| Prime Minister of Canada | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Executive Branch of the Government of Canada Office of the Prime Minister |
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| Style | The Right Honourable (formal) Prime Minister (informal) |
| Abbreviation | PM |
| Member of | Queen's Privy Council Cabinet Parliament |
| Reports to | Monarch Governor General Parliament |
| Residence | 24 Sussex Drive (under renovation) Harrington Lake (seasonal) Rideau Cottage (temporary) |
| Seat | 80 Wellington St, Ottawa, ON K1P 5K9 |
| Appointer | Governor General |
| Term length | At Her Majesty's pleasure |
| Constituting instrument | None (constitutional convention) |
| Inaugural holder | Sir John A. Macdonald |
| Formation | July 1, 1867 |
| Deputy | Deputy Prime Minister of Canada (vacant) |
| Salary | Can$347,400 (2018) |
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The prime minister of Canada (French: premier ministre du Canada) is the primary Minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and Canada's head of government. The current, and 23rd, prime minister of Canada is the Liberal Party's Justin Trudeau, following the 2015 Canadian federal election. Canadian prime ministers are styled as The Right Honourable (French: Le Très Honorable), a privilege maintained for life.
The prime minister of Canada is in charge of the Prime Minister's Office. The prime minister also chooses the ministers that make up the Cabinet. The two groups, with the authority of the Parliament of Canada, manage the Government of Canada and the Canadian Armed Forces. The Cabinet and the prime minister also appoint members of the Senate of Canada, the judges of the Supreme Court of Canada and other federal courts, and the leaders and boards, as required under law, of various Crown Corporations, and selects the Governor General of Canada. Under the Canadian constitution, all of the power to exercise these activities is actually vested in the Monarchy of Canada, but in practice the Canadian monarch (who is the head of state) or their representative, the governor general of Canada approves them routinely, and their role is largely ceremonial, and their powers are only exercised under the advice of the Prime Minister.
Not outlined in any constitutional document, the office exists only as per long-established convention (originating in Canada's former colonial power, the United Kingdom) that stipulates the monarch's representative, the governor general, must select as prime minister the person most likely to command the confidence of the elected House of Commons; this individual is typically the leader of the political party that holds the largest number of seats in that chamber.
Images for kids
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24 Sussex Drive, the official residence of the Prime Minister of Canada
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Sir John A. Macdonald, the first Prime Minister of Canada (1867–1873, 1878–1891)
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Canada's Prime Ministers during its first century.
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William Lyon Mackenzie King, the 10th Prime Minister of Canada (1921–1926; 1926–1930; 1935–1948)
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Kim Campbell, the 19th Prime Minister of Canada (1993) and only female and British Columbia-born individual to hold the office
