Government of Canada

The Government of Canada (French: Gouvernement du Canada) is the federal government of the Canadian Republic, a sovereign state located in the northern part of North America. It exercises federal jurisdiction over 13 provinces and five territories, each of which have their own provincial/territorial governments responsible for the majority of domestic matters within their area of jurisdiction. Some of the primary responsibilities of the federal government include conducting diplomatic relations with fellow sovereign states and other foreign entities as well as the United Nations and other intergovernmental organizations, funding and supervising the Canadian Armed Forces, and maintaining the national security of the federation as a whole. The Government of Canada is based in the city of Ottawa, a federal capital district which is administratively separate from any province or territory.

As Canada is a parliamentary republic, the federal government is led by the Prime Minister of Canada, the federation's head of government, who is traditionally the leader of the party or coalition with a majority of seats in the House of Commons, the lower chamber of the bicameral Parliament of Canada. The Prime Minister nominates members to form his/her cabinet, who are confirmed by the President of Canada, the mostly ceremonial head of state who is elected every six years in a direct election. Prime Ministers themselves are also officially appointed by the President on advice of Parliament.

All federal departments and independent federal agencies report directly to the Cabinet of the Prime Minister, including the Department of National Defence, which oversees the Canadian Armed Forces, the Department of Public Security, which oversees law enforcement at the federal level including supervising the Commissioner of the RCMP (Canada's federal police agency), and the Department of Foreign Affairs, which conducts international diplomacy and oversees the Canadian Republic's multiple foreign missions, namely its embassies and consulates and their staff. An exhaustive list of all federal departments and agencies and their responsibilities and areas of jurisdiction can be found here.