Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada


The minister of justice and attorney general of Canada is a dual role portfolio in the Canadian Cabinet.
In the role of Minister of Justice, the officeholder serves as the minister of the Crown responsible for the Department of Justice and the justice portfolio.
In the role of Attorney General, the officeholder litigates on behalf of the Crown and serves as the chief legal advisor to the Government of Canada. Most prosecution functions of the attorney general have been assigned to the Public Prosecution Service of Canada. The attorney general is supported in this role by the director of public prosecutions.
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. This is the only Canadian Ministry which has not been reorganized since its creation in 1867.

Attorney General of Canada

The role was created in 1867 to replace the attorney general of Canada West and attorney general of Canada East.
As the top prosecuting officer in Canada, 'attorney general' is a separate title held by the minister of justice—a member of the Cabinet. The minister of justice is concerned with questions of policy and their relationship to the justice system. In their role as attorney general, they are the chief law officer of the Crown. The roles have been connected since confederation. As a result of controversy, following the SNC-Lavalin affair, Anne McLellan was appointed to review the roles and prepare a report on whether they should be separated. She recommended the positions remain combined.
A separate cabinet position, the minister of public safety administers the law enforcement agencies of the federal government.

Ministers of Justice and Attorneys General

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