# Government House Leader

The Government House Leader, officially known as the leader of the Government in the House of Commons of Canada (French: leader du gouvernement à la Chambre des communes du Canada), is the Cabinet minister responsible for planning and managing the government's legislative program in the House of Commons of Canada. Despite the name of the position it does not refer to the prime minister of Canada, who is the head of government.

## History

From 1867 until World War II, prime ministers took upon themselves the responsibilities of being leader of the government in the House of Commons, organizing and coordinating House of Commons business with the other parties. The expansion of government responsibilities during the war led to Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King deciding to delegate the House leadership to one of his ministers. In 1946, the position of government house leader was formally recognized.
In 1968, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau designated the government house leader as president of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada. Under Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, the roles of government house leader and president of the Privy Council were separated in 1989. Under Mulroney and his successors, the position of house leader would often be held by someone who was named a minister of state without any portfolio responsibilities specified. Since 2003, this minister of state status has been obscured in all but the most official circumstances by the use of a "Leader of the Government in the House of Commons" style in its place.
Prime Minister Paul Martin's first House Leader, Jacques Saada was also the minister responsible for democratic reform; however, with the election of a minority government in the 2004 election, Martin appointed Tony Valeri to the position of leader of the government in the House of Commons with no additional responsibilities.

## List of officeholders

Until 2005, the position of government house leader was not technically a cabinet-level post, but rather a parliamentary office, so to qualify for cabinet membership, an individual had to be named to cabinet in some other capacity. For a time, with the position having evolved into a full-time job, government house leaders have been named to cabinet as ministers of state with no portfolio specified. The Martin government created these positions so that the minister of state title is effectively invisible. An amendment to the Salaries Act made this unnecessary by listing the government house leader as a minister.
Key:
| Portrait | Name Electoral district (Birth–Death) | Term of office | Term of office | Party | Party | Prime minister (Ministry) |
| Portrait | Name Electoral district (Birth–Death) | Term start | Term end | Party | Party | Prime minister (Ministry) |
| | Ian Alistair Mackenzie MP for Vancouver Centre (1890–1949) | October 14, 1944 | April 30, 1948 | | Liberal | William Lyon Mackenzie King (16th) |
| | Alphonse Fournier MP for Hull (1893–1961) | May 1, 1948 | May 8, 1953 | | Liberal | William Lyon Mackenzie King (16th) |
| | Alphonse Fournier MP for Hull (1893–1961) | May 1, 1948 | May 8, 1953 | | Liberal | Louis St. Laurent (17th) |
| | Walter Edward Harris MP for Grey—Bruce (1904–1999) | May 9, 1953 | April 12, 1957 | | Liberal | Louis St. Laurent (17th) |
| | Howard Charles Green MP for Vancouver Quadra (1895–1989) | October 14, 1957 | July 18, 1959 | | Progressive Conservative | John Diefenbaker (18th) |
| | Gordon Churchill MP for Winnipeg South Centre (1898–1985) | January 14, 1960 | February 5, 1963 | | Progressive Conservative | John Diefenbaker (18th) |
| | Jack Pickersgill MP for Bonavista—Twillingate (1905–1997) | May 16, 1963 | December 21, 1963 | | Liberal | Lester B. Pearson (19th) |
| | Guy Favreau MP for Papineau (1917–1967) | February 18, 1964 | October 29, 1964 | | Liberal | Lester B. Pearson (19th) |
| | George McIlraith MP for Ottawa West (1908–1992) | October 30, 1964 | May 3, 1967 | | Liberal | Lester B. Pearson (19th) |
| | Allan MacEachen MP for Inverness—Richmond (1921–2017) | May 4, 1967 | April 23, 1968 | | Liberal | Lester B. Pearson (19th) |
