In Canada, a party whip is the member of a political party in the House of Commons of Canada, the Senate of Canada or a provincial legislative assembly charged with ensuring party discipline among members of that party's caucus. The whip is also responsible for assigning offices and scheduling speakers from his or her party for various bills, motions and other proceedings in the legislature.
A party whip works to ensure that the number of party members in the legislature or at committee meetings is adequate to win a vote if one is called. When a vote is called in the legislature, division bells ring until the whips for each party are satisfied that there are sufficient members of their own party present for the vote to proceed.
The whip's role is especially important when there is a minority government or if the government has a slim majority, as the absence of a handful of members during a confidence vote could result in the defeat of the government. Party discipline is strict in Canada, and party members are expected to vote with the rest of their party in all but a few designated free votes.
James E. Walker, Chief Government Whip from 1963 to 1966, commented: "Once you get beyond the taxicab radius of Ottawa, nobody seems to have heard of a Whip. For that matter, nobody in Ottawa, three blocks from the Hill, has ever heard of the Whip either!"[1]
The post of Chief Government Whip is not a cabinet-level position. However, the Chief Government Whip may receive a concurrent appointment, such as minister without portfolio or Minister of State, and sit in cabinet by virtue of that position.
For a time, the Reform Party of Canada publicly styled its parliamentary whip with the title of Caucus Coordinator rather than Whip.
| Thomas Mayne Daly | 1872–1873 | under Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald |
| George Elliott Casey | 1874–1878 | under Prime Minister Alexander Mackenzie |
| Rufus Stephenson | 1878–1882 | under Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald |
| Arthur Trefusis Heneage Williams | 1882–1885 | |
| 1885–1891 | ||
| 1891–1892 | under Prime Minister Sir John Abbott | |
| 1892–1894 | under Prime Minister Sir John Thompson | |
| 1894–1896 | under Prime Minister Sir Mackenzie Bowell | |
| 1896 | under Prime Minister Sir Charles Tupper | |
| 1896–1900 | under Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier | |
| 1901–1909 | ||
| Frederick Forsyth Pardee | 1909–1911 | |
| John Stanfield | 1911–1917 | under Prime Minister Sir Robert Borden |
| William Sora Middlebro | 1918–1920 | |
| 1920–1921 | under Prime Minister Arthur Meighen | |
| George William Kyte | 1921–1925 | under Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King |
| Pierre-François Casgrain | 1926 | |
| William Alves Boys | 1926 | under Prime Minister Arthur Meighen |
| Pierre-François Casgrain | 1926–1930 | under Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King |
| Thomas Edward Simpson | 1930–1935 | under Prime Minister R. B. Bennett |
| Ross Gray | 1937–1940 | under Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King |
| William Horace Taylor | 1940–1945 | |
| William Gilbert Weir | 1945–1948 | |
| 1948–1957 | under Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent | |
| Elston Cardiff | 1957–1958 | under Prime Minister John Diefenbaker |
| John Pallett | 1959–1962 | |
| Théogène Ricard | 1962–1963 | |
| Alexis Caron | 1963 | under Prime Minister Lester Pearson |
| James Edgar Walker | 1963–1965 | |
| 1966–1968 | ||
| 1968–1970 | under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau | |
| Lloyd Francis | 1970-1971 | |
| 1971–1972 | ||
| Thomas Lefebvre | 1972–1975 | |
| 1975–1977 | ||
| 1977–1979 | ||
| 1979–1980 | under Prime Minister Joe Clark | |
| 1980–1984 | under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau | |
| 1984–1985 | under Prime Minister Brian Mulroney | |
| 1985–1988 | ||
| 1988–1993 | ||
| 1993 | under Prime Minister Kim Campbell | |
| 1993–1994 | under Prime Minister Jean Chrétien | |
| 1994–1996 | ||
| 1996–2001 | ||
| 2001–2003 | ||
| 2003–2004 | under Prime Minister Paul Martin | |
| 2004–2006 | ||
| 2006–2008 | under Prime Minister Stephen Harper | |
| 2008–2013 | ||
| 2013–2015 | ||
| 2015–2017 | under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau | |
| 2017–2018 | ||
| 2018–2021 | ||
| 2021–2024 | ||
| 2024–present |