The 24th Canadian Parliament was in session from May 12, 1958, until April 19, 1962. The membership was set by the 1958 federal election on March 31, 1958, and it changed only somewhat due to resignations and by-elections until it was dissolved prior to the 1962 election.

There were five sessions of the 24th Parliament:

It was controlled by a Progressive Conservative Party majority, which won the largest majority in Canadian history, under Prime Minister John Diefenbaker and the 18th Canadian Ministry. The Official Opposition was the Liberal Party, led by Lester B. Pearson.

Prior to 1960, Indigenous people in Canada did not have the right to vote, but could gain it through the process of enfranchisement, giving up their 'Indian' status. On March 31, 1960, an act brought in by Diefenbaker's government, updating section 14 of the Canada Elections Act, received royal ascent. This bill gave indigenous peoples in Canada the right vote without giving up their status. It had received nearly unanimous consent from parliament.

In the early 1950's Canada had commissioned the design and development of a new interceptor jet that could be used to fend off attack from the Soviet Union. Avro Canada, an aircraft company, was contracted for the job and began development of the "CF-105 Arrow".

By 1959, the government found itself balancing the costs of multiple priorities, and on February 20th, 1959, development of the arrow was scrapped. This in itself was not cause for scandal, but following the cancelation of the program, the government ordered a large amount of prototypes, tooling, and materials related to the program destroyed. This caused widescale distrust of the government and resulted in thousands of workers losing their jobs, essentially overnight.

The fallout from the cancellation of the Arrow cost the Progressive Conservative party a good deal of support and contributed to their loss in the following election.

Main article: 18th Canadian Ministry