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Decision-Making in the Federal Government: Infographic (FON1-J12)

Description

This job aid outlines the governance and decision-making processes in the federal government, including the political actors, the role of central agencies, the policy and expenditure management cycles, and spending authorities.

Published: September 29, 2025
Type: Job aid

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Decision-Making in the Federal Government: Infographic

Decision-Making in the Federal Government: The Actors and Processes

The purpose of this job aid is to provide learners with the tools to understand decision-making in the federal government as it pertains to its actors and processes.

Our Governance

Our Governance

Governance decisions in Canada involve complex interactions between several major actors. This can be simply depicted in Figure 1:

Figure 1 – Federal government major actors

Figure 1 – Text version

The Crown is listed as the top actor, with the Governor General directly beneath. Under the Governor General, there are three actors: the Judicial Branch (court system), the Legislative Branch (House of Commons and Senate) and Executive Branch (Prime Minister and Cabinet). Underneath the Executive Branch are the Federal Organizations.

Note: Bolded signifies elected representatives.

Indigenous communities particpate in self-governance through various arrangements and relationships with the Canadian government.

Political Actors

Political Actors

Prime Minister

  • Sets the government's agenda
  • Organizes Cabinet and committees, selects Ministers, assigns portfolios and mandates
  • Establishes and oversees processes to appoint individuals to key government positions
  • Requests the Governor-General to summon, prorogue, and dissolve Parliament
  • Exercises prerogative to change the machinery of government
  • Holds special responsibilities for foreign policy and national security

Cabinet

  • Builds consensus and directs the business of government; it is the executive decision-maker
  • Made up of Ministers and is chaired by the Prime Minister

Cabinet Ministers

  • Are selected at the discretion of the Prime Minister
  • Are assigned a portfolio of responsibilities informed by Mandate Letters
  • Are individually accountable to Parliament, the Prime Minister and other Ministers
  • Are collectively responsible for the decisions of Cabinet and for supporting fellow Ministers.

Prime Minister's Office (PMO)

Minister's Office (MINO)

Note: While a deputy minister is not a political actor, they play a crucial role in supporting political actors by providing guidance and non-partisan advice. They are accountable for policy advice, program delivery, interdepartmental coordination, and report directly to their Minister.

Public Service Actors and the Central Agencies

Public Service Actors and the Central Agencies

Public service actors advance the government agenda without compromising their non-partisan status needed to provide continuity and service to successive governments. The role of the central agencies is to facilitate the formulation and implementation of coherent government policies and programs.

Privy Council Office (PCO)

Privy Council Office (PCO)

  • Supports the Prime Minister with agenda setting, departmental initiatives, communication across governments, and Mandate Letter development;
  • Acts as the Secretariat to Cabinet by supporting meetings and Cabinet committees;
  • Works as the convener and coordinator by maintaining contact with Deputy Ministers, coordinating policy and horizontal initiatives, and organizing 'Four Corner' meetings

Decision-Making Tools

Memorandum to Cabinet (MC)
Rationale: Policy Cover

  • The MC is used by Minister seeking Cabinet decision on policy proposal
  • The PCO ensures:
    • departments coordinate on proposals,
    • information meets Cabinet's needs,
    • proposal aligns with government's objectives
Department of Finance

Department of Finance

  • Acts as the government's primary source of advice on economic affairs;
  • Examines requests for new funding and makes recommendations to the Minister of Finance;
  • Is responsible for preparing budgets and fiscal updates and developing tax and financial policies;
  • Interacts with other departments such as the PCO and TBS regarding funding compliance, and budget creation

Decision-Making Tools

Funding Proposal / Budget
Rationale: Funding Source

  • Finance advises departments on funding proposals
  • Supports the Finance Minister in budget development
  • Funding proposals require approval from Finance Minister and Prime Minister to align with government mandate
  • Cost estimates must include all costs, methodologies, data, and risks
Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS)

Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS)

  • Provides Treasury Board with integrated advice on government spending and administrative support;
  • Reviews Treasury Board Submissions and challenges proposals;
  • Provides leadership to government departments regarding policies for regulatory practices, people management, and information management;
  • Produces the estimates (main and supplementary)

Decision-Making Tools

Treasury Board Submission
Rationale: Authorities to Implement

  • TBS Program Sector analysts support and guide department submissions
  • Ministers seek the TB's authorization to implement initiatives
  • TB Submissions must include:
    • detailed plans for initiatives,
    • expected impact and risks,
    • government priority alignment
The Policy Cycle

The Policy Cycle

Executive decision-making can feature three phases, each involving a distinct decision point, as seen below:

Policy Cover

  1. MC is submitted; this outlines policy options
  2. Cabinet Committee makes a recommendation, resulting in Committee Recommendations (CR)
  3. Cabinet decides, resulting in a Record of Decision (RD)

Funding

  1. If funding is needed, the sponsoring Minister develops a budget proposal
  2. Minister of Finance and Prime Minister make a funding decision

Authorities to implement

  1. Seeks authorities to operationalize new proposals
  2. Treasury Board makes a decision
  3. If needed, authority is sought from Parliament
Expenditure Management Cycle

Expenditure Management Cycle

The Expenditure Management Cycle for government expenditures establishes events leading up to the tabling of documents and processes related to the government's Budget and expenditure plan.

  • March: Budget Presentation
  • March 26: Concurrence in supplementary estimates and interim supply / Appropriation act / End of Supply
  • May 31: Committees report back on main estimates
  • June 23: Concurrence in main and supplementary estimates / Appropriation act / End of Supply
  • October: Pre-budget consultations by Standing Committee on Finance
  • November: Tabling of Public Accounts
  • December 10: Concurrence in supplementary estimates / Appropriation act / End of supply period
  • December: Tabling of report on pre-budget consultations by Standing Committee on Finance
  • March 1: Tabling of main estimates

Definitions

Budget: outlines the government's revenue projections and spending obligations.

Estimates: identify the planned spending and spending authorities for each federal organization. Are divided into votes approved by Parliament authorizing funding requests.

Public Accounts: provide audited financial statements and represents the major GoC accountability report.

The Colour of Money

The Colour of Money

The Colour of Money refers to the different categories of funding provided by Parliament to federal organizations included in the main estimates and the specific uses on which they may be spent. There are two categories of spending authorities: statutory authorities and voted authorities.

Statutory Authorities

  • Are derived from respective acts and legislations
  • Are non-lapsing funds reviewed by a standing committee on a cyclical basis without regular parliamentary scrutiny

The Library of Parliament provides a more detailed description of statutory expenditures.

Voted Authorities

The various forms of voted authorities represent limits to expenditures. Visit the Library of Parliament's report on the parliamentary financial cycle to learn more about the types of votes and voted authorities.

Vote 1: Operating expenditures

  • used to fund day-to-day operating costs such as salaries and utilities or either a "capital expenditures" vote

Vote 5: Capital expenditures

  • used for capital expenditures that have a continuing use (such as acquisition of real property, infrastructure, machinery or equipment, construction or developing assets etc.)

Vote 10: Grants and contributions

  • payments made for which no goods or services are received. No requirement to make a payment, nor any right of the recipient to the funds
Key Takeaways

Key Takeaways

  • The decision-making process can be influenced by numerous factors, including the government agenda, international environment, unexpected events, and domestic and social context
  • Authorities for decisions vary, with some decisions made within departments and others requiring approval from Cabinet and/or Parliament
  • Each actor has defined policies and roles, which must be considered when interacting with the decision-making system to maintain accountability
  • Communication with all stakeholders is crucial for effective and efficient decision-making

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