A Consideration of Cabinet Size.

Cabinet size has fluctuated in Canadian legislatures over the past century. Beginning in 1993, two federal governments introduced "roll back" cabinets which sought to significantly reduce the number of ministers. The author, focusing especially on the years 1993 to 2014, asks if Canadian governments have a "cabinet size problem." He notes that since 1993 two trends have emerged: 1) cabinets are more likely to expand during government and more likely to consolidate between governments and 2) cabinet size is more likely to increase during government under centre-left parties than centre or centre-right parties. Although arguments for a reduction of cabinet size tend to focus on financial costs, the author highlights the political cost of having a large cabinet relative to the size of the legislature, as there are fewer private members to keep the government accountable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]