Receiver General for Canada

Receiver General for Canada
Receveur général du Canada
since July 26, 2024
Public Services and Procurement Canada
StyleThe Honourable
Member of
Reports to
AppointerMonarch (represented by the governor general);[3]
on the advice of the prime minister[4]
Term lengthAt His Majesty's pleasure
Inaugural holderWalter Murray
FormationSeptember 14, 1764
SalaryCA$269,800 (2019)[5]
Websitewww.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/recgen/

The receiver general for Canada (French: receveur général du Canada) is responsible for making payments to the Government of Canada each fiscal year, accepting payments from financial institutions and preparing the Public Accounts of Canada, containing annual audited financial statements of the Government of Canada. The receiver general deposits and withdraws funds from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of Canada.

The minister of public services and procurement is the receiver general for Canada. The Department of Public Works and Government Services Act, 1996 states: "In the Minister's capacity as Receiver General, the Minister shall exercise all the powers and perform all the duties and functions assigned to the receiver general by law."

Receivers General

The first holder was Walter Murray, who was related to then Governor of Quebec James Murray from 1764.[6] Murray was succeeded by Sir Thomas Mills from 1765 to 1777. Mills was often absent thus his office was held in acting by subordinates: Hector Theophilus Cramahe from 1766 to 1770 and Thomas Dunn from 1770 to 1777[7]). Mills was returned to the post from 1777 until he was forced out in 1789[8] The office was replaced by the division of Quebec into Upper Canada and Lower Canada in 1791.

Pre-Confederation colonies of Lower Canada, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Upper Canada and the Province of Canada each had this post.

From 1867 to 1879 it was a standalone position with minister of finance as ex officio. R.B. Bennett (1926, 1930–32) and Mackenzie Bowell (1896) are the only Prime Ministers to hold the title (Tupper held post before becoming a Prime Minister as Minister of Finance). From 1879 to 1968 it was held mainly by the minister of finance. Reverting as standalone in 1968 and transferred to the minister of supply and services in 1979. From 1980 to 1984 there was no cabinet title but under the authority of the minister of supply and services before reappearing in 1984. In 1996 the role was merged into the minister of public works with new title as minister of public works and government services and then as minister of public services and procurement since 2015.

List of receivers general since 1867:

See also

The position of receiver general existed in the United Kingdom and in various Commonwealth countries, and still exists in Massachusetts and provincially within Canada.

References

  1. ^ "The Canadian Parliamentary system - Our Procedure - House of Commons". www.ourcommons.ca. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  2. ^ "Review of the Responsibilities and Accountabilities of Ministers and Senior Officials" (PDF).
  3. ^ "Constitutional Duties". The Governor General of Canada. Archived from the original on 2020-04-23. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  4. ^ "House of Commons Procedure and Practice - 1. Parliamentary Institutions - Canadian Parliamentary Institutions". www.ourcommons.ca. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  5. ^ "Indemnities, Salaries and Allowances". Library of Parliament. April 11, 2018. Archived from the original on June 1, 2017. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
  6. ^ "Biography – MURRAY, WALTER – Volume IV (1771-1800) – Dictionary of Canadian Biography".
  7. ^ "Biography – CRAMAHÉ, HECTOR THEOPHILUS – Volume IV (1771-1800) – Dictionary of Canadian Biography".
  8. ^ "Biography – MILLS, Sir THOMAS – Volume IV (1771-1800) – Dictionary of Canadian Biography".