Who stands in for an ill prime minister is not as clear as it is in American politics

By: The Canadian Press Posted: Last Modified:

Advertisement

Advertise with us

OTTAWA - Should U.S. President Donald Trump fall too ill with COVID-19 to be able to perform his duties, there's an automatic backup: U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence.

Read this article for free:


By clicking the button above, an account will be created and you will begin to receive some of our recommended newsletters. You may opt out of any newsletter by visiting your Email and Communication Preferences page or by clicking "unsubscribe" at the bottom of any email.

or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Digital Subscription

One year of digital access for only $1.44 a week*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*Billed as $5.77 plus GST every four weeks. After 52 weeks, price increases to the regular rate of $19.95 plus GST every four weeks. Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional

$1 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles
Start now

*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 02/10/2020 (2220 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA – Should U.S. President Donald Trump fall too ill with COVID-19 to be able to perform his duties, there’s an automatic backup: U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence.

The Canadian approach to succession is a bit more complicated.While it might seem obvious that Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland would step in if Prime Minister Justin Trudeau couldn’t do his job, there’s no fixed rule or even Canadian precedent for what happens in such a scenario.

In turn, cabinet periodically creates a list of who would stand in.

The most recent version was agreed upon this week and is set to be published formally on Monday.

Currently, Freeland is designated as next in line to perform the prime minister’s duties, and then all the ministers in the current cabinet are listed in case she also can’t fill the role.

Veterans Affairs Minister Lawrence MacAulay, who first served in cabinet under former prime minister Jean Chrétien, is the next in line after Freeland to act as prime minister.Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault is currently last.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published October 2, 2020.

Related Articles

Trump diagnosis shows perils of pandemic politics
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump walk to board Marine One at the White House, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020, in Washington, for the short trip to Andrews Air Force Base en route to Cleveland for first debate against Democrat Joe Biden. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Carolyn Kaster

Advertisement Advertise With Us

Report Error Submit a Tip

Advertisement

Learn more about Winnipeg Free Press Advertising solutions

More Stories

JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS FILES The Granite Curling Club is arguing that the club’s future is in danger if no alternative plan for parking is put in place should a 11-storey, 111-unit residential project be built.

Judge halts any construction on housing project across from curling club until he rules on city’s approval

Dean Pritchard 3 minute read Preview

Judge halts any construction on housing project across from curling club until he rules on city’s approval

Dean Pritchard 3 minute read 6:58 PM CDT

A judge has ordered that preliminary construction activities at a hotly contested housing development next door to the Granite Curling Club be “paused” until after he delivers a court ruling that could decide its future.

At a hearing last June, lawyers for the curling club urged King’s Bench Justice Ami Kotler to quash a city bylaw approving the project, set to be built on a parking lot owned by the city but used for decades by the curling club, arguing the decision was rushed and significantly flawed.

Kotler has not yet delivered his decision.

On Friday, curling club lawyer James Mercury told court project developer Granite Project Holding Inc. had secured permits to begin “early works” including excavating and shoring of the site and the installation of piles, starting as early as Monday.

Read
6:58 PM CDT
Ruth Bonneville / Free Press Winnipeg’s North End Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Ottawa announces $500 million for North End sewage plant upgrade

Joyanne Pursaga 4 minute read Preview

Ottawa announces $500 million for North End sewage plant upgrade

Joyanne Pursaga 4 minute read 5:03 PM CDT

The federal government will provide $500 million to help complete the major upgrade to Winnipeg’s North End sewage treatment plant.

Winnipeg South MP Terry Duguid confirmed the total funding at a news conference at the plant Friday, calling the work critical to Winnipeg’s future.

“The stakes could not be higher. Without expanded wastewater treatment, Winnipeg would run out of capacity to build new homes and accommodate new industries within six years,” said Duguid.

The commitment offers the final funding needed to cover the $1.57-billion third and final phase of the upgrade. The city and province will also pay $500 million each for the work.

Read
5:03 PM CDT
FILE - This combination of photos released by the Washtenaw County Jail, shows David Daniels, left, and William Scott Walters, in Ann Arbor, Mich. Daniels and Walters were arrested in 2019 and accepted a deal to plead guilty to sexual assault of an adult, a second-degree felony. Both were sentenced to eight years' probation and required to register as sex offenders. (Washtenaw County Jail via AP, File)

Opera singer David Daniels no longer in singers’ union following sexual assault guilty plea

The Associated Press 2 minute read Preview

Opera singer David Daniels no longer in singers’ union following sexual assault guilty plea

The Associated Press 2 minute read Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023

NEW YORK (AP) — Countertenor David Daniels is no longer a member of the union for singers following his guilty plea to a charge of sexual assault.

The 57-year-old and his husband, Scott Walters, pleaded guilty to sexual assault of an adult, a second-degree felony, in Houston's Harris County District Court on Aug. 4. Their accuser was aspiring opera singer Sam Schultz.

They both were sentenced to eight years’ probation and required to register as sex offenders.

American Guild of Musical Artists spokesperson Alicia Cook said Wednesday that Daniels is no longer a member of the union.

Read
Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Rob Paola, who has been measuring Winnipeg weather for 18 years from his Charleswood backyard, poses for a portrait with his meteorological instruments in Winnipeg on Wednesday, June 8, 2022. For Ben Waldman story. Winnipeg Free Press 2022.

Meteorologist behind Rob’s Obs is moving weather station to Ontario

Ben Waldman 7 minute read Preview

Meteorologist behind Rob’s Obs is moving weather station to Ontario

Ben Waldman 7 minute read Monday, Jun. 13, 2022

In a Winnipeg winter, there are always at least two certainties: it will be cold, and it will snow. A third certainty: the people will talk endlessly about how frigid the temperature is, and argue about how much snow is cloaking their driveways. Is it colder than it ever has been? Is there more snow today than the same time last year?

Rob Paola likely knows the answers to those questions.

Paola possesses no super powers. He is but a man with a metre stick and 40 years of professional meteorological experience, in the midst of a lifelong love affair with Mother Nature, a most turbulent mistress who rarely, if ever, reciprocates.

Each year when snow begins to fall, Paola heads outside his Charleswood home to figure out how much. He sticks his ruler in the ground, grabs his clipboard, and clicks his pen. In neat script, he records the temperature, what time precipitation began, how deep the powder is stacked. Then, he shares his data and insights online with thousands of followers who want a clear answer to the eternal questions: Why is this happening? When will it stop? How much snow has fallen in the city of Winnipeg?

Read
Monday, Jun. 13, 2022

Submit a news tip

1 minute read Monday, Mar. 16, 2026

Submit a news tip

Wife’s witchy wonderment won’t spell trouble

Maureen Scurfield 5 minute read 2:00 AM CDT

DEAR MISS LONELYHEARTS: My wife believes in magic potions, which used to make me laugh. But since Halloween season started this year, she’s been acting in a way that frightens me. She seems to think she’s a modern-day “witch.” Give me a break!

Now she has three friends who think they are really casting spells when they get together! And this year on Halloween night she’s being formally accepted into their little witchy group meeting at one of their homes, and is getting a new sorceress name. It’s creepy! How do I cope? I’ve had enough of this.

— Seriously Upset, South St. Vital

Dear Upset: Don’t buy into the hocus pocus by being afraid of it and expressing any trepidation to your wife. She needs you to be strong, so she knows she has a solid anchor and can drop out of this witchy group if it becomes too scary or silly for her.