Talk:Government of Canada

Moved
I've mostly copied and pasted parts from the Politics of Canada article. It needs work, so I hope there will be help. -PullUpYourSocks 01:30, 7 July 2006 (UTC)
 * I think your solution was great. As I commented on the Politics of Canada talk page, there may be articles pointing there that really ought to link to this article. I assume the long list of articles already linking did so when this article was still a redirect, so it might not be necessary to undertake such a review. I'll keep my eyes open and take care of it if and when I get a chance. Agent 86 23:46, 10 July 2006 (UTC)

Reference to Government
I think that this page should perhaps include a note at the top that would read something along the lines of:

''The Government of Canada often refers to the governing ministry, rather than the institution of government as a whole. For this usage, see the 28th Ministry of Canada.''

When I searched for Government of Canada, I was actually searching for a page about the current Government (as in the Conservative Government), and I think it would make sense if we had a quick link at the top to that effect. Thoughts? Paradokuso 06:59, 26 July 2006 (UTC)

Usage
Should say this:

In Canadian English, the word "government" is used to refer both to the whole set intitutions that govern the country (following American usage, but where Britons would use "state"), and to the current political leadership (following British usage, but where Americans would use "administration"). For example a Canadian could be a "government employee" but never a "state employee", and they would vote for the "Harper government" but never the "Harper administration".

Right?! Kevlar67 22:16, 18 October 2007 (UTC)


 * I'll take that as a yes. Kevlar67 (talk) 00:04, 21 November 2007 (UTC)


 * Bingo. I've reworked it for better clarity though, and added a reference. - The Fwanksta (talk) 04:03, 26 January 2009 (UTC)

Official government press releases traditionally do not use the name of the Prime Minister to identify the government. This is a fairly recent occurrence as the citation supports. It was also very controversial. To say that it is general practice is somewhat misleading.Rich1542 (talk) 17:38, 17 March 2013 (UTC)Rich1542

Fair use rationale for Image:Can-pol w.jpg
Image:Can-pol w.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

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BetacommandBot 05:40, 27 October 2007 (UTC) :D — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2001:550:1D05:B:0:0:0:2 (talk) 14:32, 8 May 2018 (UTC)

Capitalization
Terms for offices such as governor general, prime minister, and premier appear to be capitalized inconsistently throughout the article. Is there a rationale for the current capitalization choices, or should I clean it up? -Rrius (talk) 09:31, 25 December 2007 (UTC)
 * After reviewing the Manual of Style, I think editors may have used its rule of thumb while ignoring the basic rule. The issue is general versus specific uses of "prime minister". Capitalize it when discussing the official title (Prime Minister of Canada), when using it as a prenomial title (Prime Minister Stephen Harper), or when using it to refer to a specific individual ("today the Prime Minister met with the premiers of Alberta and Ontario"). When writing of the office generally, it should be lower case. For example, "such appointments are made on the advice of the prime minister". -Rrius (talk) 16:07, 25 December 2007 (UTC)

ok i really like vewin this information it was really helpful —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.229.105.215 (talk) 23:05, 16 March 2008 (UTC)

The usage here doesn't seem to gel with similar articles, such as Federal government of the United States, where "President" is used throughout, although forms such as "presidential" or "presidency" are uncapitalised. This is usual in written English. One talks of "a president" but "the President". As with "Queen" and "Governor-General". --Pete (talk) 04:12, 16 December 2011 (UTC)
 * Rrius correctly summarises the Manual of Style above. In the sentence "she appoints as her viceregal representative in Canada a governor general", "governor general" refers to the office generally. It therefore should not be capitalised in that context. -- Ħ   MIESIANIACAL  22:52, 16 December 2011 (UTC)

WikiProject template and assessment
I changed the WP Canada template today by removing links to the individual provinces/territory projects (as redundancies) and I raised the quality rating from 'Start' to 'C'. The article is of reasonable quality, although it is need of more referencing and footnoting.  PK T  00:46, 16 September 2008 (UTC)

Aboriginal Governance Section should be Added
There is nothing about Aboriginal Governance in the article. First Nations essentially operate at a level of Government that is provincially separate. I believe information should be added regarding Aboriginal governance in Canada historically and contemporarily. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.17.170.158 (talk) 21:19, 3 November 2008 (UTC)

