Canada has a federal form of government. The federation and the provinces therefore have autonomous systems of government and public service.

The executive branch and the public service are governed by: the Government (a cabinet headed by the Prime Minister); the Treasury Board; the Civil Service Commission; and individual departments and agencies.

This management structure is formally the responsibility of the Governor General of Canada, and major decisions about government and public service matters are recorded as decisions of the Governor General in Council. In addition, its acts determine the highest public offices to which appointments are made by orders in the Council (these are primarily the highest public offices).

The Government appoints the President of the Treasury Board. The Treasury Board is the central body for the management of the civil service. It includes the Ministers of Finance, Regional and Industrial Development, Health and Social Insurance, Employment, and Immigration.

The Treasury Board deals with special administration. For this purpose, it issues numerous acts, which define:

• basic requirements for civil servants;
• The conditions for advanced training of public servants;
• classification of positions and grades for public servants;
• The salaries and other benefits of public servants;
• norms of conduct of civil servants;
• disciplinary penalties, etc.

The Civil Service Commission is an independent agency accountable to Parliament, headquartered in Ottawa. It is headed by a chairman and two commissioners. In addition to its central office, the Commission has seven regional and eight district offices across the country. It handles civil service recruitment as well as civil service separation, and is empowered to establish special bodies to resolve disputes between the state and civil servant over civil service matters, as well as other matters. The Civil Service Commission assists various departments and agencies in training personnel.

Direct personnel management is provided by department and agency officials who are responsible for personnel and have a primary interest in ensuring that their departments are staffed with qualified personnel.

More than 3,200 people are currently employed at the higher executive level. Of these, there are 250, at least at the level of Assistant Deputy Minister, who are not assigned to a particular position, but to a particular level of the civil service, most of whom undergo a rigorous training process to ensure continuity.

The Canadian government is built on what is known as the Anglo-Saxon system, which originated in Britain and was later extended to Australia, India, New Zealand, and other nations. It has the following characteristics: the cabinet (the government itself) and the formal government are not the same, and the cabinet exists by constitutional custom. In Canada, there are no laws which would determine its composition, structure, and competence, i.e. in accordance with an apt and quite fair comment by the famous Canadian statesman R. Dawson, it “exists outside the law, if not in defiance of the law.

In Canada, the Government consists of members of the Cabinet and non-Cabinet ministers. Ministers who enjoy the special

trust of the Prime Minister and who head the most important ministries, are appointed as members of the Cabinet. In addition to the Prime Minister, it includes ministers who head the most important ministries (Finance, Home Affairs, Foreign Affairs, Defense, etc.) and ministers without portfolio (who are not heads of any department: the leader of the ruling party in the Senate, the leader of the ruling party in the House of Commons) owing to their considerable influence in the ruling party. The composition of this body is determined by the Prime Minister on the basis of the specific tasks facing the Government, and usually consists of 19-22 people.

The composition of the Cabinet, like that of the Government, is not homogeneous. The members of the Cabinet that are closest and trusted by the Prime Minister are members of the so-called “inner Cabinet” (sometimes referred to as the “super Cabinet”). This is an informal group of three to five people with whom he consults most frequently on the most important issues. The result is then formalized as a decision of the entire Cabinet. If necessary, the numerical and personal composition of the “internal Cabinet” can be changed by the Prime Minister at his discretion.

All decisions of the Government are actually made by the Cabinet, but since it exists unofficially, they are formalized as decisions of the Privy Council (by order of the Governor General in Council) and due to this acquire legality. The composition of the Government is formed by the Prime Minister, usually from the ruling party of more than 70-80 deputies, and is approved by the Governor-General on his presentation. It consists of four groups of ministers. The first is the heads of individual ministries – 24-26 people. Some of them, occupying key positions in the Government, are members of the Cabinet.

The second group consists of ministers without portfolio (2-3 people) and members of the Government occupying various traditional positions: leader of the ruling party in the House of Commons, leader of the ruling

Party in the Senate, etc. In each particular Government, the Prime Minister entrusts them with special functions.

Ministers of the third group are called State Ministers (10-12 people): they are deputy ministers of the most important ministries, who ensure the necessary coordination of their activities.

The fourth group, the so-called junior ministers (27-30 persons) are parliamentary secretaries, appointed to ensure the ministers’ communication with Parliament. Large ministries have several parliamentary secretaries.

Government departments are headed by deputy ministers (secretaries of state). They are appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister. Their appointments and promotions are not based on political affiliation, but on personal merit. Therefore, a change of government does not mean the resignation of deputy ministers. The appointment and transfer of civil servants is supervised by the Independent Civil Service Commission, consisting of three members appointed for a term of 10 years. The Treasury, which includes a number of government ministers, oversees the financial activities of ministries and departments. It also represents the Government in negotiations with civil servants’ unions.

The functions of state bodies are also performed by state corporations, acting independently, but generally subordinated to the Parliament, and members of their boards are appointed by the Government.

Executive power in the federated entities (10 provinces: Alberta, British Columbia, Quebec, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, and Saskatchewan) are exercised by provincial governments. They are organized along the same lines as the federal government. Functions similar to those of a head of state are vested in lieutenant governors appointed by the Governor General of Canada. Provincial governments are formed by parties or coalitions that win majorities in provincial elections.

The Canadian Constitution establishes that the provinces and the federal government have joint jurisdiction over pension and dependency benefits (unemployment insurance remains under the jurisdiction of the federation). The federal government sets common standards and cost-sharing arrangements for services such as health care, pensions, social security and federal highways.

Many important decisions are made at meetings between representatives of the federal and provincial governments. Issues of taxation, pensions, health care, and constitutional issues are frequently discussed by the heads of the federal and provincial governments. The constitution can be amended by a joint decision of the federal government and seven provinces with at least 50 percent of the population. Provincial prime ministers have such power that they often prefer this position to that of federal minister.