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This article is written in Canadian English, which has its own spelling conventions (colour, centre, travelled, realize, analyze) and some terms that are used in it may be different or absent from other varieties of English. According to the relevant style guide, this should not be changed without broad consensus. |
I've mostly copied and pasted parts from the Politics of Canada article. It needs work, so I hope there will be help. -PullUpYourSocks 01:30, 7 July 2006 (UTC)Reply
I think that this page should perhaps include a note at the top that would read something along the lines of:
The Government of Canada often refers to the governing ministry, rather than the institution of government as a whole. For this usage, see the 28th Ministry of Canada.
When I searched for Government of Canada, I was actually searching for a page about the current Government (as in the Conservative Government), and I think it would make sense if we had a quick link at the top to that effect. Thoughts? Paradokuso 06:59, 26 July 2006 (UTC)Reply
Should say this:
InCanadian English, the word "government" is used to refer both to the whole set intitutions that govern the country (following American usage, but where Britons would use "state"), and to the current political leadership (following British usage, but where Americans would use "administration"). For example a Canadian could be a "government employee" but never a "state employee", and they would vote for the "Harper government" but never the "Harper administration".
Right?! Kevlar67 22:16, 18 October 2007 (UTC)Reply
Official government press releases traditionally do not use the name of the Prime Minister to identify the government. This is a fairly recent occurrence as the citation supports. It was also very controversial.[1] To say that it is general practice is somewhat misleading.Rich1542 (talk) 17:38, 17 March 2013 (UTC)Rich1542Reply
References
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BetacommandBot 05:40, 27 October 2007 (UTC)Reply
:D — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2001:550:1D05:B:0:0:0:2 (talk) 14:32, 8 May 2018 (UTC)Reply
Terms for offices such as governor general, prime minister, and premier appear to be capitalized inconsistently throughout the article. Is there a rationale for the current capitalization choices, or should I clean it up? -Rrius (talk) 09:31, 25 December 2007 (UTC)Reply
ok i really like vewin this information it was really helpful —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.229.105.215 (talk) 23:05, 16 March 2008 (UTC)Reply
The usage here doesn't seem to gel with similar articles, such as Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, where "President" is used throughout, although forms such as "presidential" or "presidency" are uncapitalised. This is usual in written English. One talks of "a president" but "the President". As with "Queen" and "Governor-General". --Pete (talk) 04:12, 16 December 2011 (UTC)Reply
I changed the WP Canada template today by removing links to the individual provinces/territory projects (as redundancies) and I raised the quality rating from 'Start' to 'C'. The article is of reasonable quality, although it is need of more referencing and footnoting. PKT 00:46, 16 September 2008 (UTC)Reply
There is nothing about Aboriginal Governance in the article. First Nations essentially operate at a level of Government that is provincially separate. I believe information should be added regarding Aboriginal governance in Canada historically and contemporarily. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.17.170.158 (talk) 21:19, 3 November 2008 (UTC)Reply
I also have to say editing this particular section is a bit tedious considering all the citation tags. Is there any way at all to streamline them or organize them together somewhere else so the text is not so cluttered in the editing box? The way it is now, you have to constantly find your place again with the text in between these hideous tags. It's a rather cumbersome way of editing text. IranianGuy (talk) 16:35, 4 November 2008 (UTC)Reply
The government section of the "Outline of Canada" needs to be checked, corrected, and completed -- especially the subsections for the government branches.
When the country outlines were created, temporary data (that matched most of the countries but not all) was used to speed up the process. Those countries for which the temporary data does not match must be replaced with the correct information.
If you have any questions or comments, please contact The Transhumanist .
Thank you.
