In
Canada
, Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition (
), commonly known as the Official Opposition, is
usually the largest parliamentary opposition party in the House of Commons or a provincial
legislative assembly that is
not in government either on its own or as part of a governing
coalition. This is usually the second-largest party in a
legislative house, although in certain unusual circumstances, it
may be a third or fourth party or even the largest party.
The Official Opposition is viewed as the caucus tasked with keeping
the government in check. It is also generally viewed as the
alternative government or "government in waiting". The Official
Opposition maintains a
shadow cabinet
of
Members of Parliament (MPs)
that often have the same portfolios as actual ministers. They are
known as opposition "critics", or "spokespersons".
It is styled as "Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition" to show that,
although the group may be against the sitting government, it
remains loyal to the
Crown (the
embodiment of the Canadian state), and thus to Canada.
Advantages
The leader of the Opposition party is called the "
Leader of the Opposition."
This
position comes with an official residence in Ottawa
known as
Stornoway
, and the salary and perks of a cabinet
minister.
The Official Opposition party has advantages over other
opposition parties in the House. They
are assigned to speak first after the government, and receives more
time in question period than other opposition parties. It also gets
more funding for research and staff than other parties.
History
After the
1921
election, the
Progressive Party, a looseknit
largely-agrarian "protest" party, won the second largest amount of
seats to
William Lyon
Makenzie King's Liberals, but declined to be the Official
Opposition because of their lack of national organization. The
third-place Conservative Party, led by
Arthur Meighen, thus became the Official
Opposition.
As a result of the
1925
election, the Official Opposition was actually the largest
party in the House of Commons, the Conservatives. The Liberals, led
by Mackenzie King, were able to form a
minority government despite the fact
that they had a dozen fewer seats than the Conservatives because
King's Liberals were able to win the support of the Progressives to
remain in government. Similarly, in Ontario, the
Ontario Progressive
Conservative Party had the largest caucus but were relegated to
official opposition not long after the 1985 election, as their
minority government was defeated on a motion of non-confidence. The
Ontario Liberal Party, the
second largest party, governed from 1985 to 1987 with supply
provided by the
Ontario New
Democratic Party.
In 1993, the
Reform Party
challenged whether the
Quebec sovereigntist
Bloc Québécois
could hold the position of official opposition. The
Speaker ruled in
favour of the Bloc, as they held two more seats than Reform. During
the Bloc's time as the official opposition, Quebec issues on
national unity dominated Question Period, often to the irritation
of the other opposition parties (indeed, Reform was the only other
caucus that met official party status, with the NDP and PC parties
falling short of that threshold). However, Reform was considered to
be main opposition to the Liberals on all other issues that were
not specific to Quebec. In 1995, when Bloc leader
Lucien Bouchard's position as Opposition
Leader granted him a meeting with visiting US President
Bill Clinton, Reform leader
Preston Manning was also given a meeting
with Clinton in order to diffuse Bouchard's separatist
leverage.
The current Official Opposition is the
Liberal Party of Canada.
Senate
There is also an Official Opposition in the
Canadian Senate. This is the largest party
in the Senate that is not in government. As the governing party is
determined in the House of Commons, the Official Opposition in the
Senate may actually be larger than the government party in the
Senate. It is customary, however, for the Senate to pass
legislation approved in the House of Commons even if the government
has a minority in the Senate. Although the Senate nominally has the
power to block most legislation (excepting bills which would
trigger a
non-confidence
motion if defeated in the House, such as money bills), this
power is rarely exercised in practice.
The party that forms Official Opposition in the Senate is not
necessarily the same party as in the House of Commons, however.
From 1993 to 2003, the Official Opposition in the Senate was the
Progressive
Conservative Party of Canada, even though the Bloc Québécois
from the Official Opposition in the House from 1993 to 1997,
followed by the
Reform Party of
Canada, and then the
Canadian
Alliance from 1997 to 2003. This is because the BQ, and Reform
Party had no Senators. However, when Senator
Gerry St. Germain crossed the floor from the Progressive
Conservatives to the Canadian Alliance in 2000, he argued that he
should be recognized as
Leader of the
Opposition in the Senate as the
Canadian Alliance formed the Official
Opposition in the House of Commons. The
Speaker of the Canadian
Senate ruled against him, however, as the Progressive
Conservatives were the larger opposition party.
Lists of Official Oppositions
Notes
0 The
Liberal-Conservative Party became
the Conservative Party in 1873, however some members still sat and
were elected as Liberal-Conservatives after the change.
1 From 1921 to 1924, the
Progressive Party of Canada had
more MPs than the
Conservative
Party, but it turned down the chance of being Official
Opposition, and the position passed to the Tories.
2 The Conservative Party became the Progressive
Conservative Party in 1945.
3 House of Commons only. The Progressive Conservative
Party formed the Official Opposition in the Senate during this
period.
4 The Reform Party became the Canadian Alliance in
2000.
5 The Canadian Alliance and the Progressive Conservative
Party merged to form the Conservative Party in 2004.
References
- [1]
External links
See also
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