The Secretary of State for Canada, established in 1867 with a corresponding department, was a

Canadian Cabinet The Cabinet of Canada (french: Cabinet du Canada) is a body of ministers of the Crown that, along with the Canadian monarch, and within the tenets of the Westminster system, forms the government of Canada. Chaired by the prime minister, the ...

position that served as the official channel of communication between the

Dominion of Canada While a variety of theories have been postulated for the name of Canada, its origin is now accepted as coming from the St. Lawrence Iroquoian word , meaning 'village' or 'settlement'. In 1535, indigenous inhabitants of the present-day Quebec C ...

and the

Imperial government The name imperial government (german: Reichsregiment) denotes two organs, created in 1500 and 1521, in the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation to enable a unified political leadership, with input from the Princes. Both were composed of the em ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Scott, R. W. 1874.
Report of the Secretary of State for Canada for the Year Ending on the 30th June, 1873...
Ottawa: I. B. Taylor. As Canada became increasingly independent after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and particularly with the passage of the Statute of Westminster in 1931, this role fell into disuse. The department was maintained, however, and was used to administer various aspects of government that did not have their own ministry. Accordingly, the Secretary of State for Canada was

Registrar General of Canada The registrar general of Canada (french: registraire général du Canada) is responsible for registering all letters patent, commissions, instruments, proclamations, and any other documents that may, from time to time, be issued under the Great Se ...

, responsible as such for the

Great Seal of Canada The Great Seal of Canada (french: Grand Sceau du Canada) is a governmental seal used for purposes of state in Canada, being set on letters patent, proclamations and commissions, both to representatives of the monarch and for the appointment of ...

and various functions of state associated with it. At various times the Secretary of State for Canada was responsible for the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...

, the

civil service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

, the Queen's Printer for Canada, administration of

Crown land Crown land (sometimes spelled crownland), also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it. ...

s, and governance of

Canadian Indians First Nations (french: Premières Nations) is a term used to identify those Indigenous peoples in Canada, Indigenous Canadian peoples who are neither Inuit nor Métis. Traditionally, First Nations in Canada were peoples who lived south of the ...

(as they were called at the time), as well as various ceremonial and state duties. Generally, any government role and responsibility which was not specifically assigned to a cabinet minister would be the de facto responsibility of the Secretary of State. The department was eliminated in 1993 when the government was reorganized; however, the position of Secretary of State for Canada was not legally eliminated until 1996 when its remaining responsibilities were assigned to other cabinet positions and departments, particularly the newly created

Minister of Canadian Heritage The minister of Canadian heritage (french: ministre du patrimoine canadien) is the minister of the Crown who heads Canadian Heritage, the department of the Government of Canada responsible for culture, media, sports, and the arts. History The ...

position. The position of Secretary of State for Canada had no relation to that of

Secretary of State for External Affairs The Minister of Foreign Affairs (french: Ministre des Affaires étrangères) is the minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for overseeing the Government of Canada's international relations and is the lead minister respo ...

except for the period from 1909 until 1912 when the Secretary of State for Canada ( Charles Murphy under Sir

Wilfrid Laurier Sir Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier, ( ; ; November 20, 1841 – February 17, 1919) was a Canadian lawyer, statesman, and politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911. The first French Canadian prime minis ...

, and

William James Roche William James Roche, (30 November 1859 – 30 September 1937) was a Canadian politician and Conservative Member of Parliament for the Manitoba riding of Marquette in the House of Commons of Canada from 1896 to 1917. Born in Clandeboye, Ca ...

under Sir

Robert Borden Sir Robert Laird Borden (June 26, 1854 – June 10, 1937) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Canada from 1911 to 1920. He is best known for his leadership of Canada during World War I. Borde ...

) was responsible for the newly created

Department of External Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

Secretaries of State for Canada

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Secretary Of State For Canada Canadian ministers

Secretaries of State for Canada

See also

References