The 18th Canadian Parliament was in session from February 6, 1936 until January 25, 1940. The membership was set by the 1935 federal election on October 14, 1935, and it changed only somewhat due to resignations and by-elections until it was dissolved prior to the 1940 election.
It was controlled by a Liberal Party majority under Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King and the 16th Canadian Ministry. The Official Opposition was the Conservative Party, led first by Richard Bedford Bennett, and later by Robert Manion.
The Speaker was Pierre-François Casgrain. See also List of Canadian electoral districts 1933-1947 for a list of the ridings in this parliament.
The Social Credit Party led by J. H. Blackmore made their first federal appearance in this parliament. It would be an important third party until 1980. The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation led by J.S. Woodsworth also made their first appearance. It, and its successor party, the New Democratic Party, would become a major source of policies that would change the fabric of Canada.
There were six sessions of the 18th Parliament, though the last two were extremely short:
| Session | Start | End |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | February 6, 1936 | June 23, 1936 |
| 2nd | January 14, 1937 | April 10, 1937 |
| 3rd | January 27, 1938 | July 1, 1938 |
| 4th | January 12, 1939 | June 3, 1939 |
| 5th | September 7, 1939 | September 13, 1939 |
| 6th | January 25, 1940 | January 25, 1940 |
Read more about 18th Canadian Parliament: List of Members, By-elections
Famous quotes containing the words canadian and/or parliament:
“We’re definite in Nova Scotia—’bout things like ships ... and fish, the best in the world.”
—John Rhodes Sturdy, Canadian screenwriter. Richard Rossen. Joyce Cartwright (Ella Raines)
“The war shook down the Tsardom, an unspeakable abomination, and made an end of the new German Empire and the old Apostolic Austrian one. It ... gave votes and seats in Parliament to women.... But if society can be reformed only by the accidental results of horrible catastrophes ... what hope is there for mankind in them? The war was a horror and everybody is the worse for it.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)