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The Canadian Ministry ( French: ''Conseil des ministres''), colloquially referred to as the Cabinet of Canada (), is a body of
ministers of the Crown Minister of the Crown is a formal constitutional term used in Commonwealth realms to describe a minister of the reigning sovereign or viceroy. The term indicates that the minister serves at His Majesty's pleasure, and advises the sovereign o ...
that, along with the Canadian monarch, and within the tenets of the
Westminster system The Westminster system, or Westminster model, is a type of parliamentary system, parliamentary government that incorporates a series of Parliamentary procedure, procedures for operating a legislature, first developed in England. Key aspects of ...
, forms the
government of Canada The Government of Canada (), formally His Majesty's Government (), is the body responsible for the federation, federal administration of Canada. The term ''Government of Canada'' refers specifically to the executive, which includes Minister of t ...
. Chaired by the
prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
, the Cabinet is part of and acts on behalf of the
King's Privy Council for Canada The King's Privy Council for Canada (), sometimes called His Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council (PC), is the full group of personal advisors to the monarch of Canada on State (polity), state and constitutional affair ...
and the senior echelon of the Ministry, the membership of the Cabinet and Ministry often being co-terminal; there were no members of the latter who were not also members of the former. For practical reasons, the Cabinet is informally referred to either in relation to the prime minister in charge of it or the number of ministries since
Confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...
. The current Cabinet is the Cabinet of
Mark Carney Mark Joseph Carney (born March 16, 1965) is a Canadian politician and economist who has served as the 24th and current Prime Minister of Canada, prime minister of Canada since 2025. He has served as Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, lead ...
, which is part of the 30th Ministry. The interchangeable use of the terms ''cabinet'' and '' ministry'' is a subtle inaccuracy that can cause confusion.


Composition


Governor-in-Council

The
Government of Canada The Government of Canada (), formally His Majesty's Government (), is the body responsible for the federation, federal administration of Canada. The term ''Government of Canada'' refers specifically to the executive, which includes Minister of t ...
, formally referred to as ''
His Majesty's Government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
'', is defined by the constitution as the King acting on the advice of his Privy Council; what is technically known as the ''Governor-in-Council'', referring to the governor general as the King's delegate. However, the Privy Council—composed mostly of former members of parliament, current and former chief justices of Canada, and other elder statesmen—rarely meets in full; as the stipulations of
responsible government Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability, the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. Governments (the equivalent of the executive br ...
require that those who directly
advise ADVISE (Analysis, Dissemination, Visualization, Insight, and Semantic Enhancement) is a research and development program within the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Threat and Vulnerability Testing and Assessment (TVTA) portfoli ...
the monarch and governor general on how to exercise the
Royal Prerogative The royal prerogative is a body of customary authority, Privilege (law), privilege, and immunity recognised in common law (and sometimes in Civil law (legal system), civil law jurisdictions possessing a monarchy) as belonging to the monarch, so ...
be accountable to the elected
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
, the day-to-day operation of government is guided only by a sub-group of the Privy Council made up of individuals who hold seats in Parliament. This body of
ministers of the Crown Minister of the Crown is a formal constitutional term used in Commonwealth realms to describe a minister of the reigning sovereign or viceroy. The term indicates that the minister serves at His Majesty's pleasure, and advises the sovereign o ...
is the Cabinet, which has come to be the ''council'' in the phrase ''King-in-Council''. In the context of
constitutional monarchy Constitutional monarchy, also known as limited monarchy, parliamentary monarchy or democratic monarchy, is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in making decisions. ...
and
responsible government Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability, the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. Governments (the equivalent of the executive br ...
, the ministerial advice tendered is typically binding; though, it is important to note that the royal prerogative belongs to the Crown, not to any of the ministers, and the royal and viceregal figures may unilaterally use these powers in exceptional
constitutional crisis In political science, a constitutional crisis is a problem or conflict in the function of a government that the constitution, political constitution or other fundamental governing law is perceived to be unable to resolve. There are several variat ...
situations. There are also a few duties which must be specifically performed by, or bills that require assent by, the King. Royal assent has never been denied to a bill passed by the federal Parliament. One of the main duties of the Crown is to appoint as
prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
the individual most likely to maintain the
confidence Confidence is the feeling of belief or trust that a person or thing is reliable. * * * Self-confidence is trust in oneself. Self-confidence involves a positive belief that one can generally accomplish what one wishes to do in the future. Sel ...
of the House of Commons; this is usually the leader of the
political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...
with a plurality of seats in that house. But, when no party or coalition holds a majority (referred to as a
hung parliament A hung parliament is a term used in legislatures primarily under the Westminster system (typically employing Majoritarian representation, majoritarian electoral systems) to describe a situation in which no single political party or pre-existing ...
), or similar scenario, the governor general's judgment about the most suitable candidate for prime minister must be brought into play. The prime minister thereafter heads the Cabinet. The King is informed by his viceroy of the acceptance of the resignation of a prime minister and the swearing-in of a new ministry and he remains fully briefed through regular communications from his Canadian ministers and holds audience with them whenever possible.


