Government of Canada#Executive

Under Canada's Westminster-style parliamentary democracy, the terms government and Government of Canada refer specifically to the prime minister, Cabinet, and other members of the governing party inside the House of Commons, but typically includes the federal public service and federal departments and agencies when used elsewhere.{{Cite web|url=https://learn.parl.ca/understanding-comprendre/en/canada-system-of-government/the-branches-of-government/|title=The Branches of Government|website=learn.parl.ca|access-date=20 April 2023|archive-date=21 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230421002113/https://learn.parl.ca/understanding-comprendre/en/canada-system-of-government/the-branches-of-government/|url-status=live}} This differs from the United States, where the executive branch is referred to as an administration and the federal government encompasses executive, legislative, and judicial powers, similar to the Canadian Crown.

In press releases issued by federal departments, the government has sometimes been referred to as the current prime minister's government (e.g. the Trudeau Government). This terminology has been commonly employed in the media.{{citation| last=Cheadle| first=Bruce| title=Tories re-brand government in Stephen Harper's name| date=3 March 2011| url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/tories-re-brand-government-in-stephen-harpers-name/article1929175/| newspaper=The Globe and Mail| accessdate=26 April 2011| archive-date=9 July 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180709142909/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/tories-re-brand-government-in-stephen-harpers-name/article1929175/| url-status=dead}} In late 2010, an informal instruction from the Office of the Prime Minister urged government departments to consistently use, in all department communications, such phrasing (i.e., Harper Government, at the time), in place of Government of Canada.{{Cite news| date=7 March 2011| title=Tories defend use of 'Harper Government'| author=CTV News| publisher=Bell Media| url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/tories-defend-use-of-harper-government-1.615530| accessdate=9 May 2011| archive-date=2 November 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131102105232/http://www.ctvnews.ca/tories-defend-use-of-harper-government-1.615530| url-status=live}} The same Cabinet earlier directed its press department to use the phrase Canada's New Government.

{{Main|Monarchy of Canada|Governor General of Canada}}

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}}Canada is a constitutional monarchy, wherein the role of the reigning sovereign is both legal and practical, but not political.{{Cite journal| last=Forsey| first=Helen| title=As David Johnson Enters Rideau Hall ...| journal=The Monitor| date=1 October 2010| url=http://www.policyalternatives.ca/publications/monitor/david-johnson-enters-rideau-hall| accessdate=23 January 2011| archive-date=3 February 2011| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110203201325/http://www.policyalternatives.ca/publications/monitor/david-johnson-enters-rideau-hall| url-status=live}} The monarch is vested with all powers of state{{cite book| last=Privy Council Office| author-link=Privy Council Office (Canada)| title=Accountable Government: A Guide for Ministers and Ministers of State – 2008| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| year=2008| location=Ottawa| page=45| url=http://www.pco-bcp.gc.ca/index.asp?lang=eng&page=information&sub=publications&doc=ag-gr/2008/ag-gr-eng.htm| isbn=978-1-100-11096-7| access-date=17 May 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100318110030/http://www.pco-bcp.gc.ca/index.asp?lang=eng&page=information&sub=publications&doc=ag-gr%2F2008%2Fag-gr-eng.htm| archive-date=18 March 2010| url-status=dead}} and sits at the centre of a construct in which the power of the whole is shared by multiple institutions of government acting under the sovereign's authority.{{citation| url=http://www.queensu.ca/iigr/conf/ConferenceOnTheCrown/CrownConferencePapers/The_Crown_and_the_Constitutio1.pdf| last=Smith| first=David E.| work=The Crown and the Constitution: Sustaining Democracy?| date=10 June 2010| location=Ottawa| title=Conference on the Crown| page=6| publisher=Queen's University| accessdate=22 May 2020}} Archived from the [http://www.queensu.ca/iigr/conf/ConferenceOnTheCrown/CrownConferencePapers/The_Crown_and_the_Constitutio1.pdf original] on 17 June 2010.{{citation| url=https://www.ourcommons.ca/About/ProcedureAndPractice3rdEdition/ch_01_2-e.html| last1=Bosc| first1=Marc| last2=Gagnon| first2=André| year=2017| title=Parliamentary Institutions| chapter=1: House of Commons Procedure and Practice| edition=3| location=Ottawa| publisher=House of Commons Table Research Branch| accessdate=22 May 2020| archive-date=7 May 2017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170507081041/http://www.parl.gc.ca/About/House/compendium/web-content/c_d_rolecrowngovernorgeneral-e.htm| url-status=live}}{{citation| url=https://www.ourcommons.ca/procedure/our-procedure/ParliamentaryFramework/c_g_parliamentaryframework-e.html| author=Table Research Branch of the House of Commons| title=The Canadian Parliamentary System| chapter=Our Procedure| location=Ottawa| accessdate=22 May 2020| archive-date=30 May 2022| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220530121029/https://www.ourcommons.ca/procedure/our-procedure/ParliamentaryFramework/c_g_parliamentaryframework-e.html| url-status=live}}{{cite journal| last=Cox| first=Noel| title=Black v Chrétien: Suing a Minister of the Crown for Abuse of Power, Misfeasance in Public Office and Negligence| journal=Murdoch University Electronic Journal of Law| volume=9| issue=3| page=12| date=September 2002| url=http://www.murdoch.edu.au/elaw/issues/v9n3/cox93.html| access-date=17 May 2009| archive-date=26 June 2020| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200626163652/http://www.murdoch.edu.au/elaw/issues/v9n3/cox93.html| url-status=live}} The executive is thus formally referred to as the King-in-Council.{{Harvnb|MacLeod|2015|p=17}}

