What is an Order in Council?

An Order in Council (OIC) is a federal regulation or executive decision made by the Governor in Council, the formal name for the Governor General acting on the advice of Cabinet (the Committee of the Privy Council). Orders in Council are the principal instrument by which the federal executive exercises its constitutional and statutory authority. The federal government typically issues 800 to 1,200 Orders in Council per year.

Orders in Council come in two main types. Statutory orders implement specific powers granted to the Cabinet by an Act of Parliament. For example, when an Act gives the federal Cabinet authority to make regulations on a particular topic, the regulations are issued as Orders in Council. The Statutory Instruments Act of 1971 governs the publication and review of regulatory Orders in Council. Prerogative orders implement the Crown prerogative powers that survive from the British monarchical tradition, including treaty ratification, declarations of war, dissolution of Parliament, and certain federal appointments.

Orders in Council have legal effect as soon as they are signed by the Governor General. They are published in the Canada Gazette (Part II for regulatory orders, Part I for non-regulatory) and are searchable on the Government of Canada's Orders in Council website. Some Orders in Council must be tabled in Parliament for review, and some are subject to disallowance by either house of Parliament under the Statutory Instruments Act. The Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations reviews regulations for consistency with the enabling statute.

Major historical Orders in Council include the 1942 War Measures Act order PC 469 that authorised the internment of Japanese Canadians; PC 1003 (the Wartime Labour Relations Regulations of 1944, the foundation of modern Canadian labour law); and the 2022 Public Order Emergency Order in Council that invoked the Emergencies Act during the Truckers' Convoy. Orders in Council authorise the swearing in of new Cabinet ministers, the appointment of senior federal officials, and the proclamation of Acts and amendments. Provincial governments use parallel Orders in Council issued by the Lieutenant Governor in Council on the advice of the provincial Cabinet.