31st Canadian Parliament

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 Canadian Parliament
Minority parliament
October 9, 1979 – December 14, 1979
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 (1979-06-04) – March 2, 1980 (1980-03-02)
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 (1974-09-30) – February 17, 1980 (1980-02-17)
Government House Leader	Hon. Walter Baker October 9, 1979 (1979-10-09) – December 14, 1979 (1979-12-14)
Opposition House Leader	Hon. Allan MacEachen October 9, 1979 (1979-10-09) – December 14, 1979 (1979-12-14)
Members	282 MP seats List of members
Senate
Seating arrangements of the Senate
Speaker of the Senate	Hon. Allister Grosart October 5, 1979 (1979-10-05) – March 3, 1980 (1980-03-03)
Government Senate Leader	Hon. Jacques Flynn June 4, 1979 (1979-06-04) – March 2, 1980 (1980-03-02)
Opposition Senate Leader	Hon. Ray Perrault May 22, 1979 (1979-05-22)–December 31, 1979 (1979-12-31)
Senators	104 senator seats List of senators
Sovereign
Monarch	Elizabeth II 6 February 1952 – 8 September 2022
Sessions
1st session October 9, 1979 (1979-10-09) – December 14, 1979 (1979-12-14)
← 30th → 32nd

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

Riding		Member	Political party
	Bonavista—Trinity—Conception	Dave Rooney	Liberal
	Burin—St. George's	Donald Jamieson	Liberal
	Roger Simmons*	Liberal
	Gander—Twillingate	George Baker	Liberal
	Grand Falls—White Bay—Labrador	Bill Rompkey	Liberal
	Humber—Port au Port—St. Barbe	Fonse Faour	New Democrat
	St. John's East	James McGrath	Progressive Conservative
	St. John's West	John Crosbie	Progressive Conservative

* Donald Jamieson resigned from parliament and was replaced by Roger Simmons in a September 19, 1979, by-election

Prince Edward Island

Riding		Member	Political party
	Cardigan	Wilbur MacDonald	Progressive Conservative
	Egmont	David MacDonald	Progressive Conservative
	Hillsborough	Thomas McMillan	Progressive Conservative
	Malpeque	Melbourne Gass	Progressive Conservative

Nova Scotia

Riding		Member	Political party
	Annapolis Valley—Hants	Pat Nowlan	Progressive Conservative
	Cape Breton Highlands—Canso	Allan MacEachen	Liberal
	Cape Breton—East Richmond	Andrew Hogan	New Democrat
	Cape Breton—The Sydneys	Russell MacLellan	Liberal
	Central Nova	Elmer MacKay	Progressive Conservative
	Cumberland—Colchester	Robert Coates	Progressive Conservative
	Dartmouth—Halifax East	Michael Forrestall	Progressive Conservative
	Halifax	George Cooper	Progressive Conservative
	Halifax West	Howard Crosby	Progressive Conservative
	South Shore	Lloyd Crouse	Progressive Conservative
	South Western Nova	Charles Haliburton	Progressive Conservative

New Brunswick

Riding		Member	Political party
	Carleton—Charlotte	Fred McCain	Progressive Conservative
	Fundy—Royal	Robert Corbett	Progressive Conservative
	Gloucester	Herb Breau	Liberal
	Madawaska—Victoria	Eymard Corbin	Liberal
	Moncton	Gary McCauley	Liberal
	Northumberland—Miramichi	Maurice Dionne	Liberal
	Restigouche	Maurice Harquail	Liberal
	Saint John	Eric Ferguson	Progressive Conservative
	Westmorland—Kent	Roméo LeBlanc	Liberal
	York—Sunbury	J. Robert Howie	Progressive Conservative

