2. The Concept of the Crown

The most basic building block in our system of government is the concept of the Crown.

Canada is a constitutional monarchy, a federation and a democracy. Our model of government was adopted from the British parliamentary system, which evolved from the medieval state, where the monarch held all power, to the current form, where the monarch’s power is exercised, with rare exceptions, only in accordance with the will of Parliament as expressed in laws that have received Royal Assent.

Both federal and provincial legislatures follow the Westminster model, which means that there are two sources of law in Canada: federal and provincial legislatures.

The responsibility for governing at the federal level is shared by the legislative, executive and judicial branches. Technically, all three powers flow from the Crown. Queen Elizabeth II is our Head of State. In Canada, she is represented federally by the Governor General and provincially by Lieutenant Governors, and she delegates her powers, now largely ceremonial, to those representatives.

The legislative branch of government consists of the Queen and the two houses of Parliament: the House of Commons and the Senate.

The executive branch comprises the Prime Minister, the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada (the Cabinet) and the Public Service. The Prime Minister and Cabinet propose policy and bills, and the Public Service implements them in an unbiased fashion.

The judicial branch is the court system, culminating in the Supreme Court.

Following an election, the Governor General invites the leader of the party having won the most seats in the House of Commons to form a government. This government serves until the next election or until it loses the confidence of the House. Under the Westminster model, a government must be representative and responsible (i.e. the Members of Parliament are elected by citizens and are responsible to Parliament for their actions).

Each Cabinet minister is given responsibility for a department and may hold additional responsibilities for a range of agencies, boards, commissions and Crown corporations, called the “Portfolio”. Traditionally, ministers are accountable and/or answerable to Parliament for the actions carried out by the bodies reporting to them. It is the tradition of ministerial accountability that forms the link between citizens and government institutions.

As a board member of a government organization, you are part of the federal service, responsible for carrying out the citizens’ will as expressed in legislation and government policies, and answerable to Parliament through the Minister for the manner in which the public is served by the body you direct. Therefore, in the event of a change in governing party, your role as board member would remain unchanged.

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