The Government of Canada (French: Gouvernement du Canada) 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 alternatively known as His Majesty's Government (French: Gouvernement de Sa Majesté) and is corporately branded as the Government of Canada.[1][2] 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",[3] of its Westminster-style parliamentary democracy.[4] The monarch, King Charles III is head of state and is personally represented by a governor general (currently Mary Simon). A prime minister (currently Justin Trudeau) 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.[5]
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[6] 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.
^"Overview of the Canadian Parliamentary System | Our Country, Our Parliament". lop.parl.ca. Archived from the original on 21 February 2022. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
^MacLeod 2015, p. 18
^Department of Canadian Heritage (February 2009), Canadian Heritage Portfolio(PDF) (2 ed.), Ottawa: Queen's Printer for Canada, p. 3, ISBN 978-1-100-11529-0, archived from the original (PDF) on 11 June 2011, retrieved 5 July 2009
^Coyne, Andrew (13 November 2009). "Defending the royals". Maclean's. ISSN 0024-9262. Archived from the original on 11 October 2013. Retrieved 17 November 2009.
^Brooks, Stephen Farper (2007). Canadian Democracy: An Introduction (5 ed.). Don Mills: Oxford University Press. p. 126. ISBN 978-0-19-543103-2.
^Office, Privy Council (21 February 2018). "About Cabinet". aem. Archived from the original on 30 March 2023. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
and 30 Related for: Government of Canada information
United Kingdom. Canada is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy in the Westminster tradition. The country's head ofgovernment is the prime...
between the GovernmentofCanada (the federal government) and the provincial governments to exercise exclusively. A change to the division of powers between...
Local government in Canada can be defined as all elected local authorities which are legally empowered to make decisions on behalf of its electors, excluding...
2016 Census – Canada". Statistics Canada. August 2, 2017. GovernmentofCanada, Statistics Canada (8 February 2012). "Statistics Canada: 2011 Census Profile"...
headquarters of the federal government. The city houses numerous foreign embassies, key buildings, organizations, and institutions ofCanada'sgovernment; these...
In Canada's parliamentary system of responsible government, minority governments occur when no party has a majority of seats in the legislature. Typically...
Canada ranks 37th by population among countries of the world, comprising about 0.5% of the world's total, with more than 40.7 million Canadians. Despite...
monarchy ofCanada is Canada's form ofgovernment embodied by the Canadian sovereign and head of state. It is one of the key components ofCanadian sovereignty...
Consensus government is a form ofgovernment by consensus decision-making in Canada used in two ofCanada's three federal territories (Northwest Territories...
of French. Under the Official Languages Act of 1969, both English and French have official status throughout Canada in respect of federal government services...
The following list outlines the structure of the federal governmentofCanada, the collective set of federal institutions which can be grouped into the...
Ordre du Canada) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals ofCanada, after the...
GovernmentofCanada Building may refer to: GovernmentofCanada Building, Scarborough, Ontario GovernmentofCanada Building, Moncton, New Brunswick Government...
Holdings Inc. In 2019, Air Canada flew 51.5 million passengers. In October 2021, the GovernmentofCanada acquired 6.4% of Air Canada in return for financial...
The National Flag ofCanada (French: Drapeau national du Canada), often simply referred to as the Canadian flag or, unofficially, as the maple leaf flag...
In Canada, Government House is a title given to the official residences of the country's monarch, various viceroys (the governor general, the lieutenant...
The politics ofCanada functions within a framework of parliamentary democracy and a federal system of parliamentary government with strong democratic...
Geography ofCanada. GovernmentofCanada – The Atlas ofCanadaCanadian Geographic – The Canadian Atlas Online Cartography ofCanada – The Canadian Map Online...
on the advice of his or her Canadian prime minister, appoints a governor general to administer the governmentofCanada in the monarch's name. The commission...
The Province ofCanada (or the United Province ofCanada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in British North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation...
Indigenous peoples in Canada (also known as Aboriginals) are the indigenous peoples within the boundaries ofCanada. They comprise the First Nations,...
issuing authority ofCanadian banknotes, provides banking services and money management for the government, and loans money to Canadian financial institutions...
visa policy ofCanada requires that any foreign citizen wishing to enter Canada must obtain a temporary resident visa from one of the Canadian diplomatic...
The Senate ofCanada (French: Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament ofCanada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they compose...
Islam in Canada is a minority religion practised by approximately 5% of the population. A majority of Muslims are of immigrant backgrounds consisting...
constitution ofCanada refers to God and the monarch carries the title of Defender of the Faith, however Canada has no official church and the government is officially...
The House of Commons ofCanada (French: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament ofCanada. Together with the Crown and the...