Solicitor General of Canada

The Solicitor General of Canada (French: solliciteur général du Canada) was a position in the Canadian ministry from 1892 to 2005. The position was based on the Solicitor General in the British system and was originally designated as an officer to assist the Attorney General and Minister of Justice. It was not initially a position in the Canadian Cabinet, although after 1917 its occupant was often sworn into the Queen's Privy Council for Canada and attended Cabinet meetings. In 1966, the modern position of Solicitor General was created with the repeal of the previous Solicitor General Act and the passage of a new statute creating the ministerial office of the Solicitor General of Canada.^{[citation needed]}

In recent decades^[when?] the Solicitor General's department was responsible for administering the prison system, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the National Parole Board and other matters relating to internal security. In 2003, the position was styled Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, and the portfolio expanded. In 2005, the position of Solicitor General was formally abolished by Prime Minister Paul Martin and his deputy Anne McLellan.^[1]

Solicitors General

Name	Prime Minister	Tenure
John Joseph Curran*	Thompson	(1892-12-05) (1894-12-12)December 5, 1892 – December 12, 1894
	Mackenzie Bowell	(1894-12-21) (1895-10-17)December 21, 1894 – October 17, 1895
vacant		(1895-10-18) (1896-04-27)October 18, 1895 – April 27, 1896
Sir Charles Hibbert Tupper	Charles Tupper	(1896-05-01) (1896-07-08)May 1 – July 8, 1896
Charles Fitzpatrick*	Wilfrid Laurier	(1896-07-13) (1902-02-09)July 13, 1896 – February 9, 1902
Henry George Carroll*		(1902-02-10) (1904-01-28)February 10, 1902 – January 28, 1904
Rodolphe Lemieux*		(1904-01-29) (1906-06-03)January 29, 1904 – June 3, 1906
vacant		(1906-06-04) (1907-02-13)June 4, 1906 – February 13, 1907
Jacques Bureau*		(1907-02-14) (1911-10-06)February 14, 1907 – October 6, 1911
vacant	Robert Borden	(1911-10-10) (1913-06-25)October 10, 1911 – June 25, 1913
Arthur Meighen*		(1913-06-26) (1915-10-01)June 26, 1913 – October 1, 1915
		(1915-10-02) (1917-08-24)October 2, 1915 – August 24, 1917
Arthur Meighen* (acting)		(1917-08-31) (1917-10-03)August 31 – October 3, 1917
Hugh Guthrie*		(1917-10-04) (1919-07-04)October 4, 1917 – July 4, 1919
		(1919-07-05) (1920-07-10)July 5, 1919 – July 10, 1920
Hugh Guthrie* (acting)	Arthur Meighen	(1920-07-10) (1921-09-30)July 10, 1920 – September 30, 1921
Guillaume-André Fauteux		October 1, 1921 - December 28, 1921
Daniel Duncan McKenzie	William Lyon Mackenzie King	(1921-12-29) (1923-04-10)December 29, 1921 – April 10, 1923
vacant		(1923-04-11) (1923-11-13)April 11 – November 13, 1923
Edward James McMurray		(1923-11-14) (1925-05-22)November 14, 1923 – May 22, 1925
vacant		(1925-05-23) (1925-09-04)May 23 – September 4, 1925
Lucien Cannon*		(1925-09-05) (1926-06-28)September 5, 1925 – June 28, 1926
vacant	Arthur Meighen	(1926-06-29) (1926-08-22)June 29 – August 22, 1926
Guillaume André Fauteux		(1926-08-23) (1926-09-25)August 23 – September 25, 1926
