1.
Robert Borden
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Sir Robert Laird Borden, GCMG PC KC was a Canadian lawyer and politician. He served as the eighth Prime Minister of Canada from October 10,1911, to July 10,1920, after retiring from public life, he served as the chancellor of Queens University. His portrait appears on Canadian $100 notes produced since 1976 but in late 2016 the government announced Bordens image would be removed during the next redesign, also arriving in this group was a great great grandfather, Robert Denison, who had come from Connecticut at about the same time. Perry had accompanied his father, Samuel Borden, the chief surveyor chosen by the government of Massachusetts to survey the former Acadian land, Robert Borden was the last Canadian Prime Minister born before Confederation. His mother Eunice Jane Laird was more driven, possessing very strong character, remarkable energy, high ambition and her ambition was transmitted to her first-born child, who applied himself to his studies while assisting his parents with the farm work he found so disagreeable. His cousin Sir Frederick Borden was a prominent Liberal politician, from 1868 to 1874, he worked as a teacher in Grand-Pré and Matawan, New Jersey. Seeing no future in teaching, he returned to Nova Scotia in 1874, despite having no formal university education, he went to article for four years at a Halifax law firm. In August 1878, he was called to the Nova Scotia Bar, Borden went to Kentville, Nova Scotia, as the junior partner of the Conservative lawyer John P. Chipman. In 1880, he was inducted into the Freemasons – St Andrews lodge #1, in 1882, he was asked by Wallace Graham to move to Halifax and join the Conservative law firm headed by Graham and Charles Hibbert Tupper. In the Autumn of 1889, when he was only 35, Borden became the senior partner following the departure of Graham and Tupper for the bench and politics, respectively. His financial future guaranteed, on September 25,1889, he married Laura Bond, in 1894, he bought a large property and home on the south side of Quinpool Road, which the couple called Pinehurst. In 1893, Borden successfully argued the first of two cases which he took to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. He represented many of the important Halifax businesses, and sat on the boards of Nova Scotian companies including the Bank of Nova Scotia and the Crown Life Insurance Company. In 1896, he became President of the Nova Scotia Barristers Society, by the time he was prevailed upon to enter politics, Borden had what some judged to be the largest legal practice in the Maritime Provinces, and had become a wealthy man. Borden was a Liberal until he broke with the party in 1891 over the issue of Reciprocity and he was elected to Parliament in the 1896 federal election as a Conservative and in 1901 was selected by the Conservative caucus to succeed Sir Charles Tupper as leader of the Conservative Party. He was defeated in his Halifax seat in the 1904 federal election, despite his efforts, his party lost the 1908 federal election to Wilfrid Lauriers Liberals. Borden was however elected again for Halifax and his partys fortunes turned around in the 1911 federal election, however, when the Conservatives successfully campaigned against Lauriers proposals for a Reciprocity agreement with the United States. Borden countered with a version of John A. Macdonalds National Policy and appeals of loyalty to the British Empire
2.
Prime Minister of Canada
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Canadian prime ministers are styled as The Right Honourable, a privilege maintained for life. The office and its functions are instead governed by constitutional conventions, the prime minister, along with the other ministers in cabinet, is appointed by the governor general on behalf of the monarch. There are no age or citizenship restrictions on the position of prime minister itself, while there is no legal requirement for the prime minister to be a member of parliament, for practical and political reasons the prime minister is expected to win a seat very promptly. However, in rare circumstances individuals who are not sitting members of the House of Commons have been appointed to the position of prime minister, two former prime ministers—Sir John Joseph Caldwell Abbott and Sir Mackenzie Bowell—served in the 1890s while members of the Senate. Both, in their roles as Government Leader in the Senate, succeeded prime ministers who had died in office—John A. Macdonald in 1891 and that convention has since evolved toward the appointment of an interim leader from the commons in such a scenario. Prime ministers who are not Members of Parliament upon their appointment have since been expected to seek election to the commons as soon as possible. For example, William Lyon Mackenzie King, after losing his seat in the 1925 federal election, Turner was the last serving prime minister to not hold a commons seat. The Canadian prime minister serves at Her Majestys pleasure, meaning the post does not have a fixed term, once appointed and sworn in by the governor general, the prime minister remains in office until he or she resigns, is dismissed, or dies. Following parliamentary dissolution, the prime minister must run in the general election if he or she wishes to maintain a seat in the House of Commons. Should the prime ministers party subsequently win a majority of seats in the House of Commons, if, however, an opposition party wins a majority of seats, the prime minister may resign or be dismissed by the governor general. This option was last entertained in 1925, however, the function of the prime minister has evolved with increasing power. Caucuses may choose to follow rules, though the decision would be made by recorded vote. Either the sovereign or his or her viceroy may therefore oppose the prime ministers will in extreme, for transportation, the prime minister is granted an armoured car and shared use of two official aircraft—a CC-150 Polaris for international flights and a Challenger 601 for domestic trips. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police also furnish constant personal security for the prime minister, all of the aforementioned is supplied by the Queen-in-Council through budgets approved by parliament, as is the prime ministers annual salary of CAD$170,400. Should a serving or former prime minister die, he or she is accorded a state funeral, John Thompson also died outside Canada, at Windsor Castle, where Queen Victoria permitted his lying-in-state before his body was returned to Canada for a state funeral in Halifax. In earlier years, it was traditional for the monarch to bestow a knighthood on newly appointed Canadian prime ministers. Accordingly, several carried the prefix Sir before their name, of the first eight premiers of Canada, the Canadian Heraldic Authority has granted former prime ministers an augmentation of honour on the personal coat of arms of those who pursued them. To date, former prime ministers Joe Clark, Pierre Trudeau, John Turner, Brian Mulroney, the written form of address for the prime minister should use his or her full parliamentary title, The Right Honourable, Prime Minister of Canada
3.
