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TheCanadian Ministry (French:Conseil des ministres),[1] colloquially referred to as theCabinet of Canada (French:Cabinet du Canada), is a body ofministers of the Crown that, along with theCanadian monarch, and within the tenets of theWestminster system, forms thegovernment of Canada. Chaired by theprime minister, theCabinet is part of and acts on behalf of theKing's Privy Council for Canada and the senior echelon of theMinistry, the membership of the Cabinet and Ministry often being co-terminal; as of March 2025[update] 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 sinceConfederation. The current Cabinet is the Cabinet ofMark Carney, which is part of the30th Ministry. The interchangeable use of the termscabinet and ministry is a subtle inaccuracy that can cause confusion.
TheGovernment of Canada, formally referred to asHis Majesty's Government,[2][3] is defined bythe constitution asthe King acting on the advice ofhis Privy Council;[4][5] what is technically known as theGovernor-in-Council,[6] referring to thegovernor general as the King's delegate. However, the Privy Council—composed mostly of former members of parliament, current and formerchief justices of Canada, and other elder statesmen—rarely meets in full; as the stipulations ofresponsible government require that those who directlyadvise the monarch and governor general on how to exercise theRoyal Prerogative be accountable to the electedHouse of Commons, 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.[5] This body ofministers of the Crown is the Cabinet, which has come to be thecouncil in the phraseKing-in-Council.
In the context ofconstitutional monarchy andresponsible government, 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,[7][8] and the royal and viceregal figures may unilaterally use these powers in exceptionalconstitutional crisis situations.[note 1][23] There are alsoa 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.[24]
One of the main duties of the Crown is to appoint asprime minister the individual most likely to maintain theconfidence of the House of Commons; this is usually the leader of thepolitical party with a plurality of seats in that house. But, when no party or coalition holds a majority (referred to as ahung parliament), or similar scenario, the governor general's judgment about the most suitable candidate for prime minister must be brought into play.[25] 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[25] and he remains fully briefed through regular communications from his Canadian ministers and holds audience with them whenever possible.[26]
The governor general appoints to the Cabinet persons chosen by the prime minister—John A. Macdonald once half-jokingly listed his occupation ascabinet 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 eachprovince, ministers fromvisible minority,with disability andIndigenous groups, female ministers, and, while the majority of those chosen to serve as ministers of the Crown aremembers of Parliament, a cabinet sometimes includes asenator,[27] especially as a representative of a province or region where the governingparty won few or noridings. 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.[28]
As with otherWestminster-derived governments, but unlike theUnited States Cabinet, 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 byBrian Mulroney, with a population of 40 ministers. Mulroney's successor,Kim Campbell, reduced this number andJean Chrétien 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 ofPaul Martin, the number increased again to 39, in the vicinity of which it has remained. The Trudeau Cabinet comprised 37 ministers in 2021.[29]
Cabinet itself—or full Cabinet—is further divided intocommittees. TheTreasury 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, thePriorities and Planning Committee, often referred to as theinner 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.[30] 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.[31] Each committee is chaired by a senior minister whose own portfolio may intersect with the mandate of the committee.[30]
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Each minister of the Crown is responsible for the general administration of at least one government portfolio and heads a correspondingministry or ministries, known in Canada asdepartments or agencies. The most important minister, following thefirst minister, is theminister of finance, while other high-profile ministries includeforeign affairs,industry,justice, andhealth. The officialorder of precedence 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.[32]
Unique positions in Cabinet are those such asleader of the government in the House of Commons andpresident 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 someministers without portfolio, which was last done in 2021, when Prime Minister Trudeau advised the appointment ofJim Carr as Special Representative to the Prairies.[33] Unlike in many other Westminster model governments,ministers of state 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 moread hoc 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 ashaving the [situation] file.
Members of the Cabinet receive assistance from bothparliamentary secretaries—who will usually answer, on behalf of a minister, questions in the House of Commons—anddeputy ministers—seniorcivil servants assigned to each ministry in order to tender non-partisan advice.
Composed of advisors to the sovereign, the Cabinet has significant power in the Canadian system and, as the governing party usually holds amajority of seats in the legislature, almost all bills proposed by the Cabinet are enacted. Combined with a comparatively small proportion ofbills 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.[34]
Members of various executive agencies, heads ofCrown corporations, 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 andpublic inquiries are also called through aroyal 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 didJohn Turner in 1975, over the subject of wage and price controls, andMichael 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 MinisterPierre Trudeau is credited with consolidating power in theOffice of the Prime Minister (PMO) and,[35] at the end of the 20th century and into the 21st, analysts, such asJeffrey Simpson,Donald Savoie, andJohn Gomery, argued that both Parliament and the Cabinet had become overshadowed by prime ministerial power.[36] Savoie quoted an anonymous minister from the Liberal Party as saying Cabinet had become "a kind of focus group for the prime minister,"[37][38] while Simpson called cabinet a "mini-sounding board".[note 2][40] 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."[41] 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."[42]
Each party inHis Majesty's Loyal Opposition creates ashadow cabinet, with each member thereof observing and critiquing one or more corresponding, actual Cabinet portfolios and offering alternative policies. TheOfficial Opposition's shadow cabinet comprises members of the party holding the second-largest number of seats and is appointed by theleader of the Opposition; 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.
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The Canadian Ministry is commonly referred to as Cabinet. It is the body of ministerial advisors that sets the federal government's policies and priorities for the country.[Le Conseil des ministres est communément appelé le Cabinet. C'est l'organe de conseillers ministériels qui définit les politiques et les priorités du gouvernement fédéral pour le pays.]
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