Style The Honourable Inaugural holder Sir John A. Macdonald | Member of Cabinet
Privy Council Formation 1 July 1867 | |
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Appointer Governor General of Canada Term length At Her Majesty's pleasure | ||
The Minister of Justice (French: Ministre de la Justice) is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for the Department of Justice, chief federal legal adviser and is also Attorney General of Canada (French: Procureur général du Canada).
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This cabinet position is usually reserved for someone holding a legal qualification. There have been exceptions: Joe Clark only studied the first year of law at University of British Columbia Faculty of Law before embarking on political life.
This cabinet portfolio has been held by many individuals who went on to become Prime Minister including John Sparrow David Thompson, R.B. Bennett, Louis St Laurent, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, John Turner, Kim Campbell and Jean Chrétien (Clark became Minister after his time as Prime Minister). This is the only Canadian Ministry (other than that of the Prime Minister) which has not been reorganized since its creation in 1867.
Attorney General of Canada
The Attorney General of Canada is the top prosecuting officer in Canada. The role is part of the cabinet post of the Minister of Justice.
The role was created in 1867 replacing the Attorney General of Canada West and Attorney General of Canada East.
Ministers of Justice
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