In Canada, the leader of the Opposition in the Senate () is the leader of the largest party in the Senate not in government.
Even though the position's name is very similar to the leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons (the Opposition House leader), the leader of the Opposition in the Senate's role is more analogous to the leader of the Official Opposition because its holder is the leader of the party's Senate caucus. The responsibilities that, in the House of Commons, are done by the house leaders—including day-to-day scheduling of business—are undertaken in the Senate by Government and Opposition deputy leaders and Opposition whips.
Selection
Since it is the House of Commons of Canada that determines what party(ies) form government, the size of party caucuses in the Senate bear no relation to which party forms the government side in the Senate and which party forms the opposition. Thus, the leader of the Opposition in the Senate may lead more senators than the leader of the Government in the Senate. Since senators normally have longer tenure than MPs, this is often the case immediately following a change in government, until the new prime minister can appoint more people from their party.
There are no set rules governing the manner in which the position is filled from within caucuses. When the Conservative Party (and its predecessor, the Progressive Conservative Party) have been in opposition, the party's Senate caucus has historically elected its own leader, although as noted by John Williams in a 1956 book on the Conservative Party, it may choose to follow the wishes of the national leader.John R. Williams, The Conservative Party of Canada 1920 to 1949, Duke University Press, 1956, pg. 193. The traditional practice of the Liberal party in opposition had been for the party leader to select their leader in the Senate.
The leader of the Opposition in the Senate is not necessarily from the same party as the opposition in the House of Commons. From 1993 until 2003, the leader of the Opposition in the Senate was a Progressive Conservative, though the Progressive Conservatives were not the Official Opposition in the House of Commons; this was because the Official Opposition in the Commons (Bloc Québécois, Reform, Canadian Alliance) did not have Senate representation. This scenario repeated itself following the results of the 2011 election that saw the Liberal Party lose Official Opposition status in the House to the New Democratic Party, but since the NDP had no representation in the Senate, the Liberals continued to form the Official Opposition in the Senate.
The Official Opposition also does not need to be linked to a party in the Commons. This was determined on January 29, 2014, after Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau announced that all Liberal Senators would no longer be members of the national Liberal caucus. When the Senate met in the afternoon, Senator Jim Cowan informed the Senate that the Liberal Senators intended to self-designate as Liberals, as well as sit and act together as a caucus. Following a lengthy discussion, the Senate Speaker ruled that the Liberal Senators met the definition under the Senate rules of being a caucus of at least five Senators of the same political party, that the rules state that the leader of the Opposition in the Senate is the head of the party other than the government party with the most Senators, and that "as has been indicated by Senator Cowan, he has been elected by his colleagues and, therefore, meets the definition of the leader of the Opposition in the Senate." (Debates of the Senate, January 29, 2014).
List of leaders of the Opposition in the Senate
No. Portrait Name Term of officeParty1Luc Letellier de St-JustSenator for Grandville, Quebec(1820–1881)July 1,1867November 5,1873Liberal2Alexander CampbellSenator for Cataraqui, Ontario(1822–1892)November 5,1873October 8,1878Conservative3Sir Richard William ScottSenator for Ottawa, Ontario(1825–1913)October 8,1878April 27,1896Liberal4Sir Mackenzie BowellSenator for Hastings, Ontario(1823–1917)April 27,1896March 1,1906Conservative5(1 of 2)James Alexander LougheedSenator for Calgary, Alberta(1854–1925)April 1,1906October 6,1911Conservative6Sir Richard John CartwrightSenator for Oxford, Ontario(1835–1912)October 6,1911September 24,1912Liberal7Sir George William RossSenator for Middlesex, Ontario(1841–1914)September 24,1912March 7,1914Liberal8(1 of 2)Hewitt BostockSenator for Kamloops, British Columbia(1864–1930)March 19,1914January 1,1919Liberal9(1 of 3)Raoul DandurandSenator for De Lorimier, Quebec(1861–1942)January 1,1919December 31,1919Liberal8(2 of 2)Hewitt BostockSenator for Kamloops, British Columbia(1864–1930)January 1,1920December 28,1921Liberal5(2 of 2)Sir James Alexander LougheedSenator for Calgary, Alberta(1854–1925)December 28,1921November 2,1925Conservative10(1 of 2)William Benjamin RossSenator for De Lorimier, Quebec(1855–1929)January 1,1926June 28,1926Conservative9(2 of 3)Raoul DandurandSenator for De Lorimier, Quebec(1861–1942)June 29,1926December 31,1926Liberal10(2 of 2)William Benjamin RossSenator for De Lorimier, Quebec(1855–1929)December 31,1926January 10,1929Conservative11Wellington WilloughbySenator for Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan(1859–1932)January 11,1929August 7,1930Conservative9(3 of 3)Raoul DandurandSenator for De Lorimier, Quebec(1861–1942)August 7,1930October 22,1935Liberal12Arthur MeighenSenator for St. Mary's, Ontario(1874–1960)October 22,1935January 16,1942Conservative13Charles BallantyneSenator for Alma, Quebec(1867–1950)January 16,1942September 11,1945ConservativeProgressive Conservative14John Thomas HaigSenator for Winnipeg, Manitoba(1877–1962)September 12,1945June 20,1957Progressive Conservative15William Ross MacdonaldSenator for Brantford, Ontario(1891–1976)June 20,1957April 21,1963Liberal16Alfred Johnson BrooksSenator for Royal, New Brunswick(1890–1967)April 22,1963October 31,1967Progressive Conservative17(1 of 2)Jacques FlynnSenator for Rougemont, Quebec(1915–2000)October 31,1967June 3,1979Progressive Conservative18Ray PerraultSenator for North Shore-Burnaby, British Columbia(1926–2008)June 3,1979March 2,1980Liberal17(2 of 2)Jacques FlynnSenator for Rougemont, Quebec(1915–2000)March 3,1980September 16,1984Progressive Conservative19Allan MacEachenSenator for Highlands-Canso, Nova Scotia(1921–2017)September 16,1984November 30,1991Liberal20Royce FrithSenator for Glen Tay, Ontario(1923–2005)November 30,1991October 25,1993Liberal21John Lynch-StauntonSenator for Grandville, Quebec(1930–2012)October 25,1993September 30,2004Progressive ConservativeConservative22Noël KinsellaSenator for Fredericton-York-Sunbury, New Brunswick(1939–2023)October 1,2004February 7,2006Conservative23Dan HaysSenator for Calgary, Alberta(born 1939)February 8,2006January 18,2007Liberal24Céline Hervieux-PayetteSenator for Bedford, Quebec(born 1941)January 18,2007November 3,2008Liberal25Jim CowanSenator for Nova Scotia(born 1942)November 3,2008November 5,2015LiberalSenate Liberal Caucus26Claude CarignanSenator for Mille Isles, Quebec(born 1964)November 5,2015March 31,2017Conservative27Larry SmithSenator for Saurel, Quebec(born 1951)April 1,2017November 5,2019Conservative28Don PlettSenator for Manitoba(born 1950)November 5,2019May 14,2025Conservative29Leo HousakosSenator for Quebec (Wellington)(born 1968)May 14,2025IncumbentConservative
See also
Representative of the Government in the Senate Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons (Canada) Leader of the Opposition (Canada)
References