Wilfrid Laurier
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Sir Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier GCMG, PC, KC, known as Wilfrid Laurier, was the seventh Prime Minister of Canada, in office from 11 July 1896 to 6 October 1911. Canadas first francophone prime minister, Laurier is often considered one of the countrys greatest statesmen and he is well known for his policies of conciliation, expanding Confederation, and compromise between French and English Canada. His vision for Canada was a land of liberty and decentralized federalism. He also argued for an English-French partnership in Canada, I have had before me as a pillar of fire, he said, a policy of true Canadianism, of moderation, of reconciliation. He passionately defended individual liberty, Canada is free and freedom is its nationality, a 2011 Macleans historical ranking of the Prime Ministers placed Laurier first. Laurier holds a number of records, he holds the record for the most consecutive federal elections won, in addition, his nearly 45 years of service in the House of Commons is a record for that house. At 31 years,8 months, Laurier was the leader of a major Canadian political party. Finally, he is the fourth-longest serving Prime Minister of Canada, behind King, John A. Macdonald, Lauriers portrait is displayed on the Canadian five-dollar bill. The second child of Carolus Laurier and Marcelle Martineau, Wilfrid Laurier was born in Saint-Lin, Canada East, Laurier was among the seventh generation of his family in Canada. His ancestor François Cottineau, dit Champlaurier, came to Canada from Saint-Claud and he grew up in a family where politics was a staple of talk and debate. His father, a man having liberal ideas, enjoyed a certain degree of prestige about town. In addition to being a farmer and surveyor, he also occupied such sought-after positions as mayor, justice of the peace, militia lieutenant, at the age of 11, Wilfrid left home to study in New Glasgow, a neighbouring village largely inhabited by immigrants from Scotland. Over the next two years, he familiarized himself with the mentality, language and culture of British people, Laurier attended the Collège de LAssomption and graduated in law from McGill University in 1864. He was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 1874 election, chosen as leader of the federal Liberal Party in 1887, he gradually built up his partys strength through his personal following both in Quebec and elsewhere in Canada. The growing alienation of French-Canadians from the Conservative Party due to its links with anti-French and these factors, combined with the collapse of the Conservative Party of Quebec, gave Laurier an opportunity to build a stronghold in French Canada and among Catholics across Canada. Catholic priests in Quebec repeatedly warned their parishioners not to vote for Liberals and their slogan was le ciel est bleu, lenfer est rouge. Laurier led Canada during a period of growth, industrialization and immigration. His long career straddles a period of political and economic change
4.
