Government of Canada

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The Government of Canada (Template:Langx), formally His Majesty's Government (Template:Langx),<ref name="MacLeod18">Template:Harvnb</ref> is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. The term Government of Canada refers specifically to the executive, which includes ministers of the Crown (together in the Cabinet) and the federal civil service (whom the Cabinet direct); it is corporately branded as the Government of Canada.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> There are over 100 departments and agencies, as well as over 300,000 persons employed in the Government of Canada. These institutions carry out the programs and enforce the laws established by the Parliament of Canada.

The federal government's organization and structure was established at Confederation, through the Constitution Act, 1867, wherein the Canadian Crown acts as the core, or "the most basic building block",<ref>Template:Citation</ref> of its Westminster-style parliamentary democracy.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The monarch, Template:Canadian monarch, current is head of state and is personally represented by a governor general (currently Mary Simon). The prime minister (currently Mark Carney) is the head of government, who is invited by the Crown to form a government after securing the confidence of the House of Commons, which is typically determined through the election of enough members of a single political party in a federal election to provide a majority of seats in Parliament, forming a governing party. Further elements of governance are outlined in the rest of the Canadian constitution, which includes written statutes in addition to court rulings and unwritten conventions developed over centuries.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Constitutionally, the King's Privy Council for Canada is the body that advises the sovereign or their representative on the exercise of executive power. This task is carried out nearly exclusively by the Cabinet, which functions as the executive committee of the Privy Council that sets the government's policies and priorities for the country<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and is chaired by the prime minister. The sovereign appoints the members of Cabinet on the advice of the prime minister who, by convention, are generally selected primarily from the House of Commons (although often include a limited number of members from the Senate). During its term, the government must retain the confidence of the House of Commons and certain important motions, such as money bills and the speech from the throne, are considered as confidence motions. Laws are formed by the passage of bills through Parliament, which are either sponsored by the government or individual members of Parliament. Once a bill has been approved by both the House of Commons and the Senate, royal assent is required to make the bill become law. The laws are then the responsibility of the government to oversee and enforce.

TerminologyEdit

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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref name=GMName>Template:Citation</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The same Cabinet earlier directed its press department to use the phrase Canada's New Government.<ref name=GMName/>

Role of the CrownEdit

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Template:Multiple imageCanada is a constitutional monarchy, wherein the role of the reigning sovereign is both legal and practical, but not political.<ref name=Forsey>Template:Cite journal</ref> The monarch is vested with all powers of state<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 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.<ref name=Smith6>Template:Citation Archived from the original on 17 June 2010.</ref><ref>Template:Citation</ref><ref>Template:Citation</ref><ref name=Murdoch>Template:Cite journal</ref> The executive is thus formally referred to as the King-in-Council.<ref name="MacLeod17">Template:Harvnb</ref>

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);<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> within the conventional stipulations of a constitutional monarchy, the sovereign's direct participation in any of these areas of governance is limited.<ref name=MacLeod16>Template:Harvnb</ref><ref>Template:Citation</ref>

Prime Minister and CabinetEdit

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The term Government of Canada, or more formally, [[His Majesty's Government (term)|Template:Canadian monarch, current Majesty's Government]], refers to the activities of the Template:Canadian monarch, current-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.

Prime MinisterEdit

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File:Mark Carney portrait February 2020.jpg

Mark Carney, 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,<ref>Jackson, Michael D. October 2009. "The Senior Realms of the Queen" (book review & commentary). Canadian Monarchist News 39(30):9–12. Archived from the 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. Template:ISBN. Sydney, AU: Federation Press.</ref> which includes the appointment of a prime minister, who heads the Cabinet and directs the activities of the government.<ref name="GG">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref name="Brooks235">Template:Harvnb</ref>

Privy CouncilEdit

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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 Template:Canadian monarch, current-in-Council.<ref name="MacLeod18" /><ref name="US">Wrong, Humphrey Hume. 10 November 1952. "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 original on 23 November 2011. Retrieved 22 May 2020.</ref><ref>Template:Citation</ref><ref name="MarleauExecutive">Template:Harvnb</ref> 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,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> meaning the monarch reigns but does not rule, with the Cabinet ruling "in trust" for the monarch.<ref name="auto">Template:Harvnb</ref> However, the royal prerogative belongs to the Crown and not to any of the ministers,<ref name="MacLeod162">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name="Murdoch2">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Neitsch23"/> and there are rare exceptions where the monarch may be obliged to act unilaterally to prevent manifestly unconstitutional acts.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

CabinetEdit

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} 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.<ref name="MarleauExecutive" />

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,<ref name="Murdoch" /><ref name="Neitsch23">Neitsch, Alfred Thomas. 2007. "A Tradition of Vigilance: The Role of Lieutenant Governor in Alberta Template:Webarchive." Canadian Parliamentary Review 30(4):19–28. Retrieved 22 May 2020. p. 23.</ref> 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,<ref name="auto"/><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 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),Template:Refn thereby allowing the monarch to make sure "that the government conducts itself in compliance with the constitution."<ref name="Boyce2">Template:Citation</ref> 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.Template:Refn

ReferencesEdit

NotesEdit

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CitationsEdit

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External linksEdit

Template:Official website
Federal Government at The Canadian Encyclopedia
Public accounts of Canada, from 1995 onward (PDF format)

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