Who is Honourable anyway? And what is The Privy Council?

I often hear people referred to as Honourable who don’t qualify for the title, and then I hear people not referred to as Honourable although they do qualify for the title. It’s a bit complicated and here is my best explanation.

First of all, we need to define Privy Council, as the title Honourable refers to people who have been appointed to the Privy Council, or the Provincial Executive Council.

In the olden days, the Privy Council was a formal body of advisors, which was originally available to advise the King/Queen in the United Kingdom. Prior to parliament, the King/Queen depended on this Privy Council for advice on all aspects of ruling the country. Now that we have an elected Parliament, these decisions are made by the elected MPs who get appointed to Cabinet.

These Cabinet members become members of the Privy Council. The monarchy still exists in Canada, so we continue that tradition.

The Privy Council Office still exists in Canada, and is a central, nonpartisan government office that supports the Prime Minister and cabinet in delivering their decisions.

The Privy Council Office is located in the same building as the Office of the Prime Minister, directly across the street from Parliament Hill. The head of the Privy Council Office is the Clerk of the Privy Council.

The Clerk is Canada’s top public servant. The Clerk is the highest ranking nonpartisan civil servant in Canada and acts as the Prime Minister’s Deputy Minister. The Clerk organizes cabinet meetings and ensures that government priorities are implemented across all departments as decided by Cabinet and the Prime Minister. The Clerk of the Privy Council works closely with the Prime Minister, but the role is defined as a nonpartisan role.

All ministers have a Deputy Minister, and the Clerk of the Privy Council acts as the Prime Minister’s Deputy Minister.

Now, who is Honourable?

Those entitled to use the title Honourable for life, even after they leave politics:

• Prime Ministers, Governors General, and Chief Justices of Canada.



• Members of the King s Privy Council for Canada (essentially all current and former federal Cabinet Ministers).



• Lieutenant Governors of provinces.



• Judges of superior courts (e. g., Supreme Court of Canada, provincial superior courts, etc).



• Those entitled only while in office. The title expires when they leave office:



• Speakers of the House of Commons and Senate (while serving in that role).



• Premiers of provinces and territories.



• Cabinet Ministers in provinces and territories.

Provincial ministers and premiers acquire the title Honourable as they sit on the Provincial Executive Council, not the Privy Council. Collectively, the premiers and the ministers form the Executive Council. The title Honourable expires when they retire from elected office.

Senators are called Honourable even after retirement, but they are not members of the Privy Council, unless they served in Cabinet or held another qualifying office. Not sure why.

Back bench Members of Parliament and Members of Provincial Legislatures are not called Honourable unless they hold or have held one of the above positions.

Provincial Ministers lose their titles after they leave cabinet. Federal Ministers keep the title after they leave cabinet, for life.

Prime Ministers retain the title Right Honourable for life.

Premiers of provinces only retain the title Honourable after politics if they have served in the federal Cabinet at one time. An example would be Hon Jean Charest, who was the Premier of Quebec and is still referred to as Honourable. However, he now retains the title Honourable because he was a Minister in the Cabinet of Brian Mulroney and therefore has the title for life.

Thanks for reading.

Bill