Premier (Canada) - Name

Name

In a number of provinces they were previously known by the title "prime minister", with "premier" being an informal term used to apply to all prime ministers, even the Prime Minister of Canada. This practice was eventually phased out to avoid confusing the provincial leaders with the federal prime minister, as well as to indicate the distinct nature of the provincial offices. Officially, the last such case outside Quebec was that of W. A. C. Bennett who served as Premier of British Columbia, and styled himself as prime minister until leaving office in 1972.

In Canadian French, the head of government of a province or territory is called premier ministre: the French language does not use a separate term to distinguish the national prime minister from a provincial premier. In Quebec this designation is often translated to prime minister in English. The designation, however, is not exclusive. When they visit Quebec, or when they are described by the Quebec government or many Quebec media, all the other heads of government of the other provinces are also called prime minister in the English version of the official French texts. The name of the province is always added to avoid confusion.

The terms prime minister and premier come from the United Kingdom, where there is only one prime minister/premier. The British prime minister is frequently called the "premier" to this day since there is little chance of confusion in that country. Canada's federal prime minister and premiers are collectively referred to as first ministers, another synonym of British origin.