Structure of the Canadian federal government
The following list outlines the structure of the federal government of Canada, the collective set of federal institutions which can be grouped into the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. In turn, these are further divided into departments, agencies, and other organizations which support the day-to-day function of the Canadian state.
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The includes roughly 130 departments and other organizations, with nearly 300,000 employees, who collectively form the Public Service of Canada. Special Operating Agencies (which are departmental organizations), and non-departmental organizations such as Crown corporations, administrative tribunals, and oversight organizations are parts of the public service operating in areas seen as requiring a higher level of independence from it and the direct political control of ministers. Public servants are agents of the Crown and responsible to Parliament through their relevant minister.
This list is organized according to functional grouping and is further subdivided by category such as offices, departments, agencies, and Crown corporations:
The Crown
Regal and vice-regal offices
Queen's Privy Council
- Queen's Privy Council for Canada
- Cabinet of Canada
- Privy Council Office
- Intergovernmental Affairs Secretariat
- Office of the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
Executive
Public Service
Central agencies
Logo | Agency | Established | Minister responsible | Deputy head | Associated entities |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Privy Council Office | 1867 | Justin Trudeau
President of the Privy Council |
Janice Charette
Interim Clerk of the Privy Council |
| |
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat | 1867 | Mona Fortier | Peter Wallace
Secretary of the Treasury Board |
|
Ministerial departments
Logo | Department | Established | Minister responsible | Deputy head | Associated entities |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Agriculture and Agri-food | 1868 | Marie-Claude Bibeau | Chris Forbes |
AgenciesSpecial Operating AgencyCrown corporationsReview Body |
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Canadian Heritage | 1993 | Pablo Rodriguez Minister of Canadian Heritage | Isabelle Mondou
Deputy Minister |
AgenciesSpecial Operating AgenciesCrown corporations
RegulatorReview Body
|
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Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs | 2019
1880 (historic) |
Marc Miller | Daniel Quan-Watson
Deputy Minister |
Agencies
Crown corporations
|
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Employment and Social Development | 2003 | Karina Gould
Minister of Families, Children, and Social Development Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion |
Graham Flack
Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development Sandra Hassan Deputy Minister of Labour Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development |
Agencies
Programs
Joint ProgramCrown CorporationReview Bodies
|
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Environment and Climate Change | 1971 | Steven Guibeault | Christine Hogan
Deputy Minister |
Agencies
Review body
|
Finance | 1867 | Chrystia Freeland | Michael Sabia
Deputy Minister |
Central bankIntelligence agencyCrown corporationsNon-profit organizationRegulatorsReview body | |
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Fisheries and Oceans | 1868 | Joyce Murray | Timothy Sargent
Deputy Minister |
Special Operating AgencyCrown Corporation
|
Global Affairs | 1909 | Mélanie Joly
Minister of International Development Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion, and International Trade |
Marta Morgan
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs John Hannaford Deputy Minister of International Trade Leslie MacLean Deputy Minister of International Development |
AgenciesCrown corporationsReview body
| |
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Health | 1993
1919 (historic) |
Jean-Yves Duclos | Stephen Lucas
Deputy Minister |
AgenciesFunding AgencyRegulatorReview Body |
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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship | 1994 | Sean Fraser | Catrina Tapley
Deputy Minister |
Agencies
ProgramsReview Body |
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Indigenous Services | 2019 | Patty Hajdu | Christiane Fox
Deputy Minister |
Special Operating Agency
Review Body
|
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Innovation, Science and Economic Development | 1993 | François-Philippe Champagne | Paul Thomson
Deputy Minister |
AgenciesFunding agenciesRegional Economic Development Agencies
Enforcement agencySpecial Operating Agencies
Crown corporationsNon-profit organizationsRegulatorReview Body
|
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Infrastructure | 2002 | Dominic Leblanc
Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities |
Kelly Gillis
Deputy Minister |
Crown corporations |
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Justice | 1868 | David Lametti | François Daigle
Deputy Minister
|
Agencies
Review body
|
