Member of Parliament (Canada)

Federal representative elected by Canadian voters

Member of Parliament
Député

Members of Parliament debate in the Centre Block in Ottawa, 2018

Occupation

Occupation type

| Politician

Activity sectors

* Politics
* government

Description
Competencies|

* Law
* public speaking
* decision-making
* budgeting
* communications

Related jobs

* Senator
* government minister
* member of Provincial Parliament
* member of the Legislative Assembly
* city councillor

Politics of Canada

Government (structure)

The Crown

* Monarch (list): Charles III
* Governor General (list): Mary Simon
* Monarchy in the provinces
* Lieutenant governors
* Royal prerogative

Executive

* King’s Privy Council
* Prime minister (List of prime ministers): Mark Carney
* Cabinet (List of Canadian ministries): 30th Canadian Ministry
* President of the Privy Council
* Clerk of the Privy Council
* Privy Council Office
* Public Service
* Provincial and territorial executive councils
* Premiers

Legislative

* Federal parliament (List of parliaments)
* Senate
* Speaker of the Senate
* Government Leader in the Senate
* Opposition Leader in the Senate
* Senate divisions
* House of Commons
* Speaker of the house
* Government Leader in the house
* Opposition Leader in the house
* His Majesty's Loyal Opposition
* Leader of the Opposition
* Shadow cabinet
* Provincial and territorial parliaments

Judicial

* Supreme court (List of justices)
* Chief Justice of Canada: Richard Wagner
* Courts of the Provinces and Territories
* Federal courts
* Military courts
* Constitution
* Constitution Acts
* Peace, order, and good government
* Charter of Rights and Freedoms

Elections

* Federal electoral districts
* Federal electoral system (List of federal elections)
* Provincial electoral districts
* Politics of the provinces

Local government

* Municipal government

Foreign relations

* Global Affairs Canada

Minister: Mélanie Joly

* * *

* Diplomatic missions of / in Canada

* * *

* Nationality law
* Passport
* Visa requirements
* Visa policy

* * *

* Canada–Latin America relations
* Canada–European Union relations
* Proposed annexation of Turks and Caicos Islands

Crown and Indigenous peoples

* Canadian Aboriginal law
* Aboriginal self-government
* First Nations bands
* Indigenous law
* Indigenous Peoples in Canada
* Métis
* Inuit Nunangat

Related topics

* Conservatism
* Constitutional law
* Federalism
* Liberalism
* Office-holders
* Political culture
* Provinces and territories
* Regions
* Republicanism

* Canada portal
* Politics portal

* Other countries

* * *

Category

* v
* t
* e

A member of Parliament (post-nominal letters: MP; French: député, [depyte]) is an elected politician in the House of Commons of Canada, the lower house of the Parliament of Canada.

## Terminology

[edit]

The term's primary use is in reference to the members of the House of Commons. In legislation, it can also refer to the members of the Senate of Canada, but in common usage, the title senator (French: sénateur (masculine), sénatrice (feminine)) is typically used. By contrast, no such alternate title exists for members of the House of Commons. A less ambiguous term for members of both chambers is parliamentarian.[1]

MPs each represent an individual electoral district, also known as a constituency or riding. MPs are elected using the first-past-the-post system in a general election or by-election, usually held every four years or less. In contrast, the 105 members of the Senate are appointed by the Crown on the advice of the prime minister.

## Representation

[edit]

Seats are distributed among the provinces in proportion to population, as determined by each decennial census, subject to the following exceptions made by the Constitution of Canada. Firstly, the "Senate floor" guarantees that each province will have at least as many elected MPs as senators.[2] Secondly, the "grandfather clause" guarantees each province has at least as many seats now as it had allocated in the 1985 Representation Act.[2]

Following the 2022 Canadian federal electoral redistribution, the number of members is 343.[3][4]

## Oath and affirmation

[edit]

The oath for members of Parliament has stood the same since Confederation; according to Section IX.128 of the Constitution Act, 1867: "Every member of the Senate and the House of Commons of Canada shall before taking his Seat therein take and subscribe before the Governor General or some Person authorized by him, and every Member of a Legislative Council or Legislative Assembly of any Province shall before the Lieutenant Governor of the Province or some Person authorized by him, the Oath of Allegiance contained in the Fifth Schedule to the Act."[5] The oath set out in said schedule is: I, [name], do swear, that I will be faithful and bear true Allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Victoria, with the further instruction that "the name of the King or Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland for the Time being is to be substituted from Time to Time, with Proper Terms of Reference thereto." The oath reads as follows:

> I, [name], do swear, that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King Charles III.[6]

Or in French:

> Je, [nom], jure que je serai fidèle et porterai une vraie allégeance à Sa Majesté le Roi Charles III.[7]

For those parliamentarians whose religion prohibits the swearing of oaths, there exists a compromise affirmation, first instituted in 1905:

> I, [name], do solemnly, sincerely and truly affirm and declare the taking of an oath is according to my religious belief unlawful, and I do also solemnly, sincerely and truly affirm and declare that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King Charles III.[8]

## Number of members

[edit]

Parliament(s)  | Years  | # of Ridings  | +/–

|
|
|

1st | 1867–1872  | 180  |
2nd | 1872–1874  | 200  |  20
3rd, 4th | 1874–1882  | 206  |  6
5th | 1882–1887  | 211  |  5
6th, 7th | 1887–1896  | 215  |  4
8th, 9th | 1896–1904  | 213  |  2
10th | 1904–1908  | 214  |  1
11th, 12th | 1908–1917  | 221  |  7
13th, 14th | 1917–1925  | 235  |  14
15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th | 1925–1949  | 245  |  10
21st | 1949–1953  | 262  |  17
22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th, 27th | 1953–1968  | 265  |  3
28th, 29th, 30th | 1968–1979  | 264  |  1
31st, 32nd, 33rd | 1979–1988  | 282  |  18
34th, 35th | 1988–1997  | 295  |  13
36th, 37th | 1997–2004  | 301  |  6
38th, 39th, 40th, 41st | 2004–2015  | 308  |  7
42nd, 43rd, 44th | 2015–2025  | 338  |  30
45th | Since 2025  | 343  |  5

## Privileges

[edit]

Parliamentarians enjoy parliamentary privilege, as derived from common law.[9]

In 2024, the annual salary of each MP was CA$203,100. Members may receive additional sums by virtue of other positions or functions they hold, such as that of Prime Minister, Speaker of the House or a Minister of the Crown.[10]

## See also

[edit]

* Member of parliament

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Government of Canada, Department of Justice (December 2, 1999). "Legistics - Members of Parliament". www.justice.gc.ca. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
2. ^ a b Qualter, Terence H. and John M. Wilson (September 18, 2015). "Redistribution of Federal Electoral Districts | The Canadian Encyclopedia". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
3. ^ Paas-Lang, Christian (March 4, 2023). "Canada's federal riding map is about to change — and even small shifts could have big impacts". CBC News. Retrieved April 30, 2025.
4. ^ Canada, Elections; Canada, Élections. "Elections Canada Web Site". www.elections.ca. Archived from the original on April 29, 2025. Retrieved May 8, 2025.
5. ^ Victoria (July 1, 1867), Constitution Act, 1867, IX.128, Westminster: Parliament of the United Kingdom, retrieved April 1, 2009
6. ^ Victoria 1867, Fifth Schedule
7. ^ le Clère, René (Summer 2003), "Serment d'allégeance à la Reine dénaturé par des députés souverainistes du Québec!" (PDF), Canadian Monarchist News, 7 (4), Toronto: Monarchist League of Canada, archived from the original (PDF) on July 8, 2009, retrieved January 13, 2009
8. ^ Marleau, Robert; Montpetit, Camille (2000), House of Commons Procedure and Practice, Ottawa: Queen's Printer for Canada, p. 176
9. ^ Shaw, McCarthy Tétrault LLP-Byron; Goldenberg, Adam; Azimov, Rauf (October 6, 2020). "Court of Appeal for Ontario rules that parliamentary privilege prevents Mike Duffy from suing the Senate | Lexology". www.lexology.com. Retrieved February 27, 2021.
10. ^ "Indemnities, Salaries and Allowances". lop.parl.ca. Retrieved September 3, 2022.

## External links

[edit]

* List of current House of Commons members Archived December 13, 2019, at the Wayback Machine

* v
* t
* e

Canadian legislative bodies

Parliament of Canada|

* Sovereign
* Senate
* House of Commons
* Members
* List

Legislative assemblies|

* Alberta (list)
* British Columbia (list)
* Manitoba (list)
* New Brunswick (list)
* Newfoundland and Labrador (list)
* Northwest Territories (list)
* Nova Scotia (list)
* Nunavut (list)
* Ontario (list)
* Prince Edward Island (list)
* Quebec (list)
* Saskatchewan (list)
* Yukon (list)

Indigenous assemblies|

* Haida Council
* Grand Council of the Crees
* Nisgaʼa Lisims
* Nunatsiavut Assembly
* Six Nations Elected Council

Defunct bodies|

| Provincial upper houses|

* Manitoba
* New Brunswick
* Newfoundland
* Nova Scotia
* Prince Edward Island
* Quebec

|

Territorial bodies|

* Keewatin (Council)
* Northwest Territories (Temporary Council, 1st Council, 2nd Council)

Pre-Confederation bodies|

* British Columbia colonies
* Mainland
* Vancouver Island
* United Colony
* Lower Canada
* Parliament
* Council
* Assembly
* Special Council
* Newfoundland
* Commission
* Province of Canada
* Parliament
* Council
* Assembly
* Province of Quebec
* Council
* Red River Colony
* Council
* Assembly
* Upper Canada
* Parliament
* Council
* Assembly

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template