The constitutional powers and rights of the Crown

 * My suggestion is that the facts be simply presented as thus, which is that the executive power of the country is vested in the Crown (i.e. the Queen and Governor General). Thus, Forsey's interpretation is entirely correct as the standard in law. As the quoted Canadian public service article itself states:
 * Since Canada is a constitutional monarchy, the Queen is the head of state in whom full executive power is vested. When the Queen is not in Canada, she is represented by the Governor General, who exercises the legal powers of the Crown on her behalf. For the most part, the Governor General exercises these powers “with the advice” or the “advice and consent” of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada ... The executive power of the government is extensive ... Under the constitution these powers are exercised by the Crown on the advice of the elected government of the day. At issue is whether the convention leaves any discretionary decision-making room in the hands of the Crown, that is, room not to follow the advice of the government and instead to do something else. If the Crown is to serve as a check on the government of the day, it must possess a discretionary power. Otherwise, it is simply a rubber stamp of the government’s actions.
 * Then the CSPS goes on to state:
 * Forsey’s credibility as an authority on these matters notwithstanding, many Canadians today would find these scenarios unthinkable. Thankfully, they are not used to seeing Prime Ministers act unconstitutionally and naturally would regard such concerns as overblown. Furthermore, they might view the exercise of the reserve power of the Crown as undemocratic because the Crown is not an elected institution ... Yet the system of responsible government needs a head of state with enough independence to withstand a determined government’s assault on the constitution, although not enough to interfere in democratic politics.
 * I bolded that one sentence because it is referring to the Canadian people. It is not presenting an official or legal opinion, but rather hypothesizing a possible reaction on the part of the Canadian populace in the event of the Crown exercising its executive power, which normally is viewed as ceremonial and symbolic by the population. However, the gist of what the article is talking about is that in reality, the power of the Crown is not ceremonial or symbolic - far from it. The CSPS is further stipulating that the Crown must retain this ability to counteract the government in the event of a constitutional crisis.
 * So, we simply need to state the facts, which is that the Crown has real (as opposed to symbolic or ceremonial) executive power and has the right to exercise that power if it so chose, which normally it does not, except under those circumstances when the government is acting unconstitutionally, which in this day and age, is quite rare. If I'm not mistaken, none of the editors disputes any of this, and the CSPS basically states exactly this, and this is a publicaation which is intended primarily for public servants.
 * However, the Liberal Party has a different opinion. They believe that the Crown has absolutely no right whatsoever to exercise its executive power independently. In other words, the Liberals have a very controversial disagreement with the constitution, and this is not surprising considering the level of republican sentiment in the Liberal Party, so this is consistent with the direction that they've been heading in for years, i.e. attempting to transform the Crown into a purely ceremonial institution or eliminate it altogether. But that's just my opinion.
 * Thoughts? Comments? IranianGuy (talk) 16:20, 4 November 2008 (UTC)
 * The paper doesn't take a position on the powers of the GG. It reviews the POV of monarchists Forsey (which is essentially the POV that you summarize above}, and summarizes the POV of most Canadians and Liberal governments (i.e. that the Crown would not have the democratic legitimacy to interfere in Canadian politics. It reviews various opinions on the matter. It's also not Republican to believe that the GG or monarch should have no discretionary powers. It just means that you believe the Crown should be strictly ceremonial, which it has been since 1926. In anycase, the important thing in the article is that all significant views be presented fairly. --soulscanner (talk) 08:37, 5 November 2008 (UTC)

I also have to say editing this particular section is a bit tedious considering all the citation tags. Is there any way at all to streamline them or organize them together somewhere else so the text is not so cluttered in the editing box? The way it is now, you have to constantly find your place again with the text in between these hideous tags. It's a rather cumbersome way of editing text. IranianGuy (talk) 16:35, 4 November 2008 (UTC)
 * It's a problem. I don't know how to solve it. --soulscanner (talk) 08:37, 5 November 2008 (UTC)

Important notice
The government section of the "Outline of Canada" needs to be checked, corrected, and completed -- especially the subsections for the government branches.

When the country outlines were created, temporary data (that matched most of the countries but not all) was used to speed up the process. Those countries for which the temporary data does not match must be replaced with the correct information.

If you have any questions or comments, please contact The Transhumanist.

Thank you.

