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Revision as of 10:02, 25 July 2002 by 209.105.200.157 (talk)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)The head of the Canadian government is the leader of the political party with the most seats in Canadian House of Commons. As Prime Minister one has the right to the title of Right Honourable. In the early years, it was tradition that the British Monarch bestow a knighthood on any Canadian Prime Minister. As such, several carry the prefix "Sir" before their name. It is now illegal for a Canadian citizen to accept any British title.
A Prime Minister's elected term is for a maximum of 5 years, however he has the power to call an election for every seat in the House (a general election) at any time. By custom, elections are called 3.5 to 5 years after the previous election, when a majority government is in power, or as a de facto referendum if a major issue is at hand (the last of these being the 1988 election, which revolved around free trade with the United States).
In recent years there has been a trend towards calling elections in even less than 3.5 years if the government in power believes the conditions are right for another win, but this is considered unfair play in some quarters. If a minority government is in power, a vote of non-confidence in the House of Commons may lead to a quick election (9 months in the case of the most recent Canadian minority government, the Clark government of 1979-1980).
The Prime Ministers of Canada