38th Canadian Parliament

The 38th Canadian Parliament was in session from October 4, 2004, until November 29, 2005. The membership was set by the 2004 federal election on June 28, 2004, and it changed only somewhat due to resignations and by-elections, but due to the seat distribution, those few changes significantly affected the distribution of power. It was dissolved prior to the 2006 election.

38th Canadian Parliament
minority parliament
Oct. 4, 2004 – Nov. 29, 2005
Parliament leaders
Prime minister	Rt. Hon. Paul Martin Dec. 12, 2003 – Feb. 6, 2006
Cabinet	27th Canadian Ministry
Leader of the Opposition	Hon. Stephen Harper March 20, 2004 (2004-03-20) – February 6, 2006 (2006-02-06)
Party caucuses
Government	Liberal Party
Opposition	Conservative Party
Recognized	Bloc Québécois
	New Democratic Party
Unrecognized	Progressive Conservative*
* Only in the Senate.
House of Commons
Seating arrangements of the House of Commons
Speaker of the Commons	Hon. Peter Milliken January 29, 2001 (2001-01-29) – June 2, 2011 (2011-06-02)
Government House leader	Hon. Tony Valeri October 4, 2004 (2004-10-04) – November 29, 2005 (2005-11-29)
Opposition House leader	Hon. John Douglas Reynolds October 4, 2004 (2004-10-04) – January 27, 2005 (2005-01-27)
	Jay D. Hill January 30, 2005 (2005-01-30) – November 29, 2005 (2005-11-29)
Members	308 seats MP seats List of members
Senate
Seating arrangements of the Senate
Speaker of the Senate	Hon. Dan Hays October 4, 2004 (2004-10-04) – February 6, 2006 (2006-02-06)
Government Senate leader	Hon. Jacob Austin October 4, 2004 (2004-10-04) – February 6, 2006 (2006-02-06)
Opposition Senate leader	Hon. Noël Kinsella October 4, 2004 (2004-10-04) – February 6, 2006 (2006-02-06)
Senators	105 seats senator seats List of senators
Sovereign
Monarch	HM Elizabeth II 6 February 1952 – 8 September 2022
Governor general	HE Rt. Hon. Adrienne Clarkson October 7, 1999 (1999-10-07) – September 27, 2005 (2005-09-27)
	HE Rt. Hon. Michaëlle Jean September 27, 2005 (2005-09-27) – October 1, 2010 (2010-10-01)
Sessions
1st session October 4, 2004 (2004-10-04) – November 29, 2005 (2005-11-29)
← 37th → 39th

There was one session of the 38th Parliament:

Session	Start	End
1st	October 4, 2004	November 29, 2005

Overview

The 38th Canadian Parliament was controlled by a Liberal Party minority under Prime Minister Paul Martin and the 27th Canadian Ministry. The Official Opposition was the Conservative Party, led by Stephen Harper.

The Speaker was Peter Milliken. See also List of Canadian federal electoral districts for a list of the ridings in this parliament.

Party standings

The party standings as of the election and as of dissolution were as follows:

Affiliation		House members		Senate members
		2004 election results	At dissolution	On election day 2004[1]	At dissolution
	Liberal	135	133	64	67
	Conservative	99	98	25	23
	Bloc Québécois	54	53	0	0
	New Democratic	19	18	0	1
	Independent	1	4	4	5
	Senate PC	0	0	3	5
Total members		308	306	96	101
	Vacant	0	2	9	4
Total seats		308		105

Major events

The parliament was dissolved following a vote of non-confidence passed on 28 November by the opposition Conservatives, supported by the New Democratic Party and Bloc Québécois. Consequently, a federal election was held on 23 January 2006 to choose the next parliament.