I recently moved the monarchy section down the body of the article. The move was reverted citing "precedence". The monarchy has very little relevance in the modern Canadian government and should not be one of the first focal points of the article. For a reader not familiar with the government it would appear that the nation is ruled by the monarch in day to day affairs, which is obviously misleading. The section should be moved down to allow for more focus on relevant government information of "today's" Canada. After all this isn't the 1800's. Po' buster (talk) 15:24, 8 April 2010 (UTC)Reply
As the article is written, it makes more sense to have the monarch first, and I'm not sure that rewriting it would really make a difference. Neutered or not, the Crown connects each of the other sections: Executive, legislature, judiciary, and federalism. It would be weird to discuss those in sequence, then say, "Oh, by the way, here is this other thing that ties the others together and is where sovereignty comes from." I say this as an American (and let's please skip the "As an American, you couldn't possibly know what you're talking about" drivel) who has no ax to grind in the monarchist-republican debate. Canada is a constitutional monarchy, and what that higher level concept means should be dealt with before trying to explain the machinery of government. -Rrius (talk) 18:45, 8 April 2010 (UTC)Reply
Explaining the Canadian government starting from the monarchy is like explaining mathematics starting with axiomatic set theory: technically true and practically useless. I came to this article hoping to learn how my government works in practice and I'm leaving disappointed. 24.67.204.216 (talk) 07:52, 7 December 2012 (UTC)Reply
I see an edit war brewing between User:Oddbodz and User:Miesianiacal on whether the Government of Canada "wordmark" ("Canada" with the flag about the last "a") should be included along with the flag to the left of "Government of Canada/Gouvernement du Canada". As the "Canada" mark is the logo that the Government uses on all of its communications and buildings, I say "yea". The "Government of Canada/Gouvernement du Canada" is also used, but it is not the most commonly used symbol of the government. Ground Zero | t 18:51, 16 April 2011 (UTC)Reply
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Methinks "Government of Canada" is the formal name, as all gov't-issued materials carry that name, not "Her majesty's gov't". That would imply a correction is needed to the very first sentence as it stands now. elpincha (talk) 06:11, 2 July 2011 (UTC)Reply
I see that the article now reads "The Government of Canada, formerly Her Majesty's Government" MsBatfish (talk) 11:40, 17 October 2011 (UTC)Reply
The introduction currently states, "in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council." I believe that the word government in Canadian English can refer to more than just those two things. In addition, forgive my ignorance, but I am confused about what the "Queen-in-Council" even is. The "Queen-in-Council" article itself is a stub and I found it difficult to understand. Is there some way this sentence could be re-written to make it clearer and more comprehensive? I didn't want to just go ahead and edit it without an understanding on what the "Queen-in-Council" is. I am a Canadian and I have never heard that term used before. Is it perhaps an antiquated term that is not regularly used in the public vernacular? And, when I think about it, the phrase "the collective set of institutions" could be a bit clearer as well. Thoughts? MsBatfish (talk) 11:24, 17 October 2011 (UTC)Reply
ADDITION: I also noticed under Usage that there is a similar definition: "In Canadian English, the word government is used to refer both to the whole set of institutions that collectively govern the country as well as the reigning monarch, or her viceroy, in her current council; when used in the latter context, the word is usually capitalized to make the distinction.[10] Thus, Canadians would say the 28th Ministry is the Government that currently administers the Canadian government. Contrasts can be drawn with the British usage — where the government is synonymous with the state — and the American usage — where the Government is synonymous with the administration."
Is it really true that the word government is used in Canada to refer to "the reigning monarch or her viceroy"?? Meaning that the Queen of England is the "government" of Canada?
