Leader of the Official Opposition
Chef de l'Opposition officielle
Incumbent Pierre Poilievre since August 18, 2025
Official Opposition Parliament of Canada
Style	The Honourable
Member of	House of Commons
Residence	Stornoway
Seat	West Block (whileCentre Block is under renovation)
Term length	While leader of the largest party not in government
Inaugural holder	Alexander Mackenzie
Formation	March 6, 1873
Salary	$309,700 (2025)[1]

Theleader of the Official Opposition (French:chef de l'Opposition officielle) is themember of Parliament (MP) who leads theOfficial Opposition in Canada. This is typically the leader of the party possessing the most seats in theHouse of Commons that is neither the governing party nor part of a governing coalition.

Pierre Poilievre, MP forBattle River—Crowfoot, has been the leader of the Official Opposition since August 2025. Poilievre previously served in the role from September 2022 to April 2025, when he lost his seat inCarleton in the2025 federal election. He was elected to his current seat in anAugust by-election, once again becoming leader of the Opposition.

The office should not be confused withOpposition House leader, who is a frontbencher charged with managing the business of the Opposition in the House of Commons and is formally titledLeader of the Opposition in the House of Commons. There is also aleader of the Opposition in the Senate, who is usually of the same party as the leader of the Opposition in the house.

The termleader of the opposition is used in theParliament of Canada Act^[2] and theStanding Orders of the House of Commons,^[3] as is the termofficial opposition.^[4] The termsleader of the loyal opposition,his majesty's opposition,^[5] andloyal opposition are sometimes used,^[6] but are not in either the act or the standing orders. The wordloyal is used to communicate the party's loyalty tomonarch of Canada – as the nonpartisanpersonification of the nation and the state's authority – even as its members oppose the governing party.^[5]

The leader of the Opposition is entitled to the same levels of pay and protection as aCabinet minister and is often made a member of theKing's Privy Council, generally the only non-government member of the House of Commons afforded that privilege. The leader of the Opposition is entitled to reside at the official residence ofStornoway and ranks thirteenth on theOrder of Precedence, after Cabinet ministers and beforelieutenant governors of the provinces. In the House of Commons seating plan, the leader of the Opposition sits directly across from theprime minister.

During the1st Canadian Parliament, the position of the leader of the opposition was not clearly established. TheLiberal Party sat on the opposition benches, but it remained a loose coalition of various interests and chose not to name a leader until becoming a more united group.^[7] Several historians note thatJohn Sandfield Macdonald was granted the seat reserved for the Opposition leader, though he was an ally ofJohn A. Macdonald^[a] and the two had campaigned together in the preceding election.^[8][9][10] As Sandfield Macdonald was concurrentlyPremier of Ontario,^[b] he did not play a major role in holding the government to account. Instead,Alexander Mackenzie emerged as a prominent opponent of the government, with some historians describing him as thede facto leader of the Opposition from 1869.^[11][12] Mackenzie was recognized as Leader of the Opposition in 1873, after formally assuming the leadership of the Liberal Party.

Despite its importance in theWestminster system, the role was not enshrined in law until 1905. In proposing the measure, Prime MinisterWilfrid Laurier said "the leader of the opposition under our system is just as much a part of the constitutional system of government as the Prime Minister himself."^[13] The leader was also granted a $7,000 allowance, per session, in addition to his salary as MP. According to Dean E. Henry, this "made Canada the first entity in theBritish Empire, probably the first in the world, to pay a state salary to an opposition leader."^[14]

Two leaders of the Opposition have died in office:Wilfrid Laurier in 1919 andJack Layton in 2011.^[15]