Monarchy
I recently moved the monarchy section down the body of the article. The move was reverted citing "precedence". The monarchy has very little relevance in the modern Canadian government and should not be one of the first focal points of the article. For a reader not familiar with the government it would appear that the nation is ruled by the monarch in day to day affairs, which is obviously misleading. The section should be moved down to allow for more focus on relevant government information of "today's" Canada. After all this isn't the 1800's. Po&#39; buster (talk) 15:24, 8 April 2010 (UTC)
 * Prececence in the sense of wider concepts before narrower ones. All areas of Canadian governance in all jurisdictions of the country derive their authority from the Crown. It's therefore counterintuitive to explain the first institution of government last. -- Ħ   MIESIANIACAL  15:35, 8 April 2010 (UTC)


 * The monarchy does not affect day to day governance of Canada. They have simply become symbolic figure. Po&#39; buster (talk) 15:45, 8 April 2010 (UTC)
 * All areas of Canadian governance in all jurisdictions of the country derive their authority from the Crown, though the royal figures have predominantly ceremonial roles. This is explained in the article; have you even read it? -- Ħ   MIESIANIACAL  15:55, 8 April 2010 (UTC)


 * I have read it and have a vast knowledge of the Canadian system. Please do not question my intelligence again. Perhaps you should join the rest oft he nation in 2010, or would you prefer to keep pretending it is 1867 ? Po&#39; buster (talk) 16:01, 8 April 2010 (UTC)
 * I think I'm within my rights to question your knowledge when you demonstrate a lack of it and cover that deficiency with snide personal attacks. Please review WP:NPA. -- Ħ   MIESIANIACAL  16:05, 8 April 2010 (UTC)


 * It is you who seems to be delivering the "snide personal attacks". I am simply stating the monarchy is all but a ceremonial symbolic figure in Canada. It has little relevance to day to day governance. Period. Po&#39; buster (talk) 16:08, 8 April 2010 (UTC)
 * I see no personal attack directed your way. Can you be more precise?
 * That the monarchy "has little relevance" to the Canadian government remains your personal opinion. Your description of the monarchy as a "figure" might suggest you're confused between the person who is sovereign and the institution of the Crown; the former certainly has little direct participation in governance, but the latter permeates government in every way. -- Ħ   MIESIANIACAL  16:21, 8 April 2010 (UTC)
 * I am more than familiar with the monarch position in Canada and have studied it for years. I have a number of "pieces of paper" on the wall to show for it. Perhaps you are confused with what the monarch in Canada truly entails. The point is it shouldn't be the main focal point of the article, no matter how relevant it "was". Po&#39; buster (talk) 16:26, 8 April 2010 (UTC)
 * It's counterintuitive to explain the first institution of government last. -- Ħ   MIESIANIACAL  16:35, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

As the article is written, it makes more sense to have the monarch first, and I'm not sure that rewriting it would really make a difference. Neutered or not, the Crown connects each of the other sections: Executive, legislature, judiciary, and federalism. It would be weird to discuss those in sequence, then say, "Oh, by the way, here is this other thing that ties the others together and is where sovereignty comes from." I say this as an American (and let's please skip the "As an American, you couldn't possibly know what you're talking about" drivel) who has no ax to grind in the monarchist-republican debate. Canada is a constitutional monarchy, and what that higher level concept means should be dealt with before trying to explain the machinery of government. -Rrius (talk) 18:45, 8 April 2010 (UTC)
 * I agree, but I feel it should be mentioned in the lead with a brief description, and the main section with a lengthy description below. It would appear that Canada is a loyal subject to the Queen herself from the looks of this article, and not a separate self governing body (which it basically is). But I could care less if it remains the way it is, obviously some feel strongly about "her majesty". Either way is fine with me I guess. Po&#39; buster (talk) 19:43, 8 April 2010 (UTC)
 * I agree that the Crown should be detailed first, as every facet of HM Government is derived from the Crown. And in response to the above, the ideas of Canada as "a loyal subject of the Queen herself", and as a "separate self governing body", are not mutually exclusive. The institution of the Crown, and position of HM the Queen of Canada, are independent and separate from those of other countries and are thus uniquely Canadian.  Trackratte (talk) 01:30, 3 February 2011 (UTC)

Explaining the Canadian government starting from the monarchy is like explaining mathematics starting with axiomatic set theory: technically true and practically useless. I came to this article hoping to learn how my government works in practice and I'm leaving disappointed. 24.67.204.216 (talk) 07:52, 7 December 2012 (UTC)
 * Perhaps you could be a little more constructive and offer a draft of your proposal for a comprehensive, reliably sourced article on the government of Canada that ignores the so-called "practically useless", "irrelevant" monarchy. -- Ħ   MIESIANIACAL  17:05, 7 December 2012 (UTC)


 * Ours is a constitutional monarchy, with a often physically absent monarch. But, it is a constitutional monarchy & should be treated like the constitutional monarchial governments of the world :) GoodDay (talk) 00:25, 8 December 2012 (UTC)

