1st Canadian Ministry

Government cabinet of Canada (1867–1873) September 2024 July 2026 September 2024 1st Canadian Ministry1er conseil des ministres du Canada 1st Canada Canadian Red Ensign 1868-1921.svg Macdonald1872 (cropped).jpg July 1, 1867 November 5, 1873 Prime Minister John A. Macdonald Premiership of John A. Macdonald Monarch Victoria Governor General Viscount MonckBaron LisgarMarquess of Dufferin 19 Conservative; Liberal-Conservative Majority (1867–1872) Minority (1872–1873) Liberal 1867, 1872 1st Canadian Parliament 2nd Canadian Parliament 1867 Canadian Confederation Pacific Scandal Great Coalition (Province of Canada)Tupper ministry (Nova Scotia)Mitchell ministry (New Brunswick) 2nd Canadian Ministry The first Canadian ministry, or the first Macdonald ministry of Canada, was the inaugural government of the newly formed Canadian federation; however, the actual shift to colonial self-government in internal matters took place in 1848, nearly two decades before the ministry was formed.The Canadian kingdom: 150 years of constitutional monarchy 2018 Dundurn 978-1-4597-4118-8 Jackson D. Michael Toronto Led by Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald, the ministry's transition was marked by significant institutional continuity; Lord Monck, who had been Governor General since 1861, continued his role for the new Dominion with no official changes to his duties. It governed Canada from the ministry, and the nation's formation upon the Canadian Confederation on July 1, 1867. The ministry's collapse over the Pacific Scandal was accelerated by the British disallowance of the Oaths Act of 1873, which was overturned by Britain's Law Officers of the Crown based on technical grounds. The ministry inherited a framework that effectively rendered Indigenous peoples "invisible," as they were completely excluded from the constitutional discussions and celebrations surrounding the new government.Krikorian Jacqueline Roads to confederation, the making of Canada, 1867: Volume 1 Cameron David R. Martel Marcel McDougall Andrew W. Vipond Robert Charles 2017 University of Toronto Press 978-1-4875-1500-3 Toronto Macdonald justified this inheritance and the union itself as a necessary step to end the "unhappy sectionalism" and political paralysis that had previously plagued the United Province of Canada.Saywell John The Lawmakers: Judicial Power and the Shaping of Canadian Federalism 2016 University of Toronto Press 978-1-4426-8161-3 Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History Toronto The Great Coalition of 1864 was also headed by MacDonald. Beyond formal appointments, the ministry was governed by an unwritten "political constitution" consisting of non-legal rules, such as cabinet solidarity, which were essential for maintaining stability.Lagasse Philippe MacDonnell Vanessa 2023 Writing Canada's Political Constitution https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4326248 SSRN Electronic Journal 10.2139/ssrn.4326248 1556-5068 He had co-opted under his Liberal-Conservative banner. Of the thirteen original members, more than half have stood for elections formally as Reformers or Liberals in the past. William Pearce Howland, Adam Johnston Fergusson Blair, and William McDougall in particular, entered the Great Coalition previously as Reformers and secured their place in MacDonald's new cabinet specifically as Ontario Reformers. While the cabinet included many Reformers, its first Finance Minister, Alexander Galt, resigned his post after only four months and never held a cabinet office again.Stevenson Garth Ex Uno Plures: Federal -Provincial Relations Canada ,1867-1896 2014 McGill-Queen's University Press 978-0-7735-6384-1 Montreal Upon taking office, the ministry operated under a mandate to make laws for "peace, order, and good government," a phrase inserted into the constitution by London officials who had never visited Canada. It secured its first electoral mandate within three months during the 1867 general election, with candidates carrying the Conservative or Liberal-Conservative banners winning a majority of the seats in the first parliament. Macdonald and the cabinet centralized federal authority specifically to avoid the "primary error" of the American system, the allocation of residual powers to local governments. Despite political challenges, the ministry maintained adherence to the Maritimes through the strategic priority of the Intercolonial Railway, which cabinet members like Peter Mitchell viewed as an absolute necessity for the union. After five years in opposition, Macdonald would return in 1878 to head the third Canadian ministry, dominating Canadian politics for another