23rd Canadian Parliament

The 23rd Canadian Parliament was in session from October 14, 1957, until February 1, 1958. The membership was set by the 1957 federal election on June 10, 1957, and it changed only somewhat due to resignations and by-elections until it was dissolved prior to the 1958 election.

23rd Canadian Parliament
Minority parliament
October 14, 1957 – February 1, 1958
Parliament leaders
Prime Minister	John Diefenbaker June 21, 1957 – April 22, 1963
Cabinet	18th Canadian Ministry
Leader of the Opposition	Louis St. Laurent
	Lester B. Pearson
Party caucuses
Government	Progressive Conservative Party
Opposition	Liberal Party
Crossbench	Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
	Social Credit Party
House of Commons
Seating arrangements of the House of Commons
Members	265 MP seats List of members
Sovereign
Monarch	Elizabeth II February 6, 1952 – September 8, 2022
Sessions
1st session October 14, 1957 – February 1, 1958
← 22nd → 24th

It was the first parliament opened by the Monarch of Canada, and the only parliament formally opened by Queen Elizabeth II herself, rather than her formal representative, the governor general. In 2025, King Charles III opened the 45th Canadian Parliament, marking the second time any monarch has opened parliament.^[1]

It was controlled by a Progressive Conservative Party minority under Prime Minister John Diefenbaker and the 18th Canadian Ministry. The Official Opposition was the Liberal Party, led first by Louis St. Laurent, and then by Lester B. Pearson.

It was the second shortest parliament in Canadian history.

The Speaker was Roland Michener. See also List of Canadian electoral districts 1952–1966 for a list of the ridings in this parliament.

There was only one session of the 23rd Parliament.

List of members

Following is a full list of members of the twenty-third Parliament listed first by province or territory, then by electoral district.

Electoral districts denoted by an asterisk (*) indicates that district was represented by two members.

Alberta

Electoral district		Name	Party
Acadia		Victor Quelch	Social Credit
Athabaska		Joseph Miville Dechene	Liberal
Battle River—Camrose		James Alexander Smith	Social Credit
Bow River		Charles Edward Johnston	Social Credit
Calgary North		Douglas Harkness	Progressive Conservative
Calgary South		Arthur Ryan Smith	Progressive Conservative
Edmonton East		Ambrose Holowach	Social Credit
Edmonton—Strathcona		Sydney Herbert Thompson	Social Credit
Edmonton West		Marcel Lambert	Progressive Conservative
Jasper—Edson		Charles Yuill	Social Credit
Lethbridge		John Horne Blackmore	Social Credit
Macleod		Ernest George Hansell	Social Credit
Medicine Hat		Bud Olson	Social Credit
Peace River		Solon Earl Low	Social Credit
Red Deer		Frederick Davis Shaw	Social Credit
Vegreville		Peter Stefura	Social Credit
Wetaskiwin		Ray Thomas	Social Credit

British Columbia

Electoral district		Name	Party
Burnaby—Coquitlam		Erhart Regier	C.C.F.
Burnaby—Richmond		Thomas Irwin	Social Credit
Cariboo		Bert Leboe	Social Credit
Coast—Capilano		James Sinclair	Liberal
Comox—Alberni		Thomas Speakman Barnett	C.C.F.
Esquimalt—Saanich		George Randolph Pearkes	Progressive Conservative
Fraser Valley		Alexander Bell Patterson	Social Credit
Kamloops		Edmund Davie Fulton	Progressive Conservative
Kootenay East		Jim Byrne	Liberal
Kootenay West		Herbert Wilfred Herridge	C.C.F.
Nanaimo		Colin Cameron	C.C.F.
New Westminster		George Hahn	Social Credit
Okanagan Boundary		Frank Christian	Social Credit
Okanagan—Revelstoke		George McLeod	Social Credit
Skeena		Frank Howard	C.C.F.
Vancouver—Burrard		John Russell Taylor	Progressive Conservative
Vancouver Centre		Douglas Jung	Progressive Conservative
Vancouver East		Harold Edward Winch	C.C.F.
Vancouver Kingsway		Alexander Macdonald	C.C.F.
Vancouver Quadra		Howard Charles Green	Progressive Conservative
Vancouver South		Ernest James Broome	Progressive Conservative
Victoria		Albert DeBurgo McPhillips	Progressive Conservative

