34th Canadian Parliament

The 34th Canadian Parliament was in session from December 12, 1988, until September 8, 1993. The membership was set by the 1988 federal election on November 21, 1988, and it changed only somewhat due to resignations and by-elections until it was dissolved prior to the 1993 election.

There were three sessions of the 34th Parliament: SessionStartEnd 1st December 12, 1988 February 28, 1989 2nd April 3, 1989 May 12, 1991 3rd May 13, 1991 September 8, 1993

Overview The 34th Canadian Parliament was controlled by a Progressive Conservative Party majority, led first by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and the 24th Canadian Ministry, and then Prime Minister Kim Campbell and the 25th Canadian Ministry. The official opposition was the Liberal Party, led first by John Turner, and after 1990, by Jean Chrétien.

Party standings

The party standings as of the election and as of dissolution were as follows: AffiliationHouse membersSenate members1988 electionresultsAt dissolutionOn electionday 1988At dissolution169156365883815741434400010000100**0355Total members295295981040060Total seats295104*** * After dissolution but before turning over power to Kim Campbell, Brian Mulroney filled all Senate vacancies with Progressive Conservative members, for a total caucus of 58. ** There was one Reform senator in the middle of the 34th Parliament. *** In the middle of the 34th Parliament, Brian Mulroney used a little-known clause in the constitution to fill the Senate above its normal seat limit by eight, to 112.

Major events

Failure of the Meech Lake Accord Beginning in the mid 80s, The Canadian government held a series of talks in hopes of convincing the province of Quebec to sign onto the Canadian Constitution. The government's proposal consisted of two major proposals. The first allowed for recognition of Quebec as a “distinct society" within Canada. The second gave additional powers to the provinces. It would allow them to opt out of federal programs if they had an equivalent program provincially and gave them some responsibilities for selecting members of the senate and supreme court.

Though the accord was initial popular, its support waned and eventually both Manitoba and Newfoundland failed to ratify it in their provincial legislatures. In Manitoba, MLA Elijah Harper, a member of the Cree Nation refused to give the necessary consent to bring the accord forward for debate. Harper cited Canada's failure to bring Aboriginal people into the country's political process as the source of his objection. Seeing that Manitoba had stalled in its ratification process, Newfoundland premiere Clyde Wells took the opportunity to discard the accord, which he had never liked.

Formation of the Bloc Québécois After the failure of the Meech Lake Accord, MP Lucien Bouchard left the Progressive Conservative caucus to form his own party. Throughout 1990, he was joined by five Progressive Conservative MPs (Gilbert Chartrand, François Guérin, Nic Leblanc, Louis Plamondon and Benoît Tremblay) and two Liberal MP (Jean Lapierre, Gilles Rocheleau). Gilles Duceppe was elected to the party in a by-election in Laurier–Sainte-Marie on August 13th 1990. In total, the party had ten members at the dissolution of the 34th parliament.

Ministry

The 24th Canadian Ministry was formed at the beginning of the 33rd Canadian Parliament and lasted for the majority of the 34th Canadian Parliament. The 25th Canadian Ministry was formed near the end of the 34th Canadian Parliament and lasted approximately 2 months.

Officeholders

Head of State OfficePhotoNameAssumed officeLeft officeSovereignElizabeth IIFebruary 6, 1952September 8, 2022Governor GeneralJeanne SauvéMay 14,1984January 29, 1990Ray HnatyshynJanuary 29, 1990February 8, 1995

Party leadership PartyPhotoNameAssumed OfficeLeft OfficeProgressive Conservative Brian MulroneyJune 11, 1983June 13, 1993Kim CampbellJune 25, 1993November 4, 1993LiberalJohn TurnerJune 16, 1984June 23, 1990Jean ChrétienJune 23, 1990November 14, 2003New DemocraticEd BroadbentJuly 7, 1975December 5, 1989 Audrey McLaughlinDecember 5, 1989October 14, 1995Bloc Québécois Lucien BouchardJuly 25, 1990January 16, 1996ReformPreston ManningNovember 1, 1987March 25, 2000 Parliamentarians House of Commons Members of the House of Commons in the 34th parliament arranged by province.

Key: Party leaders are italicized. Parliamentary secretaries is indicated by "". Cabinet ministers are in boldface. The Prime Minister is both. The Speaker is indicated by "()".

Newfoundland RidingMemberPolitical partyFirst elected / previously electedNo. of termsBonavista—Trinity—ConceptionFred MifflinLiberal19881st termBurin—St. George'sRoger SimmonsLiberal1979, 19883rd term*Gander—Grand-FallsGeorge BakerLiberal19745th termHumber—St. Barbe—Baie VerteBrian TobinLiberal19803rd termLabradorBill RompkeyLiberal19726th termSt. John's EastRoss Reid Progressive Conservative19881st termSt. John's WestJohn CrosbieProgressive Conservative19765th term

Prince Edward Island RidingMemberPolitical partyFirst elected / previously electedNo. of termsCardiganLawrence MacAulayLiberal19881st termEgmontJoe McGuireLiberal19881st termHillsboroughGeorge ProudLiberal19881st termMalpequeCatherine CallbeckLiberal19881st term

Nova Scotia RidingMemberPolitical partyFirst elected / previously electedNo. of termsAnnapolis Valley—HantsPat NowlanProgressive Conservative19658th termIndependent Conservative ¥Cape Breton Highlands—CansoFrancis LeBlancLiberal19881st termCape Breton—East RichmondDavid DingwallLiberal19803rd termCape Breton—The SydneysRussell MacLellanLiberal19794th termCentral NovaElmer MacKayProgressive Conservative1971, 19847th term*Cumberland—ColchesterBill CaseyProgressive Conservative19881st termDartmouthRon MacDonaldLiberal19881st termHalifaxMary ClancyLiberal19881st termHalifax WestHoward Crosby Progressive Conservative19785th termSouth Shore Peter McCreath Progressive Conservative19881st termSouth West Nova Coline CampbellLiberal1974, 1980, 19883rd term* ¥ Pat Nowlan quit the Tory party on October 24, 1990, to protest against the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax. He sat as an "Independent Conservative" for the remainder of the parliament.

New Brunswick RidingMemberPolitical partyFirst elected / previously electedNo. of termsBeauséjourFernand Robichaud (until September 1990)Liberal 19842nd termJean Chrétien (from December 1990)*Liberal 1963, 19909th term*Carleton—CharlotteGreg ThompsonProgressive Conservative19881st termFrederictonBud BirdProgressive Conservative19881st termFundy—RoyalRobert CorbettProgressive Conservative19785th termGloucesterDoug YoungLiberal19881st termMadawaska—VictoriaBernard ValcourtProgressive Conservative19842nd termMiramichiMaurice DionneLiberal1974, 19884th term*MonctonGeorge RideoutLiberal19881st termRestigouche—ChaleurGuy ArseneaultLiberal19881st termSaint JohnGerald MerrithewProgressive Conservative19841st term * When Jean Chrétien was elected Liberal leader in 1990, Fernand Robichaud stepped aside 24 September 1990 to cause a by-election that would allow Chrétien to enter Parliament. Chrétien was elected in the December 10 by-election.

Quebec