Government of Canada - Executive Power

Executive Power

The government is defined by the constitution as the Queen acting on the advice of her privy council. However, the Privy Council— consisting mostly of former members of parliament, chief justices of the Supreme Court, 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. This body of ministers of the Crown is the Cabinet.

One of the main duties of the Crown is to "ensure that a democratically elected government is always in place," which means appointing a prime minister— presently Stephen Harper— to thereafter head the Cabinet. Per convention, the governor general must appoint as prime minister the person who holds the confidence of the House of Commons; in practice, this is typically the leader of the political party that holds more seats than any other party in that chamber, currently the Conservative Party. Should no party hold a majority in the Commons, the leader of one party— either the one with the most seats or one supported by other parties— will be called by the governor general to form a minority government. Once sworn in by the viceroy, the prime minister holds office until he or she resigns or is removed by the governor general, after either a motion of non confidence or his party's defeat in a general election.