Quebec

Riding		Member	Political party
	Abitibi	Armand Caouette	Social Credit
	Argenteuil	Robert Gourd	Liberal
	Beauce	Fabien Roy	Social Credit
	Beauharnois—Salaberry	Gérald Laniel	Liberal
	Bellechasse	Joseph Lambert	Social Credit
	Berthier—Maskinongé	Antonio Yanakis	Liberal
	Blainville—Deux-Montagnes	Francis Fox	Liberal
	Bonaventure—Îles-de-la-Madeleine	Rémi Bujold	Liberal
	Bourassa	Carlo Rossi	Liberal
	Chambly	Raymond Dupont	Liberal
	Champlain	Michel Veillette	Liberal
	Charlesbourg	Pierre Bussières	Liberal
	Charlevoix	Charles Lapointe	Liberal
	Châteauguay	Ian Watson	Liberal
	Chicoutimi	Marcel Dionne	Liberal
	Dollard	Louis Desmarais	Liberal
	Drummond	Yvon Pinard	Liberal
	Duvernay	Yves Demers	Liberal
	Frontenac	Léopold Corriveau	Liberal
	Gamelin	Arthur Portelance	Liberal
	Gaspé	Alexander Cyr	Liberal
	Gatineau	René Cousineau	Liberal
	Hochelaga—Maisonneuve	Serge Joyal	Liberal
	Hull	Joseph Isabelle	Liberal
	Joliette	Roch La Salle	Progressive Conservative
	Jonquière	Gilles Marceau	Liberal
	Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup	Rosaire Gendron	Liberal
	Labelle	Maurice Dupras	Liberal
	Lac-Saint-Jean	Marcel Lessard	Liberal
	Lachine	Roderick Blaker	Liberal
	Langelier	J. Gilles Lamontagne	Liberal
	La Prairie	Pierre Deniger	Liberal
	Lasalle	John Campbell	Liberal
	Laurier	David Berger	Liberal
	Laval	Marcel-Claude Roy	Liberal
	Laval-des-Rapides	Jeanne Sauvé	Liberal
	Lévis	Raynald Guay	Liberal
	Longueuil	Joseph Mario Jacques Olivier	Liberal
	Lotbiniere	Richard Janelle	Social Credit
	Progressive Conservative
	Louis-Hébert	Dennis Dawson	Liberal
	Manicouagan	André Maltais	Liberal
	Matapédia—Matane	Pierre de Bané	Liberal
	Mégantic—Compton—Stanstead	Claude Tessier	Liberal
	Mercier	Céline Hervieux-Payette	Liberal
	Missisquoi	Heward Grafftey	Progressive Conservative
	Montmorency	Louis Duclos	Liberal
	Mount Royal	Pierre Trudeau	Liberal
	Notre-Dame-de-Grâce	Warren Allmand	Liberal
	Outremont	Marc Lalonde	Liberal
	Papineau	André Ouellet	Liberal
	Pontiac—Gatineau—Labelle	Thomas Lefebvre	Liberal
	Portneuf	Rolland Dion	Liberal
	Québec-Est	Gérard Duquet	Liberal
	Richelieu	Jean-Louis Leduc	Liberal
	Richmond	Alain Tardif	Liberal
	Rimouski	Eudore Allard	Social Credit
	Roberval	Charles-Arthur Gauthier	Social Credit
	Rosemont	Claude-André Lachance	Liberal
	Saint-Denis	Marcel Prud'homme	Liberal
	Saint-Henri—Westmount	Donald Johnston	Liberal
	Saint-Hyacinthe	Marcel Ostiguy	Liberal
	Saint-Jacques	Jacques Guilbault	Liberal
	Saint-Jean	Paul-André Massé	Liberal
	Saint-Léonard—Anjou	Monique Bégin	Liberal
	Saint-Maurice	Jean Chrétien	Liberal
	Saint-Michel	Marie Thérèse Killens	Liberal
	Sainte-Marie	Jean-Claude Malépart	Liberal
	Shefford	Jean Lapierre	Liberal
	Sherbrooke	Irénée Pelletier	Liberal
	Témiscamingue	Henri Tousignant	Liberal
	Terrebonne	Joseph-Roland Comtois	Liberal
	Trois-Rivières	Claude G. Lajoie	Liberal
	Vaudreuil	Harold Herbert	Liberal
	Verchères	Bernard Pierre Loiselle	Liberal
	Verdun	Pierre Savard	Liberal