Another sentence of this paragraph that I would dispute is that『Contrasts can be drawn with the British usage — where the government is synonymous with the state — and the American usage — where the Government is synonymous with the administration』- in the public vernacular the administration is often referred to as "the government". If the article is making a distinction between the technical or legal meaning of the term "government" as opposed to the way the term is widely used by the people, perhaps this distinction should be outlined? MsBatfish (talk) 11:38, 17 October 2011 (UTC)Reply
I would also dispute the statement『Contrasts can be drawn with the British usage — where the government is synonymous with the state — and the American usage — where the Government is synonymous with the administration』I favor either citing a reference supporting it or removing it. My argue for removing follows: the American Federal Constitution specifies a "seat of Government" but does not limit the capital "G" Government as being an administration, or president or congress (etc.). An example of this non-localization of the term Government is found in the American Federal Bill of Rights, where it states in the first amendment, it part, ".. petition the Government for a redress of grievances..". Who is petitioned? The amendment does not direct (or limit) petitioning action towards the President, Congress or Courts. Instead it leaves it open ended. Rmo111 (talk) 19:08, 28 January 2012 (UTC)Reply
Would the anon user 2.27.78.52 (talk · contribs)/2.25.186.230 (talk · contribs)/2.27.81.7 (talk · contribs) care to explain why he/she feels allowed to disregard WP:LR: "Do not delete cited information solely because the URL to the source does not work any longer. WP:Verifiability does not require that all information be supported by a working link"? Further, how the word "dominion" disqualifies a source; WP:RS makes no mention of it. --Ħ MIESIANIACAL 01:00, 17 January 2015 (UTC)Reply
This section seems to me to be a rehash of the Structure of the Canadian Government list article and should not be repeated here but instead have a link to that specific article. The Structure list article is not limited to just line departments as intimated in the "Divisions" section here as it already contains much more than that. trackratte (talk) 18:13, 11 June 2020 (UTC)Reply
The "Government of Canada", with a capital G, always refers to the executive branch exclusively (see e.g. here). The mistake appears throughout the article at the time I'm writing this -- I will try to fix many instances. Kudu ~I/O~ 04:51, 11 September 2020 (UTC)Reply
I have started an RfC on this question at Talk:Governor General of Canada. All comments welcome. --Mr Serjeant Buzfuz (talk) 14:52, 20 September 2020 (UTC)Reply
@KuduIO, Trackratte, GoodDay, and Moxy:
The lead and other sections of this article seem to be discussing the federal level of government in general, as well as the executive Government of Canada (Crown in Council). I think we should split this article into Government of Canada, for the Crown in Council (executive branch) and Federal government of Canada for the generic, overview of all the branches.
Thanks, WildComet (talk) 06:41, 2 March 2021 (UTC)Reply
There are problems with the paragraph below:
"The federal government of Canada (French: gouvernement fédéral du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the Queen-in-Council; the legislature, as the Queen-in-Parliament; and the courts, as the Queen-on-the-Bench. Three institutions—the Privy Council (conventionally, the Cabinet); the Parliament of Canada; and the judiciary, respectively—exercise the powers of the Crown.
The term Government of Canada (French: Gouvernement du Canada) can refer to either the collective set of all three institutions, or more specifically to the executive—ministers of the Crown (the Cabinet) and the federal civil service (whom the Cabinet direct)—which corporately brands itself as the Government of Canada, or more formally, Her Majesty's Government (French: Gouvernement de Sa Majesté).[3][4][5]"
The paragraph appears to use British legal terms rather than terms used in Canadian constitutional law. Federal legislation (link below) refers to the executive as the "Governor in Council", not the Crown-in-Council. The legislature is "Parliament", not the "Crown-in Parliament", and the courts are not called the Crown-on-the-Bench but rather the judiciary or judicial branch.
Below are the terms used in the federal Interpretation Act: https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/laws/stat/rsc-1985-c-i-21/latest/rsc-1985-c-i-21.html
"Governor, Governor General or Governor of Canada means the Governor General of Canada or other chief executive officer or administrator carrying on the Government of Canada on behalf and in the name of the Sovereign, by whatever title that officer is designated; (gouverneur, gouverneur du Canada ou gouverneur général)"
"Governor General in Council or Governor in Council means the Governor General of Canada acting by and with the advice of, or by and with the advice and consent of, or in conjunction with the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada; (gouverneur en conseil ou gouverneur général en conseil)"
"Her Majesty, His Majesty, the Queen, the King or the Crown means the Sovereign of the United Kingdom, Canada and Her or His other Realms and Territories, and Head of the Commonwealth; (Sa Majesté, la Reine, le Roi ou la Couronne)"
"Parliament means the Parliament of Canada; (Parlement)"
In addition, the term "Government of Canada" refers only to the executive branch, and not to "all three institutions" (i.e. executive, legislative, and judicial).
