# Treasury Board of Canada

The Treasury Board of Canada (French: Conseil du Trésor du Canada) is the Cabinet committee of the Privy Council of Canada which oversees the spending and operation of the Government of Canada and is the principal employer of the core public service. The committee is supported by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, its administrative branch and a department within the government itself.
The committee is chaired by the president of the Treasury Board, currently Ginette Petitpas Taylor, who is also the minister responsible for the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat.

## Role

The Canadian Cabinet is arranged into several committees with varying responsibilities, but all other ones are informal structures and frequently change. Currently organized under the Financial Administration Act, the Treasury Board is the only one created by law and is officially a committee of the Privy Council.
Its role in government makes it far more powerful than most Cabinet committees as it is responsible for "accountability and ethics, financial, personnel and administrative management, comptrollership, approving regulations and most Orders-in-Council". It is also unique in that its committee chair, the president of the Treasury Board, is a member of Cabinet by virtue of holding that office—other Cabinet committees are chaired by minister holding seats in Cabinet by virtue of some other office.

### Expenditure management

The Treasury Board oversees the expenditures of the federal government. Ministers submit funding proposals on behalf of their departments to seek financial approval for programs and policies approved in the federal budget or by Cabinet. The president of the Treasury Board is responsible for presenting the Estimates from these submissions to Parliament. The Estimates are prepared by the Secretariat in collaboration with the Department of Finance Canada.

### Management and performance policies and principal employer

The Treasury Board, on advice of the Secretariat, sets policies regulating the authority of ministers and deputy ministers to administer and manage their departments, ensuring a government-wide approach to administration.
As the principal employer of the Government of Canada, it is responsible for labour relations, collective bargaining, and pension and benefits across the core public administration.

## Secretariat

The Treasury Board is supported by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, a federal department which acts as a central agency of the Government of Canada and is administered by members of the public service. The role of the Secretariat is to advise members the Treasury Board, develop policies for approval and administer certain programs on behalf of the Treasury Board.

## Membership

The Treasury Board is composed of six Cabinet ministers, always including its president and the minister of finance. The current members, as of July 26, 2023, are as follows:
Membership of the Treasury Board of Canada :
| Member | Ministerial portfolio | Notes |
| Anita Anand | President of the Treasury Board | Chair |
| Diane Lebouthillier | Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard | Vice-chair |
| Chrystia Freeland | Deputy Prime Minister; Minister of Finance | Member |
| Kamal Khera | Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities | Member |
| Seamus O'Regan, Jr. | Minister of Labour and Seniors | Member |
There are also a number of alternate members, who may attend Treasury Board meetings in the event of conflicts of interest. The prime minister, through a Governor in Council appointment, may designate as many alternate members as the committee may need. As of April 19, 2023, the following are alternate members of the Treasury Board:
Alternate members of the Treasury Board of Canada :
| Alternate member | Ministerial portfolio |
| Randy Boissonnault | Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages |
| Jean-Yves Duclos | Minister of Public Services and Procurement |
| Sean Fraser | Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities |
| Gudie Hutchings | Minister of Rural Economic Development and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency |
| Mary Ng | Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development |
| Carla Qualtrough | Minister of Sport and Physical Activity |
| Dan Vandal | Minister of Northern Affairs, Minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada, and Minister responsible for the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency |
| Jonathan Wilkinson | Minister of Energy and Natural Resources |