# Party whip (Canada)

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 his or her 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.

## 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!"
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. Since 2025, at the start of the 30th Canadian Ministry, the position has been elevated to cabinet rank.
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: Rechie Valdez
* Deputy Government Whip: N/A
* Chief Opposition Whip: Kerry-Lynne D. Findlay
* Deputy Chief Opposition Whip: Chris Warkentin
* Bloc Québécois Whip: Claude DeBellefeuille
* NDP Whip: Heather McPherson

## List of Chief Government Whips

| Thomas Mayne Daly | 1872–1873 | under Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald |
| George Elliott Casey | 1874–1878 | under Prime Minister Alexander Mackenzie |
| Rufus Stephenson | 1878–1882 | under Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald |
| Arthur Trefusis Heneage Williams | 1882–1885 | under Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald |
| Paul-Étienne Grandbois | 1885–1891 | under Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald |
| George Taylor | 1891–1892 | under Prime Minister Sir John Abbott |
| George Taylor | 1892–1894 | under Prime Minister Sir John Thompson |
| George Taylor | 1894–1896 | under Prime Minister Sir Mackenzie Bowell |
| George Taylor | 1896 | under Prime Minister Sir Charles Tupper |
| James Sutherland | 1896–1900 | under Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier |
| William Samuel Calvert | 1901–1909 | under Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier |
| Frederick Forsyth Pardee | 1909–1911 | under Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier |
| John Stanfield | 1911–1917 | under Prime Minister Sir Robert Borden |
| William Sora Middlebro | 1918–1920 | under Prime Minister Sir Robert Borden |
| William Sora Middlebro | 1920–1921 | under Prime Minister Arthur Meighen |
| George William Kyte | 1921–1925 | under Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King |
| Pierre-François Casgrain | 1926 | under Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King |
| William Alves Boys | 1926 | under Prime Minister Arthur Meighen |
| Pierre-François Casgrain | 1926–1930 | under Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King |
| Thomas Edward Simpson | 1930–1935 | under Prime Minister R. B. Bennett |
| Ross Gray | 1937–1940 | under Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King |
| William Horace Taylor | 1940–1945 | under Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King |
| William Gilbert Weir | 1945–1948 | under Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King |
| William Gilbert Weir | 1948–1957 | under Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent |
| Elston Cardiff | 1957–1958 | under Prime Minister John Diefenbaker |
| John Pallett | 1959–1962 | under Prime Minister John Diefenbaker |
| Théogène Ricard | 1962–1963 | under Prime Minister John Diefenbaker |
| Alexis Caron | 1963 | under Prime Minister Lester Pearson |
| James Edgar Walker | 1963–1965 | under Prime Minister Lester Pearson |
| Bernard Pilon | 1966–1968 | under Prime Minister Lester Pearson |
| Bernard Pilon | 1968–1970 | under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau |
| Lloyd Francis | 1970-1971 | under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau |
| Grant Deachman | 1971–1972 | under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau |
| Thomas Lefebvre | 1972–1975 | under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau |
| Joseph-Philippe Guay | 1975–1977 | under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau |
| Gus MacFarlane | 1977–1979 | under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau |
| Bill Kempling | 1979–1980 | under Prime Minister Joe Clark |
| Charles Turner | 1980–1984 | under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau |
| Chuck Cook | 1984–1985 | under Prime Minister Brian Mulroney |
| Thomas Fennell | 1985–1988 | under Prime Minister Brian Mulroney |
| Jim Hawkes | 1988–1993 | under Prime Minister Brian Mulroney |
| Jim Edwards | 1993 | under Prime Minister Kim Campbell |
| Alfonso Gagliano | 1993–1994 | under Prime Minister Jean Chrétien |
| Don Boudria | 1994–1996 | under Prime Minister Jean Chrétien |
| Bob Kilger | 1996–2001 | under Prime Minister Jean Chrétien |
| Marlene Catterall | 2001–2003 | under Prime Minister Jean Chrétien |
| Mauril Bélanger | 2003–2004 | under Prime Minister Paul Martin |
| Karen Redman | 2004–2006 | under Prime Minister Paul Martin |
| Jay Hill | 2006–2008 | under Prime Minister Stephen Harper |
| Gordon O'Connor | 2008–2013 | under Prime Minister Stephen Harper |
| John Duncan | 2013–2015 | under Prime Minister Stephen Harper |
| Andrew Leslie | 2015–2017 | under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau |
| Pablo Rodríguez | 2017–2018 | under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau |
| Mark Holland | 2018–2021 | under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau |
| Steven MacKinnon | 2021–2024 | under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau |
| Ruby Sahota | 2024–2024 | under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau |
| Mona Fortier | 2024–2025 | under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau |
| Rechie Valdez | 2025-present | under Prime Minister Mark Carney |