12th Canadian Parliament

12th Parliament of Canada
Majority parliament
15 November 1911 – 6 October 1917
Parliament leaders
Prime
Minister
Robert Borden
10 Oct 1911 – 10 Jul 1920
Cabinet9th Canadian Ministry
Leader of the
Opposition
Wilfrid Laurier
10 Oct. 1911 – 17 Feb. 1919
Party caucuses
GovernmentConservative Party
& Liberal-Conservative
OppositionLiberal Party
CrossbenchLabour
House of Commons

Seating arrangements of the House of Commons
Speaker of the
Commons
Thomas Simpson Sproule
15 November 1911 – 2 December 1915
Albert Sévigny
12 January 1916 – 7 January 1917
Edgar Nelson Rhodes
18 January 1917 – 5 March 1922
Senate
Speaker of the
Senate
Auguste Landry
23 October 1911 – 2 June 1916
Joseph Bolduc
3 June 1916 – 6 February 1922
Government
Senate Leader
James Alexander Lougheed
10 October 1911 – 28 December 1921
Opposition
Senate Leader
Richard John Cartwright
6 October 1911 – 24 September 1912
George William Ross
24 September 1912 – 7 March 1914
Hewitt Bostock
19 March 1914 – 1 January 1919
Sovereign
MonarchGeorge V
6 May 1910 – 20 January 1936
Governor
General
Prince Arthur
13 Oct. 1911 – 11 Nov. 1916
The Duke of Devonshire
11 Nov. 1916 – 11 Aug. 1921
Sessions
1st session
15 November 1911 – 1 April 1912
2nd session
21 November 1912 – 6 June 1913
3rd session
15 January 1914 – 12 June 1914
4th session
18 August 1914 – 22 August 1914
5th session
4 February 1915 – 15 April 1915
6th session
12 January 1916 – 18 May 1916
7th session
18 January 1917 – 20 September 1917
← 11th → 13th
Sir Robert Borden was Prime Minister during the 12th Canadian Parliament.

The 12th Canadian Parliament was in session from 15 November 1911 until 6 October 1917. The membership was set by the 1911 federal election on 21 September 1911, and it changed only somewhat due to resignations and by-elections until it was dissolved prior to the 1917 election. At 5 years, 10 months and 22 days, it was the longest parliament in Canadian history. The parliament was extended beyond the normal limit of five years by the British North America Act, 1916 as a result of World War I.

It was controlled by a Conservative/Liberal-Conservative majority under Prime Minister Sir Robert Borden and the 9th Canadian Ministry. The Official Opposition was the Liberal Party, led by Wilfrid Laurier. The last year of the wartime parliament was dominated by the Conscription Crisis of 1917. At the end of the parliament, a new ministry, the Union Government, was formed by Borden as a wartime coalition government including Liberals. Laurier refused to join and those Liberals who supported Borden took the name Liberal-Unionists. The Union Government went on to win the 1917 federal election.

The Speaker was first Thomas Simpson Sproule, and later Albert Sévigny. See also List of Canadian electoral districts 1907-1914 for a list of the ridings in this parliament.

There were seven sessions of the 12th Parliament:

Session Start End
1st 15 November 1911 1 April 1912
2nd 21 November 1912 6 June 1913
3rd 15 January 1914 12 June 1914
4th 18 August 1914 22 August 1914
5th 4 February 1915 15 April 1915
6th 12 January 1916 18 May 1916
7th 18 January 1917 20 September 1917