| 'The size of Canadian cabinets, traditionally the largest among Western countries, has been attributed to the representational role of the federal cabinet. From the outset the Canadian cabinet played an important role in reconciling local and national interests. This representational imperative has consistently foreclosed the establishment of a two-tiered ministry as deployed, for example, in the United Kingdom and Australia.;This thesis examines the phenomenon of the size of the federal cabinet. It provides an account of the elaboration of the original representational convention of representing provinces in the cabinet and its modern application, where increasingly new segments of the population and sectors of the economy have had portfolios created to represent them as they became subjects of public policy. The use of a cabinet committee system was both a result of this and made further increases in representation relatively easy. This elaboration of the representational imperative was as much the result of government initiative as it was the result of demands ensuing from these segments and sectors of the Canadian polity. Expectations from the parliamentary party as well as the leadership styles of prime ministers also constituted factors in this development. The thesis concludes that a smaller cabinet, such as formed by Prime Minister Campbell in June 1993, if complemented by an enhanced role for parliamentary secretaries as ministerial assistants as promised by Campbell, need not impede the continued application of the original representational imperative but should lead to more effective decision making and administrative efficiency. |