On the advice of the Canadian prime minister, the sovereign appoints a federal viceregal representative—the governor general (currently Mary Simon)—who, since 1947, is permitted to exercise almost all of the monarch's royal prerogative; though, there are some duties which must be specifically performed by the monarch themselves (such as assent of certain bills). In case of the governor general's absence or incapacitation, the administrator of Canada performs the Crown's most basic functions.

As part of the royal prerogative, the royal sign-manual gives authority to letters patent and orders-in-Council. Much of the royal prerogative is only exercised in-council, meaning on the advice of the King's Privy Council for Canada (ministers of the Crown formed in Cabinet in conventional practice);{{cite book| last=Forsey| first=Eugene| author-link=Eugene Forsey| title=How Canadians Govern Themselves| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| year=2005| location=Ottawa| page=1| edition=6| url=http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/library/idb/forsey/PDFs/How_Canadians_Govern_Themselves-6ed.pdf| isbn=978-0-662-39689-5| accessdate=14 May 2008| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325074418/http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/library/idb/forsey/PDFs/How_Canadians_Govern_Themselves-6ed.pdf| archive-date=25 March 2009| df=dmy-all}}{{cite web| url=http://www2.parl.gc.ca/MarleauMontpetit/DocumentViewer.aspx?DocId=1001&Sec=Ch01&Seq=5&Lang=E&Print=2| last1=Marleau| first1=Robert| last2=Montpetit| first2=Camille| title=House of Commons > 1. Parliamentary Institutions| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| accessdate=28 September 2009| year=2000| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110828112251/http://www.parl.gc.ca/MarleauMontpetit/DocumentViewer.aspx?DocId=1001&Lang=E&Print=2&Sec=Ch01&Seq=5| archive-date=28 August 2011| df=dmy-all}} within the conventional stipulations of a constitutional monarchy, the sovereign's direct participation in any of these areas of governance is limited.{{Harvnb| MacLeod| 2015| p=16}}{{Citation| last=Russell| first=Peter| date=1983| contribution=Bold Statecraft, Questionable Jurisprudence| editor-last=Banting| editor-first=Keith G.| editor2-last=Simeon| editor2-first=Richard| title=And no one cheered: federalism, democracy, and the Constitution Act| page=217| location=Toronto| publisher=Taylor & Francis| isbn=978-0-458-95950-1| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sUwOAAAAQAAJ}}

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The term Government of Canada, or more formally, His Majesty's Government (term), refers to the activities of the {{Canadian monarch, current|title=1}}-in-Council. The day-to-day operation and activities of the Government of Canada are performed by the federal departments and agencies, staffed by the Public Service of Canada, and the Canadian Armed Forces.

{{Main|Prime Minister of Canada}}

File:Mark Carney.jpg, Prime Minister and head of government]]

One of the main duties of the Crown is to ensure that a democratic government is always in place,Jackson, Michael D. October 2009. "[https://web.archive.org/web/20091229100400/http://www.monarchist.ca/cmn/2009/Autumn_2009_CMN.pdf The Senior Realms of the Queen]" (book review & commentary). Canadian Monarchist News 39(30):9–12. Archived from the [http://www.monarchist.ca/cmn/2009/Autumn_2009_CMN.pdf original] on 29 December 2009. Retrieved 22 May 2020. p. 9.