Ontario

Riding		Member	Political party
	Algoma	Maurice Foster	Liberal
	Beaches	Robin Richardson	Progressive Conservative
	Brampton—Georgetown	John McDermid	Progressive Conservative
	Brant	Derek Blackburn	New Democrat
	Broadview—Greenwood	Bob Rae	New Democrat
	Bruce—Grey	Gary Gurbin	Progressive Conservative
	Burlington	Bill Kempling	Progressive Conservative
	Cambridge	Chris Speyer	Progressive Conservative
	Cochrane	Keith Penner	Liberal
	Davenport	Charles Caccia	Liberal
	Don Valley East	Sam Wakim	Progressive Conservative
	Don Valley West	John Bosley	Progressive Conservative
	Durham—Northumberland	Allan Lawrence	Progressive Conservative
	Eglinton—Lawrence	Roland de Corneille	Liberal
	Elgin	John Wise	Progressive Conservative
	Erie	Girve Fretz	Progressive Conservative
	Essex—Kent	Robert Daudlin	Liberal
	Essex—Windsor	Eugene Whelan	Liberal
	Etobicoke Centre	Michael Wilson	Progressive Conservative
	Etobicoke North	Roy MacLaren	Liberal
	Etobicoke—Lakeshore	Ken Robinson	Liberal
	Glengarry—Prescott—Russell	Denis Éthier	Liberal
	Grey—Simcoe	Gus Mitges	Progressive Conservative
	Guelph	Albert Fish	Progressive Conservative
	Haldimand—Norfolk	Bud Bradley	Progressive Conservative
	Halton	Otto Jelinek	Progressive Conservative
	Hamilton East	John Carr Munro	Liberal
	Hamilton Mountain	Duncan Beattie	Progressive Conservative
	Hamilton—Wentworth	Geoffrey Scott	Progressive Conservative
	Hamilton West	Lincoln Alexander	Progressive Conservative
	Hastings—Frontenac	William Vankoughnet	Progressive Conservative
	Huron—Bruce	Robert McKinley	Progressive Conservative
	Kenora—Rainy River	John Mercer Reid	Liberal
	Kent	John Holmes	Progressive Conservative
	Kingston and the Islands	Flora MacDonald	Progressive Conservative
	Kitchener	John Reimer	Progressive Conservative
	Lambton—Middlesex	Sidney Fraleigh	Progressive Conservative
	Lanark—Renfrew—Carleton	Paul Dick	Progressive Conservative
	Leeds—Grenville	Thomas Cossitt	Progressive Conservative
	Lincoln	Kenneth Higson	Progressive Conservative
	London East	Charles Turner	Liberal
	London West	Judd Buchanan	Liberal
	London—Middlesex	Nelson Elliott	Progressive Conservative
	Mississauga North	Alex Jupp	Progressive Conservative
	Mississauga South	Donald Blenkarn	Progressive Conservative
	Nepean—Carleton	Walter Baker	Progressive Conservative
	Niagara Falls	Jake Froese	Progressive Conservative
	Nickel Belt	John Rodriguez	New Democrat
	Nipissing	Jean-Jacques Blais	Liberal
	Northumberland	George Hees	Progressive Conservative
	Ontario	Thomas Fennell	Progressive Conservative
	Oshawa	Ed Broadbent	New Democrat
	Ottawa—Carleton	Jean-Luc Pépin	Liberal
	Ottawa Centre	John Evans	Liberal
	Ottawa West	Kenneth Binks	Progressive Conservative
	Ottawa—Vanier	Jean-Robert Gauthier	Liberal
	Oxford	Bruce Halliday	Progressive Conservative
	Parkdale—High Park	Jesse Flis	Liberal
	Parry Sound—Muskoka	Stan Darling	Progressive Conservative
	Perth	William Jarvis	Progressive Conservative
	Peterborough	Bill Domm	Progressive Conservative
	Prince Edward—Hastings	Jack Ellis	Progressive Conservative
	Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke	Len Hopkins	Liberal
	Rosedale	David Crombie	Progressive Conservative
	Sarnia	Bill Campbell	Progressive Conservative
	Sault Ste. Marie	Cyril Symes	New Democrat
	Scarborough Centre	Diane Stratas	Progressive Conservative
	Scarborough East	Gordon Gilchrist	Progressive Conservative
	Scarborough West	William Wightman	Progressive Conservative
	Simcoe North	Doug Lewis	Progressive Conservative
	Simcoe South	Ronald Stewart	Progressive Conservative
	Spadina	Peter Stollery	Liberal
	St. Catharines	Joseph Reid	Progressive Conservative
	St. Paul's	Ron Atkey	Progressive Conservative
	Stormont—Dundas	Ed Lumley	Liberal
	Sudbury	James Jerome	Liberal
	Thunder Bay—Atikokan	Paul McRae	Liberal
	Thunder Bay—Nipigon	Robert Andras	Liberal
	Timiskaming	Arnold Peters	New Democrat
	Timmins—Chapleau	Ray Chénier	Liberal
	Trinity	Aideen Nicholson	Liberal
	Victoria—Haliburton	William Scott	Progressive Conservative
	Waterloo	Walter Maclean	Progressive Conservative
	Welland	Gilbert Parent	Liberal
	Wellington—Dufferin—Simcoe	Perrin Beatty	Progressive Conservative
	Willowdale	Bob Jarvis	Progressive Conservative
	Windsor West	Herb Gray	Liberal
	Windsor—Walkerville	Mark MacGuigan	Liberal
	York Centre	Bob Kaplan	Liberal
	York East	Ron Ritchie	Progressive Conservative
	York North	John Gamble	Progressive Conservative
	York—Scarborough	Paul McCrossan	Progressive Conservative
	York South—Weston	Ursula Appolloni	Liberal
	York—Peel	Sinclair Stevens	Progressive Conservative
	York West	James Fleming	Liberal

