PM and Cabinet

Question 1

Responsible govt = parlimentary

Answer 1

Executive must have confidence of legislature to stay in office

if legislature rejects legislation but forward by the executive, it may have to resign

the legislature can force the executive to resign

executive stability depends on party composition of legislature

Question 2

West-minister model of Parliamentary democracy

Answer 2

parliamentary sovereignty 
shared power
-commons
-lords
-crown

Representative govt

responsible govt

• collective ministerial responsibility
• confidence of lower house

Question 3

Executive powers: Canadian PM

Answer 3

Prime ministerial authority rests on:

• leader of party
• Leader of govt

Question 4

Prime Ministerial Power: Cabinet Maker

Answer 4

• Most highly prized position of elected officials
• who will be in Cabinet
• What cabinet position they will occupy
• How long they will stay in Cabinet

Question 5

Prime Ministerial Power: Other appointments

Answer 5

Parliamentary secretaries & committee Chairs

Senate & Lt Govs

Judicial appointments

UN positions, Ambassadors

Variety of boards and Commissions

Question 6

Prime Ministerial Power: dissolution

Answer 6

Dissolution

• Only person empowered to advise GG
• 40% turnover in elections

Question 7

Prime Ministerial Power: Special Mandate

Answer 7

Chosen by party convention or election

caucus and cabinet have no power to remove

chosen in a sense by national electorate in election

Question 8

Prime Ministerial Power: Special electoral role

Answer 8

Pm Focus of voters during election

Signs nomination papers of all candidates
-if the leader doesn’t sign you, you cannot run

• Appoints all significant campaign figures
• declares and interprets policy

Question 9

Prime ministerial power: Cabinet Chari

Answer 9

No votes

determines agenda and timing

Question 10

Prime ministerial power: Conference representation of Canada

Answer 10

First ministers conferences

international conferences

Question 11

Prime ministerial power: Governmental organizations

Answer 11

Creates and disbands depts

changes cabinet responsibilities

appoints deputy ministers in every department

cabinet committee structures

Question 12

Prime ministerial power: Information sources: Access to central agencies PMO (prime ministers office)

Answer 12

overtly political body

personal appointees of PM

Question 13

Prime ministerial power: PCO (privy council office)

Answer 13

Top of civil service

support staff for PM

Provide advice to cab

Write up and follow cab decisions

Question 14

The PMs office

Answer 14

The PMO is the only partisan central agency

PMO officials are the PMs personal staff, performing functions ranging from handling his/her correspondence and schedule, speech writing, media relations etc

Question 15

The Privy Council Office

Answer 15

The PCO:
“Never centre of the federal public service”

• Is headed by the clerk of the PCO, the top bureaucrat who reports directly to the PM
• Briefs the PM on the selection of deputy ministers, on federal-provincial relations, and on all issues of governmental organization and ministerial mandates
• provides support services for the cab committees
• supervises departmental submissions to cabinet

Question 16

Summarizing PM authority

Answer 16

Powerful
institutional inertia
importance of patronage
affective

Question 17

Powers Compared

Answer 17

Neither, US President nor British PM as powerful as CDN PM

• Role of party leader not as important in either country as it is in Canada
• -Other rival the leader (PM) in authority
• -Method of selection

Size of legislature matters

• -different role perception for other elected reps
• -the smaller the legislature the more powerful the PM is
• Nature of elections matters

Question 18

Prime ministerial Exits

Answer 18

death = 2
Retired in office = 7 
Deposed by Cab = 1 
Retired by electorate = 11 
-Defeated in election and lost their position

Question 19

Executive

Answer 19

PM
Cabinet (Headed by PM)

• Functions
• -Determines priority setting
• -The decision making body (most powerful)
• -Responsibility
• -supervision of bureaucracy
• -representation

Question 20

Cabinet

Answer 20

Operating principles
cab solidarity
- Cant remain in cab if you disagree

cabinet secrecy
-cant report publicly

ministerial responsibility
-minister is expected to take responsibility of the decisions and the actions that have been made under his department

Question 21

Cabinet Appointments

Answer 21

Committee of Parliament - Not soon into cab, you are sworn into the privy council

federal nature

francophone proportionate share

representation of women

party unity

competence