List of current members of the King's Privy Council for Canada

Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada use the title The Honourable if they are ordinary members. Prime Ministers, Governors General and Chief Justices automatically are given the title The Right Honourable. While Governors General have the right to the title Right Honourable upon being sworn into office they are not inducted into the Privy Council until the end of their term unless they were previously members of the council by virtue of another office. Other eminent individuals such as prominent former Cabinet ministers are sometimes also given the title Right Honourable. Leaders of opposition parties and provincial premiers are not automatically inducted into the Privy Council. Opposition leaders are brought in from time to time either to commemorate a special event such as the Canadian Centennial in 1967, the patriation of the Constitution or, in order to allow them to be advised on sensitive issues of national security under the Security of Information Act. Paul Martin inaugurated a practice of inducting parliamentary secretaries into the Privy Council but this has not been continued by his successors.

Current members of the King's Privy Council for Canada (year sworn in)

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Former governors general

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Current and former prime ministers

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Current and former Chief Justices of Canada

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Current and former Cabinet ministers (by prime minister at induction)

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Pierre Trudeau

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Joe Clark

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Pierre Trudeau (second ministry)

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John Turner

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Brian Mulroney

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Kim Campbell

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Jean Chrétien

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Paul Martin

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Stephen Harper

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Justin Trudeau

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(all those listed joined the Privy Council as Cabinet ministers unless otherwise indicated)

Other parliamentarians (not otherwise listed above)

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Former Speakers of the House of Commons

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Former Speakers of the Senate

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Current and former government representatives/leaders in the Senate (who were not cabinet ministers)

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Current and former federal Leaders of His Majesty's Loyal Opposition

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Other former party leaders

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Current and former Chief Government Whips (who were not cabinet ministers)

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Members of Parliament appointed by nature of being parliamentary secretaries (appointed 2003–2005, only period where all parliamentary secretaries were sworn into Privy Council)

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Other current and former parliamentarians

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Current and former provincial premiers (not otherwise listed above)

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Former Clerks of the Privy Council

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Former members of the Security Intelligence Review Committee (not otherwise listed above)

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The Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act established the Security Intelligence Review Committee, and required members to be named from members of the King's Privy Council who were not members of the Senate or House of Commons at the time of their appointment. As such, appointees, if not already members of the Privy Council, were sworn in prior to being named to the committee. In 2019, the SIRC was replaced by the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency.

Other prominent Canadians

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While traditionally appointment to the Order of Canada has been utilised to recognize prominent Canadians, Brian Mulroney appointed 18 Canadians to the Privy Council on Canada Day in 1992 in commemoration of Canada's 125th anniversary, and two more (W.O. Mitchell and Maurice Richard) later that year. Conrad Black, who was one of the 18 appointed, was expelled from the Privy Council in 2014 on the recommendation of Prime Minister Stephen Harper.[15]

Longest-serving current Privy Counsellors

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This is a list of the longest-serving current members of the King's Privy Council for Canada.

Privy Counsellor Role Appointed
Jean Chrétien former Cabinet minister; former Prime Minister 1967; 57 years ago (1967)
Alexander Campbell former Premier of Prince Edward Island 1967; 57 years ago (1967)
Otto Lang former Minister of Justice 1968; 56 years ago (1968)
André Ouellet former Minister of Foreign Affairs 1972; 52 years ago (1972)
Judd Buchanan former Minister of Public Works 1974; 50 years ago (1974)
Jean-Jacques Blais former Postmaster General 1976; 48 years ago (1976)
Joe Clark former Prime Minister 1979; 45 years ago (1979)
David MacDonald former Secretary of State for Canada 1979; 45 years ago (1979)
Elmer MacKay former Minister of Public Works 1979; 45 years ago (1979)
Jake Epp former Minister of the Environment 1979; 45 years ago (1979)
David Crombie former Minister of Health and Welfare 1979; 45 years ago (1979)
Perrin Beatty former Secretary of State for External Affairs 1979; 45 years ago (1979)

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b c Initially joined Privy Council as federal cabinet minister.
  2. ^ Initially joined Privy Council as federal Opposition Leader.
  3. ^ "Stephen Harper to officially resign as prime minister next week | CBC News".
  4. ^ Olivier resigned from the Privy Council in 1987 when he ran for the position of Mayor of Longueuil. He was reappointed to the Privy Council in 2004.
  5. ^ a b Also a former Speaker of the House of Commons
  6. ^ a b c d Initially joined Privy Council as Parliamentary Secretary.
  7. ^ Initially joined Privy Council as Deputy Government Whip.
  8. ^ a b Rodriguez and Holland joined the Privy Council as Chief Government Whip and were later appointed to ministerial roles.
  9. ^ Initially joined Privy Council as Chair of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians.
  10. ^ a b c d e f Sitting Member of Parliament at time of appointment.
  11. ^ Initially joined Privy Council while a parliamentary secretary.
  12. ^ a b Was not sworn into Privy Council while leader, but was appointed on a later date.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h Initially joined Privy Council as member of the Security Intelligence Review Committee.
  14. ^ Former Member of Parliament at time of appointment.
  15. ^ "Conrad Black stripped of Order of Canada". CBC News. 31 January 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2014.

References

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  • [1] Official list of Privy Councillors.