decade. Ministers Prime Minister 1 July 1867 – 7 November 1873: John A. Macdonald Minister of Agriculture 1 July 1867 – 16 November 1869: Jean-Charles Chapais 16 November 1869 – 25 October 1871: Christopher Dunkin 25 October 1871 – 7 November 1873: John Henry Pope Minister of Customs 1 July 1867 – 22 February 1873: Samuel Leonard Tilley 22 February 1873 – 7 November 1873: Charles Tupper Minister of Finance 1 July 1867 – 18 November 1867: Alexander Tilloch Galt 18 November 1867 – 9 October 1869: John Rose 9 October 1869 – 22 February 1873: Francis Hincks 22 February 1873 – 7 November 1873: Samuel Leonard Tilley Superintendent-General of Indian Affairs 22 May 1868 – 8 December 1869: The Secretary of State of Canada (Ex officio) 22 May 1868 – 8 December 1869: Hector-Louis Langevin 8 December 1869 – 1 July 1873: The Secretary of State of the Provinces (Ex officio) 8 December 1869 – 7 May 1873: Joseph Howe 7 May 1873 – 14 June 1873: James Cox Aikins (Acting) 14 June 1873 – 1 July 1873: Thomas Nicholson Gibbs 1 July 1873 – 7 November 1873: The Minister of the Interior (Ex officio) 1 July 1873 – 7 November 1873: Alexander Campbell Minister of Inland Revenue 1 July 1867 – 15 July 1868: William Pearce Howland 15 July 1868 – 15 November 1869: Alexander Campbell (Acting) 16 November 1869 – 2 July 1872: Alexander Morris 2 July 1872 – 4 March 1873: Charles Tupper 4 March 1873 – 1 July 1873: John O'Connor 1 July 1873 – 7 November 1873: Thomas Nicholson Gibbs Minister of the Interior Was the Secretary of State for the Provinces to 30 June 1873. 1 July 1873 – 7 November 1873: Alexander Campbell Minister of Justice 1 July 1867 – 7 November 1873: John A. Macdonald Attorney General of Canada 1 July 1867 – 7 November 1873: The Minister of Justice (Ex officio) 1 July 1867 – 7 November 1873: John A. Macdonald Leader of the Government in the Senate 1 July 1867 – 5 November 1873: Alexander Campbell Minister of Marine and Fisheries 1 July 1867 – 7 November 1873: Peter Mitchell Minister of Militia and Defence 1 July 1867 – 21 May 1873: George-Étienne Cartier 21 May 1873 – 30 June 1873: Hector-Louis Langevin (Acting) 1 July 1873 – 7 November 1873: Hugh McDonald Postmaster General 1 July 1867 – 1 July 1873: Alexander Campbell 1 July 1873 – 7 November 1873: John O'Connor President of the Privy Council 1 July 1867 – 30 December 1867: Adam Johnston Fergusson Blair 30 December 1867 – 30 January 1869: John A. Macdonald (Acting) 30 January 1869 – 16 November 1869: Joseph Howe 16 November 1869 – 21 June 1870: Edward Kenny 21 June 1870 – 2 July 1872: Charles Tupper 2 July 1872 – 4 March 1873: John O'Connor 4 March 1873 – 14 June 1873: John A. Macdonald (Acting) 14 June 1873 – 1 July 1873: Hugh McDonald 1 July 1873 – 7 November 1873: John A. Macdonald (Acting) Minister of Public Works 1 July 1867 – 29 September 1869: William McDougall 29 September 1869 – 8 December 1869: Hector-Louis Langevin (Acting) 8 December 1869 – 7 November 1873: Hector-Louis Langevin Receiver General 1 July 1867 – 4 July 1867: Vacant 4 July 1867 – 16 November 1869: Edward Kenny 16 November 1869 – 30 January 1873: Jean-Charles Chapais 30 January 1873 – 7 November 1873: Théodore Robitaille Secretary of State of Canada 1 July 1867 – 8 December 1869: Hector-Louis Langevin 8 December 1869 – 7 November 1873: James Cox Aikins Registrar General of Canada 1 July 1867 – 7 November 1873: The Secretary of State of Canada (Ex officio) 1 July 1867 – 8 December 1869: Hector-Louis Langevin 8 December 1869 – 7 November 1873: James Cox Aikins Secretary of State for the Provinces 1 July 1867 – 1 May 1868: Adams George Archibald 1 May 1868 – 16 November 1869: Vacant (Edmund Allen Meredith was acting) 16 November 1869 – 7 May 1873: Joseph Howe 7 May 1873 – 14 June 1873: James Cox Aikins (Acting) 14 June 1873 – 1 July 1873: Thomas Nicholson Gibbs Became Minister of the Interior from 1 July 1873. References Government of Canada Privy Council Office First Ministry Guide to Canadian Ministries since Confederation http://www.pco-bcp.gc.ca/mgm/dtail.asp?lang=eng&mstyid=1&mbtpid=1 2010-07-01 https://web.archive.org/web/20151117022059/http://www.pco-bcp.gc.ca/mgm/dtail.asp?lang=eng&mstyid=1&mbtpid=1 2015-11-17 dead Succession Ministries of Canada Great Coalition (Province of Canada)Tupper Ministry (Nova Scotia)Mitchell Ministry (New Brunswick) 1st Canadian Ministry 1867–1872 2nd Canadian Ministry 01 01 Category:First premiership of John A. Macdonald Category:Ministries of Queen Victoria Category:1st Canadian Parliament Category:2nd Canadian Parliament Category:1867 establishments in Canada Category:1872 disestablishments in Canada Category:Cabinets established in 1867 Category:Cabinets disestablished in 1872