Manitoba

Riding		Member	Political party
	Brandon—Souris	Walter Dinsdale	Progressive Conservative
	Churchill	Rodney Murphy	New Democrat
	Dauphin	William Gordon Ritchie	Progressive Conservative
	Lisgar	Jack Murta	Progressive Conservative
	Portage—Marquette	Charles Mayer	Progressive Conservative
	Provencher	Jake Epp	Progressive Conservative
	Selkirk—Interlake	Terry Sargeant	New Democrat
	St. Boniface	Robert Bockstael	Liberal
	Winnipeg North	David Orlikow	New Democrat
	Winnipeg North Centre	Stanley Knowles	New Democrat
	Winnipeg—Assiniboine	Dan McKenzie	Progressive Conservative
	Winnipeg—Birds Hill	Bill Blaikie	New Democrat
	Winnipeg—Fort Garry	Lloyd Axworthy	Liberal
	Winnipeg—St. James	Bob Lane	Progressive Conservative

Saskatchewan

Riding		Member	Political party
	Assiniboia	Leonard Gustafson	Progressive Conservative
	Humboldt—Lake Centre	George Richardson	Progressive Conservative
	Kindersley—Lloydminster	Bill McKnight	Progressive Conservative
	Mackenzie	Stanley Korchinski	Progressive Conservative
	Moose Jaw	Douglas Neil	Progressive Conservative
	Prince Albert	John Diefenbaker*	Progressive Conservative
	Stan Hovdebo	New Democrat
	Qu'Appelle—Moose Mountain	Alvin Hamilton	Progressive Conservative
	Regina East	Simon De Jong	New Democrat
	Regina West	Leslie Benjamin	New Democrat
	Saskatoon East	Robert Ogle	New Democrat
	Saskatoon West	Ray Hnatyshyn	Progressive Conservative
	Swift Current—Maple Creek	Frank Hamilton	Progressive Conservative
	The Battlefords—Meadow Lake	Terry Nylander	Progressive Conservative
	Yorkton—Melville	Lorne Nystrom	New Democrat

