1st Canadian Ministry

1st Canadian Ministry 1er conseil des ministres du Canada
1st Cabinet of Canada
File:Macdonald1872 (cropped).jpg
Date formed	July 1, 1867
Date dissolved	November 5, 1873
People and organizations
Monarch	Victoria
Governor General	Viscount Monck Baron Lisgar Marquess of Dufferin
Prime Minister	John A. Macdonald
Prime Minister's history	Premiership of John A. Macdonald
No. of ministers	19
Member party	Conservative; Liberal-Conservative
Status in legislature	Majority (1867–1872) Minority (1872–1873)
Opposition party	Liberal
History
Elections	1867, 1872
Legislature terms	1st Canadian Parliament 2nd Canadian Parliament
Budget	1867
Incoming formation	Canadian Confederation
Outgoing formation	Pacific Scandal
Predecessor	16th Ministry of the Province of Canada 7th Ministry of New Brunswick 7th Ministry of Nova Scotia
Successor	2nd Canadian Ministry

The first Canadian ministry, or the first Macdonald ministry of Canada, was the inaugural government of the Dominion of Canada led by Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald. It governed Canada from the ministry's, and the nation's, formation upon Canadian Confederation on July 1, 1867 until the ministry resignation on November 5, 1873 over the Pacific Scandal.

The ministry inherited much of the administrative institution, and senior figures, from the final ministry of the United Province of Canada, the Great Coalition of 1864, which was also headed by MacDonald. As the master coalition builder who secured the nation's confederation, MacDonald continued to included in his cabinet moderate Reformers he had co-opted under his Liberal-Conservative banner. Of the thirteen original members, more than half of them have stood for elections formally as Reformers or Liberals in the past. William Pearce Howland, Adam Johnston Fergusson Blair, and William McDougall in particular entered the Great Coalition previously as Reformers and secured their place in MacDonald's new cabinet specifically as Ontario Reformers, and were expelled from the Reform convention only days prior for remaining in the coalition.

The ministry took office on the day the nation was formed, and secured its first electoral mandate within three months during the 1867 general election, with candidates carrying the Conservative or Liberal-Conservative banners winning a majority of the seats in the first parliament. It won just shy of a majority in the 1872 general election, with the opposition Liberals only five seats behind.

After five years in opposition, Macdonald would return in 1878 to head the third Canadian ministry, dominating Canadian politics for another decade.

Ministers

• Prime Minister
  • 1 July 1867 – 7 November 1873: John A. Macdonald
• Minister of Agriculture
  • 1 July 1867 – 16 November 1869: Jean-Charles Chapais
  • 16 November 1869 – 25 October 1871: Christopher Dunkin
  • 25 October 1871 – 7 November 1873: John Henry Pope
• Minister of Customs
  • 1 July 1867 – 22 February 1873: Samuel Leonard Tilley
  • 22 February 1873 – 7 November 1873: Charles Tupper
• Minister of Finance
  • 1 July 1867 – 18 November 1867: Alexander Tilloch Galt
  • 18 November 1867 – 9 October 1869: John Rose
  • 9 October 1869 – 22 February 1873: Francis Hincks
  • 22 February 1873 – 7 November 1873: Samuel Leonard Tilley
• Superintendent-General of Indian Affairs
  • 22 May 1868 – 8 December 1869: The Secretary of State of Canada (Ex officio)
    • 22 May 1868 – 8 December 1869: Hector-Louis Langevin
  • 8 December 1869 – 1 July 1873: The Secretary of State of the Provinces (Ex officio)
    • 8 December 1869 – 7 May 1873: Joseph Howe
    • 7 May 1873 – 14 June 1873: James Cox Aikins (Acting)
    • 14 June 1873 – 1 July 1873: Thomas Nicholson Gibbs
  • 1 July 1873 – 7 November 1873: The Minister of the Interior (Ex officio)
    • 1 July 1873 – 7 November 1873: Alexander Campbell
• Minister of Inland Revenue
  • 1 July 1867 – 15 July 1868: William Pearce Howland
  • 15 July 1868 – 15 November 1869: Alexander Campbell (Acting)
  • 16 November 1869 – 2 July 1872: Alexander Morris
  • 2 July 1872 – 4 March 1873: Charles Tupper
  • 4 March 1873 – 1 July 1873: John O'Connor
  • 1 July 1873 – 7 November 1873: Thomas Nicholson Gibbs
• Minister of the Interior
  • Was the Secretary of State for the Provinces to 30 June 1873.
  • 1 July 1873 – 7 November 1873: Alexander Campbell
• Minister of Justice
  • 1 July 1867 – 7 November 1873: John A. Macdonald
• Attorney General of Canada
  • 1 July 1867 – 7 November 1873: The Minister of Justice (Ex officio)
    • 1 July 1867 – 7 November 1873: John A. Macdonald
• Leader of the Government in the Senate
  • 1 July 1867 – 5 November 1873: Alexander Campbell
• Minister of Marine and Fisheries
  • 1 July 1867 – 7 November 1873: Peter Mitchell
• Minister of Militia and Defence
  • 1 July 1867 – 21 May 1873: George-Étienne Cartier
  • 21 May 1873 – 30 June 1873: Hector-Louis Langevin (Acting)
  • 1 July 1873 – 7 November 1873: Hugh McDonald
• Postmaster General
  • 1 July 1867 – 1 July 1873: Alexander Campbell
  • 1 July 1873 – 7 November 1873: John O'Connor
• President of the Privy Council
  • 1 July 1867 – 30 December 1867: Adam Johnston Fergusson Blair
  • 30 December 1867 – 30 January 1869: John A. Macdonald (Acting)
  • 30 January 1869 – 16 November 1869: Joseph Howe
  • 16 November 1869 – 21 June 1870: Edward Kenny
  • 21 June 1870 – 2 July 1872: Charles Tupper
  • 2 July 1872 – 4 March 1873: John O'Connor
  • 4 March 1873 – 14 June 1873: John A. Macdonald (Acting)
  • 14 June 1873 – 1 July 1873: Hugh McDonald
  • 1 July 1873 – 7 November 1873: John A. Macdonald (Acting)
• Minister of Public Works
  • 1 July 1867 – 29 September 1869: William McDougall
  • 29 September 1869 – 8 December 1869: Hector-Louis Langevin (Acting)
  • 8 December 1869 – 7 November 1873: Hector-Louis Langevin
• Receiver General
  • 1 July 1867 – 4 July 1867: Vacant
  • 4 July 1867 – 16 November 1869: Edward Kenny
  • 16 November 1869 – 30 January 1873: Jean-Charles Chapais
  • 30 January 1873 – 7 November 1873: Théodore Robitaille
• Secretary of State of Canada
  • 1 July 1867 – 8 December 1869: Hector-Louis Langevin
  • 8 December 1869 – 7 November 1873: James Cox Aikins
• Registrar General of Canada
  • 1 July 1867 – 7 November 1873: The Secretary of State of Canada (Ex officio)
    • 1 July 1867 – 8 December 1869: Hector-Louis Langevin
    • 8 December 1869 – 7 November 1873: James Cox Aikins
• Secretary of State for the Provinces
  • 1 July 1867 – 1 May 1868: Adams George Archibald
  • 1 May 1868 – 16 November 1869: Vacant (Edmund Allen Meredith was acting)
  • 16 November 1869 – 7 May 1873: Joseph Howe
  • 7 May 1873 – 14 June 1873: James Cox Aikins (Acting)
  • 14 June 1873 – 1 July 1873: Thomas Nicholson Gibbs
  • Became Minister of the Interior from 1 July 1873.