Global political history

Global political history from 3000 BC to the 21st century – political leaders, elections, and more.

Political parties of Canada

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Current political parties

Bloc Québécois

Leader of the Bloc Québécois
Lucien Bouchard

Date of birth/date of death: b. December 22 1938.

1990 – 1996


Conservative Party of Canada

Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada
Stephen Joseph Harper

Date of birth/date of death: b. April 30 1959.

2004 – 2015

Andrew James Scheer

Date of birth/date of death: b. May 20 1979.

2017 – 2020

Pierre Marcel Poilievre

Date of birth/date of death: b. June 3 1979.

2022 – present


Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada
Peter Gordon MacKay

Date of birth/date of death: b. September 27 1965.

2004 – 2015


Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada in the Senate
Marjory LeBreton

Date of birth/date of death: b. July 4 1940.

2006 – 2013


Liberal Party of Canada

Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada
George Brown

Date of birth/date of death: b. November 29 1818; d. May 9 1880

Other offices held: Joint Premier of the Province of Canada West (1858)

1867 – 1873

Alexander Mackenzie

Date of birth/date of death: b. January 28 1822; d. April 17 1892.

1873 – 1880

Dominick Edward Blake

Date of birth/date of death: b. October 13 1833; d. March 1 1912.

1880 – 1887

Sir Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier

Date of birth/date of death: b. November 20 1841; d. February 17 1919

1887 – 1919

William Lyon Mackenzie King

Date of birth/date of death: b. December 17 1874; d. July 22 1950

1919 – 1948

Louis Stephen St. Laurent

Date of birth/date of death: b. February 1 1882; d. July 25 1973

1948 – 1958

Lester Bowles Pearson

Date of birth/date of death: b. April 23 1897; d. December 27 1972

1958 – 1968

Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau

Date of birth/date of death: b. October 18 1919; d. September 28 2000

1968 – 1984

John Napier Wyndham Turner

Date of birth/date of death: b. June 7 1929; d. September 19 2020.

1984 – 1990

Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien

Date of birth/date of death: b. January 11 1934.

1990 – 2003

Paul Edgar Philippe Martin

Date of birth/date of death: b. August 28 1938.

2003 – 2006

Michael Grant Ignatieff*

Date of birth/date of death: b. May 12 1947

*Note: Acting Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, 2008 – 2009.

2008 – 2011

Robert Keith “Bob” Rae*

Date of birth/date of death: b. August 2 1948.

2011 – 2013

Justin Pierre James Trudeau

Date of birth/date of death: b. December 25 1971.

2013 – present


Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada
Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien

Date of birth/date of death: b. January 11 1934.

1984 – 1986

Michael Grant Ignatieff

Date of birth/date of death: b. May 12 1947

2006 – 2009


President of the National Liberal Federation
Charles Vincent Massey

Date of birth/date of death: b. February 20 1887; d. December 30 1967

1932 – 1935


Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada in the Senate
Sir Oliver Mowat

Date of birth/date of death: b. July 22 1820; d. April 19 1903.

1896 – 1897

David Mills

Date of birth/date of death: b. March 18 1831; d. May 8 1903.

1897 – 1902

Sir Richard John Cartwright

Date of birth/date of death: b. December 4 1835; d. September 24 1912.

1909 – 1912

Sir George William Ross

Date of birth/date of death: b. September 18 1841; d. March 7 1914.

1912 – 1914

Raoul Dandurand

Date of birth/date of death: b. November 4 1861; d. March 11 1942.

1919 – 1942

Joseph James Guillaume Paul Martin

Date of birth/date of death: b. June 23 1903; d. September 14 1992

1968 – 1974


Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada in the House of Commons
John Whitney “Jack” Pickersgill

Date of birth/date of death: b. June 23 1905; d. November 14 1997.

1963


New Democratic Party

Leader of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
James Shaver Charleston Woodsworth

Date of birth/date of death: b. July 29 1874; d. March 21 1942.

1932 – 1942

Hazen Robert Argue

Date of birth/date of death: b. January 6 1921; d. October 2 1991.

1960 – 1961

Leader of the New Democratic Party
Thomas Clement “Tommy” Douglas

Date of birth/date of death: b. October 20 1904; d. February 24 1986

1961 – 1971

John Edward “Ed” Broadbent

Date of birth/date of death: b. March 21 1936; d. January 11 2024.

1975 – 1989


Leader of the New Democratic Party in the House of Commons
Stanley Howard Knowles

Date of birth/date of death: b. June 18 1908; d. June 9 1997

1962 – 1981


Whip of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation in the House of Commons
Stanley Howard Knowles

Date of birth/date of death: b. June 18 1908; d. June 9 1997

1944 – 1958

Whip of the New Democratic Party in the House of Commons
Stanley Howard Knowles

Date of birth/date of death: b. June 18 1908; d. June 9 1997

1962 – 1972


Communist Party of Canada

Chair of the Communist Party of Canada
Timothy “Tim” Buck

Date of birth/date of death: b. January 6 1891; d. March 11 1973.

