Unlike some prime ministers before him, Stephen Harper has never named a deputy prime minister as part of his cabinet. And yet, the law requires that the Harper administration prepare a list which names the de facto prime minister should Harper, for any reason, be unable to “perform the functions of his office.”
For all of the years that Harper was a minority prime minister, that de facto deputy prime minister was Lawrence Cannon, the MP from Pontiac who served most recently as Minister of Foreign Affairs. But Cannon was defeated on May 2 and so, the PMO has now been forced to find a new number two to Harper. That new number two is none other than Senator Marjory LeBreton (left), the leader of the government in the Senate.
Cannon appears to have had his status as the de facto deputy PM because of his position as vice-chair of the most most powerful cabinet committee, the Priorities and Planning Committee (known in Ottawa as P-and-P). The chair of this committee is none other than the prime minister himself and normally it is the only cabinet committee the prime minister belongs to. In the current cabinet committee configuration, a new cabinet committee has been created: The Cabinet Committee on National Security. Harper is also chairing that committee.
Becoming the chair of a cabinet committee is a big deal for those who spend a lot of time watching the power structure of Ottawa. Many have quietly noted, for example, that while John Baird got the plum post of Minister of Foreign Affairs in the latest shuffle, Jason Kenney — who was also rumoured to be in line for that job — was recognized for his political work and increasing influence when the prime minister named him chair of the second most influential committee (or third, if, in this case, you think any committee Harper is chairing is automatically influential), that being the Cabinet Committee on Operations. This used to be the committee that Jim Prentice chaired and it was through that chairmanship that many believe Prentice wielded significant influence.
And because of his chairmanship of “Ops”, Kenney become the number two on the list to act as PM if Harper is otherwise indisposed and LeBreton is also indisposed. Baird, at the end of the last Parliament, was chair of the “Ops” and, as a result, was number two on this list, but now Kenney holds both roles.
Baird now falls to number eleven on the list, behind Bev Oda, but ahead of Finance Minister Flaherty.
Now, of course, it's unlikely enough that LeBreton will have to step in and act for Harper in the event Harper is unable to be PM and it's even more unlikely to have a scenarios where Bev Oda becomes acting PM becuase Harper, LeBreton, Kenney, and seven other ministers are also incapacitated all at the same time, but it is a bit of an odd list. It doesn't seem to be a list based on seniority — Gerry Ritz was elected to the House in 1997 and has been a full minister since 2006 but is behind Baird and Flaherty who only became MPs in 2006 — or any other objective criteria. Except for the fact that chairs of cabinet committees hold the top spots on that list, it looks like the list was developed with some subjective or qualitative criteria — though I've no idea what it might be.
Mr. Akin, the order is not as “odd” as you think and does in fact have some objective critieria. It's called the Canadian Order of Precedence and is based on the date on which MPs swore an oath to become members of the Queen's Privy Council. While Minister Ritz was a Secretary of State in 2006, he did not become a minister and enter the privy council until 2007. Senator Lebreton, although chosen by the PM, is actually second on the list of ministers, behind Minister Nicholson.
Wow. Just wow. Harper really just made an unelected senator the de facto PM? Can this guy sell out his base and canadians anymore? I cannot believe there is even a chance that someone who got a patronage appointment could under (albeit low-possibility) circumstances, be our prime minister.
David. Your op ed looks a lot like a conspiracy theory. You should talk to Greg on your staff. He'll tell you “This is not China. That does not happen in Canada regardless of what conspiracy types think.”
See. Now you can relax.
David, I expect this type of ill-informed, ill-researched writing from the CBC, not from you. Research order of precedence, and then please rewrite. You just look silly right now.
OK everyone. Just follow the link.
http://www.pch.gc.ca/pgm/ceem-cced/prtcl/precedence-eng.cfm
MY, OH, MY! We're sure not in “Kansas” any more … “OZ” On the Hill getting curiouser & curiouser … No wonder UNELECTED SENATOR! LeBreton so “front and centre” during election campaign & as “apologist” on CBC The House this past week re Harper's controversial (re-)appointments defeated CONservative MP wannabes Smith & Manning, former failed-get re-elected Cabinet Minister Verner to Senate … Even more “OZ-like”, Kenney = Harper's & Breton's “back-up”?! … All now “Straw Men” to “Tin Man”'s tin ear vis-a-vis Canadian Parliamentary, democratic principles, optics et al? All Canadians now “Fearful Lion” what 4 years of Harper's majority govt. rule portends even before Throne Speech, House of Commons reconvenes June 2, 2011?!
The order of preference is for ceremonial occasions only and has nothing to do with governance.
There are different Orders of Precedence in Canada. There is an Order of Precedence for Cabinet, in which Rob Nicholson is first and Marjorie Breton is second for the purpose of identifying the order in which Cabinet Ministers are named for ceremonial purposes such as the swearing in of Cabinet. The only basis for that is entry into the Privy Council of Canada. There is the Order of Precedence of Canada, which includes royal, vice-regal, federal, and provincial officials in the order of both rank and seniority. Neither of these is associated with power. David is talking about the order of precedence of officials authorized to act ON BEHALF OF the Prime Minister, but not to replace the Prime Minister, and he is equating that to the position of Deputy Prime Minister, a ceremonial position handed out in the past to Ministers by Liberal Prime Ministers and carrying no actual power UNLESS the Deputy Prime Minister is listed first in the PCO list. One of these things is not necessarily like the other, and it only adds to the confusion to equate the two. In fact, Sheila Copps was publicly corrected when she attempted to behave as though she was “Acting Prime Minister” – only the second person in the PCO order of precedence can ever become “Acting Prime Minister”, and that only in the days until the Prime Minister's incapacity is resolved (he comes out of surgery, he recovers from an assassination attempt) or the Governor General asks the governing party to replace the Prime Minister. Senator LeBreton is only “Acting Prime Minister” in the event of the incapacity of the Prime Minister and not until.
David is also using “de facto” (in fact) when he means “de jure” (in law).
Just to make it clearer, the first six acting Prime Ministers are selected, and the rest are ordered by precedence as you describe. Baird lost his place on the list, so only come in order of precedence.
Try searching the PCO database of orders in council for “acting ministers minutes” to find the actual document.
Paul, your comment loses considerable credibility when you call it order of preference when, in fact – ceremonial or not – it is called the order of precedence.
If PM cannot govern, the caucus will recommend an interim leader to the party's national council. That leader will then become PM. Temporary stand-ins for signing purposes mean nothing.
Wow. Just wow. Don't you know that the Prime Minister doesn't have to be either an MP or a Senator? And in fact we have had Prime Ministers who were unelected?
So if you can't believe there is even a chance that someone who got a patronage appointment could be “our prime minister” (more accurately, an Acting Prime Minister during the period of the Prime Minister's incapacity), I think I must have just ruined your whole constellation of belief. Sorry about that.
(For those who are unaware, the Prime Minister is the Leader of the governing party, whether he or she is an MP or Senator or not.)
Again, someone speaks boldly about which he is ill-informed. The PCO order of precedence list is not a list of “temporary stand-ins for signing purposes”. It is the list of the person who becomes Acting Prime Minister, with all the powers and authority of that position, in the event of (and not until) the incapacity of the Prime Minister. And the party's national council is involved only when the Prime Minister's incapacity is long-term, and only when the party's constitution permits that process for appointing the Leader of the governing party.
Amazing how much misinformation can be piled into so few lines.
AstuteCitizen, to improve coherence, lay off the caffeine IV drip.