Browse "Federal Institutions and Offices"

Admiralty (short for Board of Admiralty), a British government department which, between its inception in the early 18th century and its amalgamation into the Ministry of Defence in 1964, was responsible for the conduct of naval affairs.

Anti-Inflation Board, established by Act of Parliament in late 1975 to administer a wage-and-price-control program. Although the program was phased out during 1978, the AIB did not cease all operations until 1979. Because of its examination of company profits, close to $323.

The Office of the Auditor General of Canada was established in 1878 to audit the accounts of the federal government's departments, agencies and many of its Crown Corporations.

Bureaucracy may be defined as a formal organizational arrangement characterized by division of labour, specialization of functions, a hierarchy of authority and a system of rules, regulations and record keeping. In common usage, it refers to the administrative branch of government.

The term bureaucracy is traditionally associated with the administration of government and its various agencies.

Canada House, a distinctive symbol of Canadian interests in Britain, located in London's bustling Trafalgar Square.

Between the 1950s and the 1990s, the Canadian government responded to national security concerns generated by Cold War tensions with the Soviet Union by spying on, exposing and removing suspected LGBTQ individuals from the federal public service and the Canadian Armed Forces. They were cast as social and political subversives and seen as targets for blackmail by communist regimes seeking classified information. These characterizations were justified by arguments that people who engaged in same-sex relations suffered from a “character weakness” and had something to hide because their sexuality was considered a taboo and, under certain circumstances, was illegal. As a result, the RCMP investigated large numbers of people. Many of them were fired, demoted or forced to resign — even if they had no access to security information. These measures were kept out of public view to prevent scandal and to keep counter-espionage operations under wraps. In 2017, the federal government issued an official apology for its discriminatory actions and policies, along with a $145-million compensation package.

This article was originally published in Maclean’s magazine on January 14, 2008. Partner content is not updated.

The Chief Electoral Officer oversees Elections Canada, the non-partisan agency that administers Canada’s federal elections and referendums.

The Conseil du statut de la femme (CSF), or Council on the Status of Women, is a government consultative and review body that has sought to promote and defend the rights and interests of women in Québec since 1973. It reports to Québec’s Minister of Culture, Communications and the Status of Women.

The Department of Communications was established by the Department of Communications Act in 1969.

The Department of Finance Canada is the federal government's main engine of research, advice and analysis on national economic and financial affairs, including fiscal policy, debt management and taxation.

The Department of Justice was established in 1868 by an Act of Parliament.

The Department of Munitions and Supply was Canada's principal agency for co-ordinating domestic industry during WORLD WAR II.

The Department of National Defence was created 1 January 1923, the result of the amalgamation of the departments of Naval Services and Militia and Defence, and the Air Board.

The Department of Natural Resources was established in 1993, replacing Energy, Mines and Resources as a federal agency. Some of the department's components have long histories. The Department of Mines, created in 1907, was reorganized as the Department of Mines and Resources in 1936.

Established in 1867 as the official channel of communication between the Dominion of Canada and the imperial government, the department evolved into the most eclectic ministry in Cabinet.

The Department of Supply and Services was the purchasing and accounting arm of the federal government.