This is because last week’s Prime Minister Mark Kearney is unprecedented in Canadian history and has never held a previously elected position.
There have been several other “firsts” cases in Canadian history for the unconventional path to becoming head of government.
Let’s take a look at these cases.
Mark Carney
News of Carney’s interest in liberal leadership have been circulating for years, but he officially said he would officially run for a liberal spot until January 2024.
What’s very rare for Carney’s leadership bid is that he never held public office before being sworn in as Canada’s 24th Prime Minister on March 14th. Most prime ministers were publicly elected before taking on the role of leadership.
Carney’s path to becoming prime minister without having to hold a parliamentary seat is not uncommon, but it is not unprecedented.
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Carney won liberal leadership with 85.9% of the nearly 152,000 votes, easily defeating former finance minister Christire Freeland.
The new prime minister is expected to ask the governor to dissolve Parliament in the near future and pave the way for elections. Carney pursues not only his Liberal government duties, but also a seat in the House as an elected representative.
Kearney has yet to see which riding he will be running.
John Turner
Prime Minister John Turner is in discussion with reporters after being sworn in Ottawa on September 17, 1984 as the MP for Vancouver Quadra. Canadian media/Chuck Mitchell
Like Carney, John Turner was not a sitting MP when he gained leadership in the liberal party and became Canada’s 17th Prime Minister in 1984.
Turner is best known for serving as Prime Minister for 11 weeks, the second-short term in Canadian history, but he had a long history as a liberal politician.
He was elected to liberal lawmaker in 1962 and was appointed to the Cabinet by Prime Minister Leicester B. Pearson. Later, under the leadership of Pierre Trudeau, he played a prominent role as Minister of Justice from 1968 to 1972 and Minister of Finance from 1972 to 1975.
Turner left politics in 1975 and returned to his previous profession as a corporate lawyer.
Nine years later, Turner made a massive political revival, taking over party leadership from Pierre Trudeau and sworn as prime minister without a seat in the House.
He was eventually defeated in the 1984 election in a progressive conservative landslide by Brian Mulroney. The Liberal Party won only 40 seats, marking the most serious defeat for the Federal Liberal Party since 1958.
Before retiring from politics in 1993, Turner remained the leader of the opposition until 1990.
Before Carney, Turner was also the last prime minister to retain foreign citizenship when he became head of government.
Born in England in 1929, Turner retained British citizenship, but at the time all Canadians were considered British subjects as well. Carney, who holds British and Ireland citizenship, said he has begun a process of waiving these citizenship.
William Lyon Mackenzie King
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill welcomed Prime Minister WL Mackenzie King when he visited King’s UK in September 1941. CP photos
William Lyon Mackenzie King served three non-treasured terms as prime minister between 1921 and 1948, and is one of Canada’s most influential prime ministers as wartime leader.
However, the 1925 election proved to be the most controversial for him. It was the year when the Conservatives won the most seats in the House, but there was no shortage in the majority territory.
King joined forces with the Progressive Party and used its alliance to form a coalition government.
In the election, King lost his seat, but he later asked Liberal lawmakers to step down from their safe liberal seats, allowing him to secure a seat in the House of Representatives in the by-election.
King resigned from his post in 1926 after the Governor General disbanded Congress and rejected his request to call for elections. This caused a major constitutional crisis that became known as the King Bin Incident.
King’s request bids to avoid losing votes in the House.
The governor then asked conservative leader Arthur Meigen to form a government, which he accepted. However, he was defeated by a motion of no confidence, causing an election in which a few months later the King saw the government regain.
The King’s rules were divided into three parts, with the main gap being when conservative leader RB Bennett took the reins between 1930 and 1935. King’s longest mission as Prime Minister was from 1935 to 1948, but he declined health and forced him to step aside.
He was the longest prime minister in Canada’s history and had been in power for over 21 years.
Mackenzie Boyel
Hon. In May 1896, Sir Mackenzie Boyell, Canada’s fifth Prime Minister. CP photos
Boyer was not an MP at the time of his appointment, but he was a member of Congress and had a seat in the Senate at the time.
The Governor appointed Boell, the highest minister, to take Thompson’s place. Bowell was MP for 25 years, but was then a minister and senator.
Thompson appointed Bowell as the leader of the Senate government in 1892, and in recognition of his political expertise he designated him as Minister of Trade and Commerce, even if he was not a member of the House.
When Boyel assumed the role of prime minister after Thompson’s untimely death, he became the second individual in Canadian history, rising to the top position while serving in the Senate rather than the House.
John Abbott
Sir John Joseph Caldwell Abbott, Canada’s third prime minister in 1892. Public Domain
The first person to jump from the Senate to the prime minister’s seat was John Abbott. He reluctantly took office in 1891 after the death of Sir John A. McDonald, Canada’s first prime minister.
Abbott supported then-judicial minister Thompson to take over MacDonald, but he met his role at the request of the Conservative Party and said he would retain his position as “caregiver.”
Abbott became a member of the Senate after being appointed MacDonald in 1887, but was previously an MP. He was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1867.
Abbott held the position of Prime Minister until his health deteriorated in 1892 and retired from politics. His departure paved the way for Thompson to ultimately take over as prime minister.
Alexander Mackenzie
Hon. In March 1878, Canada’s second Prime Minister, Alexander Mackenzie. CP photos
Alexander Mackenzie became Canada’s second Prime Minister following the collapse of MacDonald’s government in the Pacific scandal of 1873.
The Governor asked Mackenzie, who was recently appointed leader of the Liberal Party, to form a new government. Mackenzie did so and asked the governor to call for the January 1874 election.
In that election, the Liberals secured most of the House seats and won 40% of the popular vote.
Mackenzie remained in office from 1873 until 1878, when MacDonald’s conservatives regained power.
Mackenzie continued to lead the Liberal Party for another 19 months, but due to poor health and the risk of a party uprising, he chose to step down in Edward Blake’s favour. Even after abandoning his leadership role, he held his seat in the Commons of his home until his death in 1892.
