1982: According to John Stewart, the House leaders are the "unsung heroes" of the parliamentary process; unsung because, despite their crucial contribution to the effective performance of the House of Commons, their activities have received little scholarly attention. This article proposes to begin to fill the gap in the literature on Canadian parliamentary parties by presenting an analysis of the role of the House leaders. After tracing the origins and evolution of the office of the House leader, this article examines the role of the House leaders and the gradually increasing formal recognition, both within the parties and in parliamentary procedure, of their positions.