Chief Opposition Whip (Canada)

Chief Opposition Whip
whip en chef de l'Opposition
since May 7, 2025
Member of
AppointerLeader of the party forming the Official Opposition[a]
Inaugural holderGeorge Taylor[1]
Formation1901
Salary$37,100[2]

The chief opposition whip (French: Whip en chef de l'Opposition) is the party whip from the Official Opposition caucus in the House of Commons of Canada. They are tasked with ensuring that their fellow members of the Official Opposition caucus maintain party discipline. This includes the responsabilities of distributing vote sheets to caucus members that identify the party's position on each bill or motion, and ensuring the attendance of their party members in sittings of the House of Commons and in parliamentary committees. They are appointed by the leader of the Official Opposition party, who is typically also the leader of the Opposition unless the party leader does not have a seat in the House.

The current chief opposition whip is Chris Warkentin of the Conservative Party of Canada.

List of whips

Whip Party Tenure[1] Riding
George Taylor Conservative 1901 – 1907 Leeds South[b]
Leeds[c]
Frederick Forsyth Pardee Conservative 1912 – 1912 Lambton West
James Robb Liberal 1919 – 1919 Châteauguay—Huntingdon
Samuel Charters Conservative 1927 – 1935 Peel
Arza Casselman Conservative[d] 1936 – 1955 Grenville—Dundas
Progressive Conservative[e]
George Tustin Progressive Conservative March 1956 – April 1957 Prince Edward—Lennox
Pierre Gauthier Liberal November 1957 – April 1958 Portneuf
Joseph-Anaclet Habel Liberal April 21, 1958 – 1963 Cochrane
Eric Alfred Winkler Progressive Conservative April 1963 – March 30, 1967 Grey—Bruce
Reynold Rapp Progressive Conservative April 1, 1967 – 1968 Humboldt—Melfort—Tisdale
Thomas Miller Bell Progressive Conservative July 6, 1968 – September 20, 1973 Saint John—Lancaster
Robert McKinley Progressive Conservative September 21, 1973 – 1975 Huron—Bruce[f]
Huron-Middlesex[g]
Steve Paproski Progressive Conservative February 1976 – 1978 Edmonton Centre
Thomas Lefebvre Liberal October 9, 1979 – December 14, 1979 Pontiac—Gatineau—Labelle
Bill Kempling Progressive Conservative 1980 – 1983 Burlington
Chuck Cook Progressive Conservative September 7, 1983 – September 17, 1984 North Vancouver—Burnaby
Jean-Robert Gauthier Liberal September 17, 1984 – 1990 Ottawa—Vanier
David Charles Dingwall Liberal October 1990 – January 30, 1991 Cape Breton—East Richmond
Alfonso Gagliano Liberal January 31, 1991 – September 8, 1993 Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel
Gilles Duceppe Bloc Québécois October 26, 1993 – February 21, 1996 Laurier—Sainte-Marie
Madeleine Dalphond-Guiral Bloc Québécois February 22, 1996 – June 2, 1997 Laval Centre
Chuck Strahl Reform June 2, 1997 – January 30, 2000 Fraser Valley
Jay Hill Reform[h] January 31, 2000 – July 31, 2000 Prince George—Peace River
Canadian Alliance[i]
John Reynolds Canadian Alliance August 1, 2000 – April 24, 2001 West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast
Richard Harris Canadian Alliance April 25, 2001 – January 13, 2002 Prince George—Bulkley Valley
Garry Breitkreuz Canadian Alliance December 18, 2001 – April 3, 2002 Yorkton—Melville
Dale Johnston Canadian Alliance[j] April 4, 2002 – July 21, 2004 Wetaskiwin
Conservative[k]
Jay Hill Conservative July 22, 2004 – January 27, 2005 Prince George—Peace River
Rob Nicholson Conservative January 28, 2005 – February 5, 2006 Niagara Falls
Karen Redman Liberal February 10, 2006 – November 2, 2008 Kitchener Centre
Rodger Cuzner Liberal November 3, 2008 – September 6, 2010 Cape Breton—Canso
Marcel Proulx Liberal September 7, 2010 – May 2, 2011 Hull—Aylmer
Yvon Godin New Democratic May 2, 2011 – May 25, 2011 Acadie—Bathurst
Chris Charlton New Democratic May 26, 2011 – April 18, 2012 Hamilton Mountain
Nycole Turmel New Democratic April 19, 2012 – October 22, 2015 Hull—Aylmer
Dave MacKenzie Conservative October 23, 2015 – November 9, 2015 Oxford
Gord Brown Conservative November 10, 2015 – July 19, 2017 Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands
and Rideau Lakes
Mark Strahl Conservative July 20, 2017 – September 1, 2020 Chilliwack—Hope
Blake Richards Conservative September 2, 2020 –February 3, 2022 Banff—Airdrie
Blaine Calkins Conservative February 4, 2022 – September 13, 2022 Red Deer—Lacombe
Kerry-Lynne Findlay Conservative September 14, 2022 – April 27, 2025 South Surrey—White Rock
Chris Warkentin Conservative May 7, 2025 – present Grande Prairie

Notes

  1. ↑ Normally the leader of the Opposition
  2. ↑ Until November 3, 1904
  3. ↑ From November 3, 1904
  4. ↑ Until December 10, 1942
  5. ↑ From December 10, 1942
  6. ↑ Until July 5, 1974
  7. ↑ From July 5, 1974
  8. ↑ Until March 26, 2000
  9. ↑ From March 26, 2000
  10. ↑ Until December 7, 2003
  11. ↑ From December 7, 2003

References

  1. 1 2 "Whips (House of Commons)". Library of Parliament. Retrieved September 15, 2025.
  2. ↑ "Indemnities, Salaries and Allowances". Parliament of Canada. 2025-03-31. Retrieved 2025-09-07.
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