Finally, in legal agreements and court pleadings, the legal term "Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada is used" to describe the Government of Canada. The term "Her Majesty's Government" (as set out in the author's paragraph) may be used in the United Kingdom but the Government of Canada does to refer to itself that way, even though the Queen is the head of state. Examples: https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/smt-gst.nsf/eng/sf02129.html and https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/7957/1/document.do
I suggested to the author of the paragraph that Canadian legal terms be used (i.e. those set out in federal law), as this is an article about the Canadian government and not the British government. He or she has not yet made the above changes. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Greenwood10 (talk • contribs) 14:01, 2 April 2021 (UTC)Reply
I'm not enthusiastic about the way this excerpt concerning "His Majesty's Government" is referenced or phrased:
The term Government of Canada (French: Gouvernement du Canada) refers specifically to the executive, which includes ministers of the Crown (together in the Cabinet) and the federal civil service (whom the Cabinet direct); what is formally known as His Majesty's Government (French: Gouvernement de Sa Majesté)[6][7][8][9] and is corporately branded as the Government of Canada.
References 6–9 are basically showing that there exist examples of this usage in official places, but are not strong evidence of the normative proposition that this is a proper usage. In that sense, it's kind of a weak way of arguing what it is "formally known as". I'm going to rephrase to reflect the general tone of the cited pamphlets (as discussions of the structure of government, rather than specifically the name of the Government), and delete the references to a treaty and a throne speech as not really useful. TheFeds 17:59, 22 September 2023 (UTC)Reply
We have had some major changes to the lead. A fter reviewing this it's seems that is now full of information about the queen over/instead of how the government functions. Going to ask a few old timers to review our oddly worded lead.--Moxy- 03:31, 7 April 2021 (UTC)Reply
Hi@Moxy: Did you mean to undo this table as well? I get the lead, wanted to clarify this. Thanks, WildComet (talk) 18:31, 7 April 2021 (UTC)Reply
Type | Court | Appeals to |
---|---|---|
Court of last resort | Supreme Court | |
Appellate courts | May appeal to Supreme Court | |
Trial courts | May appeal to Federal Court of Appeal (or Court Martial Appeal Court for courts marshal) | |
Quasi-judicial | Federal tribunals and boards | May appeal to Federal Court |
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for speedy deletion:
You can see the reason for deletion at the file description page linked above. —Community Tech bot (talk) 23:26, 1 February 2023 (UTC)Reply
Just noticed that this page & Australian Government use one type of gov't infobox. While Government of New Zealand & Government of the United Kingdom use another type. Shouldn't all four, be the same? GoodDay (talk) 04:09, 4 November 2023 (UTC)Reply
An editor has changed the Australian gov't infobox to match with New Zealand's & the United Kingdom's. GoodDay (talk) 00:11, 27 November 2023 (UTC)Reply
Following discussion at WP:CANADA and WP:AWNB, I believe there are some severe issues with this article's scope and topic. See Government of the United Kingdom, Government of Australia, Government of New Zealand. Each of those articles describe solely the respective "HM Government" of each country. Even this article itself tells us the following:
The term Government of Canada (French: Gouvernement du Canada) refers specifically to the executive, which includes ministers of the Crown (together in the Cabinet) and the federal civil service (whom the Cabinet direct); it is alternatively known as His Majesty's Government (French: Gouvernement de Sa Majesté) and is corporately branded as the Government of Canada. There are over 100 departments and agencies, as well as over 300,000 persons employed in the Government of Canada. These institutions carry out the programs and enforce the laws established by the Parliament of Canada.
This means that there are some pretty severe issues with this article and is scope. It contradicts itself by telling us that the "Government of Canada" is officially the executive but then the rest of the article is about the entire federal level, leaving no article for the actual executive Government, and two articles that cover the same topic (this article and Politics of Canada). This article definitely needs to be drastically reduced in scope to actually being about its topic, the Government, not the federal level. Leave the federal level for the Politics of Canada article like it is for other Commonwealth realms. I will note that this article was basically created with the scope of covering the entire federal level despite its title. Time to change that to get it in line with the reality that the "Government of Canada" is the executive/administrative organ, not the whole federal level? I believe so. JM (talk) 05:20, 19 January 2024 (UTC)Reply
Hello, could you make an article about the government of Canada in Spanish. Severomáster17 (talk) 22:18, 3 April 2024 (UTC)Reply