Logo
I see an edit war brewing between User:Oddbodz and User:Miesianiacal on whether the Government of Canada "wordmark" ("Canada" with the flag about the last "a") should be included along with the flag to the left of "Government of Canada/Gouvernement du Canada". As the "Canada" mark is the logo that the Government uses on all of its communications and buildings, I say "yea". The "Government of Canada/Gouvernement du Canada" is also used, but it is not the most commonly used symbol of the government. Ground Zero | t 18:51, 16 April 2011 (UTC)


 * The logo with the flag to the left is incorrectly labelled as the "Wordmark". The following is from the Federal Identity Program :


 * The Coat of Arms symbol is used to identify ministers, secretaries of state, parliamentary secretaries and their offices, institutions whose heads report directly to Parliament and institutions with quasijudicial functions.


 * The flag symbol [the flag to the left] is used to identify all departments, agencies, corporations, commissions, boards, councils, and other federal bodies and activities, unless they are authorized to use the Coat of Arms symbol.


 * The Canada wordmark [the flag over the letter "a"] is the global identifier of the Government of Canada and is used in association with the appropriate signature (incorporating the flag or the Coat of Arms symbol). 198.103.104.11 (talk) 16:53, 11 January 2012 (UTC)


 * With five little maple leaves on the page, will people get the impression that Canadians have an inferiority complex? I think it could look better with fewer, myself. WP:ICONDECORATION comes into play. --John (talk) 08:46, 9 April 2013 (UTC)

"Her majesty's gov't" as formal name *correction has been made*
Methinks "Government of Canada" is the formal name, as all gov't-issued materials carry that name, not "Her majesty's gov't". That would imply a correction is needed to the very first sentence as it stands now. elpincha (talk) 06:11, 2 July 2011 (UTC)


 * I believe Her/His Majesty's Government is the formal name. The term "Government of Canada" is the corporate title, as well as in common usage. Trackratte (talk) 06:15, 12 February 2012 (UTC)

I see that the article now reads "The Government of Canada, formerly Her Majesty's Government" MsBatfish (talk) 11:40, 17 October 2011 (UTC)

Queen-in-Council?? (definition of the term "government")
The introduction currently states, "in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council." I believe that the word government in Canadian English can refer to more than just those two things. In addition, forgive my ignorance, but I am confused about what the "Queen-in-Council" even is. The "Queen-in-Council" article itself is a stub and I found it difficult to understand. Is there some way this sentence could be re-written to make it clearer and more comprehensive? I didn't want to just go ahead and edit it without an understanding on what the "Queen-in-Council" is. I am a Canadian and I have never heard that term used before. Is it perhaps an antiquated term that is not regularly used in the public vernacular? And, when I think about it, the phrase "the collective set of institutions" could be a bit clearer as well. Thoughts? MsBatfish (talk) 11:24, 17 October 2011 (UTC)

ADDITION: I also noticed under Usage that there is a similar definition: "In Canadian English, the word government is used to refer both to the whole set of institutions that collectively govern the country as well as the reigning monarch, or her viceroy, in her current council; when used in the latter context, the word is usually capitalized to make the distinction.[10] Thus, Canadians would say the 28th Ministry is the Government that currently administers the Canadian government. Contrasts can be drawn with the British usage — where the government is synonymous with the state — and the American usage — where the Government is synonymous with the administration."

Is it really true that the word government is used in Canada to refer to "the reigning monarch or her viceroy"?? Meaning that the Queen of England is the "government" of Canada?

Another sentence of this paragraph that I would dispute is that "Contrasts can be drawn with the British usage — where the government is synonymous with the state — and the American usage — where the Government is synonymous with the administration" - in the public vernacular the administration is often referred to as "the government". If the article is making a distinction between the technical or legal meaning of the term "government" as opposed to the way the term is widely used by the people, perhaps this distinction should be outlined? MsBatfish (talk) 11:38, 17 October 2011 (UTC)
 * The Queen of England is not the government of Canada, no. The last Queen of England died some three centuries ago. According to Section III of the Constitution Act 1867, the executive government of Canada is the Queen of Canada in Council, usually acting through her representative, the governor general. -- Ħ   MIESIANIACAL  17:17, 17 October 2011 (UTC)


