Who were the ones in charge of Canada?

Answer 1

Canada is governed by the Governor in Council. Officially that means that the Governor General, acting upon the advice of the Prime Minister and the cabinet is in charge, however, in practice, the Prime Minister and the cabinet hold the real power. The Governor General holds what is mostly a ceremonial office. Outside of an emergency, the Governor General cannot act without the advice of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. The position of Prime Minister is very much like that of President in other countries. The main difference is that we have what is known as a responsible government meaning that the government, made up of the cabinet and the Prime Minister, is responsible to parliament. A common misconception is that parliament is the government or that parliament runs the country. Parliament is the legislative branch of government which is responsible for passing laws. The Executive branch, made up of the PM and the cabinet, is responsible for setting policy and executing those laws passed by parliament.