The 31st Canadian Parliament was a briefly lived parliament in session from October 9 until December 14, 1979. The membership was set by the 1979 federal election on May 22, 1979, and it was dissolved after the minority government of Joe Clark failed to pass a Motion of Confidence on December 13, 1979. The dissolution of parliament led to the 1980 federal election. Lasting only 66 days from first sitting to dissolution, and only nine months from election to election, the 31st was the shortest parliament in Canadian history.
| 31st Parliament of Canada | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Minority parliament | |||
| 9 October 1979 – 14 December 1979 | |||
.svg) | |||
| Parliament leaders | |||
| Prime Minister | Rt. Hon. Joe Clark June 4, 1979 – March 3, 1980 | ||
| Cabinet | 21st Canadian Ministry | ||
| Leader of the Opposition | Rt. Hon. Pierre Trudeau June 4, 1979 – March 2, 1980 | ||
| Party caucuses | |||
| Government | Progressive Conservative Party | ||
| Opposition | Liberal Party | ||
| Recognized | New Democratic Party | ||
| Unrecognized | Social Credit Party | ||
| House of Commons | |||
 Seating arrangements of the House of Commons | |||
| Speaker of the Commons | Hon. James Jerome September 30, 1974 – February 17, 1980 | ||
| Government House Leader | Hon. Walter Baker October 9, 1979 – December 14, 1979 | ||
| Opposition House Leader | Hon. Allan MacEachen October 9, 1979 – December 14, 1979 | ||
| Members | 282 MP seats List of members | ||
| Senate | |||
.svg) Seating arrangements of the Senate | |||
| Speaker of the Senate | Hon. Allister Grosart October 5, 1979 – March 3, 1980 | ||
| Government Senate Leader | Hon. Jacques Flynn June 4, 1979 – March 2, 1980 | ||
| Opposition Senate Leader | Hon. Ray Perrault May 22, 1979–December 31, 1979 | ||
| Senators | 104 senator seats List of senators | ||
| Sovereign | |||
| Monarch | Elizabeth II 6 February 1952 – 8 September 2022 | ||
| Sessions | |||
| 1st session October 9, 1979 – December 14, 1979 | |||
| |||
The 31st Parliament was controlled by a Progressive Conservative Party minority led by Prime Minister Joe Clark and the 21st Canadian Ministry. The Official Opposition was the Liberal Party, led by former prime minister Pierre Trudeau.
The Speaker was James Jerome. See also List of Canadian electoral districts 1976-1987 for a list of the ridings in this parliament.
There was only one session of the 31st Parliament:
| Session | Start | End |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | October 9, 1979 | December 14, 1979 |
Party standings
The party standings as of the election and as of dissolution were as follows:
| Affiliation | House members | Senate members[1] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 election results | At dissolution | On election day 1979[2] | At dissolution | ||
| Progressive Conservative | 136 | 136 | 18 | 28 | |
| Liberal | 114 | 114 | 73 | 71 | |
| New Democratic | 26 | 27 | 0 | 0 | |
| Social Credit | 6 | 5 | 1 | 1 | |
| Independent | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | |
| Independent Liberal | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Total members | 282 | 282 | 92 | 103 | |
| Vacant | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | |
| Total seats | 282 | 104 | |||
Members of the House of Commons
Members of the House of Commons in the 31st parliament arranged by province.
Newfoundland
- * Donald Jamieson resigned from parliament and was replaced by Roger Simmons in a September 19, 1979, by-election
Prince Edward Island
Nova Scotia
New Brunswick
Quebec
Ontario
Manitoba
Saskatchewan
- *John Diefenbaker died on August 16, 1979; Stan Hovdebo won the following November 19th by-election to fill his seat
Alberta
British Columbia
Northern Territories
| Riding | Member | Political party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nunatsiaq | Peter Ittinuar | New Democrat | |
| Western Arctic | Dave Nickerson | Progressive Conservative | |
| Yukon | Erik Nielsen | Progressive Conservative | |
By-elections
| By-election | Date | Incumbent | Party | Winner | Party | Cause | Retained | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prince Albert | November 19, 1979 | John Diefenbaker | Progressive Conservative | Stan Hovdebo | New Democratic | Death (heart attack) | No | ||
| Burin—St. George's | September 19, 1979 | Don Jamieson | Liberal | Roger Simmons | Liberal | Resignation | Yes | ||
References
- Government of Canada. "21st Ministry". Guide to Canadian Ministries since Confederation. Privy Council Office. Retrieved 2006-11-09.
- Government of Canada. "31st Parliament". Members of the House of Commons: 1867 to Date: By Parliament. Library of Parliament. Archived from the original on 2006-12-20. Retrieved 2006-11-30.
- Government of Canada. "Duration of Sessions". Library of Parliament. Archived from the original on 2007-11-14. Retrieved 2006-05-12.
- Government of Canada. "General Elections". Library of Parliament. Archived from the original on 2006-05-04. Retrieved 2006-05-12.
- Government of Canada. "Key Dates for each Parliament". Library of Parliament. Archived from the original on 2005-09-14. Retrieved 2006-05-12.
- Government of Canada. "Leaders of the Opposition in the House of Commons". Library of Parliament. Archived from the original on 2007-03-11. Retrieved 2006-05-12.
- Government of Canada. "Party Standings (1974 to date): At the Senate". Library of Parliament. Retrieved 2007-04-24.
- Government of Canada. "Prime Ministers of Canada". Library of Parliament. Archived from the original on 27 April 2006. Retrieved 2006-05-12.
- Government of Canada. "Speakers". Library of Parliament. Archived from the original on 2006-09-17. Retrieved 2006-05-12.