Official party status

Updated: 5/24/2026, 7:32:25 PM Wikipedia source

Official party status refers to the Westminster practice which is used in the Parliament of Canada and the provincial legislatures of recognizing parliamentary caucuses of political parties. In parliamentary documents, this is sometimes referred to as being a recognized party (French: parti reconnu).

Tables

Minimum seats required for official party status · Requirements for official party status

Canada – Senate

Assembly

Canada – Senate

Minimum seats

9 seats

Alberta Legislative Assembly

Assembly

Alberta Legislative Assembly

Minimum seats

4 seats

Notes

Status has been granted to parties with only 2 seats a number of times.

British Columbia Legislative Assembly

Assembly

British Columbia Legislative Assembly

Minimum seats

2 seats

Manitoba Legislative Assembly

Assembly

Manitoba Legislative Assembly

Minimum seats

4 seats

New Brunswick Legislative Assembly

Assembly

New Brunswick Legislative Assembly

Minimum seats

5 seats or 20% of the popular vote

Ontario Legislative Assembly

Assembly

Ontario Legislative Assembly

Minimum seats

12 seats

Notes

The rule calls for 10% of the total number of seats in the Assembly rounded to the nearest whole number.

Prince Edward Island Legislative Assembly

Assembly

Prince Edward Island Legislative Assembly

Minimum seats

1 seat

Notes

There is no official rule, but precedent shows that only one seat is required.

Quebec National Assembly

Assembly

Quebec National Assembly

Minimum seats

12 seats or 20% of the popular vote

Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly

Assembly

Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly

Minimum seats

2 seats

Yukon Legislative Assembly

Assembly

Yukon Legislative Assembly

Minimum seats

1 seat and the party must have run candidates in at least two ridings

Assembly	Minimum seats	Notes
Canada – House of Commons	12 seats
Canada – Senate	9 seats
Alberta Legislative Assembly	4 seats	Status has been granted to parties with only 2 seats a number of times.
British Columbia Legislative Assembly	2 seats
Manitoba Legislative Assembly	4 seats
New Brunswick Legislative Assembly	5 seats or 20% of the popular vote
Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly	3 seats and the party must have run candidates in at least two-thirds of ridings (27 out of 40)	The rule speaks to the number of members elected to the party, rather than the number of seats held. This implies that floor-crossers to the party are not counted, and that a party retains party status if resignations take it below three members.
Nova Scotia House of Assembly	2 seats and the party must have run candidates in at least three-quarters of the ridings (42 out of 55) and received at least 10% of the popular vote	The official opposition only requires two seats and does not have to meet the additional requirements.
Ontario Legislative Assembly	12 seats	The rule calls for 10% of the total number of seats in the Assembly rounded to the nearest whole number.
Prince Edward Island Legislative Assembly	1 seat	There is no official rule, but precedent shows that only one seat is required.
Quebec National Assembly	12 seats or 20% of the popular vote
Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly	2 seats
Yukon Legislative Assembly	1 seat and the party must have run candidates in at least two ridings

References

"Parliament of Canada - Parlement du Canada"
http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/LOP/ResearchPublications/bp243-e.htm
www
https://www.ourcommons.ca/procedure/our-procedure/parliamentaryFramework/c_g_parliamentaryframework-e.html#6
Rules of the Senate, November 2017, Appendix I.
CanLII
https://canlii.ca/t/563gn
Legislative Assembly of Manitoba
https://www.gov.mb.ca/legislature/business/rulebook.pdf
New Brunswick, Legislative Assembly, Standing Rules of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick (17 June 1986) at s1 (d
Standing Orders House of Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador
https://assembly.nl.ca/HouseBusiness/StandingOrders/StandingOrders.pdf
House of Assembly Act, RSNS 1989, c 1 (1992 Supp) s 2(1)(c).
Legislative Assembly Act, RSO 1990, c L10, s 62(5), http://canlii /t/53hkk.
http://canlii.ca/t/53hkk
Board of Internal Economy Directives
https://www.legassembly.sk.ca/mlas/board-of-internal-economy/directives/
Acts of the Parliament of Canada (19th Parliament, 5th Session, Chapter 1-52), 1944-1945
https://archive.org/details/actsofparl194445v01cana/page/n141/mode/2up?q=%22recognized+membership%22
"The Standing Committee on Rules, Procedures and the Rights of Parliament, 37th Parliament, 1st Session, Seventh Report"
https://sencanada.ca/Content/SEN/Committee/371/rul2/rep/rep07nov01-e.htm
Acts of the Parliament of Canada (26th Parliament, 1st Session, Chapter 1-42)
https://archive.org/details/actsofparl1963v01cana/page/136/mode/2up?q=%22house+of+commons+act%22
"House of Commons Procedure and Practice, Second Edition"
https://www.ourcommons.ca/procedure-book-livre/Document.aspx?Language=E&Mode=1&sbdid=73CC891E-0676-4773-850B-CCDCB472AD8C&sbpid=BE842475-5632-4969-835B-FC015CE50169
"Board of Internal Economy, Members By-Law"
http://www.parl.gc.ca/About/House/BOIE/boie-ByLaw-MembersB-e.html
"House of Commons Procedure and Practice, Second Edition"
https://www.ourcommons.ca/procedure-book-livre/Document.aspx?Language=E&Mode=1&sbdid=73CC891E-0676-4773-850B-CCDCB472AD8C&sbpid=BE842475-5632-4969-835B-FC015CE50169
"Rules of the Senate, Appendix I: Terminology"
https://web.archive.org/web/20200727050731/https://sencanada.ca/en/about/procedural-references/rules/17/#AppendixI
"Debates of the Senate (Hansard): 1st Session, 42nd Parliament (Volume 150, Issue 120)"
https://sencanada.ca/en/content/sen/chamber/421/debates/120db_2017-05-11-e#64
"Standing Committee on Rules, Procedures and the Rights of Parliament: Seventh Report, Amendments to the Rules — Recognized parties and recognized parliamentary groups"
https://sencanada.ca/en/committees/report/40232/42-1
"Debates of the Senate (Hansard): 1st Session, 37th Parliament (Volume 139, Issue 122)"
https://sencanada.ca/en/content/sen/chamber/371/debates/122db_2002-06-11-e#49