DCHP-2

First Ministers first ministers DCHP-2 (October 2016)

• n. — plural, Politics, Administration

  the group consisting of the prime minister of Canada and the thirteen leaders of the provinces and territories.

  Type: 5. Frequency — The collective term First Ministers refers to the current Prime Minister and the premiers of Canada's ten provinces (see the 1922 and 1983 quotations) and three territories. The term gained currency with the Victoria Charter of 1971, which called for "annual meetings to take place among the prime minister of Canada and the 'first ministers' of the provinces" (see Canadian Encyclopedia reference). Although the Victoria Charter was not adopted, the term First Ministers maintained currency. It is seen as useful for its ability to signify "top-level federal-provincial meetings", as well as to avoid controversy concerning titles for provincial leaders (e.g. premiers versus prime ministers) (see Canadian Encyclopedia reference).
  First Ministers is often used in discussion of "First Ministers' Meetings" or "First Ministers' Conferences" (see Canadian Encyclopedia reference), events that are held to discuss national concerns such as health care or economic development (see the 2005 and 2007 quotations); these events account for much of the frequency of the term as seen in Chart 1.
  See also Gage-5, s.v. "First Ministers", which is marked as "Cdn", and ITP Nelson, s.v. "first ministers", which is described as being used in Canada.

  See also: First Minister  

  • 1983  The Quebec minister said a Cabinet meeting this week would decide whether the proposal will be placed formally before a first ministers' meeting March 15 and 16 in Ottawa that is to deal mainly with native rights. 
  • 1989  The upcoming meeting of first ministers on Nov. 9 is a strategic opportunity for Prime Minister Brian Mulroney to bring all the parties together on a simple, harmonized sales tax system. 
  • 2000  The constitutional negotiations of the 1860s were multiparty meetings. Not only the colonial first ministers sat at the table at Province House in Charlottetown. Backbenchers and opposition leaders were full participants. Such broad participation gave their agreements added legitimacy - a vital component in the debates about confederation. Sadly, this tradition was abandoned in the 20th century. Modern first ministers, trying to amend the constitution without all-party input, have consistently failed to win the support of Canadians. 
  • 2005  Fontaine credits that approach with achievements such as [...] and an invitation to a first ministers' meeting on health care coming in September. 
  • 2007  Generally, during his appearances at first ministers' meetings and economic development conferences, Ostashek doggedly sounded the message that the Yukon was open for business to interested investors, be it mining, petrolum exploration or otherwise. 
  • 2013  Start at the top - with the first ministers. Stephen Harper, an economics graduate, is only the sixth person since Confederation to sit in the prime minister's chair without a law degree. Six of his seven immediate predecessors, going back to the 1960s, were lawyers before going into politics. Kathleen Wynne, a non-lawyer, is replacing Dalton McGuinty as Ontario premier. That leaves just two other first ministers with law degrees at the top of governments in all the provinces and territories in Canada - Alberta's Alison Redford and Nova Scotia's Darrell Dexter.