Portrait	Name Electoral district (Birth–Death)	Term of office		Party		Prime minister Party
		Term start[16]	Term end[16]
	Alexander Mackenzie MP forLambton (1822–1892)	March 6, 1873	November 5, 1873		Liberal		Sir John A. Macdonald Liberal-Conservative
	SirJohn A. Macdonald MP forKingston (1815–1891)	November 6, 1873	October 16, 1878		Liberal-Conservative		Alexander Mackenzie Liberal
	Alexander Mackenzie MP forLambton (1822–1892)	October 17, 1878	April 27, 1880		Liberal		Sir John A. Macdonald Liberal-Conservative
Vacant April 27 – May 3, 1880
	Edward Blake MP forDurham West (1833–1912)	May 4, 1880	June 2, 1887		Liberal
Vacant June 3 – 22, 1887
	Wilfrid Laurier MP forQuebec East (1841–1919)	June 23, 1887	July 10, 1896		Liberal
							Sir John Abbott Liberal-Conservative
							Sir John Thompson Liberal-Conservative
							Sir Mackenzie Bowell Conservative
							Sir Charles Tupper Conservative
	SirCharles Tupper[c] MP forCape Breton (1821–1915)	July 11, 1896	February 5, 1901		Conservative		Sir Wilfrid Laurier Liberal
	Robert Borden MP forHalifax (until 1904, from 1908) MP forCarleton (1905–1908) (1854–1937)	February 6, 1901	October 9, 1911
	SirWilfrid Laurier MP forQuebec East (1841–1919)	October 10, 1911	February 17, 1919[d]		Liberal		Sir Robert Borden Conservative Unionist
	Daniel Duncan McKenzie[e] MP forCape Breton North and Victoria (1859–1927)	February 17, 1919	October 20, 1919
	William Lyon Mackenzie King MP forPrince (1874–1950)	October 20, 1919	December 28, 1921
							Arthur Meighen Conservative
Vacant[f] December 29, 1921 – January 25, 1922							William Lyon Mackenzie King Liberal
	Arthur Meighen MP forGrenville (1922–1925) MP forPortage la Prairie (from 1925) (1874–1960)	January 26, 1922	June 28, 1926		Conservative
	William Lyon Mackenzie King MP forPrince Albert (1874–1950)	June 29, 1926	September 24, 1926		Liberal		Arthur Meighen Conservative
Vacant[g] September 25 – October 10, 1926							William Lyon Mackenzie King Liberal
	Hugh Guthrie[h] MP forWellington South (1866–1939)	October 11, 1926	October 11, 1927		Conservative
	R. B. Bennett MP forCalgary West (1870–1947)	October 12, 1927	August 6, 1930
	William Lyon Mackenzie King MP forPrince Albert (1874–1950)	August 7, 1930	October 22, 1935		Liberal		R. B. Bennett Conservative
	R. B. Bennett MP forCalgary West (1870–1947)	October 23, 1935	July 6, 1938		Conservative		William Lyon Mackenzie King Liberal
Vacant[i] July 6, 1938 – November 15, 1938
	Robert James Manion MP forLondon (1881–1943)	November 15, 1938	May 13, 1940		Conservative
	Richard Hanson[j] MP forFredericton (1879–1948)	May 14, 1940	January 1, 1943
					Progressive Conservative[k]
	Gordon Graydon[l] MP forPeel (1896–1953)	January 1, 1943	June 10, 1945		Progressive Conservative
	John Bracken MP forNeepawa (1883–1969)	June 11, 1945	July 20, 1948
Vacant[m] July 21 – December 20, 1948
	George A. Drew MP forCarleton (1894–1973)	December 20, 1948	November 1, 1954		Progressive Conservative
							Louis St. Laurent Liberal
	William Earl Rowe[n] MP forDufferin—Simcoe (1894–1984)	November 1, 1954	February 1, 1955
	George A. Drew MP forCarleton (1894–1973)	February 1, 1955	August 1, 1956
	William Earl Rowe[o] MP forDufferin—Simcoe (1894–1984)	August 1, 1956	December 13, 1956
	John Diefenbaker MP forPrince Albert (1895–1979)	December 14, 1956	June 20, 1957
	Louis St. Laurent MP forQuebec East (1882–1973)	June 21, 1957	January 16, 1958		Liberal		John Diefenbaker Progressive Conservative
	Lester B. Pearson MP forAlgoma East (1897–1972)	January 16, 1958	April 22, 1963
	John Diefenbaker MP forPrince Albert (1895–1979)	April 22, 1963	September 9, 1967		Progressive Conservative		Lester B. Pearson Liberal
	Michael Starr[p] MP forOntario (1910–2000)	September 9, 1967	November 6, 1967
	Robert Stanfield MP forColchester—Hants (1967–1968) MP forHalifax (from 1968) (1914–2003)	November 6, 1967	February 22, 1976
							Pierre Trudeau Liberal
	Joe Clark MP forRocky Mountain (born 1939)	February 22, 1976	June 4, 1979
	Pierre Trudeau MP forMount Royal (1919–2000)	June 4, 1979	March 3, 1980		Liberal		Joe Clark Progressive Conservative
	Joe Clark MP forYellowhead (born 1939)	March 3, 1980	February 2, 1983		Progressive Conservative		Pierre Trudeau Liberal
	Erik Nielsen[q] MP forYukon (1924–2008)	February 2, 1983	August 29, 1983
	Brian Mulroney MP forCentral Nova (1939–2024)	August 29, 1983	September 17, 1984
							John Turner Liberal
	John Turner MP forVancouver Quadra (1929–2020)	September 17, 1984	February 8, 1990		Liberal		Brian Mulroney Progressive Conservative
	Herb Gray[r] MP forWindsor West (1931–2014)	February 8, 1990	December 10, 1990
	Jean Chrétien MP forBeauséjour (born 1934)	December 10, 1990	November 4, 1993
							Kim Campbell Progressive Conservative
	Lucien Bouchard MP forLac-Saint-Jean (born 1938)	November 4, 1993	January 15, 1996		Bloc Québécois		Jean Chrétien Liberal
	Gilles Duceppe[s] MP forLaurier—Sainte-Marie (born 1947)	January 15, 1996	February 17, 1996
	Michel Gauthier MP forRoberval—Lac-Saint-Jean (1950–2020)	February 17, 1996	March 15, 1997
	Gilles Duceppe MP forLaurier—Sainte-Marie (born 1947)	March 15, 1997	June 2, 1997
	Preston Manning MP forCalgary Southwest (born 1942)	June 2, 1997	March 27, 2000		Reform
	Deborah Grey[t] MP forEdmonton North (born 1952)	March 27, 2000	September 11, 2000		Canadian Alliance
	Stockwell Day MP forOkanagan—Coquihalla (born 1950)	September 11, 2000	December 12, 2001
	John Reynolds MP forWest Vancouver– Sunshine Coast (born 1942)	December 12, 2001	May 21, 2002
	Stephen Harper MP forCalgary Southwest (born 1959)	May 21, 2002	January 9, 2004
							Paul Martin Liberal
	Grant Hill[u] MP forMacleod (born 1943)	January 9, 2004	March 20, 2004
					Conservative[v]
	Stephen Harper MP forCalgary Southwest (born 1959)	March 20, 2004	February 6, 2006		Conservative
	Bill Graham[w] MP forToronto Centre (1939–2022)	February 6, 2006	December 2, 2006		Liberal		Stephen Harper Conservative
	Stéphane Dion MP forSaint-Laurent–Cartierville (born 1955)	December 2, 2006	December 10, 2008
	Michael Ignatieff[x] MP forEtobicoke–Lakeshore (born 1947)	December 10, 2008	May 2, 2011
	Jack Layton MP forToronto–Danforth (1950–2011)	May 2, 2011	August 22, 2011[d]		New Democratic
	Nycole Turmel[y] MP forHull—Aylmer (born 1942)	August 22, 2011	March 24, 2012
	Tom Mulcair MP forOutremont (born 1954)	March 24, 2012	November 4, 2015
	Rona Ambrose[z] MP forSturgeon River—Parkland (born 1969)	November 4, 2015	May 27, 2017		Conservative		Justin Trudeau Liberal
	Andrew Scheer MP forRegina—Qu'Appelle (born 1979)	May 27, 2017	August 24, 2020
	Erin O'Toole MP forDurham (born 1973)	August 24, 2020	February 2, 2022
	Candice Bergen[aa] MP forPortage—Lisgar (born 1964)	February 2, 2022	September 10, 2022
	Pierre Poilievre MP forCarleton (born 1979)	September 10, 2022	April 28, 2025
							Mark Carney Liberal
Vacant[ab] April 28, 2025 – May 6, 2025
	Andrew Scheer[ac] MP forRegina—Qu'Appelle (born 1979)	May 6, 2025	August 18, 2025		Conservative
	Pierre Poilievre MP forBattle River—Crowfoot (born 1979)	August 18, 2025	present