Selection and structure

The governor general appoints to the Cabinet persons chosen by the prime minister— John A. Macdonald once half-jokingly listed his occupation as cabinet maker. While there are no legal qualifications of the potential ministers, there are a number of conventions that are expected to be followed. For instance, there is typically a minister from each
province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
, ministers from
visible minority In Canada, a visible minority () is defined by the Government of Canada as "persons, other than aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour". The term is used primarily as a demographic category by Statistics Canada ...
, with disability and Indigenous groups, female ministers, and, while the majority of those chosen to serve as ministers of the Crown are members of Parliament, a cabinet sometimes includes a
senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...
, especially as a representative of a province or region where the governing
party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will oft ...
won few or no ridings. Efforts are further made to indulge interest groups that support the incumbent government and the party's internal politics must be appeased. It is not legally necessary for Cabinet members to have a position in parliament although they are almost always selected from the House of Commons. As with other Westminster-derived governments, but unlike the
United States Cabinet The Cabinet of the United States is the principal official advisory body to the president of the United States. The Cabinet generally meets with the president in Cabinet Room (White House), a room adjacent to the Oval Office in the West Wing of ...
, the size and structure of the Canadian Cabinet is relatively malleable, the slate of Cabinet positions tending to be substantially restructured periodically, the last major period of realignment occurring between 1993 and 1996. Throughout the 20th century, cabinets had been expanding in size until the Cabinet chaired by
Brian Mulroney Martin Brian Mulroney (March 20, 1939 – February 29, 2024) was a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Canada from 1984 to 1993. Born in the eastern Quebec city of Baie-Comeau, Mulroney studi ...
, with a population of 40 ministers. Mulroney's successor, Kim Campbell, reduced this number and
Jean Chrétien Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (; born January 11, 1934) is a retired Canadian politician, statesman, and lawyer who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003. He served as Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, leader of t ...
eliminated approximately 10 members of the ministry from the Cabinet, so that, by 1994, there were a total of 23 persons in Cabinet. Under the chairmanship of
Paul Martin Paul Edgar Philippe Martin (born August 28, 1938), also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian lawyer and retired politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006. Th ...
, the number increased again to 39, in the vicinity of which it has remained. The Trudeau Cabinet comprised 37 ministers in 2021. Cabinet itself—or full Cabinet—is further divided into committees. The Treasury Board, overseeing the expenditure of the sovereign's state funds within every department, is one of the most important of these. The structure of Cabinet fluctuates between and within ministries. For example, the Priorities and Planning Committee, often referred to as the ''inner Cabinet'', was the body that set the strategic directions for the government under Stephen Harper, approving key appointments and ratifying committee memberships. This committee ceased to exist under Justin Trudeau. Other Cabinet committees common across committee structures include operations, social affairs, a committee focused on economic growth, foreign affairs and security, the environment, and energy security. Each committee is chaired by a senior minister whose own portfolio may intersect with the mandate of the committee.