Reviewed work: Boyce, Peter. 2008. The Queen's Other Realms: The Crown and its Legacy in Australia, Canada and New Zealand. {{ISBN|9781862877009}}. Sydney, AU: Federation Press. which includes the appointment of a prime minister, who heads the Cabinet and directs the activities of the government.{{cite web|last=Office of the Governor General of Canada|title=Media > Fact Sheets > The Swearing-In of a New Ministry|url=http://www.gg.ca/media/fs-fd/P1_e.asp|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20061009192004/http://www.gg.ca/media/fs-fd/P1_e.asp|archive-date=9 October 2006|access-date=18 May 2009|publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada|df=dmy-all}} Not outlined in any constitutional document, the office exists in long-established convention, which stipulates the Crown must select as prime minister the person most likely to command the confidence of the elected House of Commons, who, in practice, is typically the leader of the political party that holds more seats than any other party in that chamber (currently the Liberal Party, led by Mark Carney). Should no particular party hold a majority in the House of Commons, the leader of one party—either the party with the most seats or one supported by other parties—will be called by the governor general to form a minority government. Once sworn in, the prime minister holds office until their resignation or removal by the governor general, after either a motion of no confidence or defeat in a general election.{{Harvnb|Brooks|2007|p=235}}

{{Main|King's Privy Council for Canada}}

The executive is defined in the Constitution Act, 1867 as the Crown acting on the advice of the King's Privy Council for Canada, referred to as the {{Canadian monarch, current|title=1}}-in-Council.Wrong, Humphrey Hume. 10 November 1952. "[https://web.archive.org/web/20111123085615/http://www.international.gc.ca/department/history-histoire/dcer/details-en.asp?intRefid=4363 Relations With the United States [Telegram 219]]." Documents on Canadian External Relations 18(867): Ch. 8. Ottawa: Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada. Archived from the [http://www.international.gc.ca/department/history-histoire/dcer/details-en.asp?intRefid=4363 original] on 23 November 2011. Retrieved 22 May 2020.{{Citation |last=Victoria |author-link=Queen Victoria |publication-date=29 March 1867 |title=Constitution Act, 1867 |series=III.15 |location=Westminster|publisher=Queen's Printer |url=http://www.solon.org/Constitutions/Canada/English/ca_1867.html |access-date=15 January 2009 |year=1867 |archive-date=3 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100203024121/http://www.solon.org/Constitutions/Canada/English/ca_1867.html |url-status=live |at=III.9 & 11}}{{Harvnb|Marleau|Montpetit|2000|loc=The Executive}} However, the Privy Council—consisting mostly of former ministers, chief justices, and other elder statesmen—rarely meets in full. In the construct of constitutional monarchy and responsible government, the advice tendered is typically binding,{{Cite book|last=Russell|first=Peter|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sUwOAAAAQAAJ|title=And no one cheered: federalism, democracy, and the Constitution Act|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=1983|isbn=978-0-458-95950-1|editor-last=Banting|editor-first=Keith G.|location=Toronto|publication-date=1983|page=217|contribution=Bold Statecraft, Questionable Jurisprudence|access-date=12 June 2010|editor2-last=Simeon|editor2-first=Richard}} meaning the monarch reigns but does not rule, with the Cabinet ruling "in trust" for the monarch.{{Harvnb|MacLeod|2015|p=8}} However, the royal prerogative belongs to the Crown and not to any of the ministers,{{Harvnb|MacLeod|2015|p=16}}{{cite journal|last=Cox|first=Noel|date=September 2002|title=Black v Chrétien: Suing a Minister of the Crown for Abuse of Power, Misfeasance in Public Office and Negligence|url=http://www.murdoch.edu.au/elaw/issues/v9n3/cox93.html|journal=Murdoch University Electronic Journal of Law|location=Perth|publisher=Murdoch University|volume=9|issue=3|page=12|access-date=17 May 2009|archive-date=26 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200626163652/http://www.murdoch.edu.au/elaw/issues/v9n3/cox93.html|url-status=live}} and there are rare exceptions where the monarch may be obliged to act unilaterally to prevent manifestly unconstitutional acts.{{Cite book| first=Anne| last=Twomey| author-link=Anne Twomey (academic)| title=The veiled sceptre : reserve powers of heads of state in Westminster systems| date=2018| publisher=Cambridge University Press| isbn=978-1-108-57332-0| location=Port Melbourne, Victoria| pages=13–15| oclc=1030593191}}{{Cite journal| last=Lagassé| first=Philippe| date=4 September 2019| title=The Crown and Government Formation: Conventions, Practices, Customs, and Norms| url=https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/constitutional_forum/index.php/constitutional_forum/article/view/29384| journal=Constitutional Forum| volume=28| issue=3| page=14| doi=10.21991/cf29384| issn=1927-4165| doi-access=free}}

