ABSTRACT
Canada may not be a one-party state, but it is not far from it. The Liberal party has been described as Canada’s natural government party and well it might be.1 The party has held power for fifty of the years since 1935 and it is poised to stay in office for the foreseeable future. To be sure, the Liberal domination of the national government has forged a special relationship between politicians and career officials. This chapter reviews the relationship between politicians and career officials in the Canadian government, documents recent developments and seeks to determine to what extent the public service has been politicized.
