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Privy Council, Cabinet, and Ministry in Britain and Canada: A Story of Confusion
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 November 2014
Extract
When the British North America Act was passed in 1867, the distinction between Privy Council, cabinet, and ministry was already well established in Britain. The Privy Council was the body recognized by law, but its original function of advising the Crown had been taken over by the cabinet, which remained in principle a committee of the larger body. The ministry was composed of those privy counsellors who formed the cabinet, plus certain other ministers who were outside the cabinet and were not normally sworn of the Privy Council.
Before the federation of the British North American provinces, colonial “cabinets” had been styled “executive councils” and resignation from office had carried with it no continuing title of precedence; that is, contrary to British practice, a minister who resigned his portfolio ceased to be a member of the the executive council and hence lost his title of “Honourable.” Undoubtedly it was felt, as Alpheus Todd has stated, that an organization resembling the British Privy Council, liable to be convened on special occasions or for ceremonial purposes, was unnecessary in a colony, where government should be kept as simple as possible. Similarly, since the powers of colonial governments were relatively limited, there was no need for a large ministry; thus, the British distinction between ministers in the cabinet and those outside had not developed in the colonies.
- Type
- Research Article
- Information
- Canadian Journal of Economics and Political Science/Revue canadienne de economiques et science politique , Volume 31 , Issue 2 , May 1965 , pp. 193 - 205
- Copyright
- Copyright © Canadian Political Science Association 1965
References
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35 Statutes of Canada, 31 Vict., c. 33.
36 Provision is made for his salary in ibid., 36 Vict., c. 31.
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38 As finally passed, the Act provided that the controllers should act under the instructions of the Minister of Trade and Commerce or the Minister of Finance, as the Governor-in-Council directed.
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