Solicitor General of Canada

Last updated

The Solicitor General of 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 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 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. [1]

Solicitors General

1. John Joseph Curran*under Thompson December 5, 1892 – December 12, 1894
under Bowell December 21, 1894 – October 17, 1895
vacantunder Bowell October 18, 1895 – April 27, 1896
2.Sir Charles Hibbert Tupper under Tupper May 1, 1896 – July 8, 1896
3. Charles Fitzpatrick*under Laurier July 13, 1896 – February 9, 1902
4. Henry George Carroll*under Laurier February 10, 1902 – January 28, 1904
5. Rodolphe Lemieux*under Laurier January 29, 1904 – June 3, 1906
vacantunder Laurier June 4, 1906 – February 13, 1907
6. Jacques Bureau*under Laurier February 14, 1907 – October 6, 1911
vacantunder Borden October 10, 1911 – June 25, 1913
7. Arthur Meighen*under Borden June 26, 1913 – October 1, 1915
under Borden October 2, 1915 – August 24, 1917
* Arthur Meighen (acting)under Borden August 31, 1917 – October 3, 1917
8. Hugh Guthrie*under Borden October 4, 1917 – July 4, 1919
under Borden July 5, 1919 – July 10, 1920
* Hugh Guthrie (acting)under Meighen July 10, 1920 – September 30, 1921
Guillaume-André Fauteux under Meighen October 1, 1921 - December 28, 1921
9. Daniel Duncan McKenzie under King December 29, 1921 – April 10, 1923
vacantunder King April 11, 1923 – November 13, 1923
10. Edward James McMurray under King November 14, 1923 – May 22, 1925
vacantunder King May 23, 1925 – September 4, 1925
11. Lucien Cannon*under King September 5, 1925 – June 28, 1926
vacantunder Meighen June 29, 1926 – August 22, 1926
12. Guillaume André Fauteux under Meighen August 23, 1926 – September 25, 1926
Lucien Cannon (second time)under King September 25, 1926 – August 7, 1930
13. Maurice Dupré under Bennett August 8, 1930 – October 23, 1935
vacantunder King October 25, 1935 – April 17, 1945
14. Joseph Jean under King April 18, 1945 – November 15, 1948
under St. Laurent November 15, 1948 – August 23, 1949
15. Hugues Lapointe under St. Laurent August 25, 1949 – August 6, 1950
16. Stuart Sinclair Garson under St. Laurent August 7, 1950 – October 14, 1952
17. Ralph Osborne Campney under St. Laurent October 15, 1952 – January 11, 1954
18. William Ross Macdonald under St. Laurent January 12, 1954 – June 21, 1957
19. Léon Balcer under Diefenbaker June 21, 1957 – October 10, 1960
20. William Joseph Browne under Diefenbaker October 11, 1957 – August 9, 1962
vacantunder Diefenbaker August 10, 1962 – April 22, 1963
21. John Watson MacNaught under Pearson April 22, 1963 – July 6, 1965
22. Lawrence Pennell under Pearson July 7, 1965 – April 20, 1968
23. John Turner under Trudeau April 20, 1968 – July 5, 1968
24. George James McIlraith under Trudeau July 6, 1968 – December 21, 1970
25. Jean-Pierre Goyer under Trudeau December 22, 1970 – November 26, 1972
26. Warren Allmand under Trudeau November 27, 1972 – September 13, 1976
27. Francis Fox under Trudeau September 14, 1976 – January 27, 1978
* Ron Basford (acting)under Trudeau January 28, 1978 – February 1, 1978
28. Jean-Jacques Blais under Trudeau February 2, 1978 – June 3, 1979
29. Allan Frederick Lawrence under Clark June 4, 1979 – March 2, 1980
30. Robert Phillip Kaplan under Trudeau March 3, 1980 – June 29, 1984
under Turner June 30, 1984 – September 16, 1984
31. Elmer MacKay under Mulroney September 17, 1984 – August 19, 1985
32. Perrin Beatty under Mulroney August 20, 1985 – June 29, 1986
33. James Kelleher under Mulroney June 30, 1986 – December 7, 1988
* Perrin Beatty (acting)under Mulroney December 8, 1988 – January 29, 1989
34. Pierre Blais under Mulroney January 30, 1989 – February 22, 1990
35. Pierre Cadieux under Mulroney February 23, 1990 – April 20, 1991
36. Doug Lewis under Mulroney April 21, 1991 – January 3, 1993
under Campbell June 24, 1993 – November 3, 1993
37. Herb Gray under Chrétien November 4, 1993 – June 10, 1997
38. Andy Scott under Chrétien June 11, 1997 – November 23, 1998
39. Lawrence MacAulay under Chrétien November 23, 1998 – October 22, 2002
40. Wayne Easter under Chrétien October 22, 2002 – December 11, 2003
41. Anne McLellan as Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness (Canada) under Martin December 12, 2003 – March 23, 2005
42.Position abolished2005

(*) Not in Cabinet

Related Research Articles

Prime Minister of Canada Head of government of Canada

The prime minister of Canada is the first minister of the Crown. The prime minister acts as the head of government for Canada, chairs and selects the membership of the Cabinet, and advises the Crown on the exercise of executive power and much of the royal prerogative. As prime ministers hold office by virtue of their ability to command the confidence of the elected House of Commons, they typically sit as a Member of Parliament (MP) and lead the largest party or a coalition in the House of Commons.