William Lyon Mackenzie King
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William Lyon Mackenzie King OM, CMG, PC, also commonly known as Mackenzie King, was the dominant Canadian political leader from the 1920s through the 1940s. He served as the tenth Prime Minister of Canada in 1921–1926, 1926–1930, a Liberal with 21 years and 154 days in office, he was the longest-serving prime minister in Canadian history. Trained in law and social work, he was interested in the human condition. King acceded to the leadership of the Liberal Party in 1919, taking the helm of a party bitterly torn apart during the First World War, he reconciled factions, unifying the Liberal Party and leading it to victory in the 1921 election. His party was out of office during the harshest days of the Great Depression in Canada, 1930–35 and he personally handled complex relations with the Prairie Provinces, while his top aides Ernest Lapointe and Louis St. Laurent skillfully met the demands of French Canadians. During the Second World War, he avoided the battles over conscription, patriotism. Though few major policy innovations took place during his premiership, he was able to synthesize, scholars attribute Kings long tenure as party leader to his wide range of skills that were appropriate to Canadas needs. He understood the workings of capital and labour, keenly sensitive to the nuances of public policy, he was a workaholic with a shrewd and penetrating intelligence and a profound understanding of the complexities of Canadian society. A modernizing technocrat who regarded managerial mediation as essential to an industrial society, King worked to bring compromise and harmony to many competing and feuding elements, using politics and government action as his instrument. He led his party for 29 years, and established Canadas international reputation as a middle power fully committed to world order, Kings biographers agree on the personal characteristics that made him distinctive. He lacked the charisma of such contemporaries as Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and he lacked a commanding presence or oratorical skill, his best writing was academic, and did not resonate with the electorate. Cold and tactless in human relations, he had allies but very few personal friends. He never married and lacked a hostess whose charm could substitute for his chill, a survey of scholars in 1997 by Macleans magazine ranked King first among all Canadas prime ministers, ahead of Sir John A. Macdonald and Sir Wilfrid Laurier. As historian Jack Granatstein notes, the scholars expressed little admiration for King the man but offered unbounded admiration for his political skills, on the other hand, political scientist Ian Stewart in 2007 found that even Liberal activists have but a dim memory of him. King was born in Berlin, Ontario, to John King and his maternal grandfather was William Lyon Mackenzie, first mayor of Toronto and leader of the Upper Canada Rebellion in 1837. His father was a lawyer, and later a professor at Osgoode Hall Law School and he attended Berlin Central School and Berlin High School. Tutors were hired to teach him more politics, science, math, English and his father was a lawyer with a struggling practice in a small city, and never enjoyed financial security. King became a lifelong practising Presbyterian with a dedication to applying Christian virtues to social issues in the style of the Social Gospel and he obtained three degrees from the University of Toronto, B. A.1895, LL. B
5.
Edward VIII
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Edward VIII was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire, and Emperor of India, from 20 January 1936 until his abdication on 11 December the same year. Edward was the eldest son of George V and Mary of Teck and he was named Prince of Wales on his sixteenth birthday, nine weeks after his father succeeded as king. As a young man, he served in the British Army during the First World War, Edward became king on his fathers death in early 1936. However, he showed impatience with court protocol, and caused concern among politicians by his apparent disregard for established constitutional conventions. Only months into his reign, he caused a crisis by proposing marriage to Wallis Simpson. When it became apparent that he could not marry Wallis and remain on the throne and he was succeeded by his younger brother, George VI. With a reign of 326 days, Edward was one of the monarchs in British history. After his abdication, he was created Duke of Windsor and he married Wallis in France on 3 June 1937, after her second divorce became final. Later that year, the couple toured Germany, after the war, Edward spent the rest of his life in retirement in France. Edward was born on 23 June 1894 at White Lodge, Richmond Park and he was the eldest son of the Duke and Duchess of York. His father was the son of the Prince and Princess of Wales and his mother was the eldest daughter of Francis and Mary Adelaide, Duke and Duchess of Teck. At the time of his birth, he was third in the line of succession to the throne and he was baptised Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David in the Green Drawing Room of White Lodge on 16 July 1894 by Edward White Benson, Archbishop of Canterbury. The names were chosen in honour of Edwards late uncle, who was known to his family as Eddy or Edward and he was always known to his family and close friends by his last given name, David. As was common practice with children of the time, Edward. One of Edwards early nannies often abused him by pinching him before he was due to be presented to his parents and his subsequent crying and wailing would lead the Duke and Duchess to send him and the nanny away. The nanny was discharged after her mistreatment of the children was discovered, Edwards father, though a harsh disciplinarian, was demonstrably affectionate, and his mother displayed a frolicsome side with her children that belied her austere public image. She was amused by the children making tadpoles on toast for their French master, initially Edward was tutored at home by Helen Bricka. Upon his parents return, Edward was placed under the care of two men, Frederick Finch and Henry Hansell, who brought up Edward and his brothers
6.
