THE ORGANIZATION OF CORE EXECUTIVE 

In the Canadian provinces on the whole, the organization and operations of the Cabinet follow from shared customs and principles originating in the British parliamentary system, which include the pre-eminence of the premier, cabinet solidarity, and an overlap of political and legislative responsibilities among members of Cabinet. According to constitutional custom, the government is traditionally made up of assemblymen and -women belonging to the party having the strongest delegation in the Legislative Assembly.

On the other hand, the organization of the Executive Council, a prerogative specific to provincial governments under the Constitution, varies substantially from one province to the next, thus testifying to a given government’s determination to integrate its priorities into structures of coordination. Owing to the instrumental and evolving nature of the organization of the Executive Council, comparison between the provinces thus proves to be an arduous task. For this reason, a comparative analysis of Executive Council organization will be limited to the following considerations.

To begin with, it will be noted that ministerial committees have been established by all provincial governments. Furthermore, it is in the four most heavily populated provinces (Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, Alberta) that the greatest number of these committees are to be found.

Number of ministerial standing committees, provincial executives, July 2012

Source : According to government Websites.

Secondly, in some Canadian provinces, the committees of provincial executives are not made up entirely of ministers, as is the case in Quebec, but also include members of the legislative assembly. Such is the case of Alberta, where in fact there are two types of committees – committees chaired by ministers and whose mandate is functional (establishing priorities, ensuring compliance with rules of management by public agencies, supervising the legislative process) and committees that are chaired by members of the legislative assembly who come from the government caucus but who are not ministers and whose mandate is sectoral (for example, economic development and health). In the latter case, however, the vice-chair’s position is always assumed by a member of Cabinet.

Third, in all provinces there is also what is known as a priorities committee. While the premier may not formally chair this committee, in contrast with Nova Scotia, he or she nevertheless remains the architect of the organization of core executive. In this capacity, he or she is thus empowered to direct the work of ministerial committees and establish priorities.

Fourth, all provinces have the equivalent of a Treasury Board. However, it is important to distinguish between those provinces in which the Treasury Board is distinct from the Ministry of Finance, as is the case in Quebec and Alberta, and those in which the Minister of Finance is also the President (Chair) of the Treasury Board. In the case of the former, the supporting administration of this committee has the status of ministry and its general mandate covers the management of public resources, be they human, financial, material or informational. In the case of the latter, which is the most widespread among the provincial governments of Canada, the Treasury Board (which sometimes goes by the name of “Management Board of Cabinet”) remains a mere ministerial committee provided with administrative support by either the Ministry of Finance or the Executive Council, which thus oversees the entire budgeting process.

Presence within the central ministry management framework, July 2012

Sources : According to provincial expenditure allocations, 2010-11
1) The Treasury Board (TB) is distinct both administratively (i.e., has its own budget line) and politically (the President of the TB is not simultaneously the Minister of Finance or some other political authority).
2) The Minister of Finance is also the President (Chair) of the Treasury Board. The Treasury Board Secretariat is integrated into the Ministry of Finance.
3) Specific case: The "Provincial Treasurer" serves both as Minister of Finance and President of the Treasury Board.
4) Specific case: The "Treasury Board" which, administratively, is included in the Executive Council but which is politically distinct (the Chair of the Treasury Board not being the Premier.
5) The Office of the Premier is administratively but not politically distinct from the Executive Council Office (as the Premier is president of the Executive Council).
6) The Privy Council Office and the Prime Minister's Office each have their own separate expenditure allocations.