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.
The officeholder in the role of Minister of Justice serves as the minister of the Crown responsible for the Department of Justice and the justice portfolio, and in the role of Attorney General, litigates on behalf of the Crown and serves as the chief legal advisor to the Government of Canada.
Attorney General of Canada
The role was created in 1867 to replace the attorney general of Canada West and List of [Ministers of Justice of Quebec|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.
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 Dalhousie University before transferring to University of [British Columbia Faculty of Law] and dropping out to embark 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.
A separate cabinet position, the Minister of [Public Safety (Canada)|minister of public safety] administers the law enforcement agencies of the federal government.
The Attorney General is usually appointed a King's Counsel.