House of Commons of Canada
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The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons chamber is located in the Centre Block of the Parliament Buildings on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, the House of Commons is a democratically elected body whose members are known as Members of Parliament. There were 308 members in the last Parliament, but that number has risen to 338 following the election on Monday October 19,2015, Members are elected by simple plurality in each of the countrys electoral districts, which are colloquially known as ridings. MPs may hold office until Parliament is dissolved and serve for constitutionally limited terms of up to five years after an election, historically however, terms have ended before their expiry and the sitting government has typically dissolved parliament within four years of an election according to a long-standing convention. In any case, an Act of Parliament now limits each term to four years, seats in the House of Commons are distributed roughly in proportion to the population of each province and territory. However, some ridings are more populous than others, and the Canadian constitution contains some provisions regarding provincial representation. As a result, there is some interprovincial and regional malapportionment relative to population, the lower of the two houses making up the parliament, the House of Commons in practice holds far more power than the upper house, the Senate. Although the approval of both Houses is necessary for legislation, the Senate very rarely rejects bills passed by the Commons, moreover, the Government of Canada is responsible solely to the House of Commons. The Prime Minister stays in office only as long as he or she retains the support, or confidence, the term derives from the Anglo-Norman word communes, referring to the geographic and collective communities of their parliamentary representatives and not the third estate, the commonality. This distinction is clear in the official French name of the body. Canada and the United Kingdom remain the only countries to use the name House of Commons for a house of parliament. The new Parliament of Canada consisted of the Queen, the Senate, the Parliament of Canada was based on the Westminster model. Unlike the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the powers of the Parliament of Canada were limited in that other powers were assigned exclusively to the provincial legislatures, the Parliament of Canada also remained subordinate to the British Parliament, the supreme legislative authority for the entire British Empire. Greater autonomy was granted by the Statute of Westminster 1931, after which new Acts of the British Parliament did not apply to Canada and these exceptions were removed by the Canada Act 1982. From 1867, the Commons met in the chamber until that was destroyed by fire in 1916. It relocated to the amphitheatre of the Victoria Memorial Museum—what is today the Canadian Museum of Nature, since then, the Commons has sat in its current chamber. The House of Commons comprises 338 members, each of whom represents a electoral district. The constitution specifies a minimum of 295 electoral districts
7.
Canadian federal election, 1921
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The Canadian federal election of 1921 was held on December 6,1921, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 14th Parliament of Canada. The Union government that had governed Canada through the First World War was defeated, a new third party, the Progressive Party, won the second most seats in the election. Since the 1911 election, the country had been governed by the Conservatives, during the war, the Conservatives had united with the pro-conscription Liberal-Unionists and formed a Union government. A number of Members of Parliament, mostly Quebecers, stayed loyal to Sir Wilfrid Laurier, however, when Laurier died, he was replaced as leader by the Ontarian Mackenzie King. After the 1919 federal budget, a number of western unionist MPs, led by Thomas Alexander Crerar, the group became known as the Progressive Party. Also running were a number of Labour advocates, foremost amongst them J. S. Woodsworth of Winnipeg, Meighen had played a key role in violently suppressing the strikers and this earned him the animosity of organized labour. Besides the labour strife and farm tariffs in the Prairie provinces, the election was the first in which the majority of Canadian women were allowed to vote, thanks to reforms passed by the Conservatives. Five women also ran for office, agnes Macphail of the Progressive Party was elected as the first woman MP in Canada. Parliament was split three ways by this election, Kings Liberals won a majority government of just one seat but won all of Quebec, much of the Maritime Provinces, and a good portion of Ontario. The Progressive Party, including the United Farmers of Alberta, won the second largest number of seats, dominating the West, Liberal and Conservative candidates were shut out in Alberta, with 10 UFA and two Labour candidates taking the provinces 12 federal seats. The party won one seat east of Ontario, however. Despite winning the second most seats, it declined to form the official opposition and it would be the only Canadian federal election before 1993 in which a party other than the Liberals or the Conservatives won the second most number of seats. The Conservatives lost the most seats up to time of any governing party at the federal level. They won fewer seats than the Progressives but wound up forming the official opposition, the Conservatives won much of Ontario and had some support in the Maritimes and British Columbia but won no seats in the Prairies or in Quebec. Three Independent Labour MPs were elected, J. S. Woodsworth won his seat largely from his role in the 1919 Winnipeg general strike, the government that King formed in the parliament resulting from this election was Canadas first minority government. Although Kings party won a majority of seats at the election. The Liberal Party lost two by-elections to Conservative candidates, but had gained two seats from Progressives who crossed the floor, so its majority was not affected by these losses. From November 25,1924, to the dissolution of parliament, the Progressive caucus was less united than the Liberals or Conservatives, due to the formation of the Ginger Group and the semi-autonomous United Farmers of Alberta group
8.
