General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Canada
The General Secretary of the Central Committee (French: Secrétaire général(e) du Comité central) is the leader of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Canada (CPC–ML), and chairperson of the Central Committee's Politburo. The General Secretary is the de facto leader of the Communist Party, and is directly elected at the end of each session of the annual Party Congress, with no limit to the number of terms a General Secretary may serve, consecutively or otherwise. It is common for the incumbent General Secretary to also hold political office, most commonly the prime ministership, as party leaders generally are nominated to such offices as Prime Minister as well. However, this is not necessary, and several General Secretaries have spent their time in office away from politics and vice versa.