Queen's Privy Council For Canada - Queen-in-Council

Queen-in-Council

The government of Canada, which is formally referred to as Her Majesty's Government, is defined by the Canadian constitution as the Queen acting on the advice of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada; what is technically known as the Queen-in-Council, or sometimes the Governor-in-Council, referring to the Governor General of Canada as the Queen's stand-in. The group of people is described as "a Council to aid and advise in the Government of Canada, to be styled the Queen's Privy Council for Canada," though, by convention, the task of advising the sovereign and governor general on how to exercise the Royal Prerogative is carried out by the Cabinet— a committee of the Privy Council made up of other ministers of the Crown who are drawn from and responsible to the elected and appointed chambers of parliament. This body is distinct but also entwined within the QPC, as one of its members customarily serves as the President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada, and cabinet ministers receive assistance in the performance of their duties from the Privy Council Office, headed by the Clerk of the Privy Council.

The sovereign or her federal viceroy govern by issuing Orders in Council, certified by the royal or viceroyal sign-manual and Great Seal of Canada. In the construct of constitutional monarchy and responsible government, this is done on ministerial advice that is typically binding, though the sovereign and his or her representative may unilaterally use these powers in exceptional constitutional crisis situations. While the Cabinet specifically deals with the regular, day-to-day functions of the Crown-in-Council, occasions of wider national importance— such as the proclamation of a new Canadian sovereign following a demise of the Crown, or conferring on royal marriages— will be attended to by more senior officials in the QPC, such as the prime minister, the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, and other senior statesmen; while all privy councillors are invited to such meetings in theory, in practice the composition of the gathering is determined by the prime minister of the day. The quorum for Privy Council meetings is four.