| | Donald Stovel Macdonald MP for Rosedale (1932–2018) | September 12, 1968 | September 23, 1970 | | Liberal | Pierre Trudeau (20th) |
| | Allan MacEachen MP for Cape Breton Highlands—Canso (1921–2017) | September 24, 1970 | May 9, 1974 | | Liberal | Pierre Trudeau (20th) |
| | Mitchell Sharp MP for Eglinton (1911–2004) | August 8, 1974 | September 13, 1976 | | Liberal | Pierre Trudeau (20th) |
| | Allan MacEachen MP for Cape Breton Highlands—Canso (1921–2017) | September 14, 1976 | March 26, 1979 | | Liberal | Pierre Trudeau (20th) |
| | Walter Baker MP for Nepean—Carleton (1930–1983) | June 4, 1979 | March 2, 1980 | | Progressive Conservative | Joe Clark (21st) |
| | Yvon Pinard MP for Drummond (born 1940) | March 3, 1980 | June 29, 1984 | | Liberal | Pierre Trudeau (22nd) |
| | André Ouellet MP for Papineau (born 1939) | June 30, 1984 | November 4, 1984 | | Liberal | John Turner (23rd) |
| | Ray Hnatyshyn MP for Saskatoon West (1934–2002) | November 5, 1984 | June 29, 1986 | | Progressive Conservative | Brian Mulroney (24th) |
| | Don Mazankowski MP for Vegreville (1935–2020) | June 30, 1986 | April 2, 1989 | | Progressive Conservative | Brian Mulroney (24th) |
| | Doug Lewis MP for Simcoe North (born 1938) | April 3, 1989 | February 22, 1990 | | Progressive Conservative | Brian Mulroney (24th) |
| | Harvie Andre MP for Simcoe North (1940–2012) | February 23, 1990 | June 24, 1993 | | Progressive Conservative | Brian Mulroney (24th) |
| | Doug Lewis MP for Simcoe North (born 1938) | June 25, 1993 | November 3, 1993 | | Progressive Conservative | Kim Campbell (25th) |
| | Herb Gray MP for Windsor West (1931–2014) | November 4, 1993 | April 27, 1997 | | Liberal | Jean Chrétien (26th) |
| | Don Boudria MP for Glengarry–Prescott–Russell (born 1949) | June 11, 1997 | January 14, 2002 | | Liberal | Jean Chrétien (26th) |
| | Ralph Goodale MP for Wascana (born 1949) | January 15, 2002 | May 25, 2002 | | Liberal | Jean Chrétien (26th) |
| | Don Boudria MP for Glengarry–Prescott–Russell (born 1949) | May 26, 2002 | December 11, 2003 | | Liberal | Jean Chrétien (26th) |
| | Jacques Saada MP for Brossard—La Prairie (born 1947) | December 12, 2003 | July 20, 2004 | | Liberal | Paul Martin (27th) |
| | Tony Valeri MP for Hamilton East—Stoney Creek (born 1957) | July 20, 2004 | January 23, 2006 | | Liberal | Paul Martin (27th) |
| | Rob Nicholson MP for Niagara Falls (born 1952) | February 6, 2006 | January 4, 2007 | | Conservative | Stephen Harper (28th) |
| | Peter Van Loan MP for York—Simcoe (born 1963) | January 4, 2007 | October 29, 2008 | | Conservative | Stephen Harper (28th) |
| | Jay Hill MP for Prince George—Peace River (born 1952) | October 30, 2008 | August 6, 2010 | | Conservative | Stephen Harper (28th) |
| | John Baird MP for Ottawa West—Nepean (born 1969) | August 6, 2010 | May 18, 2011 | | Conservative | Stephen Harper (28th) |
| | Peter Van Loan MP for York—Simcoe (born 1963) | May 18, 2011 | November 4, 2015 | | Conservative | Stephen Harper (28th) |
| | Dominic LeBlanc MP for Beauséjour (born 1967) | November 4, 2015 | August 19, 2016 | | Liberal | Justin Trudeau (29th) |
| | Bardish Chagger MP for Waterloo (born 1980) | August 19, 2016 | November 20, 2019 | | Liberal | Justin Trudeau (29th) |
| | Pablo Rodriguez MP for Honoré-Mercier (born 1967) | November 20, 2019 | October 26, 2021 | | Liberal | Justin Trudeau (29th) |
| | Mark Holland MP for Ajax (born 1974) | October 26, 2021 | July 26, 2023 | | Liberal | Justin Trudeau (29th) |
| | Karina Gould MP for Burlington (born 1987) (on parental leave January 8—late July 2024) | July 26, 2023 | January 8, 2024 | | Liberal | Justin Trudeau (29th) |
| | Steven MacKinnon (interim) MP for Gatineau (born 1966) | January 8, 2024 | July 19, 2024 | | Liberal | Justin Trudeau (29th) |
| | Karina Gould MP for Burlington (born 1987) (on parental leave January 8—late July 2024) | July 19, 2024 | January 24, 2025 | | Liberal | Justin Trudeau (29th) |
| | Steven MacKinnon MP for Gatineau (born 1966) | January 24, 2025 | March 14, 2025 | | Liberal | Justin Trudeau (29th) |
| | Arielle Kayabaga MP for London West (born 1990 or 1991) | March 14, 2025 | Present | | Liberal | Mark Carney (30th) |