Under Martin (2003–2006) The position was created by
Prime Minister Paul Martin when he succeeded
Jean Chrétien in December 2003 under the title "Minister responsible for Democratic Reform" to address the "democratic deficit", an issue Martin campaigned on when he ran for leader of the
Liberal Party of Canada. The portfolio was initially held by the
Government House Leader,
Jacques Saada, in Martin's first cabinet. After the
2004 election, the portfolio was given to
Mauril Bélanger, who was the
deputy government house leader. When
Belinda Stronach crossed the floor from the
Conservative Party to Liberals on May 17, 2005, she assumed responsibilities for the portfolio along with the post of
Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development. At this point the title was changed from "Democratic Reform" to "Democratic
Renewal".
Under Harper (2006–2015) Under the premiership of
Stephen Harper, the post was first held by his first two House Leaders (
Rob Nicholson and
Peter Van Loan) as "Leader of the House of Commons and Minister for Democratic Reform". In 2008, the role was taken up by
Steven Fletcher as "Minister of State (Democratic Reform)" and the same title was subsequently held by
Tim Uppal and
Pierre Poilievre.
Under Trudeau (2015–2019) In the ministry of
Justin Trudeau, who was elected on campaign promises of electoral reform, the portfolio was assigned to
Maryam Monsef in November 2015, under the new title "Minister of Democratic Institutions". In the mandate letter provided to Monsef by Trudeau, she has been instructed to table an action plan outlining proposals to reform the operations of the
House of Commons of Canada in order to increase the role of individual
Members of Parliament in the House and its committees. Proposals include allowing more
free votes, giving committees more authority, increase research budgets, allowing chairs of house committees to be elected rather than appointed by the prime minister, giving MPs a role in choosing which committees they sit on rather than having them assigned by the prime minister or government house leader. She oversaw the formation of the all-party
Special Committee on Electoral Reform and appeared as its first witness. Following criticism of her handling of the portfolio, Monsef was named
Minister of Status of Women on February 1, 2017 and
Karina Gould was appointed in her place. On February 1, 2017, Gould announced that her mandate would no longer include exploring potential changes to the Canadian electoral system. On November 20, 2019, as part of Trudeau's Cabinet shuffle following the
2019 Canadian federal election, the Democratic Institutions portfolio was abolished. Joan Bryden of the
Canadian Press reported that the position's responsibilities would be transferred to
Dominic LeBlanc in his role as
President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada. ==List==