Leader of The Government in The Senate (Canada) - History

History

Early Canadian cabinets included several senators who would be answerable to the Senate for government actions. In the nineteenth century, it was not considered unusual for a senator to be Prime Minister. Sir John Joseph Caldwell Abbott and Sir Mackenzie Bowell served as prime minister from the Senate. Abbott and Bowell both found it difficult to lead the government from the Senate, however, and over time, the perceived legitimacy of the Senate declined. As time progressed, it became less common for senators to occupy prominent positions in Cabinet. From 1935 on, it was typical for a Cabinet to have only one senator who would have the position of minister without portfolio and act as Government Leader in the Senate. There has only been one Leader of the Government in the Senate who was not included in the Cabinet, William Benjamin Ross who served in the position in 1926.

In 1969, the position of Leader of the Government in the Senate became an official cabinet position in its own right with the appointment of Paul Martin, Sr. (father of Canada's future prime minister, Paul Martin).

Occasionally, senators still hold senior cabinet positions in order to ensure regional balance in Cabinet if the governing party is unable to elect members in a particular region or province, e.g., when the Progressive Conservative Party formed the government under the leadership of Joe Clark in 1979, and when the Liberal Party formed the government under the leadership of Pierre Trudeau in 1980. However, it is usually the case that the Leader of the Government in the Senate is the sole senator serving in Cabinet.

The responsibilities of the Leader of the Government in the Senate include:

1. Planning and managing the government's legislative program in the Senate
2. Answering all questions for the government during the Senate's Question Period
3. Maintaining relations with the Opposition on all matters concerning Senate activities
4. Working with the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons to ensure the effective coordination of the government's legislative programme.

The government side in the Senate is the party that forms the government in the Canadian House of Commons. This means that the government party in the Senate may have fewer seats than the Opposition, particularly when a general election results in a new party forming government.

The current Leader of the Government in the Senate is Marjory LeBreton