23rd Canadian Parliament
The 23rd Canadian Parliament was in session from October 14, 1957, until February 1, 1958. The membership was set by the 1957 federal election on June 10, 1957, and it changed only somewhat due to resignations and by-elections until it was dissolved prior to the 1958 election.
| 23rd Parliament of Canada | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Minority parliament | |||
| 14 October 1957 – 1 February 1958 | |||
| Parliament leaders | |||
| Prime Minister | John Diefenbaker June 21, 1957 – April 22, 1963 | ||
| Cabinet | 18th Canadian Ministry | ||
| Leader of the Opposition | Louis St. Laurent June 21, 1957 – January 16, 1958 | ||
| Lester B. Pearson January 16, 1958 – April 22, 1963 | |||
| Party caucuses | |||
| Government | Progressive Conservative Party | ||
| Opposition | Liberal Party | ||
| Crossbench | Co-operative Commonwealth Federation | ||
| Social Credit Party | |||
| House of Commons | |||
Seating arrangements of the House of Commons | |||
| Speaker of the Commons | Roland Michener October 14, 1957 – September 26, 1962 | ||
| Government House Leader | Howard Charles Green October 14, 1957 – July 18, 1959 | ||
| Opposition House Leader | Lionel Chevrier October 14, 1957 – February 5, 1963 | ||
| Members | 265 MP seats List of members | ||
| Senate | |||
| Speaker of the Senate | Mark Robert Drouin October 4, 1957 – September 23, 1962 | ||
| Government Senate Leader | John Thomas Haig October 9, 1957 − May 11, 1958 | ||
| Opposition Senate Leader | William Ross Macdonald June 21, 1957 – April 22, 1963 | ||
| Sovereign | |||
| Monarch | Elizabeth II 6 February 1952 – 8 September 2022 | ||
| Governor General | Vincent Massey 28 February 1952 – 15 September 1959 | ||
| Sessions | |||
| 1st session 1957-10-14 – 1958-02-01 | |||
| |||
It was the only parliament formally opened by Queen Elizabeth II herself, rather than her formal representative, the governor general.
It was controlled by a Progressive Conservative Party minority under Prime Minister John Diefenbaker and the 18th Canadian Ministry. The Official Opposition was the Liberal Party, led first by Louis St. Laurent, and then by Lester B. Pearson.
It was the second shortest parliament in Canadian history.
The Speaker was Roland Michener. See also List of Canadian electoral districts 1952–1966 for a list of the ridings in this parliament.
There was only one session of the 23rd Parliament.