What is the federal Cabinet?

The federal Cabinet of Canada is the principal executive decision-making body, comprising the Prime Minister and between 25 and 40 Cabinet ministers. The Cabinet is technically the Committee of the Privy Council that meets to advise the Governor General on the exercise of executive authority. The Cabinet is not directly named in the Constitution Act, 1867; its existence and operation are constitutional conventions inherited from the Westminster tradition.

The Cabinet is chaired by the Prime Minister, who appoints all ministers (subject to the Governor General's formal appointment). The current Cabinet under Prime Minister Mark Carney was sworn in on May 13, 2025 and includes about 38 ministers and ministers of state. The Cabinet meets regularly (typically weekly during sittings of Parliament) in the Cabinet Room of the Centre Block on Parliament Hill, or in the West Block during the Centre Block renovation. Cabinet meetings are private; deliberations are protected by Cabinet confidence and remain confidential for at least 20 years (and longer for sensitive matters) under the Access to Information Act.

Cabinet exercises power through Orders in Council issued by the Governor in Council. Major Cabinet decisions include approving regulations, ratifying treaties, appointing judges and senior officials, declaring emergencies, and setting overall federal policy direction. Individual ministers are responsible for their portfolios and departments under the principle of ministerial responsibility (the convention that ministers are accountable to Parliament for the actions of their departments). Cabinet operates by consensus, with the Prime Minister as primus inter pares (first among equals); formal votes are rare.

Cabinet positions reflect the breadth of federal responsibilities. Senior Cabinet positions include the Minister of Finance (manages the federal Budget and the Department of Finance), the Minister of Foreign Affairs (handles diplomacy and international relations), the Minister of National Defence (oversees the Canadian Armed Forces), the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada (the federal government's legal advisor), the Minister of Public Safety, and the Deputy Prime Minister (when there is one). Other portfolios cover health, transport, environment, immigration, employment, agriculture, fisheries, natural resources, Indigenous services, and Crown-Indigenous relations.