The prime minister of Canada is the head of government of Canada. Not outlined in any constitutional document, the office exists only per long-established convention. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the confidence of a majority of the elected House of Commons; as such, the prime minister typically sits as a member of Parliament (MP) and leads the largest party or a coalition of parties. The prime minister is appointed by the monarch's representative, the governor general, and, as first minister, selects other ministers to form the Cabinet and chairs it. Constitutionally, executive authority is vested in the monarch, but, in practice, the powers of the monarch and governor general are nearly always exercised on the advice of the Cabinet, which is collectively responsible to the House of Commons. Canadian prime ministers are appointed to the Privy Council and styled as the Right Honourable, a privilege maintained for life.
Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003.
The deputy prime minister of Canada is a minister of the Crown and a member of the Canadian Cabinet. The office is conferred at the discretion of the prime minister and does not have an associated departmental portfolio. Canadian deputy prime ministers are appointed to the Privy Council and styled as the Honourable, a privilege maintained for life.
The Cabinet of Canada is a body of ministers of the Crown that, along with the Canadian monarch, and within the tenets of the Westminster system, forms the government of Canada. Chaired by the prime minister, the Cabinet is a committee of the King's Privy Council for Canada and the senior echelon of the Ministry, the membership of the Cabinet and Ministry often being co-terminal; as of November 2015 there were no members of the latter who were not also members of the former.
The premier of Ontario is the head of government of Ontario. Under the Westminster system, the premier governs with the confidence of a majority the elected Legislative Assembly; as such, the premier typically sits as a member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) and leads the largest party or a coalition of parties. As first minister, the premier selects ministers to form the Executive Council, and serves as its chair. Constitutionally, the Crown exercises executive power on the advice of the Executive Council, which is collectively responsible to the legislature.
A. Anne McLellan is a Canadian politician and academic who served as the ninth deputy prime minister of Canada from 2003 to 2006. She was a cabinet minister in the Liberal governments of Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin, and represented Edmonton in the House of Commons of Canada. She also held the positions of solicitor general, minister of health, and minister of justice of Canada.
The sponsorship scandal, AdScam or Sponsorgate, was a scandal in Canada that came as a result of a federal government "sponsorship program" in the province of Quebec involving the Liberal Party of Canada, which was in power from 1993 to 2006.
Jean Pelletier, was a Canadian politician who served as the 37th mayor of Quebec City, Chief of Staff in the Prime Minister's Office, and chairman of Via Rail. He was a leading organizer of the Liberal Party of Canada.
Dominic A. LeBlanc is a Canadian lawyer and politician who has served as the Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs since 2023. A member of the Liberal Party, LeBlanc sits as the member of Parliament (MP) for Beauséjour, representing the New Brunswick riding in the House of Commons since 2000. He has held a number of Cabinet portfolios throughout his tenure in government.
The Privy Council Office is the central agency of the Government of Canada which acts as the secretariat to the Cabinet of Canada – a committee of the King's Privy Council for Canada – and provides non-partisan advice and support to the Canadian ministry, as well as leadership, coordination, and support to the departments and agencies of government.
The clerk of the Privy Council is the professional head of the Public Service of Canada. As the deputy minister for the Privy Council Office, the clerk is the senior civil servant in the Government of Canada and serves as the secretary to the Cabinet.
A minister of state is a junior cabinet minister in the Cabinet of Canada, usually given specific responsibilities to assist a senior cabinet minister in a specific area. A secretary of state also holds many similar responsibilities in assisting senior cabinet members, being members of the Ministry and the King's Privy Council for Canada. A secretary of state is legally a minister of state styled as secretaries. However, secretaries of state are considered junior to ministers of state and are not members of Cabinet.
The Minister of Democratic Institutions was a Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet, associated with the Privy Council Office. The position was first created in 2003 as "Minister responsible for Democratic Reform". It was also titled "Minister responsible for Democratic Renewal" and "Minister of State " during various governments. The position was abolished on November 20, 2019.
The national security and intelligence advisor is a public servant who advises the prime minister of Canada on security and intelligence matters. The position is supported by the Security and Intelligence Secretariat and the Intelligence Assessment Staff and holds the rank of associate secretary in the Privy Council Office (PCO).
The Treasury Boardof Canada is the Cabinet committee of the Privy Council of Canada which oversees the spending and operation of the Government of Canada and is the principal employer of the core public service. The committee is supported by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, its administrative branch and a department within the government itself.
The Director of Communications in the Prime Minister's Office is one of the most senior roles in the Canadian Prime Minister's Office, reporting directly to the prime minister and his or her chief of staff. The person is responsible for selling the government's agenda to the media and public.
Janice Charette is a Canadian public servant and diplomat who has served as clerk of the Privy Council and secretary to the Cabinet from 2014 to 2016 and again from 2021 to 2023. Charette was the Canadian high commissioner to the United Kingdom from 2016 to 2021.
Michael Wernick is a Canadian retired public servant who served as the 23rd clerk of the Privy Council for Canada from 2016 to 2019. Following his tenure as clerk, Wernick joined the University of Ottawa, where he was named Jarislowsky chair of public sector management.
The SNC-Lavalin affair is a political scandal involving attempted political interference with the justice system by the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, and the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). The Parliament of Canada's Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion found that Trudeau improperly influenced then Minister of Justice and Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould to intervene in an ongoing criminal case against Quebec-based construction company SNC-Lavalin by offering a deferred prosecution agreement.
The 2020–2021 Rideau Hall workplace review was an external review by Quintet Consulting of the workplace culture at Rideau Hall—which hosts the governor general of Canada and her staff—initiated by the Privy Council Office (PCO) following allegations of harassment and verbal abuse by Governor General Julie Payette and her secretary, Assunta di Lorenzo. The review ultimately produced a report in January 2021 concluding that Payette and Di Lorenzo presided over a toxic work environment, resulting in their resignations on January 21.