 * Thank you MIESIANIACAL  I wish the article on the "Queen in Council" was clearer! Although I did mean the current monarch of the UK, sorry if I didn't use the correct term. So are you saying she is the "Queen of Canada in Council"? So I guess that is a technical/legal definition then, as opposed to a vernacular one? No one refers to the governor general as "the government". But I'm still not sure how one would go about making the article easier to understand?
 * Another thing I noticed is that the article states that there is a distinction between the meaning of the word government as used by the Canadian public as opposed to as used by the American public and that no one in Canada would refer to the administration as the government. But I actually hear this done all the time. It seems like this was opinion or at least "original research" (and I know that what I'm saying is too), but can I remove that sentence on that basis? MsBatfish (talk) 11:26, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

I would also dispute the statement "Contrasts can be drawn with the British usage — where the government is synonymous with the state — and the American usage — where the Government is synonymous with the administration" I favor either citing a reference supporting it or removing it. My argue for removing follows: the American Federal Constitution specifies a "seat of Government" but does not limit the capital "G" Government as being an administration, or president or congress (etc.). An example of this non-localization of the term Government is found in the American Federal Bill of Rights, where it states in the first amendment, it part, ".. petition the Government for a redress of grievances..". Who is petitioned? The amendment does not direct (or limit) petitioning action towards the President, Congress or Courts. Instead it leaves it open ended. Rmo111 (talk) 19:08, 28 January 2012 (UTC)
 * I don't beleive that paragraph refers to official usage, but common, instead. Could sources therefore not be found in media articles? -- Ħ   MIESIANIACAL  22:45, 28 January 2012 (UTC)


 * What happened is that in January 2009 an editor who didn't know what he or she was talking about reworded the passage such that it took on the opposite meaning to what it had previously said. It was so badly worded that it couldn't even be set right by swapping "British" and "American". I have restored the old wording that was correct and understandable. -Rrius (talk) 09:17, 9 April 2013 (UTC)

Anon reverts
Would the anon user // care to explain why he/she feels allowed to disregard WP:LR: "Do not delete cited information solely because the URL to the source does not work any longer. WP:Verifiability does not require that all information be supported by a working link"? Further, how the word "dominion" disqualifies a source; WP:RS makes no mention of it. -- Ħ   MIESIANIACAL  01:00, 17 January 2015 (UTC)
 * Neither of these sources support the claim made. 2.27.78.52 (talk) 01:08, 17 January 2015 (UTC)
 * What do the sources claim, then? -- Ħ   MIESIANIACAL  21:36, 17 January 2015 (UTC)
 * Let me answer that for you:
 * : "...[A]lso to lay aside and reserve for the benefit of the said Indians, to be administered and dealt with for them by Her Majesty's Government of the Dominion of Canada, in such a manner as shall seem best..."
 * : "The Governor General, as the Queen's representative in Canada, reads the Speech from the Throne prepared by the government of the day, which is Her Majesty's government."
 * : "In the day-to-day operation of government, the use of terms such as 'The Queen's Privy Council for Canada,' ' Her Majesty's Government ' and 'the Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition' serves to reinforce the point that basic authority and legitimacy of government fow from the Crown on behalf of the people."
 * Hope that clears things up for you, . -- Ħ   MIESIANIACAL  21:48, 17 January 2015 (UTC)

Divisions Section
This section seems to me to be a rehash of the Structure of the Canadian Government list article and should not be repeated here but instead have a link to that specific article. The Structure list article is not limited to just line departments as intimated in the "Divisions" section here as it already contains much more than that. trackratte (talk) 18:13, 11 June 2020 (UTC)


 * I am okay with that. I was not aware of that article. I moved the lists only to conform to MOS style. Alaney2k (talk) 02:59, 12 June 2020 (UTC)

"Government"
The "Government of Canada", with a capital G, always refers to the executive branch exclusively (see e.g. here). The mistake appears throughout the article at the time I'm writing this -- I will try to fix many instances.  Kudu ~I/O~ 04:51, 11 September 2020 (UTC)


 * Relatedly, "Her Majesty's Government" also always refers to the executive branch.  Kudu ~I/O~ 04:56, 11 September 2020 (UTC)
 * Note also that "government of Canada", used to refer to all three branches, can never be translated as "gouvernement du Canada" (only as "État canadien"). In French, the word always refers to the executive.  Kudu ~I/O~ 05:16, 11 September 2020 (UTC)


 * Restored ..will need a wider talk....Although technically Federal has replaced Dominion as the term  this terminology is only used within Canada. On a world scale its simply GoC and is the term used in academic writings    -- Moxy 🍁 11:20, 11 September 2020 (UTC.


