In Canada, a party whip is the member of a political party in the House of Commons of Canada, the Senate of Canada or a provincial legislative assembly charged with ensuring party discipline among members of that party's caucus. The whip is also responsible for assigning offices and scheduling speakers from their party for various bills, motions and other proceedings in the legislature.

Responsibilities A party whip works to ensure that the number of party members in the legislature or at committee meetings is adequate to win a vote if one is called. When a vote is called in the legislature, division bells ring until the whips for each party are satisfied that there are sufficient members of their own party present for the vote to proceed.

The whip's role is especially important when there is a minority government or if the government has a slim majority, as the absence of a handful of members during a confidence vote could result in the defeat of the government. Party discipline is strict in Canada, and party members are expected to vote with the rest of their party in all but a few designated free votes.

The chief opposition whip is tasked with ensuring that their fellow members of the Official Opposition caucus maintain party discipline. This includes the responsabilities of distributing vote sheets to caucus members that identify the party's position on each bill or motion, and ensuring the attendance of their party members in sittings of the House of Commons and in parliamentary committees.

Use in Canadian government James E. Walker, chief government whip from 1963 to 1966, commented: "Once you get beyond the taxicab radius of Ottawa, nobody seems to have heard of a Whip. For that matter, nobody in Ottawa, three blocks from the Hill, has ever heard of the Whip either!"James E. Walker, "The Functions of the Whip in Canada", Parliamentarian, Vol. 52, No. 4 (October 1971), p. 260.

The post of chief government whip is not always cabinet-level position. However, the chief government whip may receive a concurrent appointment, such as minister without portfolio or Minister of State, and sit in cabinet by virtue of that position. The position briefly held cabinet rank at the start of the 30th Canadian Ministry, though the post was dropped from cabinet following the 2025 Canadian federal election.

For a time, the Reform Party of Canada publicly styled its parliamentary whip with the title of Caucus Coordinator rather than Whip.

Current Whips

Senate Government Liaison in the Senate: Iris Petten Opposition Whip in the Senate: Judith Seidman

House of Commons Chief Government Whip: Mark Gerretsen Deputy Government Whip: Élisabeth Brière Chief Opposition Whip: Chris Warkentin Deputy Chief Opposition Whip: Rob Moore Bloc Québécois Whip: Yves Perron NDP Whip: N/A

List of chief whips in the House of Commons Chief government whips

The chief government whip maintains party discipline within the government caucus of the House of Commons. Whip Party Tenure Prime minister Thomas Mayne Daly 1872–1873 George Elliott Casey 1874–1878 Rufus Stephenson 1878–1882 Arthur Trefusis Heneage Williams 1882–1885Paul-Étienne Grandbois 1885–1891George Taylor 1891–1892 1892–1894 1894–1896 1896 James Sutherland 1896–1900 William Samuel Calvert 1901–1909Frederick Forsyth Pardee 1909–1911John Stanfield 1911–1917 William Sora Middlebro 1918–19201920–1921 George William Kyte 1921–1925 Pierre-François Casgrain 1926William Alves Boys 1926 Pierre-François Casgrain 1926–1930 Thomas Edward Simpson 1930–1935 Ross Gray 1937–1940 William Horace Taylor 1940–1945William Gilbert Weir 1945–19481948–1957 Elston Cardiff 1957–1958 John Pallett 1959–1962Théogène Ricard 1962–1963Alexis Caron 1963 James Edgar Walker 1963–1965Bernard Pilon 1966–19681968–1970 Lloyd Francis 1970-1971Grant Deachman 1971–1972Thomas Lefebvre 1972–1975Joseph-Philippe Guay 1975–1977Gus MacFarlane 1977–1979Bill Kempling 1979–1980 Charles Turner 1980–1984 Chuck Cook 1984–1985 Thomas Fennell 1985–1988Jim Hawkes 1988–1993Jim Edwards 1993 Alfonso Gagliano 1993–1994 Don Boudria 1994–1996Bob Kilger 1996–2001Marlene Catterall 2001–2003Mauril Bélanger 2003–2004 Karen Redman 2004–2006Jay Hill 2006–2008 Gordon O'Connor 2008–2013John Duncan 2013–2015Andrew Leslie 2015–2017 Pablo Rodríguez 2017–2018Mark Holland 2018–2021Steven MacKinnon – Ruby Sahota – Mona Fortier – – – present

Chief opposition whips

The chief opposition whip () is the party whip from the Official Opposition caucus in the House of Commons of Canada. They are appointed by the leader of the Official Opposition party, who is typically also the leader of the Opposition unless the party leader does not have a seat in the House. The current chief opposition whip is Chris Warkentin of the Conservative Party of Canada. Whip Party Tenure Riding – Leeds South – Leeds – Lambton West – Châteauguay—Huntingdon – Peel – Grenville—Dundas – – Prince Edward—Lennox – Portneuf – Cochrane – Grey—Bruce – Humboldt—Melfort—Tisdale – Saint John—Lancaster – Huron—Bruce – Huron-Middlesex – Edmonton Centre – Pontiac—Gatineau—Labelle – Burlington – North Vancouver—Burnaby – Ottawa—Vanier – Cape Breton—East Richmond – Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel – Laurier—Sainte-Marie – Laval Centre – Fraser Valley – Prince George—Peace River Canadian Alliance – Canadian Alliance – West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast Canadian Alliance – Prince George—Bulkley Valley Canadian Alliance – Yorkton—Melville Canadian Alliance – Wetaskiwin – – Prince George—Peace River – Niagara Falls – Kitchener Centre – Cape Breton—Canso – Hull—Aylmer – Acadie—Bathurst – Hamilton Mountain – Hull—Aylmer – Oxford – Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes – Chilliwack—Hope – Banff—Airdrie – Red Deer—Lacombe – South Surrey—White Rock – present Grande Prairie

See also Chief Whip Party whip (Australia) Elbowgate, a 2016 incident involving the chief opposition whip

Notes

References

External links List of Chief Government and Opposition Whips