In Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, the Dean of the House is the Member of the House of Commons with the longest unbroken record of service who is not a Cabinet Minister

Minister (government)

A minister is a politician who holds significant public office in a national or regional government. Senior ministers are members of the cabinet....

, party Leader, House Leader

House Leader

In Canada, each political party with representation in the House of Commons has a House Leader who is a front bench Member of Parliament and an expert in parliamentary procedure...

 or Whip

Whip (politics)

A whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips are a party's "enforcers", who typically offer inducements and threaten punishments for party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy...

. The Dean is responsible for presiding over the election of the Speaker of the House of Commons at the beginning of each Parliament. The position is the equivalent of the Father of the House

Father of the House

Father of the House is a term that has by tradition been unofficially bestowed on certain members of some national legislatures, most notably the House of Commons in the United Kingdom. In some legislatures the term refers to the oldest member, but in others it refers the longest-serving member.The...

 in the British House of Commons.

The current Dean of the House is Bloc Québécois

Bloc Québécois

The Bloc Québécois is a federal political party in Canada devoted to the protection of Quebec's interests in the House of Commons of Canada, and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty. The Bloc was originally a party made of Quebec nationalists who defected from the federal Progressive Conservative...

 MP Louis Plamondon

Louis Plamondon

Louis Plamondon is a politician in the Canadian province of Quebec and the current interim parliamentary leader of the Bloc Québécois ....

, who was first elected to the Commons as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party

Progressive Conservative Party of Canada

The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....

 in 1984.

List of Deans

Member		Party	Entered House	Became Dean	Left House
	John Costigan John Costigan John Costigan was a Canadian judge and politician who served in the Canadian House of Commons and in the Cabinet of several Prime Ministers of Canada....	Liberal-Conservative Liberal-Conservative Party The Liberal-Conservative Party was the formal name of the Conservative Party of Canada until 1873, although some Conservative candidates continued to run under the label as late as the 1911 election and others ran as simple Conservatives prior to 1873...	1867	1896	1907
		Liberal Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
	John Haggart John Graham Haggart John Graham Haggart, PC was a Canadian politician.A member of the Canadian House of Commons, he was the Postmaster General and the Minister of Railways and Canals. He was Mayor of Perth, Ontario in 1867, 1869 and 1871....	Conservative Party Conservative Party of Canada (historical) The Conservative Party of Canada has gone by a variety of names over the years since Canadian Confederation. Initially known as the "Liberal-Conservative Party", it dropped "Liberal" from its name in 1873, although many of its candidates continued to use this name.As a result of World War I and the...	1872	1907	1913
	Sir Wilfrid Laurier Wilfrid Laurier Sir Wilfrid Laurier, GCMG, PC, KC, baptized Henri-Charles-Wilfrid Laurier was the seventh Prime Minister of Canada from 11 July 1896 to 6 October 1911....	Liberal Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...	1877	1913	1919
	John Reid John Dowsley Reid John Dowsley Reid, PC was a Canadian businessman, physician, and parliamentarian. A Conservative, he was a long-standing Member of Parliament in the Canadian House of Commons for the Ontario Electoral district of Grenville South...	Conservative Party Conservative Party of Canada (historical) The Conservative Party of Canada has gone by a variety of names over the years since Canadian Confederation. Initially known as the "Liberal-Conservative Party", it dropped "Liberal" from its name in 1873, although many of its candidates continued to use this name.As a result of World War I and the...	1891	1919	1921
	William MacLean	Unionist	1892	1921	1926
	Rodolphe Lemieux Rodolphe Lemieux Rodolphe Lemieux, PC, FRSC was a Canadian parliamentarian and long time Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons ....	Liberal Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...	1896	1926	1930
	Charles Marcil Charles Marcil Charles Marcil, PC was a long time member of the Canadian House of Commons and served as Speaker of the House from 1909 - 1911....	Liberal Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...	1900	1930	1937
	Ernest Lapointe Ernest Lapointe Ernest Lapointe, PC was a Canadian lawyer and politician.-Education, early career:Lapointe earned his law degree from Laval University...	Liberal Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...	1904	1937	1941
	Arthur Cardin	Liberal Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...	1911	1941	1946
		Independent
	Charles Power Charles Gavan Power Charles Gavan "Chubby" Power, MC, PC was a Canadian politician and athlete. Power's father, William Power, was also a Member of Parliament from Quebec, retiring in 1917...	Liberal Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...	1917	1946	1955
	William Rowe William Earl Rowe William Earl Rowe, PC , was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He served as the 20th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario from 1963 to 1968. He also had four children, one of which died during labour....	Progressive Conservative Progressive Conservative Party of Canada The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....	1925	1955	1963
	Azellus Denis Azellus Denis Azellus Denis, PC, QC was a Canadian politician who served in the Parliament of Canada as a Member of Parliament and Senator for the longest period of time, 55 years, 10 months and 20 days....	Liberal Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...	1935	1963	1964
	Paul Martin Sr. Paul Joseph James Martin Joseph James Guillaume Paul Martin, PC, CC, QC , often referred to as Paul Martin, Sr, was a noted Canadian politician. He was the father of Paul Martin , who served as Prime Minister of Canada from 2003 - 2006.-Early life:Martin was born in Ottawa, Ontario, the son of Lumina and Joseph...	Liberal Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...	1935	1964	1968
	John Diefenbaker John Diefenbaker John George Diefenbaker, PC, CH, QC was the 13th Prime Minister of Canada, serving from June 21, 1957, to April 22, 1963...	Progressive Conservative Progressive Conservative Party of Canada The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....	1940	1968	1979
	Walter Dinsdale Walter Dinsdale Walter Gilbert Dinsdale, PC, DFC was a Canadian politician.Born in Brandon, Manitoba, he graduated from Brandon College and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1937 from McMaster University...	Progressive Conservative Progressive Conservative Party of Canada The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....	1951	1979	1982
	Robert Coates Robert Coates (politician) Robert Carman Coates, PC, QC is a former Canadian politician and Cabinet minister.Coates was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 1957 election as the Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament for Cumberland, Nova Scotia. Coates was a backbencher during the John Diefenbaker...	Progressive Conservative Progressive Conservative Party of Canada The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....	1957	1982	1988
	Herb Gray Herb Gray Herbert Eser Gray, is a retired Canadian politician. He was Canada's first Jewish federal cabinet minister, and is one of only a few Canadians ever granted the title The Right Honourable who was not so entitled by virtue of a position held.-Early life:Born in Windsor, Ontario, the son of Harry...	Liberal Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...	1962	1988	2002
	Charles Caccia Charles Caccia Charles L. Caccia, PC was a Canadian politician.Caccia was a Liberal member of the Canadian House of Commons. He represented the Toronto riding of Davenport between 1968 and 2004.Caccia was born in 1930 in Milan, Italy...	Liberal Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...	1968	2002	2004
	Bill Blaikie Bill Blaikie William Alexander "Bill" Blaikie, PC is a Canadian politician. He has been a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba since April 2009, representing the Winnipeg division of Elmwood as a member of the New Democratic Party of Manitoba, and Minister of Conservation and Government House Leader...	New Democratic New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...	1979	2004	2008
	Louis Plamondon Louis Plamondon Louis Plamondon is a politician in the Canadian province of Quebec and the current interim parliamentary leader of the Bloc Québécois ....	Bloc Quebecois Bloc Québécois The Bloc Québécois is a federal political party in Canada devoted to the protection of Quebec's interests in the House of Commons of Canada, and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty. The Bloc was originally a party made of Quebec nationalists who defected from the federal Progressive Conservative...	1984	2008	incumbent