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National Defence | 1923 | Anita Anand | Jody Thomas
Deputy Minister General Wayne Eyre Acting Chief of Defence Staff |
AgencyIntelligence agencySpecial Operating AgenciesProgramReview bodies
|
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Natural Resources | 1994 | Jonathan Wilkinson | Jean-François Tremblay
Deputy Minister |
AgenciesCrown corporationPetroleum Boards
Regulators |
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Public Safety | 2003 | Marco Mendicino
President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada and Minister for Emergency Preparedness |
Rob Stewart
Deputy Minister |
AgencyEnforcement agenciesIntelligence agencyReview bodies
|
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Public Services and Procurement | 1996 | Filomena Tassi | Bill Matthews
Deputy Minister Deputy Receiver-General |
AgencySpecial Operating Agency
Crown corporationsReview Body
|
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Transport | 1935 | Omar Alghabra | Michael Keenan
Deputy Minister |
Crown corporations
Funds
Review bodies
|
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Veterans Affairs | 1944 | Lawrence MacAulay | Peter Ledwell
Deputy Minister |
AgenciesReview bodies
|
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Women and Gender Equality | 2018
1976 (historic) |
Marci Ien | Gina Wilson
Deputy Minister |
None |
Separate agency with direct ministerial oversight
Logo | Agency | Established | Minister responsible | Deputy head | Associated entity |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Canada Revenue Agency | 2003
1867 (historic) |
Diane Lebouthillier | Bob Hamilton
Commissioner of Revenue |
Review body
|
Independent agencies and offices
- Canadian Judicial Council
- National Judicial Institute
- National Security and Intelligence Review Agency
- Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs
- Office of the Chief Military Judge
- Public Service Commission of Canada
- Transportation Safety Board
Independent review bodies
- Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board[1]
- Public Servants Disclosure Protection Tribunal
- Canadian Human Rights Commission
- Canadian Human Rights Tribunal
Parliament
Procedural officers
Standing committees
- Aboriginal Peoples
- Agriculture and Forestry
- Banking, Trade, and Commerce
- Ethics and Conflict of Interest for Senators
- Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources
- Fisheries and Oceans
- Foreign Affairs and International Trade
- Human Rights
- Internal Economy, Budgets, and Administration
- Diversity subcommittee
- Human Resources subcommittee
- Senate Estimates subcommittee
- Legal and Constitutional Affairs
- National Finance
- National Security and Defence
- Official Languages
- Rules, Procedure and the Rights of Parliament
- Selection Committee
- Social Affairs, Science and Technology
- Transport and Communication
Procedural officers
Standing committees
- Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics
- Agriculture and Agri-Food
- Canadian Heritage
- Citizenship and Immigration
- Environment and Sustainable Development
- Finance
- Fisheries and Oceans
- Foreign Affairs and International Development
- Government Operations and Estimates
- Health
- Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and
the Status of Persons with Disabilities - Indigenous and Northern Affairs
- Industry, Science and Technology
- International Trade
- Justice and Human Rights
- National Defence
- Natural Resources
- Official Languages
- Procedure and House Affairs
- Public Accounts
Joint Standing Committees
Officers of Parliament
- Auditor General of Canada
- Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada
- Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner of Canada
- Information Commissioner of Canada
- Intelligence Commissioner of Canada
- Elections Canada
- Privacy Commissioner of Canada
- Public Sector Integrity Commissioner of Canada
- Parliamentary Budget Officer
Agencies
Courts
See also
- Civil Service Act 1918
- Special Operating Agency
- State-owned enterprise
- Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary
- Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue
Canadian Provincial equivalents
- Executive Council of Alberta
- Executive Council of British Columbia
- Executive Council of Manitoba
- Executive Council of Newfoundland and Labrador
- Executive Council of New Brunswick
- Executive Council of Nova Scotia
- Executive Council of Ontario
- Executive Council of Prince Edward Island
- Executive Council of Quebec
- Executive Council of Saskatchewan
- Executive Council of the Northwest Territories
- Executive Council of Nunavut
- Executive Council of Yukon
- Government of Newfoundland and Labrador
- Government of New Brunswick
- Government of Nova Scotia
- Government of Ontario
- Government of Prince Edward Island
- Government of Quebec
Notes
- The Canadian Armed Forces is a separate and distinct entity from that of the Department of National Defence. The Department is a civilian organization, and is part of the Public Service of Canada, while the Canadian Forces are a military organization and are not part of the Public Service. The minister of national defence is responsible for its direction as part of the Defence portfolio.