Cabinet: Then
For many years, Canada’s Cabinet was peripatetic: it moved between
Kingston, Montreal, Quebec City, and Toronto, until Ottawa was chosen as the
capital in 1857. Construction on the Parliament Buildings began in 1860 and by
the time of Confederation on July 1, 1867, the new offices were ready for the
new government.
The Cabinet Room (Room 235) in the East Block of the Parliament Buildings was
the focal point of federal power in Canada for over a century. Every Prime
Minister from Sir John A. Macdonald to Pierre Elliott Trudeau held meetings in
this room, making it perhaps Canada’s most significant historical site for the
conduct of government business.
Click on image to enlarge.
Prior to the Second World War, there were no Cabinet Committees, no Cabinet
agenda, and no official records of Cabinet business: the Prime Minister was the
arbiter of what was decided. The Clerk of the Privy Council left a box in front
of the Prime Minister’s chair with orders that were submitted by Departments
for approval. At the end of the Cabinet meeting, he returned to find which had
been approved and which rejected.
The size of Cabinet was in part determined by the size of the room and the
table. Canada’s First Ministry had 13 members on July 1, 1867, with the Prime
Minister doing double duty as Minister of Justice and Attorney General.
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