Manitoba

Electoral district		Name	Party
Brandon—Souris		Walter Dinsdale	Progressive Conservative
Churchill		Robert Simpson	Progressive Conservative
Dauphin		Fred Zaplitny	C.C.F.
Lisgar		George Robson Muir	Progressive Conservative
Marquette		Nick Mandziuk	Progressive Conservative
Portage—Neepawa		George Clark Fairfield	Progressive Conservative
Provencher		Warner Herbert Jorgenson	Progressive Conservative
Selkirk		William Bryce	C.C.F.
Springfield		Jacob Schulz	C.C.F.
St. Boniface		Louis Deniset	Liberal
Winnipeg North		Alistair Stewart	C.C.F.
Winnipeg North Centre		Stanley Knowles	C.C.F.
Winnipeg South		Gordon Chown	Progressive Conservative
Winnipeg South Centre		Gordon Churchill	Progressive Conservative

New Brunswick

Electoral district		Name	Party
Charlotte		A. Wesley Stuart	Liberal
Gloucester		Hédard-J. Robichaud	Liberal
Kent		Hervé Michaud	Liberal
Northumberland—Miramichi		George Roy McWilliam	Liberal
Restigouche—Madawaska		Charles Van Horne	Progressive Conservative
Royal		Alfred Johnson Brooks	Progressive Conservative
St. John—Albert		Thomas Miller Bell	Progressive Conservative
Victoria—Carleton		Gage Montgomery	Progressive Conservative
Westmorland		Henry Murphy	Liberal
York—Sunbury		John Chester MacRae	Progressive Conservative

Newfoundland

Electoral district		Name	Party
Bonavista—Twillingate		Jack Pickersgill	Liberal
Burin—Burgeo		Chesley William Carter	Liberal
Grand Falls—White Bay—Labrador		Thomas Gordon William Ashbourne	Liberal
Humber—St. George's		Herman Maxwell Batten	Liberal
St. John's East		James Aloysius McGrath	Progressive Conservative
St. John's West		William Joseph Browne	Progressive Conservative
Trinity—Conception		Leonard Stick	Liberal

Northwest Territories

Electoral district		Name	Party
Mackenzie River		Mervyn Arthur Hardie	Liberal

Nova Scotia

Electoral district		Name	Party
Antigonish—Guysborough		Angus Ronald Macdonald	Progressive Conservative
Cape Breton North and Victoria		Robert Muir	Progressive Conservative
Cape Breton South		Donald MacInnis	Progressive Conservative
Colchester—Hants		Cyril Kennedy	Progressive Conservative
Cumberland		Robert Coates	Progressive Conservative
Digby—Annapolis—Kings		George Nowlan	Progressive Conservative
Halifax*		Robert Jardine McCleave	Progressive Conservative
		Edmund Leverett Morris	Progressive Conservative
Inverness—Richmond		Allan MacEachen	Liberal
Pictou		Howard Russell Macewan	Progressive Conservative
Queens—Lunenburg		Lloyd Crouse	Progressive Conservative
Shelburne—Yarmouth—Clare		Thomas Andrew Murray Kirk	Liberal