1962 – 1973


General Secretary of the Communist Party of Canada
Timothy “Tim” Buck

Date of birth/date of death: b. January 6 1891; d. March 11 1973.

1929 – 1962




Defunct political parties

Canadian Action Party

Leader of the Canadian Action Party
Paul Theodore Hellyer

Date of birth/date of death: b. August 6 1923; d. August 8 2021.

1997 – 2003


Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance

Leader of the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance
Stephen Joseph Harper

Date of birth/date of death: b. April 30 1959.

2002 – 2003


Conservative Party of Canada

Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada
Sir John Alexander Macdonald

Date of birth/date of death: b. January 10/11 1815; d. June 6 1891

Other offices held: Prime Minister of Canada (1867 – 1873; 1878 – 1891); Joint Premier of the Province of Canada (1856 – 1867); Member of the Parliament of Canada (1867 – 1891); Minister of Justice and Attorney General (1867 – 1873); Leader of the Official Opposition (1873 – 1878); Minister of the Interior (1878 – 1883); Superintendent-General of Indian Affairs (1878 – 1887); President of the Privy Council (1883 – 1889); Superintendent-General of Indian Affairs (1888); Minister of the Interior (1888); Minister of Railways and Canals (1889 – 1891)

1867 – 1891

John Joseph Caldwell Abbott

Date of birth/date of death: b. March 12 1821; d. October 30 1893

1891 – 1892

Sir John Sparrow David Thompson

Date of birth/date of death: b. November 10 1845; d. December 12 1894

Note: This was a caretaker government.

1892 – 1894

Sir Mackenzie Bowell

Date of birth/date of death: b. December 27 1823; d. December 10 1917.

1894 – 1896

Sir Charles Tupper, 1st Baronet

Date of birth/date of death: b. July 2 1821; d. October 30 1915.

Note: This was a caretaker government.

1896 – 1901

Sir Robert Laird Borden

Date of birth/date of death: b. June 26 1854; d. June 10 1937

1901 – 1920

Arthur Meighen

Date of birth/date of death: b. June 16 1874; d. August 5 1960

1920 – 1926

Hugh Guthrie*

Date of birth/date of death: b. August 13 1866; d. November 3 1939.

1926 – 1927

Richard Bedford Bennett

Date of birth/date of death: b. July 3 1870; d. June 26 1947

1927 – 1938

Robert James Manion

Date of birth/date of death: b. November 19 1881; d. July 2 1943.

1938 – 1940

Arthur Meighen

Date of birth/date of death: b. June 16 1874; d. August 5 1960

1941 – 1942


Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada in the Senate
Sir Mackenzie Bowell

Date of birth/date of death: b. December 27 1823; d. December 10 1917.

1893 – 1906


Progressive Party of Canada

Leader of the Progressive Party of Canada
Thomas Alexander Crerar

Date of birth/date of death: b. June 17 1876; d. April 11 1975.

1920 – 1922


Progressive Conservative Party of Canada

Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
John Bracken

Date of birth/date of death: b. June 22 1883; d. March 18 1969.

1942 – 1948

George Alexander Drew

Date of birth/date of death: b. May 7 1894; d. January 4 1973

1948 – 1956

William Earl Rowe*

Date of birth/date of death: b. May 13 1894; d. February 9 1984.

1956

John George Diefenbaker

Date of birth/date of death: b. September 18 1895; d. August 16 1979

1956 – 1967

Robert Lorne Stanfield

Date of birth/date of death: b. April 11 1914; d. December 16 2003

1967 – 1976

Charles Joseph “Joe” Clark

Date of birth/date of death: b. June 5 1939

1976 – 1983

Martin Brian Mulroney

Date of birth/date of death: b. March 20 1939; d. February 29 2024.

1983 – 1993

Avril Phaedra Douglas “Kim” Campbell

Date of birth/date of death: b. March 10 1947.

1993

John James “Jean” Charest

Date of birth/date of death: b. June 24 1958.

1993 – 1998

Elsie Eleanore Wayne*

Date of birth/date of death: b. April 20 1932; d. August 23 2016.

1998

Charles Joseph “Joe” Clark

Date of birth/date of death: b. June 5 1939

1998 – 2003

Peter Gordon MacKay

Date of birth/date of death: b. September 27 1965.

2003


Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in the Senate
Walter Morley Aseltine

Date of birth/date of death: b. September 3 1886; d. November 14 1971

1958 – 1962


Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in the House of Commons
Gordon Minto Churchill

Date of birth/date of death: b. November 8 1898; d. August 3 1985.

1960 – 1965

Michael Starr

Date of birth/date of death: b. November 15 1910; d. March 16 2000.

1965 – 1968


President of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
Léon Balcer

Date of birth/date of death: b. October 13 1917; d. March 22 1991.

1956 – 1959

Dalton Kingsley Camp

Date of birth/date of death: b. September 11 1920; d. March 18 2002.

1964 – 1967


Reform Party of Canada

Leader of the Reform Party of Canada
Ernest Preston Manning

Date of birth/date of death: b. June 10 1942.

1987 – 2000