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A common question I've been hearing lately concerns when the House of Commons will sit again.

In early January, Prime Minister Trudeau prorogued Parliament to allow the Liberal Party time to select his replacement as party leader.
Many have asked if the new Liberal Party leader will automatically become the next Canadian Prime Minister, despite not being elected to that position in a general election.

The short answer is yes—unless Mr. Trudeau asks the Governor General to dissolve Parliament before a new Liberal leader is selected.

Another related question: If the next Liberal Party leader is not currently a Member of Parliament, can they still become Prime Minister?
The short answer is also yes. Under our Westminster Parliamentary system, a Prime Minister can serve without being a Member of Parliament, though this situation is rare.

Here's how this works: In 1984, John Turner, a former Liberal MP, was elected to lead the governing Liberal Party and subsequently became Prime Minister. Since Mr. Turner was not an MP, he could not sit on the House of Commons floor or perform the typical Parliamentary duties of a Prime Minister who holds a seat in Parliament. So his only option was to sit in the guest gallery as an observer.

Obviously, this is not an ideal situation and it resulted in Turner calling a general election that the Liberal Party would lose to the PC Government of Brian Mulroney just a few months later. It should be noted that Mr. Turner was successful in winning his own seat to become an MP and also the Leader of the Official Opposition.

Returning to my original question "When will the House of Commons sit again?"—the House is currently scheduled to resume sitting on March 24th, 2025. However, the outcome of the Liberal Party leadership race to replace Justin Trudeau may alter that timeline.

For example, the next Liberal Party leader (and by extension Prime Minister) might call an immediate election, which would prevent the House of Commons from resuming on March 24th. Under Elections Canada rules, the election campaign (writ period) must last between 37 and 51 days. If an election were called in mid-March, Canadians could have a new government by late April or early May, depending on the campaign length chosen by the Prime Minister.

The timing of when a new government reconvenes the House of Commons after an election lies solely with the newly elected Prime Minister.

Alternatively, the winner of the Liberal Leadership race, and new Prime Minister, may choose to let the House of Commons reconvene as scheduled on March 24th for a potential throne speech and other Parliamentary proceedings.

The Liberal Party of Canada will announce its new leader—who will become the next Prime Minister of Canada—on Saturday, March 9th, less than two weeks from now.

Theoretically, the writ for our next general election could be dropped within days of that announcement.

My question this week—Do you support a new Liberal Prime Minister calling an immediate election, or do you believe Parliament should first resume as scheduled?

I can be reached at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) or call toll-free 1-800-665-8711.

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Dan Albas is the Member of Parliament for the riding of Central Okanagan-Similkameen-Nicola and the Co-Chair of the Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations. In addition, Dan co-chairs an All-Party Parliamentary Cancer Caucus. Dan's riding includes the communities of Kelowna (specific boundaries), West Kelowna, Peachland, Summerland, Keremeos, Hedley, Princeton, Merritt and Logan Lake.
You can reach Dan by calling 1-800-665-8711 or visit: DanAlbasMP.ca
Our mailing address is:
Dan Albas MP
101-3731 Old Okanagan Hwy
West Kelowna, British Columbia V4T 0G7
Canada

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