Ministers, secretaries, and deputies

Each minister of the Crown is responsible for the general administration of at least one government portfolio and heads a corresponding ministry or ministries, known in Canada as departments or agencies. The most important minister, following the
first minister A first minister is any of a variety of leaders of government cabinets. The term literally has the same meaning as "prime minister" but is typically chosen to distinguish the office-holder from a superior prime minister. Currently the title of ' ...
, is the minister of finance, while other high-profile ministries include
foreign affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit organization, nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership or ...
, industry,
justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...
, and
health Health has a variety of definitions, which have been used for different purposes over time. In general, it refers to physical and emotional well-being, especially that associated with normal functioning of the human body, absent of disease, p ...
. The official
order of precedence An order of precedence is a sequential hierarchy of importance applied to individuals, groups, or organizations. For individuals, it is most often used for diplomats in attendance at very formal occasions. It can also be used in the context of ...
does not follow the same pattern, however, with ministers being listed in the order of their appointment to the Privy Council; if appointed on the same day, the individuals are placed in order of their election or appointment to Parliament. Unique positions in Cabinet are those such as leader of the government in the House of Commons and president of the King's Privy Council, who have no corresponding department and some ministers, such as the minister for international cooperation, head agencies under the umbrella of a department run by another minister. Further, the prime minister may recommend the governor general appoint to Cabinet some ministers without portfolio, which was last done in 2021, when Prime Minister Trudeau advised the appointment of Jim Carr as Special Representative to the Prairies. Unlike in many other Westminster model governments,
ministers of state Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior ministers ...
in Canada are considered full members of Cabinet, rather than of the ministry outside it, which has the effect of making the Canadian Cabinet much larger than its foreign counterparts. These individuals are assigned specific, but temporary, responsibilities on a more
ad hoc ''Ad hoc'' is a List of Latin phrases, Latin phrase meaning literally for this. In English language, English, it typically signifies a solution designed for a specific purpose, problem, or task rather than a Generalization, generalized solution ...
basis, fulfilling tasks created and dissolved to suit short-term government priorities from within a department under a full minister of the Crown. Ministers of state may also be named, but not specified any particular responsibilities, thus giving them the effective appearance of ministers without portfolio, or be delegated problems or initiatives that cut across departmental boundaries, a situation usually described as ''having the ituationfile''. Members of the Cabinet receive assistance from both parliamentary secretaries—who will usually answer, on behalf of a minister, questions in the House of Commons—and deputy ministers—senior
civil servants The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...
assigned to each ministry in order to tender non-partisan advice.


Responsibilities

Composed of advisors to the sovereign, the Cabinet has significant power in the Canadian system and, as the governing party usually holds a majority of seats in the legislature, almost all bills proposed by the Cabinet are enacted. Combined with a comparatively small proportion of bills originating with individual members of Parliament, this leads to Cabinet having almost total control over the legislative agenda of the House of Commons. Further, under the constitution, all legislation involving the raising or spending of public revenue must originate from the Cabinet. Members of various executive agencies, heads of
Crown corporations Crown corporation () is the term used in Canada for organizations that are structured like private companies, but are directly and wholly owned by the government. Crown corporations have a long-standing presence in the country, and have a sign ...
, and other officials are appointed by the Crown-in-Council; though, some of these may be made only by the Governor General-in-Council, specifically. Royal commissions and public inquiries are also called through a royal warrant issued by the King or Governor-in-Council. All Cabinet meetings are held behind closed doors and the minutes are kept confidential for 30 years, with Cabinet members being forbidden from discussing what transpires. Decisions made must be unanimous; though, this often occurs at the prime minister's direction and, once a decision has been reached, all Cabinet members must publicly support it. If any of these rules are violated, the offending minister is usually removed by the prime minister and, if the disagreement within the Cabinet is strong, a minister may resign, as did John Turner in 1975, over the subject of wage and price controls, and Michael Chong in 2006, over a parliamentary motion recognizing "the Québécois" as a nation within Canada. However, the Cabinet's collective influence has been seen to be eclipsed by that of the prime minister alone. Former Prime Minister
Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau (October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000) was a Canadian politician, statesman, and lawyer who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and from 1980 to 1984. Between his no ...
is credited with consolidating power in the Office of the Prime Minister (PMO) and, at the end of the 20th century and into the 21st, analysts, such as Jeffrey Simpson, Donald Savoie, and
John Gomery John Howard Gomery (August 9, 1932 – May 18, 2021) was a Canadian jurist from Quebec. He was a Justice of the Quebec Superior Court from 1982 to 2007, and appointed Commissioner for the Royal Commission investigating the Sponsorship scandal ...
, argued that both Parliament and the Cabinet had become overshadowed by prime ministerial power. Savoie quoted an anonymous minister from the Liberal Party as saying Cabinet had become "a kind of focus group for the prime minister," while Simpson called cabinet a "mini-sounding board". Coyne wrote in 2015: "Cabinet does not matter ..It does not govern: that is the job of the prime minister and of the group of political staff he has around him, and of the bureaucracy beyond them." John Robson criticised the use of the prime minister's name to identify the Cabinet, calling it a "bad habit" that "endorses while concealing the swollen pretension of the executive branch."