Canadian federal election, 1917
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The 1917 Canadian federal election was held on December 17,1917, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 13th Parliament of Canada. Described by historian Michael Bliss as the most bitter election in Canadian history, the election resulted in Prime Minister Sir Robert Bordens Unionist government elected with a strong majority and the largest percentage of the popular vote for any party in Canadian history. The previous election had held in 1911 and was won by Bordens Conservatives. Under the law, Canada should have had an election in 1916, however, citing the emergency of the First World War, the government postponed the election largely in hope that a coalition government could be formed, as existed in Britain. Sir Wilfrid Laurier, head of the Liberal Party of Canada, refused to join the coalition over the issue of conscription, Laurier worried that agreeing to Bordens coalition offer would cause that province to abandon the Liberals and perhaps even Canada. Borden proceeded to form a Unionist government, and the Liberal Party split over the issue, many English Canadian Liberal MPs and provincial Liberal parties in English Canada supported the new Unionist government. To ensure victory for conscription, Borden introduced two laws to skew the voting towards the government, the first, the Wartime Elections Act, disenfranchised conscientious objectors and Canadian citizens if they were born in enemy countries and had arrived after 1902. The law also gave female relatives of servicemen the vote, thus, the 1917 election was the first federal election in which some women were allowed to vote. That allowed government officials to guide the strongly pro-conscription soldiers into voting in those ridings where they would be more useful, servicemen were given a ballot with the simple choice of Government or Opposition. The divisive debate ended with the country divided on linguistic lines, the Liberals won 82 seats,62 in Quebec, with many other seats won in provinces such as Manitoba, New Brunswick, and Ontario in ridings with significant French Canadian populations. The three Unionist won seats in Quebec were all in mainly English-speaking ridings and that led to the Francœur Motion in January 1918. Notes, * Party did not nominate candidates in the previous election,1 % change for Government compared to Conservative Party in 1911 election, and for Opposition to Liberal Party. List of Canadian federal general elections List of political parties in Canada 11th Canadian Parliament Argyle, turning Points, The Campaigns That Changed Canada -2011 and Before excerpt and text search ch 6 13th Canadian Parliament Conscription crisis of 1917 Khaki election
9.
Arthur Meighen
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Arthur Meighen PC, QC was a Canadian lawyer and politician. He served two terms as the ninth Prime Minister of Canada, from 10 July 1920 to 29 December 1921 and he was the first Prime Minister born after Confederation, and the only one to represent a riding in Manitoba. Meighen later served for a decade in the Senate of Canada, Arthur Meighen was born on a farm near Anderson, Perth County, Ontario, to Joseph Meighen and Mary Jane Bell. He attended primary school at Blanshard public school in Anderson, where, in addition to being the grandson of the villages first schoolmaster and he took first class honours in mathematics, English, and Latin. He then attended University College at the University of Toronto, where he earned a B. A. in mathematics in 1896, with first-class standing. While there, he met and became a rival of William Lyon Mackenzie King, Meighen then graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School. In 1904 he married Isabel J. Cox, with whom he had two sons and one daughter and he moved to Manitoba shortly after finishing law school. In public, Meighen was a debater, said to have honed his oratory by delivering lectures to empty desks after class. He was renowned for his sharp wit, Meighen was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons in 1908, at the age of 34, defeating incumbent John Crawford when he captured the Manitoba riding of Portage la Prairie. In 1911, Meighen won re-election, this time as a member of the new governing party and he won election again in 1913, after being appointed to Prime Minister Robert Bordens Cabinet as Solicitor General. Meighens fiery, sarcastic, and partisan speeches gained him a following on the Conservative party backbench, who saw him as logical, informed and he gained a following among those in the party who felt Bordens government was aimless. Meighen served as Solicitor General from 26 June 1913 until 25 August 1917, in 1917, he was mainly responsible for implementing mandatory military service as a result of the Conscription Crisis of 1917. Noteworthy was the decision to give votes to conscription supporters. Meighens portfolios were again shifted on 12 October 1917, this time to the positions of Minister of the Interior and he was re-elected in the December 1917 federal election, in which Bordens Unionist government defeated the opposition Laurier Liberals over the conscription issue. In 1919, as acting Minister of Justice and senior Manitoban in the government of Sir Robert Borden, Meighen helped to subdue the Winnipeg General Strike, shortly after the strike ended, he enacted the Section 98 amendments to the Criminal Code to ban association with organizations deemed seditious. It took the return to Ottawa in late July 1919 of Charles Doherty, Minister of Justice, Meighen was re-appointed Minister of Mines on the last day of 1920. During this first term, he was Prime Minister for about a year, Meighen fought the 1921 election under the banner of the National Liberal and Conservative Party in an attempt to keep the allegiance of Liberals who had supported the wartime Unionist government. However, his actions in implementing conscription hurt his partys support in Quebec, while the Winnipeg General Strike and farm tariffs made him unpopular among labour
10.