Governor General of Canada Representative of the monarch of Canada

The governor general of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II. The Queen, as a political sovereign, is shared equally with the 15 other Commonwealth realms and the 10 provinces of Canada, but she physically resides predominantly in her oldest and most populous realm, the United Kingdom. The Queen, on the advice of her Canadian prime minister, appoints a governor general to carry on the Government of Canada in her own right, and, as ex officio viceroy, most of her constitutional and ceremonial duties, that is, the royal prerogative. The commission is for an unfixed period of time—known as serving at Her Majesty's pleasure—though five years is the normal convention. Beginning in 1959, it has also been traditional to alternate between anglophone and francophone officeholders—although many recent governors general have been bilingual. Once in office, the governor general maintains direct contact with the Queen, wherever she may be at the time.

In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enforcement, prosecutions or even responsibility for legal affairs generally. In practice, the extent to which the attorney general personally provides legal advice to the government varies between jurisdictions, and even between individual office-holders within the same jurisdiction, often depending on the level and nature of the office-holder's prior legal experience.

Queens Counsel Lawyer appointed by letters patent in some Commonwealth realms

In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a Queen's Counsel during the reign of a queen, or King's Counsel during the reign of a king, is a lawyer who is a senior counsel in court cases; in important cases each side is typically led by one. Technically, they are appointed by the monarch of the country to be one of 'Her [His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law'. The position originated in England. Some Commonwealth countries have either abolished the position, or renamed it so as to remove monarchical connotations, for example, 'Senior Counsel' or 'Senior Advocate'.

The Cabinet of Canada is a body of ministers of the Crown that, along with the Canadian monarch, and within the tenets of the Westminster system, forms the government of Canada. Chaired by the prime minister, the Cabinet is a committee of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada and the senior echelon of the Ministry, the membership of the Cabinet and ministry often being co-terminal; as of November 2015 there are no members of the latter who are not also members of the former.

Queens Privy Council for Canada Personal consultants to the monarch of Canada on state and constitutional affairs

The Queen's Privy Council for Canada, sometimes called Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council (PC), is the full group of personal consultants to the monarch of Canada on state and constitutional affairs. Practically, the tenets of responsible government require the sovereign or her viceroy, the governor general of Canada, to almost always follow only that advice tendered by the Cabinet: a committee within the Privy Council composed usually of elected members of Parliament. Those summoned to the QPC are appointed for life by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister of Canada, meaning that the group is composed predominantly of former Cabinet ministers, with some others having been inducted as an honorary gesture. Those in the council are accorded the use of an honorific style and post-nominal letters, as well as various signifiers of precedence.

Law officers of the Crown

In England and Wales, Northern Ireland and most Commonwealth and colonial governments, the chief law officer of the Crown is the Attorney General for England and Wales.

Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada Canadian Cabinet minister; main legal advisor to the government

The minister of justice and attorney general of Canada is a dual-role portfolio in the Canadian Cabinet.

Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

The minister of public safety and emergency preparedness is the minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet responsible for overseeing Public Safety Canada, the Government of Canada's domestic security department. The portfolio succeeded the role of solicitor general of Canada in 2005.

Leader of the Government in the House of Commons (Canada)

The leader of the government in the House of Commons, more commonly known as the government house leader, is the Cabinet minister responsible for planning and managing the government's legislative program in the House of Commons of Canada.

A Minister of State is a junior cabinet minister in the Cabinet of Canada, usually given specific responsibilities to assist a senior cabinet minister in a specific area. A Secretary of State also holds many similar responsibilities in assisting senior cabinet members, being members of the Ministry and the Queen's Privy Council for Canada. A Secretary of State is legally a Minister of State styled as secretaries. However, Secretaries of State are considered junior to ministers of state and are not members of Cabinet.

Robert William Runciman, is a veteran Canadian politician and former provincial Leader of the Opposition in the Ontario Legislature. First elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in 1981, he held the seat continuously for Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario for the next 29 years. On January 29, 2010, he was appointed to a federal legislative position as a Conservative to the Senate of Canada where he served until August 10, 2017.

Robert Stanley Kemp Welch, was a Canadian politician. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1963 to 1985 as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party, and was a cabinet minister in the governments of John Robarts, Bill Davis and Frank Miller.

Pierre Blais, is a Canadian jurist and former politician and Cabinet minister. He also served as the Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Appeal until his retirement in June, 2014.

Jean-Jacques Blais, is a former Canadian politician, who represented the riding of Nipissing in the House of Commons of Canada from 1972 to 1984. He was a member of the Liberal Party of Canada.

James Francis "Jim" Kelleher, was a Canadian politician and retired senator.

Douglas Grinslade Lewis, is a Canadian accountant, lawyer and former politician.

Government of Ontario Canadian provincial government

The Government of Ontario, formally Her Majesty's Government of Ontario, is the body responsible for the administration of the Canadian province of Ontario. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown—represented in the province by the lieutenant governor—is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the Crown-in-Council; the legislature, as the Crown-in-Parliament; and the courts, as the Crown-on-the-Bench. The functions of the government are exercised on behalf of three institutions—the Executive Council; the Provincial Parliament ; and the judiciary, respectively. Its powers and structure are partly set out in the Constitution Act, 1867.

Henry George Carroll

Henry George Carroll, was a Canadian politician, jurist and the 16th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec from 1929 to 1934 and the last anglophone to serve in that position to the present day.

Attorney General of the Gambia Cabinet-level position in the Gambia

The Attorney General of the Gambia is a cabinet-level position in the Gambia responsible for providing legal advice to the Gambian government and appearing on its behalf in the courts of the land. In recent years, the post has been held in conjunction with that of Minister of Justice, who is the head of the Ministry of Justice and responsible for legal affairs. The current Attorney General is Ba Tambadou, a former attorney with the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

References

  1. ↑ Doern, G. Bruce (2005). How Ottawa Spends, 2005-2006: Managing the Minority. McGill-Queen's Press. p. 81. ISBN   9780773573307.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.