37th Canadian Parliament
# 37th Canadian Parliament

The 37th Canadian Parliament was in session from January 29, 2001, until May 23, 2004. The membership was set by the 2000 federal election on November 27, 2000, and it changed only somewhat due to resignations and by-elections until it was dissolved prior to the 2004 election.

It was controlled by a Liberal Party majority, led first by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and the 26th Canadian Ministry, and then by Prime Minister Paul Martin and the 27th Canadian Ministry. The Official Opposition was formed by first the Canadian Alliance, led by Stockwell Day and then by Stephen Harper, and then by its successor party, the Conservative Party, also led by Harper.

The Speaker was Peter Milliken. See also list of Canadian electoral districts 1996-2003 for a list of the ridings in this parliament.

There were three sessions of the 37th Parliament:

| Session | Start | End |
| - | - | - |
| 1st | January 29, 2001 | September 16, 2002 |
| 2nd | September 30, 2002 | November 12, 2003 |
| 3rd | February 2, 2004 | May 23, 2004 |

## Party standings

The party standings as of the election and as of dissolution were as follows:

| Affiliation | Affiliation | House members | House members | Senate members | Senate members |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Affiliation | Affiliation | 2000 election results | At dissolution | On election day 2000 | At dissolution |
| | Liberal | 172 | 168 | 55 | 65 |
| | Alliance | 66 | — | 1 | — |
| | Bloc Québécois | 38 | 33 | 0 | 0 |
| | New Democratic | 13 | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| | Progressive Conservative | 12 | — | 35 | — |
| | Conservative | — | 72 | — | 24 |
| | Independent | 0 | 10 | 5 | 5 |
| | Senate Progressive Conservative Caucus | — | 0 | — | 3 |
| Total members | Total members | 301 | 297 | 96 | 97 |
| | Vacant | 0 | 4 | 9 | 8 |
| Total seats | Total seats | 301 | 301 | 105 | 105 |

In 2001, 13 MPs opposed to the leadership of Stockwell Day left the Canadian Alliance and formed the Democratic Representative Caucus. Chuck Strahl was chosen leader of the caucus, which subsequently entered into a coalition agreement with the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada. In 2002, after Day had lost the leadership of his party to Stephen Harper, all but one DRC MP rejoined the Canadian Alliance.

## Bills

Important bills of the 37th parliament include:

* Assisted Human Reproduction Act
* Canadian federal budget, 2001
* Canadian federal budget, 2003
* Canadian federal budget, 2004
* Bill C-250, declared attacks based on sexual orientation to be hate crimes.
* Immigration and Refugee Protection Act
* Youth Criminal Justice Act
* Pledge to Africa Act
* Anti-Terrorism Act

## By-elections

| By-election | Date | Incumbent | Party | Winner | Party | Cause | Retained |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Lévis-et-Chutes-de-la-Chaudière | June 16, 2003 | Antoine Dubé | Bloc Québécois | Christian Jobin | Liberal | Resigned to enter provincial politics | No |
| Témiscamingue | June 16, 2003 | Pierre Brien | Bloc Québécois | Gilbert Barrette | Liberal | Resigned to enter provincial politics | No |
| Perth—Middlesex | May 21, 2003 | John Richardson | Liberal | Gary Schellenberger | Progressive Conservative | Resigned | No |
| Berthier—Montcalm | December 9, 2002 | Michel Bellehumeur | Bloc Québécois | Roger Gaudet | Bloc Québécois | Resigned | Yes |
| Lac-Saint-Jean—Saguenay | December 9, 2002 | Stéphan Tremblay | Bloc Québécois | Sébastien Gagnon | Bloc Québécois | Resigned to enter provincial politics | Yes |
| Calgary Southwest | May 13, 2002 | Preston Manning | Canadian Alliance | Stephen Harper | Canadian Alliance | Resigned | Yes |
| Saint Boniface | May 13, 2002 | Ron Duhamel | Liberal | Raymond Simard | Liberal | Appointed to the Senate | Yes |
| Bonavista—Trinity—Conception | May 13, 2002 | Brian Tobin | Liberal | John Efford | Liberal | Resigned | Yes |
| Gander—Grand Falls | May 13, 2002 | George Baker | Liberal | Rex Barnes | Progressive Conservative | Appointed to the Senate | No |
| Windsor West | May 13, 2002 | Herb Gray | Liberal | Brian Masse | New Democratic | Resigned to accept appointment as Chair of the Canadian Section of the International Joint Commission | No |
| Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel | May 13, 2002 | Alfonso Gagliano | Liberal | Massimo Pacetti | Liberal | Resigned to accept appointment as Ambassador to Denmark | Yes |
| Verdun—Saint-Henri—Saint-Paul—Pointe Saint-Charles | May 13, 2002 | Raymond Lavigne | Liberal | Liza Frulla | Liberal | Appointed to the Senate | Yes |