Lucien Cannon (second time)	William Lyon Mackenzie King	(1926-09-25) (1930-08-07)September 25, 1926 – August 7, 1930
Maurice Dupré	R.B. Bennett	(1930-08-08) (1935-10-23)August 8, 1930 – October 23, 1935
vacant	William Lyon Mackenzie King	(1935-10-25) (1945-04-17)October 25, 1935 – April 17, 1945
Joseph Jean		(1945-04-18) (1948-11-15)April 18, 1945 – November 15, 1948
	Louis St. Laurent	(1948-11-15) (1949-08-23)November 15, 1948 – August 23, 1949
Hugues Lapointe		(1949-08-25) (1950-08-06)August 25, 1949 – August 6, 1950
Stuart Sinclair Garson		(1950-08-07) (1952-10-14)August 7, 1950 – October 14, 1952
Ralph Osborne Campney		(1952-10-15) (1954-01-11)October 15, 1952 – January 11, 1954
William Ross Macdonald		(1954-01-12) (1957-06-21)January 12, 1954 – June 21, 1957
Léon Balcer	John Diefenbaker	(1957-06-21) (1960-10-10)June 21, 1957 – October 10, 1960
William Joseph Browne		(1957-10-11) (1962-08-09)October 11, 1957 – August 9, 1962
vacant		(1962-08-10) (1963-04-22)August 10, 1962 – April 22, 1963
John Watson MacNaught	Lester Pearson	(1963-04-22) (1965-07-06)April 22, 1963 – July 6, 1965
Lawrence Pennell		(1965-07-07) (1968-04-20)July 7, 1965 – April 20, 1968
John Turner	Pierre Trudeau	(1968-04-20) (1968-07-05)April 20 – July 5, 1968
George James McIlraith		(1968-07-06) (1970-12-21)July 6, 1968 – December 21, 1970
Jean-Pierre Goyer		(1970-12-22) (1972-11-26)December 22, 1970 – November 26, 1972
Warren Allmand		(1972-11-27) (1976-09-13)November 27, 1972 – September 13, 1976
Francis Fox		(1976-09-14) (1978-01-27)September 14, 1976 – January 27, 1978
Ron Basford (acting)		(1978-01-28) (1978-02-01)January 28 – February 1, 1978
Jean-Jacques Blais		(1978-02-02) (1979-06-03)February 2, 1978 – June 3, 1979
Allan Frederick Lawrence	Joe Clark	(1979-06-04) (1980-03-02)June 4, 1979 – March 2, 1980
Robert Phillip Kaplan	Pierre Trudeau	(1980-03-03) (1984-06-29)March 3, 1980 – June 29, 1984
	John Turner	(1984-06-30) (1984-09-16)June 30 – September 16, 1984
Elmer MacKay	Brian Mulroney	(1984-09-17) (1985-08-19)September 17, 1984 – August 19, 1985
Perrin Beatty		(1985-08-20) (1986-06-29)August 20, 1985 – June 29, 1986
James Kelleher		(1986-06-30) (1988-12-07)June 30, 1986 – December 7, 1988
Perrin Beatty* (acting)		(1988-12-08) (1989-01-29)December 8, 1988 – January 29, 1989
Pierre Blais		(1989-01-30) (1990-02-22)January 30, 1989 – February 22, 1990
Pierre Cadieux		(1990-02-23) (1991-04-20)February 23, 1990 – April 20, 1991
Doug Lewis		(1991-04-21) (1993-01-03)April 21, 1991 – January 3, 1993
	Kim Campbell	(1993-06-24) (1993-11-03)June 24 – November 3, 1993
Herb Gray	Jean Chrétien	(1993-11-04) (1997-06-10)November 4, 1993 – June 10, 1997
Andy Scott		(1997-06-11) (1998-11-23)June 11, 1997 – November 23, 1998
Lawrence MacAulay		(1998-11-23) (2002-10-22)November 23, 1998 – October 22, 2002
Wayne Easter		(2002-10-22) (2003-12-11)October 22, 2002 – December 11, 2003
Anne McLellan as Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness	Paul Martin	(2003-12-12) (2005-03-23)December 12, 2003 – March 23, 2005

(*) Not in Cabinet