The prime minister of Canada is an official who serves as the primary minister of the Crown, chair of the Cabinet, and thus head of government of Canada. Officially, the prime minister is appointed by the Governor General of Canada, but by constitutional convention, the prime minister must have the confidence of the elected House of Commons. Normally, this is the leader of the party caucus with the greatest number of seats in the house. But if that leader lacks the support of the majority, the governor general can appoint another leader who has that support or may dissolve parliament and call a new election. By constitutional convention, a prime minister holds a seat in parliament and, since the early 20th century, this has more specifically meant the House of Commons. The office is not outlined in any of the documents that constitute the written portion of the Constitution of Canada; executive authority is formally vested in the sovereign and exercised on their behalf by the governor general. The prime ministership is part of Canada's constitutional convention tradition. The office was modelled after that which existed in Britain at the time. John A. Macdonald was commissioned by the Viscount Monck on 24 May 1867, to form the first government of the Canadian Confederation. On 1 July 1867, the first ministry assumed office. The date for which a prime minister begins their term has been determined by the date that he or she is sworn into their portfolio, as an oath of office as prime minister is not required. However, since 1957, the incoming prime minister has sworn an oath as prime minister. Before 1920, prime ministers' resignations were accepted immediately by the governor general and the last day of the ministries were the date he died or the date of resignation. Since 1920, the outgoing prime minister has only formally resigned when the new government is ready to be formed. The Interpretation Act of 1967 states that "where an appointment is made effective or terminates on a specified day, that appointment is considered to be effective or to terminate after the end of the previous day". Thus, although the outgoing prime minister formally resigns only hours before the incoming ministry swears their oaths, both during the day, the ministries are effectively changed at midnight the night before. Some sources, including the Parliament of Canada, apply this convention as far back as 1917. Two prime ministers have died in office: John A. Macdonald (1867–1873, 1878–1891), and John Thompson (1892–1894). All others have resigned, either after losing an election or upon retirement. Though the titular head of Canada is the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom (represented locally by a governor-general), the effective head of government is the prime minister. After a general election, the governor-general calls on the leader of the political party winning the most seats in the House of Commons to become prime minister and to form a government. This is a chronologically ordered list of the prime ministers, from the earliest to the most recent. Sir John Alexander Macdonald (1867–73; 1st time) Alexander Mackenzie (1873–78) Sir John Alexander Macdonald (1878–91; 2nd time) Sir John Abbott (1891–92) Sir John Thompson (1892–94) Sir Mackenzie Bowell (1894–96) Sir Charles Tupper, 1st Baronet (1896) Sir Wilfrid Laurier (1896–1911) Sir Robert Laird Borden (1911–20) Arthur Meighen (1920–21; 1st time) William Lyon Mackenzie King (1921–26; 1st time) Arthur Meighen (1926; 2nd time) William Lyon Mackenzie King (1926–30; 2nd time) Richard Bedford Bennett (1930–35) William Lyon Mackenzie King (1935–48; 3rd time) Louis Saint Laurent (1948–57) John G. Diefenbaker (1957–63) Lester B. Pearson (1963–68) Pierre Elliott Trudeau (1968–79; 1st time) Joe Clark (1979–80) Pierre Elliott Trudeau (1980–84; 2nd time) John N. Turner (1984) Brian Mulroney (1984–93) Kim Campbell (1993) Jean Chrétien (1993–2003) Paul Martin (2003–06) Stephen Harper (2006–15) Justin Trudeau (2015– Incumbent) Source: Britannica Disclaimer: I do not own the photos. They were found by internet search and were edited to make them all the same size. Photos were compiled for educational purposes. Feel free to COMMENT, LIKE and SHARE this video but DO NOT REUPLOAD. Thank you very much for watching! Please SUBSCRIBE and RING the BELL for notifications. LIST TV #listtv