Ontario

Electoral district		Name	Party
Algoma East		Lester B. Pearson	Liberal
Algoma West		George E. Nixon	Liberal
Brantford		Jack Wratten	Progressive Conservative
Brant—Haldimand		John A. Charlton	Progressive Conservative
Broadview		George Hees	Progressive Conservative
Bruce		Andrew Ernest Robinson	Progressive Conservative
Carleton		Dick Bell	Progressive Conservative
Cochrane		Joseph-Anaclet Habel	Liberal
Danforth		Robert Hardy Small	Progressive Conservative
Davenport		Douglas Morton	Progressive Conservative
Dufferin—Simcoe		William Earl Rowe	Progressive Conservative
Durham		Reginald Percy Vivian	Progressive Conservative
Eglinton		Donald Fleming	Progressive Conservative
Elgin		James Alexander McBain	Progressive Conservative
Essex East		Paul Martin Sr.	Liberal
Essex South		Richard Devere Thrasher	Progressive Conservative
Essex West		Donald Ferguson Brown	Liberal
Fort William		Daniel McIvor	Liberal
Glengarry—Prescott		Osie Villeneuve	Progressive Conservative
Greenwood		James MacKerras Macdonnell	Progressive Conservative
Grenville—Dundas		Arza Clair Casselman	Progressive Conservative
Grey—Bruce		Eric Winkler	Progressive Conservative
Grey North		Percy Verner Noble	Progressive Conservative
Halton		Charles Alexander Best	Progressive Conservative
Hamilton East		Quinto Martini	Progressive Conservative
Hamilton South		Bob McDonald	Progressive Conservative
Hamilton West		Ellen Fairclough	Progressive Conservative
Hastings—Frontenac		George Stanley White (until August 20, 1957, Senate appointment)	Progressive Conservative
		Sidney Smith (by-election of 1957-11-04)	Progressive Conservative
Hastings South		Lee Grills	Progressive Conservative
High Park		John Kucherepa	Progressive Conservative
Huron		Elston Cardiff	Progressive Conservative
Kenora—Rainy River		William Moore Benidickson	Liberal-Labour
Kent		Edward Blake Huffman	Liberal
Kingston		William James Henderson	Liberal
Lambton—Kent		Ernest John Campbell	Progressive Conservative
Lambton West		Joseph Warner Murphy	Progressive Conservative
Lanark		William Gourlay Blair (died June 16, 1957)	Progressive Conservative
		George Doucett (by-election of 1957-08-26)	Progressive Conservative
Leeds		Hayden Stanton	Progressive Conservative
Lincoln		John Smith	Progressive Conservative
London		Ernest Halpenny	Progressive Conservative
Middlesex East		Harry Oliver White	Progressive Conservative
Middlesex West		William Howell Arthur Thomas	Progressive Conservative
Niagara Falls		William Houck	Liberal
Nickel Belt		Léo Gauthier	Liberal
Nipissing		Jack Garland	Liberal
Norfolk		John Evans Knowles	Progressive Conservative
Northumberland		Benjamin Cope (Ben) Thompson	Progressive Conservative
Ontario		Michael Starr	Progressive Conservative
Ottawa East		Jean-Thomas Richard	Liberal
Ottawa West		George McIlraith	Liberal
Oxford		Wally Nesbitt	Progressive Conservative
Parkdale		Arthur Edward Martin Maloney	Progressive Conservative
Parry Sound—Muskoka		Gordon Aiken	Progressive Conservative
Peel		John Pallett	Progressive Conservative
Perth		Jay Monteith	Progressive Conservative
Peterborough		Gordon Knapman Fraser	Progressive Conservative
Port Arthur		Doug Fisher	C.C.F.
Prince Edward—Lennox		Clarence Adam Milligan	Progressive Conservative
Renfrew North		James Forgie	Liberal
Renfrew South		James William Baskin	Progressive Conservative
Rosedale		David James Walker	Progressive Conservative
Russell		Joseph-Omer Gour	Liberal
St. Paul's		Roland Michener	Progressive Conservative
Simcoe East		Philip Bernard Rynard	Progressive Conservative
Simcoe North		Heber Smith	Progressive Conservative
Spadina		Charles Edward Rea	Progressive Conservative
Stormont		Albert Peter Lavigne	Liberal
Sudbury		Rodger Mitchell	Liberal
Timiskaming		Arnold Peters	C.C.F.
Timmins		Murdo Martin	C.C.F.
Trinity		Stanley Haidasz	Liberal
Victoria		Clayton Hodgson	Progressive Conservative
Waterloo North		Norman Schneider	Liberal
Waterloo South		William Anderson	Progressive Conservative
Welland		William Hector McMillan	Liberal
Wellington—Huron		Marvin Howe	Progressive Conservative
Wellington South		Alfred Hales	Progressive Conservative
Wentworth		Frank Exton Lennard	Progressive Conservative
York Centre		Fred C. Stinson	Progressive Conservative
York East		Robert Henry McGregor	Progressive Conservative
York—Humber		Margaret Aitken	Progressive Conservative
York North		Cecil A. (Tiny) Cathers	Progressive Conservative
York—Scarborough		Frank Charles McGee	Progressive Conservative
York South		William George Beech	Progressive Conservative
York West		John Borden Hamilton	Progressive Conservative

