The 38th Canadian Parliament was in session from October 4, 2004, until November 29, 2005. The membership was set by the 2004 federal election on June 28, 2004, and it changed only somewhat due to resignations and by-elections, but due to the seat distribution, those few changes significantly affected the distribution of power. It was dissolved prior to the 2006 election.

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38th Parliament of Canada
minority parliament
4 October 2004 – 29 November 2005
Parliament leaders
Prime Minister	Rt. Hon. Paul Martin December 12, 2003 (2003-12-12) – February 6, 2006 (2006-02-06)
Cabinet	27th Canadian Ministry
Leader of the Opposition	Hon. Stephen Harper March 20, 2004 (2004-03-20) – February 6, 2006 (2006-02-06)
Party caucuses
Government	Liberal Party
Opposition	Conservative Party
Recognized	Bloc Québécois
	New Democratic Party
Unrecognized	Progressive Conservative*
* Only in the Senate.
House of Commons
Seating arrangements of the House of Commons
Speaker of the Commons	Hon. Peter Milliken January 29, 2001 (2001-01-29) – June 2, 2011 (2011-06-02)
Government House Leader	Hon. Tony Valeri October 4, 2004 (2004-10-04) – November 29, 2005 (2005-11-29)
Opposition House Leader	Hon. John Douglas Reynolds October 4, 2004 (2004-10-04) – January 27, 2005 (2005-01-27)
	Jay D. Hill January 30, 2005 (2005-01-30) – November 29, 2005 (2005-11-29)
Members	308 seats MP seats List of members
Senate
Seating arrangements of the Senate
Speaker of the Senate	Hon. Dan Hays October 4, 2004 (2004-10-04) – February 6, 2006 (2006-02-06)
Government Senate Leader	Hon. Jacob Austin October 4, 2004 (2004-10-04) – February 6, 2006 (2006-02-06)
Opposition Senate Leader	Hon. Noël Kinsella October 4, 2004 (2004-10-04) – February 6, 2006 (2006-02-06)
Senators	105 seats senator seats List of senators
Sovereign
Monarch	HM Elizabeth II 6 February 1952 – 8 September 2022
Governor General	HE Rt. Hon. Adrienne Clarkson October 7, 1999 (1999-10-07) – September 27, 2005 (2005-09-27)
	HE Rt. Hon. Michaëlle Jean September 27, 2005 (2005-09-27) – October 1, 2010 (2010-10-01)
Sessions
1st session October 4, 2004 (2004-10-04) – November 29, 2005 (2005-11-29)
← 37th → 39th

Close

It was controlled by a Liberal Party minority under Prime Minister Paul Martin and the 27th Canadian Ministry. The Official Opposition was the Conservative Party, led by Stephen Harper.

The Speaker was Peter Milliken. See also List of Canadian federal electoral districts for a list of the ridings in this parliament.

There was one session of the 38th Parliament:

The parliament was dissolved following a vote of non-confidence passed on 28 November by the opposition Conservatives, supported by the New Democratic Party and Bloc Québécois. Consequently, a federal election was held on 23 January 2006 to choose the next parliament.

The party standings as of the election and as of dissolution were as follows:

Important bills of the 38th parliament included:

• Bill C-32 – the Department of Foreign Affairs Act to split DFAIT in two departments, was a surprise defeat for the government
• Bill C-38 – the Civil Marriage Act, legalized Same-sex marriage across Canada.
• Bill C-43 – the Canadian federal budget, 2005
• Bill C-48 – an NDP add-on to the 2005 budget

Complete list of bills

In early 2005 Ontario Member of Parliament (MP) Belinda Stronach crossed the floor to the Liberal Party after running for Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, and coming in second to Stephen Harper. She ended her public relationship with Conservative MP Peter MacKay.

• List of Canadian federal electoral districts
• List of Canadian federal parliaments
• 38th Canadian House of Commons seating plan