Legislation and motions

Important bills of the 38th parliament included:

• Bill C-32 – the Department of Foreign Affairs Act to split DFAIT in two departments, was a surprise defeat for the government
• Bill C-38 – the Civil Marriage Act, legalized Same-sex marriage across Canada.
• Bill C-43 – the Canadian federal budget, 2005
• Bill C-48 – an NDP add-on to the 2005 budget

Complete list of bills

Parliamentarians

House of Commons

Main article: List of House members of the 38th Parliament of Canada

Senate

Main article: List of senators in the 38th Parliament of Canada

Ministry

Main article: 27th Canadian Ministry

The 27th Canadian Ministry was formed during the 37th Canadian Parliament and lasted for the entirety of the 28th Parliament.

Officeholders

Further information: 28th Canadian Ministry, Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet of the 39th Parliament of Canada, Bloc Québécois Shadow Cabinet of the 39th Parliament of Canada, and New Democratic Party Shadow Cabinet of the 39th Parliament of Canada

House of Commons

Office	Member		Party	Riding
Prime Minister of Canada	Rt. Hon. Paul Martin		Liberal	LaSalle—Émard
Speaker of the House of Commons	Hon. Peter Milliken[2]		Liberal	Kingston and the Islands
Government House Leader	Hon. Tony Valeri		Liberal
Deputy Speaker and Chair of Committees of the Whole	Hon Chuck Strahl[3]		Conservative	Chilliwack-Fraser Canyon
Deputy Chair of Committees of the Whole	Marcel Proulx[4]		Liberal	Hull—Aylmer
Assistant Deputy Chair of Committees of the Whole	Jean Augustine[5]		Liberal	Etobicoke—Lakeshore
Chief Government Whip	Hon. Karen Redman[6]		Liberal	Kitchener Centre
Office	Member		Party	Riding
Leader of the Opposition	Hon. Stephen Harper		Conservative	Calgary West
Opposition House Leader	- January 27, 2005	Hon. John Douglas Reynolds[7]	Conservative	West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast
	January 30, 2005 -	Jay D. Hill[7]	Conservative	Prince George—Peace River
Official Opposition Whip	- January 27, 2005	Jay D. Hill[6]	Conservative	Prince George—Peace River
	January 28, 2005 -	Hon. Robert Douglas Nicholson[6]	Conservative	West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast
Office	Member		Party	Riding
Bloc Québécois leader	Gilles Duceppe		Bloc	Laurier—Sainte-Marie
Bloc Québécois House leader	Michel Gauthier[7]		Bloc	Roberval—Lac-Saint-Jean
Bloc Québécois Whip	Michel Guimond[6]		Bloc	Montmorency—Charlevoix—Haute-Côte-Nord
Office	Member		Party	Riding
New Democratic Party leader	Hon. Jack Layton		NDP	Toronto—Danforth
New Democratic Party House leader	Libby Davies[7]		NDP	Vancouver East
New Democratic Party Whip	Yvon Godin[6]		NDP	Acadie—Bathurst

Senate

Office	Member	Party	Province
Speaker of the Senate	Hon. Daniel Hays[8]	Liberal	Alberta
Speaker Pro Tempore	Hon. Shirley Maheu	Liberal	Quebec
Leader of the Government in the Senate	Hon. Jacob Austin	Liberal	British Columbia
Government Whip	Hon. Rose-Marie Losier-Cool[9]	Liberal	New Brunswick
Office	Member	Party	Province
Leader of the Opposition in the Senate	Hon. Noël Kinsella	Conservative	New Brunswick
Opposition Whip	Hon. Marjory LeBreton[9]	Conservative	Ontario

Changes to Party Standings

Floor-crossings

In early 2005 Ontario Member of Parliament (MP) Belinda Stronach crossed the floor to the Liberal Party after running for Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, and coming in second to Stephen Harper. She ended her public relationship with Conservative MP Peter MacKay.

By-elections

Main article: By-elections to the 38th Canadian Parliament

By-election	Date	Incumbent	Party		Winner	Party		Cause	Retained
Labrador	May 24, 2005	Lawrence D. O'Brien		Liberal	Todd Russell		Liberal	Death (cancer)	Yes

See also

• List of Canadian federal electoral districts
• List of Canadian federal parliaments