Prince Edward Island

Electoral district		Name	Party
King's		John Augustine Macdonald	Progressive Conservative
Prince		Orville Howard Phillips	Progressive Conservative
Queen's*		John Angus Maclean	Progressive Conservative
		Heath MacQuarrie	Progressive Conservative

Quebec

Electoral district		Name	Party
Argenteuil—Deux-Montagnes		Philippe Valois	Liberal
Beauce		Raoul Poulin	Independent
Beauharnois—Salaberry		Robert Cauchon	Liberal
Bellechasse		Ovide Laflamme	Liberal
Berthier—Maskinongé—delanaudière		Joseph Langlois	Liberal
Bonaventure		Nérée Arsenault	Progressive Conservative
Brome—Missisquoi		Joseph-Léon Deslières	Liberal
Cartier		Leon David Crestohl	Liberal
Chambly—Rouville		Yvon L'heureux	Liberal
Champlain		Joseph Irenée Rochefort	Liberal
Chapleau		Charles-Noël Barbès	Liberal
Charlevoix		Auguste Maltais	Liberal
Châteauguay—Huntingdon—Laprairie		Jean Boucher	Liberal
Chicoutimi		Rosaire Gauthier	Liberal
Compton—Frontenac		Joseph-Adéodat Blanchette	Liberal
Dollard		Guy Rouleau	Liberal
Dorchester		Joseph-Armand Landry	Liberal
Drummond—Arthabaska		Samuel Boulanger	Independent Liberal
Gaspé		Roland Léo English	Progressive Conservative
Gatineau		Rodolphe Leduc	Liberal
Hochelaga		Raymond Eudes	Liberal
Hull		Alexis Pierre Caron	Liberal
Îles-de-la-Madeleine		Charles-Arthur Dumoulin Cannon	Liberal
Jacques-Cartier—Lasalle		Robert John Pratt	Progressive Conservative
Joliette—l'Assomption—Montcalm		Maurice Breton	Liberal
Kamouraska		Benoît Chabot	Independent
Labelle		Henri Courtemanche	Independent Progressive Conservative
Lac-Saint-Jean		André Gauthier	Liberal
Lafontaine		J.-Georges Ratelle	Liberal
Lapointe		Augustin Brassard	Liberal
Laurier		Lionel Chevrier	Liberal
Laval		Léopold Demers	Liberal
Lévis		Maurice Bourget	Liberal
Longueuil		Auguste Vincent	Liberal
Lotbinière		Raymond Joseph Michael O'Hurley	Progressive Conservative
Maisonneuve—Rosemont		Jean-Paul Deschatelets	Liberal
Matapédia—Matane		Léandre Thibault	Liberal
Mégantic		Joseph Lafontaine	Liberal
Mercier		Marcel Monette	Liberal
Montmagny—L'Islet		Jean Lesage	Liberal
Mount Royal		Alan Aylesworth Macnaughton	Liberal
Nicolet—Yamaska		Paul Comtois	Progressive Conservative
Notre-Dame-de-Grâce		William McLean Hamilton	Progressive Conservative
Outremont—St-Jean		Romuald Bourque	Liberal
Papineau		Adrien Meunier	Liberal
Pontiac—Témiscamingue		John Hugh Proudfoot	Liberal
Portneuf		Pierre Gauthier	Liberal
Québec—Montmorency		Wilfrid Lacroix	Liberal
Quebec East		Louis St. Laurent	Liberal
Quebec South		Francis (Frank) Gavan Power	Liberal
Quebec West		René Bégin	Liberal
Richelieu—Verchères		Lucien Cardin	Liberal
Richmond—Wolfe		Ernest-Omer Gingras	Liberal
Rimouski		Gérard Légaré	Liberal
Roberval		Georges Villeneuve	Liberal
Saguenay		Lomer Brisson	Liberal
St. Ann		Gérard Loiselle	Independent Liberal
Saint-Antoine—Westmount		George Carlyle Marler	Liberal
Saint-Denis		Azellus Denis	Liberal
Saint-Henri		Joseph-Arsène Bonnier	Liberal
Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot		Théogène Ricard	Progressive Conservative
Saint-Jacques		Roland Beaudry	Liberal
Saint-Jean—Iberville—Napierville		J.-Armand Ménard	Liberal
St. Lawrence—St. George		Claude Sartoris Richardson	Liberal
Sainte-Marie		Hector Dupuis	Liberal
Saint-Maurice—Laflèche		Joseph-Adolphe Richard	Liberal
Shefford		Marcel Boivin	Liberal
Sherbrooke		Maurice Gingues	Liberal
Stanstead		Louis-Édouard Roberge	Liberal
Témiscouata		Jean-Paul St. Laurent	Liberal
Terrebonne		Raymond Raymond	Liberal
Trois-Rivières		Léon Balcer	Progressive Conservative
Vaudreuil—Soulanges		Louis-René Beaudoin	Liberal
Verdun		Joseph Gérard Yves Leduc	Liberal
Villeneuve		Armand Dumas	Liberal