{{Main|Cabinet of Canada}}

The stipulations of responsible government require that those who directly advise the Crown on the exercise the royal prerogative be accountable to the elected House of Commons and 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, known as the Cabinet.

The monarch and governor general typically follow the near-binding advice of their ministers. The royal prerogative, however, belongs to the Crown and not to any of the ministers,Neitsch, Alfred Thomas. 2007. "[http://www.revparl.ca/30/4/30n4_07e_Neitsch.pdf A Tradition of Vigilance: The Role of Lieutenant Governor in Alberta] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201025201559/http://www.revparl.ca/30/4/30n4_07e_Neitsch.pdf |date=25 October 2020 }}." Canadian Parliamentary Review 30(4):19–28. Retrieved 22 May 2020. p. 23. who only rule "in trust" for the monarch and who must relinquish the Crown's power back to it upon losing the confidence of the commons,{{cite book|author=Tidridge|first=Nathan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JvGsvHsAtDgC&pg=PA65|title=Canada's Constitutional Monarchy: An Introduction to Our Form of Government|publisher=Dundurn|year=2011|isbn=978-1-4597-0084-0|page=65}} whereupon a new government, which can hold the lower chamber's confidence, is installed by the governor general. The royal and vice-royal figures may unilaterally use these powers in exceptional constitutional crisis situations (an exercise of the reserve powers),{{refn|See 'Responsibilities' and Note 1 at Cabinet of Canada.|group=n|name=RP}} thereby allowing the monarch to make sure "that the government conducts itself in compliance with the constitution."{{Citation|last=Boyce|first=Peter|title=The Crown and its Legacy in Australia, Canada and New Zealand|page=29|year=2008b|location=Sydney|publisher=Federation Press|isbn=978-1-86287-700-9}} Politicians can sometimes try to use to their favour to obscure the complexity of the relationship between the monarch, viceroy, ministers, and Parliament, as well as the public's general unfamiliarity with such.{{refn|It was said by Helen Forsey: "The inherent complexity and subtlety of this type of constitutional situation can make it hard for the general public to fully grasp the implications. That confusion gives an unscrupulous government plenty of opportunity to oversimplify and misrepresent, making much of the alleged conflict between popular democracy—supposedly embodied in the Prime Minister—and the constitutional mechanisms at the heart of responsible government, notably the 'reserve powers' of the Crown, which gets portrayed as illegitimate." As examples, she cited the campaign of William Lyon Mackenzie King following the King–Byng Affair of 1926 and Stephen Harper's comments during the 2008–2009 Canadian parliamentary dispute.|group=n|name=Forsey}}

{{portal|Canada|Government}}

• Structure of the Canadian federal government
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{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist|group=n}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Refbegin|}}

