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A council of ministers chaired by the Prime Minister, the Cabinet is the senior echelon of the Ministry. (The terms "Cabinet" and "Ministry" are sometimes used interchangeably, a subtle inaccuracy which can spark confusion. All members of the Ministry also currently members of Cabinet, but this is not always the case.) Technically, the Cabinet is a committee of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada; in practice, it is actually the executive committee of the Canadian government.
250px Prime Minister Paul Martin and Governor General Adrienne Clarkson with cabinet after the swearing-in ceremony ( July 20, 2004)
Slightly fewer than forty Ministers of the Crown and Ministers of State presently comprise the cabinet proper. Each minister is not only responsible for advising the Prime Minister and other ministers on any and all political matters, but generally administers one or more specific portfolios.
Ministers of the Crown are in most cases the formal head of a corresponding federal department or agency, although there are exceptions: positions such as the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and the President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada have no corresponding department, while some Ministers of the Crown (such as the Minister for International Cooperation) head agencies under the umbrella of a department run by another Minister. While the Prime Minister may name someone to Cabinet as a Minister of the Crown without portfolio, this has not been done since 1978.
Ministers of state, often dubbed "junior ministers," are assigned specific responsibilities on a more ad hoc basis, which they fulfil from within a department under a full minister. The portfolios of ministers of state are considerably more transient, as positions may be created and dissolved to suit specific short-term government priorities or the specific qualifications of candidates without alterations to the departmental structure. In recent years, prime ministers have occasionally named individuals as minister of state but not specified any particular responsibilities, effectively making them ministers without portfolio. Unlike many other Westminster-model governments, ministers of state in Canada are full members of Cabinet rather than members of the Ministry outside it; this has the effect of making the Canadian Cabinet considerably larger than its British equivalent, despite the fact that the British Ministry has a total membership far in excess of the Canadian version. secretaries of stateFron 1993 to 2003, the title of Secretary of State was given to officials in the Government of Canada. Secretaries of State were MPs who were members of the Ministry and the Queen's Privy Council for Canada, assigned to assist Cabinet ministers, but not t, who were members of the Ministry but not the Cabinet, fulfilled most of their tasks carried out by ministers of state from 19931993 is a common year starting on Friday and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003 Events January January 1 Czechoslovakia divides. Establishment of independent Slovakia and Czech Republic. to 20032003 is a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar), and also: The International Year of Freshwater The European Disability Year Summary Perhaps the defining global event of the year 2003 was the Invasion of Iraq launched by the U; consequently there were only a handful of ministers of state during this time. Parliamentary SecretariesIn the parliamentary systems of several Commonwealth countries, such as Canada and Australia, it is customary for the prime minister to appoint parliamentary secretaries (in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, "parliamentary assistants") from their caucu also assist members of Cabinet, usually with their duties answering questions in the House of Commons. While they have been members of the Privy Council since 20032003 is a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar), and also: The International Year of Freshwater The European Disability Year Summary Perhaps the defining global event of the year 2003 was the Invasion of Iraq launched by the U, they are members of neither the Cabinet nor Ministry. Deputy MinistersIn Canada, a Deputy Minister is the senior civil servant in a government department and assists the Minister of the department who is a member of the Canadian Cabinet. The most senior deputy minister is the Clerk of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada wh are neither MPs nor Cabinet Ministers but are the senior civil servant in a governmental department and assist the Minister both by giving non-partisan advice and by assisting in the administration of the department. The chief civil servant who both leads the other deputy ministers and provides non-partisan advice to the Prime Minister is the Clerk of the Privy CouncilThe Clerk of the Privy Council is the senior civil servant in the government and the Secretary to the Canadian Cabinet. The Clerk of the Privy Council Clerk operates as the Prime Minister of Canada's Deputy Minister and provides impartial advice to the Pr.The Prime Minister often assigns a minister to be responsible for a specific problem or initiative that may cut across departmental boundaries. This is usually described as having the
Different positions have widely varying levels of prestige. Unquestionably the most important minister is the Minister of FinanceThe Minister of Finance is one of the most important positions in the Cabinet of Canada. The current Minister of Finance (2004) is Ralph Goodale. It is the responsibility of the Finance Minister to manage and each year present the federal government's bud. Other high profile ministries include Defence, Foreign Affairs, Industry, Justice, and Health.