 * I can't access that page (I think it might vary depending on the user or the region). Note that the Government of the United Kingdom page, for instance, refers only to the executive, not Parliament.  Kudu ~I/O~ 03:21, 20 September 2020 (UTC)


 * Hold on there, pal. I took look through your contributions & you've been making a lot of unilateral page moves, without any discussion or consensus. Best you stop doing that. GoodDay (talk) 12:34, 11 September 2020 (UTC)
 * GoodDay, sorry, I didn't mean to transgress any norms. I'm fairly well acquainted with this topic and thought this would be uncontroversial. I'm happy to talk it over.  Kudu ~I/O~ 03:21, 20 September 2020 (UTC)
 * Cool. GoodDay (talk) 13:23, 25 September 2020 (UTC)


 * Even the source you link to here doesn't support what you just said. trackratte (talk) 15:15, 11 September 2020 (UTC)


 * What do you mean? "Government has two meanings: • Generally, government refers to the management (governing) of a country. • Specifically, the Government consists of the Prime Minister, the Cabinet and the federal departments they manage."  Kudu ~I/O~ 03:21, 20 September 2020 (UTC)

Request for Comment: Should the term "viceroy" be used as a synonym for "Governor General" or "Lieutenant Governor" in articles on Canadian government?
I have started an RfC on this question at Talk:Governor General of Canada. All comments welcome. --Mr Serjeant Buzfuz (talk) 14:52, 20 September 2020 (UTC)

Splitting proposal
The lead and other sections of this article seem to be discussing the federal level of government in general, as well as the executive Government of Canada (Crown in Council). I think we should split this article into Government of Canada, for the Crown in Council (executive branch) and Federal government of Canada for the generic, overview of all the branches.


 * The legislature has its own independent article (Parliament of Canada) and so does the judiciary (Court system of Canada); makes even more sense for the executive to, as that is the only branch to brand itself as the "Government".


 * An example of this is the Government of China article, which is a general overview of the Chinese central government, with State Council of the People's Republic of China, the executive, being a separate article.

Thanks, WildComet (talk) 06:41, 2 March 2021 (UTC)


 * An initial note is that we already have separate articles for the executive, such as monarchy of Canada, privy Council, etc. trackratte (talk) 21:21, 2 March 2021 (UTC)


 * It would be confusing to have two articles with titles containing the words government of Canada. The two proposed titles are synonyms in common use. I think that constitutionally Canada does not have a separate executive branch, either. The head of state is the monarch who follows the advice of the prime minister and parliament. Alaney2k (talk) 21:43, 2 March 2021 (UTC)


 * Second note is that this separation doesn't really exist in Westminster systems like it does in the USA. For example, Parliament has three parts: the Crown, the House of Commons, and the Senate, so the executive is part of the legislative. The late Peter Hogg has written quite a bit on the topic. trackratte (talk) 13:34, 3 March 2021 (UTC)


 * Actually, Canada is unique when compared to UK, NZ, etc. where part of the constitution actually specifically defines "Executive power". While that doesn't define anywhere near the role it actually plays conventionally, it is legally distinct. Though I do see how it can be confusing having two similarly titled articles. I may edit this one and see if I can make the distinction more clear, which may be a better solution than an outright split. WildComet (talk) 20:49, 4 March 2021 (UTC)
 * Monarchy of Canada covers crown-in-parliament, crown-in-council, and crown-on-the-bench, so not the executive. Privy Council of Canada is also not the executive. It seems that there is no article about the actual executive, the actual "Government of Canada", and nothing else. JM (talk) 05:03, 19 January 2024 (UTC)
 * No precedence for division of this nature.-- Moxy -Maple Leaf (Pantone).svg 23:45, 4 March 2021 (UTC)

Recommended use of Canadian legal terms
There are problems with the paragraph below:

"The federal government of Canada (French: gouvernement fédéral du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the Queen-in-Council; the legislature, as the Queen-in-Parliament; and the courts, as the Queen-on-the-Bench. Three institutions—the Privy Council (conventionally, the Cabinet); the Parliament of Canada; and the judiciary, respectively—exercise the powers of the Crown.

The term Government of Canada (French: Gouvernement du Canada) can refer to either the collective set of all three institutions, or more specifically to the executive—ministers of the Crown (the Cabinet) and the federal civil service (whom the Cabinet direct)—which corporately brands itself as the Government of Canada, or more formally, Her Majesty's Government (French: Gouvernement de Sa Majesté).[3][4][5]"

The paragraph appears to use British legal terms rather than terms used in Canadian constitutional law. Federal legislation (link below) refers to the executive as the "Governor in Council", not the Crown-in-Council. The legislature is "Parliament", not the "Crown-in Parliament", and the courts are not called the Crown-on-the-Bench but rather the judiciary or judicial branch.

