DCHP-2

question period Question Period DCHP-2 (June 2016)

• n. — Politics

  a period during every day the House of Commons is sitting when the opposition may ask questions of the prime minister or cabinet ministers.

  Type: 5. Frequency — Question period is formally known as "Oral Questions", and takes place every day in the House of Commons when parliament is in session. Question period lasts 45 minutes and the first question is generally reserved for the leader of the official opposition (see Parliament of Canada reference). In the UK, New Zealand and Australia, similar proceedings are known as as question time (see OED-3, s.v. "question time"). Internet searches indicate that question period, when referencing a government activity, is most prevalent in Canada (see Chart 1).
  See also COD-2, s.v. "question period", which is marked "Cdn", ITP-Nelson, s.v. "question period" (2), which is marked "Canadian", and OED-3, s.v. "question period", which is marked "spec. (Canad.)".