Saskatchewan

Electoral district		Name	Party
Assiniboia		Hazen Argue	C.C.F.
Humboldt—Melfort		Hugh Alexander Bryson	C.C.F.
Kindersley		Merv Johnson	C.C.F.
Mackenzie		Alexander Malcolm Nicholson	C.C.F.
Meadow Lake		John Hornby Harrison	Liberal
Melville		James Garfield Gardiner	Liberal
Moose Jaw—Lake Centre		Louis Harrington Lewry	C.C.F.
Moose Mountain		Edward George McCullough	C.C.F.
Prince Albert		John Diefenbaker	Progressive Conservative
Qu'Appelle		Francis Alvin George Hamilton	Progressive Conservative
Regina City		Alfred Claude Ellis	C.C.F.
Rosetown—Biggar		Major James Coldwell	C.C.F.
Rosthern		Walter Adam Tucker	Liberal
Saskatoon		Henry Frank Jones	Progressive Conservative
Swift Current—Maple Creek		Irvin William Studer	Liberal
The Battlefords		Alexander Maxwell (Max) Campbell	C.C.F.
Yorkton		George Hugh Castleden	C.C.F.

Yukon

Electoral district		Name	Party
Yukon		James Aubrey Simmons	Liberal
		Erik Nielsen (by-election of 1957-12-16)	Progressive Conservative

By-elections

Main article: By-elections to the 23rd Canadian Parliament

By-election	Date	Incumbent	Party		Winner	Party		Cause	Retained
Yukon	December 16, 1957	James Aubrey Simmons		Liberal	Erik Nielsen		Progressive Conservative	Election declared void	No
Hastings—Frontenac	November 4, 1957	George Stanley White		Progressive Conservative	Sidney Earle Smith		Progressive Conservative	Called to the Senate	Yes
Lanark	August 26, 1957	William G. Blair		Progressive Conservative	George Doucett		Progressive Conservative	Death	Yes