Official party status refers to the Canadian practice of recognizing political parties. The Elections and Parties Series Democracy Representative democracy History of democracy Referenda Liberal democracy Representation Voting Voting systems Ideology Elections Elections by country Elections by calender Electoral systems Politics Politics by country Political campaigns Political science Political philosophy Related topics Political parties Parties by country Parties by name Parties by...

There are two forms of recognition.

Recognition by Elections Canada allows parties (even if they have no parliamentary seats) to participate in federal elections and to benefit from electoral financing laws. Elections Canada is the non-partisan agency of the Government of Canada responsible for the conduct of federal elections and referendums. ...

Recognition in the Parliament of Canada allows parties certain parliamentary privileges. Generally official party status is dependent on winning a minimum number of seats (that is, the number of MPs or MLAs elected). The Parliament of Canada (French: Parlement du Canada) is Canadas legislative branch, seated at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario. ...

The federal parliament has two houses with different requirements. In the House of Commons, a party must have at least 12 seats to be recognized as an official party. Recognition means that the party will get time to ask questions during question period (proportional to the number of seats) and money for research and staff (also proportional to the number of seats). The House of Commons (French: Chambre des communes) is a component of the Parliament of Canada, which also includes the Sovereign (represented by the Governor General) and the Senate. ... Question Period or Oral Questions is a Canadian parliamentary practice similar to the British Prime Ministers Questions in which Members of Parliament submit questions to the government ministers including the Prime Minister for answer. ...

In the Senate, a party must have five seats and must be registered with Elections Canada. Once the party has been recognized in the Senate, it retains its status even if it becomes deregistered with Elections Canada, so long as it keeps at least five seats. This rule means that the PC Party caucus in the senate does not qualify for official status in the senate. The Senate (French: Sénat) is a component of the Parliament of Canada, which also includes the Sovereign (represented by the Governor General) and the House of Commons. ... The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (PC) was a Canadian centre-right conservative political party that existed from 1867 to 2003. ...

The provincial governments also award official party status:

• In British Columbia, a party must have at least four seats. In 2001 Premier Gordon Campbell was criticized for his decision not to grant the B.C. NDP official party status; it was the only opposition party in the legislature, but it had won only two seats in the last election.
• In Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia, a party must win at least two seats.
• In Ontario, a party must win eight seats. In 1999 Ontario's then-premier, Mike Harris, lowered the number of seats required from 12 to 8 after reducing the number of seats in the legislature from 130 to 103. In 2003, the NDP won only seven seats, but Andrea Horwath's by-election win in May 2004 regained official party status for the NDP.
• In Quebec, a party must have twelve seats or have captured 20 per cent of the popular vote in the preceding general election.
• In Manitoba, Alberta, and Newfoundland and Labrador,a party must have four seats.
• In New Brunswick, five seats are required, though all parties with one or more seats get time in Question Period.
• In Prince Edward Island, there is no official law, but precedent with the PEI NDP shows that only a single seat is required.