Shadow cabinets

Each party in His Majesty's Loyal Opposition creates a shadow cabinet, with each member thereof observing and critiquing one or more corresponding, actual Cabinet portfolios and offering alternative policies. The Official Opposition's shadow cabinet comprises members of the party holding the second-largest number of seats and is appointed by the
leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...
; it is generally regarded as a "government in waiting". Its members are often, but not always, appointed to a Cabinet post, should the leader of their party be called to form a government.


Current Cabinet


Former portfolios

* Minister of Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction (2018–2019) *
Secretary of State for the Provinces Secretary of State for the Provinces was an office in the Cabinet of Canada, active from 1867 to 1873. The office was superseded by the Minister of the Interior (Canada), Minister of the Interior on May 3, 1873. The position was responsible for ...
(1867–1873) * Minister of Public Works (1867–1996) * Postmaster General (1867–1981) * Minister of Customs (1867–1918) * Minister of Inland Revenue (1867–1918) * Secretary of State for Canada (1867–1996) * Minister of Marine and Fisheries (1867–1930) * Superintendent-General Indian Affairs (1868–1936) *
Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...
(1873–1936) *
Solicitor General A solicitor general is a government official who serves as the chief representative of the government in courtroom proceedings. In systems based on the English common law that have an attorney general or equivalent position, the solicitor general ...
(1892–2003) * Minister of Mines (1907–1936) * Secretary of State for External Affairs (1909–1993) * Minister of Immigration and Colonization (1917–1936) * Minister of Soldiers' Civil Re-establishment (1918–1928) * Minister of Customs and Inland Revenue (1918–1921) * Minister of Customs and Excise (1921–1927) * Minister of Pensions and National Health (1928–1944) * Minister of Fisheries (1930–1971) * Minister of Mines and Resources (1936–1950) * Minister of Mines and Technical Surveys (1950–1966) * Minister of Resources and Development (1950–1953) * Minister of Citizenship and Immigration (1950–1966) * Minister of Northern Affairs and National Resources (1953–1966) * Minister of Manpower and Immigration (1966–1977) * Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources (1966–1995) * Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs (1968–1995) * Leader of the Government in the Senate (
list A list is a Set (mathematics), set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of t ...
)
(1969–2013) * Minister of Regional Economic Expansion (1969–1982) * Minister of Economic Communications (1969–1996) * Minister of Supply and Services (1969–1996) * Minister of Industry, Trade and Commerce (1969–1983) * Minister of Employment and Immigration (1977–1996) * Minister of Regional Industrial Expansion (1984–1990) * Minister of Forestry (1990–1995) * Minister of National Health and Welfare (1944–1996) * Minister of Industry, Science and Technology (1990–1995) * Minister responsible for Constitutional Affairs (1991–1993) *
Minister of Multiculturalism and Citizenship The Minister of Multiculturalism and Citizenship was an office in the Cabinet of Canada from 1991 to 1996 and from 2013 to 2015. It was superseded in 1996 and again in 2015 by the Minister of Canadian Heritage. In 2019, Bardish Chagger was appoint ...
(1991–1996) * Minister of Human Resources Development (1996–2003) * Minister of Defence Production (1951—1969) * Minister of Citizens' Services (2023–2025) * Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities (2019–2025) * Minister of Mental Health and Addictions (2021–2025) * Minister of Official Languages (2003–2025) * Minister of Seniors (2018–2025) * Minister of Small Business (2015–2025) * Minister of Sport (1961–1976, 2015–2025) * Minister of Tourism (1980–1993, 2003–2025) * Associate Minister of Health (2021–2025) * Associate Minister of National Defence (1940–1967, 1985–1993, 2003–2025) * Associate Minister of Public Safety (2024–2025) * Minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec (1993–2025)


See also

* List of Canadian ministries *
Structure of the Canadian federal government The following list outlines the structure of the federal government of Canada, the collective set of federal institutions which can be grouped into the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. In turn, these are further divided into depar ...


Notes


References


Citations


Sources

* * * * * * * *


External links


Reference to current cabinet ministers

Cabinet Minister responsibilities
{{North America topic, Cabinet of , title = National cabinets of North America Government of Canada
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
Westminster system in Canada