Below are the terms used in the federal Interpretation Act: https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/laws/stat/rsc-1985-c-i-21/latest/rsc-1985-c-i-21.html

"Governor, Governor General or Governor of Canada means the Governor General of Canada or other chief executive officer or administrator carrying on the Government of Canada on behalf and in the name of the Sovereign, by whatever title that officer is designated; (gouverneur, gouverneur du Canada ou gouverneur général)"

"Governor General in Council or Governor in Council means the Governor General of Canada acting by and with the advice of, or by and with the advice and consent of, or in conjunction with the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada; (gouverneur en conseil ou gouverneur général en conseil)"

"Her Majesty, His Majesty, the Queen, the King or the Crown means the Sovereign of the United Kingdom, Canada and Her or His other Realms and Territories, and Head of the Commonwealth; (Sa Majesté, la Reine, le Roi ou la Couronne)"

"Parliament means the Parliament of Canada; (Parlement)"

In addition, the term "Government of Canada" refers only to the executive branch, and not to "all three institutions" (i.e. executive, legislative, and judicial).

Finally, in legal agreements and court pleadings, the legal term "Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada is used" to describe the Government of Canada. The term "Her Majesty's Government" (as set out in the author's paragraph) may be used in the United Kingdom but the Government of Canada does to refer to itself that way, even though the Queen is the head of state. Examples: https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/smt-gst.nsf/eng/sf02129.html and https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/7957/1/document.do

I suggested to the author of the paragraph that Canadian legal terms be used (i.e. those set out in federal law), as this is an article about the Canadian government and not the British government. He or she has not yet made the above changes. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Greenwood10 (talk • contribs) 14:01, 2 April 2021 (UTC)
 * So going to reply here as well as in the relevant Ontario article. The terms Queen in/on whatever are an academic description of the terms, not the strict legal definition. Often, practice differs from purpose. Right now, there is no GG, OICs are signed by the "Administrator in Council", the Queen has signed legislation in place of the GG, and the formal part of the Parliament which grants assent is the Queen in Parliament. It doesn't make sense to specify one possible position which can execute the power when that position is not the only one. Per Crown of Maples, all of these terms are also used and applicable in a Canadian context. WildComet (talk) 22:14, 3 April 2021 (UTC)


 * Fully agree with WildComet. Encyclopedias are not legal text, and this isn't even a legal article topic so stating that only legal terms of art should be used isn't necessary, and I think would actually be counterproductive as the goal here is to use clear language. The terms used here are the accepted academic terms that clearly describe the concepts.
 * Further, terms like "Crown in Council" are the most appropriate as they are specific to the overall concept. "Queen in Council", "Governor in Council", etc are all specific subsets and as WildComet states above, using these subset terms is actually less precise as they don't always apply (i.e. currently all decisions are technically "administrator in Council" so the governor or queen in council terms are actually improper, whereas the Crown in Council terms accurately covers the concept and all potentialities). The current terminology within the article are correct and cover the concepts, and are not specific to either Canadian or British legalities. trackratte (talk) 14:35, 4 April 2021 (UTC)

I'm not enthusiastic about the way this excerpt concerning "His Majesty's Government" is referenced or phrased:"The term Government of Canada (French: Gouvernement du 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); what is formally known as His Majesty's Government (French: Gouvernement de Sa Majesté)[6][7][8][9] and is corporately branded as the Government of Canada." References 6–9 are basically showing that there exist examples of this usage in official places, but are not strong evidence of the normative proposition that this is a proper usage. In that sense, it's kind of a weak way of arguing what it is "formally known as". I'm going to rephrase to reflect the general tone of the cited pamphlets (as discussions of the structure of government, rather than specifically the name of the Government), and delete the references to a treaty and a throne speech as not really useful. TheFeds 17:59, 22 September 2023 (UTC)