Portrait	Name Electoral district (Birth–Death)	Term of office		Party		Leader of the Opposition
		Term start	Term end
	Denis Lebel[17] MP forLac-Saint-Jean (born 1954)	November 19, 2015	July 24, 2017		Conservative	Rona Ambrose
						Andrew Scheer
	Lisa Raitt[18] MP forMilton (born 1968)	July 24, 2017	October 21, 2019
	Leona Alleslev[19] MP forAurora–Oak Ridges–Richmond Hill (born 1968)	November 28, 2019	July 12, 2020
	Candice Bergen[20][21] MP forPortage–Lisgar (born 1964)	September 2, 2020	February 2, 2022			Erin O'Toole
	Luc Berthold[22] MP forMégantic—L'Érable (born 1965 or 1966)	February 6, 2022	September 13, 2022			Candice Bergen
	Melissa Lantsman MP forThornhill (born 1984)	September 13, 2022	Incumbent			Pierre Poilievre Andrew Scheer Pierre Poilievre
	Tim Uppal MP forEdmonton Gateway (born 1974)	September 13, 2022	Incumbent

TheOfficial Opposition Shadow Cabinet in Canada is composed of members of the main opposition party and is responsible for holding the government to account and for developing and disseminating the party's policy positions. Members of the Official Opposition are generally referred to as opposition critics, but the term Shadow Minister (which is generally used in other Westminster systems) is also used.

• Opposition House Leader
• Leader of the Opposition in the Senate (Canada)

• Leaders of the Official OppositionArchived February 23, 2024, at theWayback Machine – Library of Parliament
• Leader of the OppositionArchived February 23, 2024, at theWayback Machine – The Canadian Encyclopedia

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