Speaker of the House of Commons (Canada)
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The Speakers role in presiding over Canadas House of Commons is similar to that of speakers elsewhere in other countries that use the Westminster system. The current Speaker is Geoff Regan, the Speaker with the longest tenure is Peter Milliken who served four consecutive parliaments in 10 years,124 days. In Canada it is the Speakers responsibility to manage the House of Commons and it is also the Speakers duty to act as a liaison with the Senate and the Crown. He is to rule over the house and have the government answer questions during the period as well as keep decorum with the house. The term Speaker originates from the British parliamentary tradition, by convention, Speakers are normally addressed in Parliament as Mister Speaker, for a male, and Madame Speaker, for a female. While the Constitution requires that the Speaker be elected by the House of Commons, however, in 1986 this was changed and they are now selected by secret ballot. The Speaker remains a sitting MP, but only votes on matters in the case of a tie, all MPs except for Cabinet ministers and party leaders are eligible to run for the Speakership. Any MP who does not wish to put his or her name forward must issue a letter withdrawing from the ballot by the day before the vote. The election is presided over by the Dean of the House, currently Louis Plamondon, all candidates who receive less than 5% of the vote are removed from the ballot. If no candidate received less than 5% of the then the MP with the fewest vote drops off. This continues, with a break between ballots, until one candidate receives more than 50% of the vote. In the event of a tie on the ballot, the ballot is taken again. This happened once, in 1993, when Gilbert Parent won over Jean-Robert Gauthier, the winner is escorted to the Speakers chair by the Prime Minister and Leader of the Official Opposition. Scheer was the youngest Speaker in Canadian history, on December 2,2015, Geoff Regan was elected Speaker in a secret ballot by members of the 42nd Parliament over Liberal candidates Denis Paradis, Yasmin Ratansi and Conservative Bruce Stanton. Regan won on the first ballot and is the first speaker from Atlantic Canada in over a hundred years, the Speaker usually comes from among MPs of the governing party. In the 39th Parliament, three members, Peter Milliken, Diane Marleau and Marcel Proulx, ran for Speaker. So far, every Speaker from a party has been a Liberal. The Speaker is required to perform his or her office impartially, Speaker Lucien Lamoureux decided to follow the custom of the Speaker of the British House of Commons and ran in the 1968 election as an independent
11.
Unionist Party (Canada)
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The Unionist Party was a centre-right historical political party in Canada, composed primarily of former members of the Conservative party with some individual Liberal Members of Parliament. It was opposed by the remaining Liberal MPs, who sat as the official opposition, the Unionist Party continued to exist until 1922, at which time the Conservative elements re-formed the Conservative party. Laurier rejected this proposal because of the opposition of his Quebec MPs, public opinion in Quebec was heavily against conscription, influencing the Liberal opposition to it due to the large number of Liberal MPs from Quebec. As an alternative to a coalition with Laurier, on October 12,1917, Borden formed the Union government with a Cabinet of twelve Conservatives, nine Liberals and Independents, robertson, however, was a Tory and not a member of any Labour or socialist party. Supporters of the Borden government ran for parliament as Unionists, while some of the Liberals running as government supporters preferred to call themselves Liberal-Unionist, prime Minister Borden pledged himself during the 1917 campaign to equal suffrage for women. He introduced a bill in 1918 for extending the franchise to women and this tactic split the Liberal Party, those who did not join the Unionist Party ran as Laurier Liberals. The election resulted in an election victory for Borden. The Unionists had never officially a single party, and therefore lacked the structure of an official party. In the 1921 general election, most of the Liberal-Unionist MPs did not join this party, only a handful ran again as Liberal-Unionists or joined Meighens renamed party. Prominent Liberal Unionists who stayed with the Conservatives include Hugh Guthrie, accordingly, they ran in the election under the name National Government party, but did not repeat the success of the Unionist party and failed to form government. Conservative Party of Canada Laurier Liberals List of political parties in Canada Union Government at The Canadian Encyclopedia