Lead and the queen
We have had some major changes to the lead. A fter reviewing this it's seems that is now full of information about the queen over/instead of how the government functions. Going to ask a few old timers to review our oddly worded lead.-- Moxy - 03:31, 7 April 2021 (UTC)
 * I think save for the first sentence, the rest of the entire first paragraph should be moved further down the lead as it doesn't seem to flow logically (start general and get more specific later on as required) and so seems out of place.
 * I also don't think the section titles make sense (Crown, Executive, Legislative, Judicial). For example, the Crown exists within the executive (as constitutionally executive authority is vested in the Crow), and the Legislative (Parliament consisting of the Crown, HoC, and the Senate), and the judiciary (the legal concept of Queen on the Bench). Further, is the judiciary part of the Government of Canada? Or contributes to Canadian governance? As they aren't the same thing. The tricky bit as the lead discusses is the the term "government" actually means a bunch of different things which is why the lead is so important for a subject like this in ensuring the scope is made crystal clear. trackratte (talk) 20:02, 7 April 2021 (UTC)
 * Take a Crack at fixing it...your judgment on this has worked well for over a decade....pls be bold.-- Moxy -Maple Leaf (Pantone).svg 23:13, 7 April 2021 (UTC)

Judicial section
Hi Did you mean to undo this table as well? I get the lead, wanted to clarify this. Thanks, WildComet (talk) 18:31, 7 April 2021 (UTC)
 * Yes let's try to keep big un-informative link charts out of the article....we have room for WP:Prose. Moxy -Maple Leaf (Pantone).svg 23:18, 7 April 2021 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for speedy deletion
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for speedy deletion: You can see the reason for deletion at the file description page linked above. —Community Tech bot (talk) 23:26, 1 February 2023 (UTC)
 * Government of Canada signature.svg

United Kingdom, Canada, Australia & New Zealand
Just noticed that this page & Australian Government use one type of gov't infobox. While Government of New Zealand & Government of the United Kingdom use another type. Shouldn't all four, be the same? GoodDay (talk) 04:09, 4 November 2023 (UTC)


 * The documentation for infobox government suggests that NZ/UK are correct. Nikkimaria (talk) 04:13, 4 November 2023 (UTC)
 * I wonder if it can be adopted to the Canadian & Australian gov't pages. Admittedly, the UK/NZ versions, are more compact. Also if adopted, it would require changes to the Canadian provinces/territories & Australian states/territories gov't pages, too. GoodDay (talk) 04:32, 4 November 2023 (UTC)

An editor has changed the Australian gov't infobox to match with New Zealand's & the United Kingdom's. GoodDay (talk) 00:11, 27 November 2023 (UTC)

Revising the scope and topic of this article
Following discussion at WP:CANADA and WP:AWNB, I believe there are some severe issues with this article's scope and topic. See Government of the United Kingdom, Government of Australia, Government of New Zealand. Each of those articles describe solely the respective "HM Government" of each country. Even this article itself tells us the following: This means that there are some pretty severe issues with this article and is scope. It contradicts itself by telling us that the "Government of Canada" is officially the executive but then the rest of the article is about the entire federal level, leaving no article for the actual executive Government, and two articles that cover the same topic (this article and Politics of Canada). This article definitely needs to be drastically reduced in scope to actually being about its topic, the Government, not the federal level. Leave the federal level for the Politics of Canada article like it is for other Commonwealth realms. I will note that this article was basically created with the scope of covering the entire federal level despite its title. Time to change that to get it in line with the reality that the "Government of Canada" is the executive/administrative organ, not the whole federal level? I believe so. JM (talk) 05:20, 19 January 2024 (UTC)
 * Recommend the same be done for the ten provincial government pages, too. GoodDay (talk) 05:32, 19 January 2024 (UTC)
 * Yes, I should have also said that. JM (talk) 05:33, 19 January 2024 (UTC)
 * Well, there doesn't seem to be any opposition to your proposal. GoodDay (talk) 08:12, 20 January 2024 (UTC)
 * @GoodDay Alright, I've gone ahead and carried it out. I've also salvaged your infobox from the article's history and added the Canada wordmark to it. JM (talk) 20:48, 20 January 2024 (UTC)
 * @GoodDay I've revised the "Government" pages and transferred their extraneous content to the respective provincial "Politics" pages for all ten provinces. All eleven Canadian government pages now have "infobox executive government". I also added "infobox political system" to the "Politics" articles that didn't have them, and revised that infobox on the ones that already had it. JM (talk) 08:07, 21 January 2024 (UTC)
 * You're amazing. All those changes were beyond my capabilities. Thanks :) GoodDay (talk) 13:32, 21 January 2024 (UTC)

Government of Canada article in Spanish
Hello, could you make an article about the government of Canada in Spanish. Severomáster17 (talk) 22:18, 3 April 2024 (UTC)


 * First see Translate us....then the tool your looking for is at Content translation tool. Moxy 🍁 22:22, 3 April 2024 (UTC)


 * Política_de_Canadá seems to cover a lot of the same topics. Nikkimaria (talk) 22:23, 3 April 2024 (UTC)