Harper government

Stephen Harper's tenure as Prime Minister began on 6 February 2006 when Harper and his first cabinet were sworn in by Governor General Michaelle Jean. Harper was invited to form the 28th Canadian Ministry and become Prime Minister of Canada following the 2006 election where Harper's Conservative Party of Canada won a plurality of seats in the Canadian House of Commons leading to the resignation of Liberal prime minister Paul Martin. In the 2011 federal election, Harper won his first majority government.

From Canadian confederation until the 1993 election, two parties alternated between the positions of government and official opposition: the Liberals and Conservatives. In 1993, the Progressive Conservatives were reduced from a majority government to fifth place and two seats in the House of Commons. They were displaced by the Reform Party of Canada in Western Canada, the Bloc Québécois in Québec, and the Liberals throughout the country due to vote splitting.