• {{citation|last=Bourinot|first=John George|title=Parliamentary Procedure and Practice in the Dominion of Canada|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k1i056Bp0IMC&q=government%20%20of%20canada&pg=PP1|year=2008|edition=4th|publisher=Lawbook Exchange|editor-last=Flint|editor-first=Thomas Barnard|isbn=978-1-58477-881-3|access-date=25 October 2020|archive-date=10 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231110012246/https://books.google.com/books?id=k1i056Bp0IMC&q=government%20%20of%20canada&pg=PP1#v=snippet&q=government%20%20of%20canada&f=false|url-status=live}}
• {{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/democraticgovern0000daws|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/democraticgovern0000daws/page/17 17]|quote=Democratic Government in Canada.|title=Democratic Government in Canada|last1=Dawson|last2=Dawson|first2=W. F.|publisher=University of Toronto Press|year=1989|isbn=978-0-8020-6703-6|editor-last=Ward|editor-first=Norman|location=Toronto|first1=R. MacGregor|access-date=14 January 2011}}
• {{citation|last=Johnson|first=David|title=Thinking government: public sector management in Canada|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TcL80sSautgC&q=government%20%20of%20canada&pg=PP1|year=2006|edition=2nd|publisher=Broadview Press|isbn=978-1-55111-779-9|access-date=25 October 2020|archive-date=10 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231110012304/https://books.google.com/books?id=TcL80sSautgC&q=government%20%20of%20canada&pg=PP1#v=snippet&q=government%20%20of%20canada&f=false|url-status=live}}
• {{citation|last=Hale|first=Geoffrey|title=Uneasy partnership: the politics of business and government in Canada|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=reUbMtHEP0oC&q=government%20%20of%20canada&pg=PP1|year=2006|publisher=Broadview Press|isbn=978-1-55111-504-7|access-date=25 October 2020|archive-date=10 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231110012237/https://books.google.com/books?id=reUbMtHEP0oC&q=government%20%20of%20canada&pg=PP1#v=snippet&q=government%20%20of%20canada&f=false|url-status=live}}
• {{citation|title=The Canadian Regime: An Introduction to Parliamentary Government in Canada|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-jpXFH_ZhY8C&q=government%20%20of%20canada&pg=PP1|year=2009|last1=Malcolmson|last2=Myers|first1=Patrick|first2=Richard|edition=4th|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-1-4426-0047-8|access-date=25 October 2020|archive-date=10 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231110012237/https://books.google.com/books?id=-jpXFH_ZhY8C&q=government%20%20of%20canada&pg=PP1#v=snippet&q=government%20%20of%20canada&f=false|url-status=live}}
• {{citation | last=MacLeod | first=Kevin S. | author-link=Kevin S. MacLeod | title=A Crown of Maples | location=Ottawa | publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada | year=2015 | page=18 | url=https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/pch/documents/services/royal-symbols-titles/crnMpls-eng.pdf | isbn=978-0-662-46012-1 | access-date=2 October 2021 | archive-date=24 October 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221024002618/https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/pch/documents/services/royal-symbols-titles/crnMpls-eng.pdf | url-status=live }}
• {{citation|last=Morton|first=Frederick Lee|title=Law, politics, and the judicial process in Canada|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dj_4_H35nmYC&q=Politics%20%20of%20canada&pg=PP1|year=2002|publisher=Frederick Lee|isbn=978-1-55238-046-8|access-date=25 October 2020|archive-date=10 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231110012239/https://books.google.com/books?id=dj_4_H35nmYC&q=Politics%20%20of%20canada&pg=PP1#v=snippet&q=Politics%20%20of%20canada&f=false|url-status=live}}
• {{citation|last=Roy|first=Jeffrey|title=E-government in Canada: transformation for the digital age|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e7MvxfWYC-MC&q=government%20%20of%20canada&pg=PP1|year=2006|publisher=University of Ottawa Press|isbn=978-0-7766-0617-0|access-date=25 October 2020|archive-date=10 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231110012246/https://books.google.com/books?id=e7MvxfWYC-MC&q=government%20%20of%20canada&pg=PP1#v=snippet&q=government%20%20of%20canada&f=false|url-status=live}}
• {{citation|last=Roy|first=Jeffrey|title=Business and government in Canada|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dUteJOqOGOwC&q=government%20%20of%20canada&pg=PP1|year=2007|publisher=University of Ottawa Press|isbn=978-0-7766-0658-3|access-date=25 October 2020|archive-date=10 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231110012331/https://books.google.com/books?id=dUteJOqOGOwC&q=government%20%20of%20canada&pg=PP1#v=snippet&q=government%20%20of%20canada&f=false|url-status=live}}

{{Refend}}

• {{Official website}}
• [https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/federal-government Federal Government] at The Canadian Encyclopedia
• [http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/201/301/public_accounts_can/pdf/index.html Public accounts of Canada, from 1995 onward] (PDF format)

{{Government Departments of Canada}}

{{Canadian monarchy}}

{{Constitution of Canada}}

{{Canadian law}}

{{Canada topic|Government of}}

{{North America topic|Government of|title=Governments of North America}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:1867 establishments in Canada

Category:Politics of Canada

Canada