Cabinet of Canada

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.

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 require that those who directly advise the monarch and governor general on how to exercise the Royal Prerogative be accountable to the elected House 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.

In the context of constitutional monarchy and responsible 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,[6][7] and the royal and viceregal figures may unilaterally use these powers in exceptional constitutional crisis situations.

But, when no party or coalition holds a majority (referred to as a hung parliament), or similar scenario, the governor general's judgment about the most suitable candidate for prime minister must be brought into play.

Efforts are further made to indulge interest groups that support the incumbent government and the party's internal politics must be appeased.

These individuals are assigned specific, but temporary, responsibilities on a more ad hoc basis, fulfilling tasks created and dissolved to suit short-term government priorities from within a department under a full minister of the Crown.

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 assigned to each ministry in order to tender non-partisan advice.

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.

[33] Members of various executive agencies, heads of Crown 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.

[note 2][39] 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.

"[40] 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.

The Liberal Party of Canada won the federal election of October 19, 2015, with a majority of seats in the House of Commons.

The Cabinet, within the 29th Canadian Ministry, was sworn in on November 4, with Justin Trudeau appointed as prime minister.

These were the Ministers of Science,[43] Small Business and Tourism,[44] Sport and Persons with Disabilities,[45] Status of Women,[46] and La Francophonie.

Ministers Joyce Murray, Omar Alghabra, Carolyn Bennett all announced they would not be seeking re-election.

Notably Sean Fraser received a major promotion taking on the Housing file, and Pascale St-Onge took over at the Department of Canadian Heritage.