*John Diefenbaker died on August 16, 1979; Stan Hovdebo won the following November 19th by-election to fill his seat

Alberta

Riding		Member	Political party
	Athabasca	Paul Yewchuk	Progressive Conservative
	Bow River	Gordon Taylor	Progressive Conservative
	Calgary Centre	Harvie Andre	Progressive Conservative
	Calgary East	John Kushner	Progressive Conservative
	Calgary North	Eldon Woolliams	Progressive Conservative
	Calgary South	John Thomson	Progressive Conservative
	Calgary West	Jim Hawkes	Progressive Conservative
	Crowfoot	Arnold Malone	Progressive Conservative
	Edmonton East	William Yurko	Progressive Conservative
	Edmonton North	Steve Paproski	Progressive Conservative
	Edmonton South	Douglas Roche	Progressive Conservative
	Edmonton West	Marcel Lambert	Progressive Conservative
	Edmonton—Strathcona	David Kilgour	Progressive Conservative
	Lethbridge—Foothills	Blaine Thacker	Progressive Conservative
	Medicine Hat	Bert Hargrave	Progressive Conservative
	Peace River	Ged Baldwin	Progressive Conservative
	Pembina	Peter Elzinga	Progressive Conservative
	Red Deer	Gordon Towers	Progressive Conservative
	Vegreville	Don Mazankowski	Progressive Conservative
	Wetaskiwin	Kenneth Schellenberger	Progressive Conservative
	Yellowhead	Joe Clark	Progressive Conservative

British Columbia

Riding		Member	Political party
	Burnaby	Svend Robinson	New Democrat
	Capilano	Ron Huntington	Progressive Conservative
	Cariboo—Chilcotin	Lorne Greenaway	Progressive Conservative
	Comox—Powell River	Raymond Skelly	New Democrat
	Cowichan—Malahat—The Islands	Don L. Taylor	Progressive Conservative
	Esquimalt—Saanich	Donald Munro	Progressive Conservative
	Fraser Valley East	Alexander Patterson	Progressive Conservative
	Fraser Valley West	Robert Wenman	Progressive Conservative
	Kamloops—Shuswap	Don Cameron	Progressive Conservative
	Kootenay East—Revelstoke	Stan Graham	Progressive Conservative
	Kootenay West	Robert Brisco	Progressive Conservative
	Mission—Port Moody	Mark Rose	New Democrat
	Nanaimo—Alberni	Edward Miller	New Democrat
	New Westminster—Coquitlam	Pauline Jewett	New Democrat
	North Vancouver—Burnaby	Chuck Cook	Progressive Conservative
	Okanagan North	George Whittaker	Progressive Conservative
	Okanagan—Similkameen	Frederick King	Progressive Conservative
	Prince George—Bulkley Valley	Robert McCuish	Progressive Conservative
	Prince George—Peace River	Frank Oberle	Progressive Conservative
	Richmond—South Delta	Tom Siddon	Progressive Conservative
	Skeena	James Fulton	New Democrat
	Surrey—White Rock—North Delta	Benno Friesen	Progressive Conservative
	Vancouver Centre	Arthur Phillips	Liberal
	Vancouver East	Margaret Ann Mitchell	New Democrat
	Vancouver Kingsway	Ian Waddell	New Democrat
	Vancouver Quadra	Bill Clarke	Progressive Conservative
	Vancouver South	John Fraser	Progressive Conservative
	Victoria	Allan McKinnon	Progressive Conservative

Northern Territories

Riding		Member	Political party
	Nunatsiaq	Peter Ittinuar	New Democrat
	Western Arctic	Dave Nickerson	Progressive Conservative
	Yukon	Erik Nielsen	Progressive Conservative

By-elections

Main article: By-elections to the 31st Canadian Parliament

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