Spouses of the Prime Ministers of Canada

The spouse of the Prime Minister of Canada is the wife or husband of the Prime Minister of Canada. As a public figure, some spouses will, from time to time, participate in various ceremonial, diplomatic, or partisan activities, alongside and on behalf of the Prime Minister.

Public role

The Prime Minister is not the head of state; thus, his or her spouse does not play as active a role in Canadian affairs as the royal consorts and vice-regal consorts. The Prime Minister's spouse, however, frequently accompanies the Prime Minister on campaign and other public appearances, and often hosts dignitaries at the Prime Minister's residence, 24 Sussex Drive. At times, prime ministers' spouses have used their public status to promote charitable causes Mila Mulroney was a spokesperson for the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and other children's charities, and Aline Chrétien was an active campaigner for literacy programs.

Some prime ministers' spouses have attracted a great deal of attention for other reasons: Maryon Pearson was noted for her prickly wit, having made a number of famous quips which are still regularly featured in anthologies of famous quotations. Margaret Trudeau, whom Pierre Trudeau married while in office, became a notable celebrity in her own right. Maureen McTeer, spouse of Joe Clark, attracted controversy when she became the first spouse of a Prime Minister to retain her own surname after marriage. Mila Mulroney also rose to some notoriety due to her spending habits, and was satirized in Frank as Imelda because of her purportedly large collection of shoes.

Some commentators have tried to style prime ministers' wives as First Lady of Canada, similar to the style of First Lady used in republics, but this title is incorrect. Use of the term is based on the pervasive influence of American media, and not a defined public role or title for the Prime Minister's spouse.

Other notes

Canada has had two prime ministers who were bachelors William Lyon Mackenzie King and R.B. Bennett. Mackenzie Bowell, a widower whose wife, Harriet, died in 1884, was also not married during his term in office. Pierre Trudeau, the first Canadian Prime Minister to get married during his term in office, also began his term as a bachelor and ended it separated from Margaret Trudeau.

Three Canadian Prime Ministers John A. Macdonald, Alexander Mackenzie and John Diefenbaker were also widowers, who were each married to their second wives during their terms as Prime Minister. Macdonald's first wife was Isabella Clark, Mackenzie's was Helen Neil, and Diefenbaker's was Edna Brower.

Canada has also had one female Prime Minister, Kim Campbell; however, as she was not married during her term in office, there has never been a male spouse of the Prime Minister. Campbell's first husband, Nathan Divinsky, did try to attract media attention in 1993 by billing himself as the ex-husband of the Prime Minister, and Campbell had finalized her divorce from her second husband, Howard Eddy, in early 1993. She briefly dated Gregory Lekhtman, the inventor of Exerlopers, during her term as Prime Minister, but kept the relationship relatively private and did not involve him in the election campaign.

Spouses of the Prime Ministers

Rank	Name	Dates	Spouse of
1.	Agnes Macdonald	July 1, 1867 – November 5, 1873	Sir John A. Macdonald
2.	Jane Mackenzie	November 7, 1873 – October 8, 1878	Alexander Mackenzie
	Agnes Macdonald	October 17, 1878 – June 6, 1891	Sir John A. Macdonald
3.	Mary Abbott	June 16, 1891 – November 24, 1892	Sir John Joseph Caldwell Abbott
4.	Annie Thompson	December 5, 1892 – December 12, 1894	Sir John Sparrow David Thompson
	none (widower)	December 21, 1894 – April 27, 1896	Sir Mackenzie Bowell
5.	Frances Tupper	May 1, 1896 – July 8, 1896	Sir Charles Tupper
6.	Zoé Laurier	July 11, 1896 – October 7, 1911	Sir Wilfrid Laurier
7.	Laura Borden	October 10, 1911 – July 10, 1920	Sir Robert Laird Borden
8.	Isabel Meighen	July 10, 1920 – December 29, 1921	Arthur Meighen
	none (never married)	December 29, 1921 – June 29, 1926	William Lyon Mackenzie King
	Isabel Meighen	June 29, 1926 – November 25, 1926	Arthur Meighen
	none (never married)	November 25, 1926 – August 7, 1930	William Lyon Mackenzie King
	none (never married)	August 7, 1930 – October 23, 1935	R.B. Bennett
	none (never married)	October 23, 1935 – November 15, 1948	William Lyon Mackenzie King
9.	Jeanne St. Laurent	November 15, 1948 – June 21, 1957	Louis Stephen St. Laurent
10.	Olive Diefenbaker	June 21, 1957 – April 22, 1963	John George Diefenbaker
11.	Maryon Pearson	April 22, 1963 – April 20, 1968	Lester B. Pearson
	none (unmarried as of 1968; married in office)	April 20, 1968 – March 4, 1971	Pierre Trudeau
12.	Margaret Trudeau	March 4, 1971 – 1977*	Pierre Trudeau
	none (separated) de facto Margaret Trudeau	1977 – June 4, 1979*	Pierre Trudeau
13.	Maureen McTeer	June 4, 1979 – March 2, 1980	Joe Clark
	none (separated) de facto Margaret Trudeau	March 2, 1980 – April 2, 1984*	Pierre Trudeau
	none (divorced)	April 2, 1984 – June 30, 1984*	Pierre Trudeau
14.	Geills Turner	June 30, 1984 – September 17, 1984	John Turner
15.	Mila Mulroney	September 17, 1984 – June 25, 1993	Brian Mulroney
	none (divorced twice, remarried after term ended)	June 25, 1993 – November 4, 1993	Kim Campbell
16.	Aline Chrétien	November 4, 1993 – December 12, 2003	Jean Chrétien
17.	Sheila Martin	December 12, 2003 – February 6, 2006	Paul Martin
18.	Laureen Harper	February 6, 2006 – present	Stephen Harper

(*)The Trudeaus separated in 1977 but did not obtain a divorce until April 2 1984. Trudeau left office in June 1984, two months after his divorce was finalized.