., The Hon. Alexander Mackenzie: His Life and Times, 5th ed., Toronto: Rose Publishing Company (Limited), 1892, pp. 242, 254, 329; Courtney, J.C., “Party Leadership Selection in the New Dominion”, Canadian Political Party Systems: A Reader, edited by R.K. Carty, Peterborough, Ontario: Broadview Press, 1992, p. 108; Creighton, D., John A. Macdonald: The Old Chieftain, Toronto: The Macmillan Company of Canada Limited, 1955, p. 4; Schull, J., Edward Blake: The Man of the Other Way (1833-1881), Vol. I, Toronto: Macmillan of Canada, 1975, p. 46; Thomson, D.C., Alexander Mackenzie: Clear Grit, Toronto: The Macmillan Company of Canada Limited, 1960, p. 103). [2] On December 8, 2008, Stéphane Dion announced his intention to step down as Leader of the Liberal Party. On December 10, 2008, Michael Ignatieff was appointed interim leader of the Party.
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