who governs canada on a daily basis at the federal level
Government of Canada The monarch (presently Queen Elizabeth II) is personally represented by the Governor General of Canada (currently Julie Payette). The Queen's Privy Council for Canada is the body that advises the sovereign or viceroy on the exercise of executive power. However, in practice, that task is performed only by the Cabinet, a committee within the Privy Council composed of ministers of the Crown, who are drawn from and responsible to the elected House of Commons in parliament. The Cabinet is headed by the prime minister (presently Justin Trudeau), who is appointed by the governor general after securing the confidence of the House of Commons.
Monarchy of Canada In a poll conducted by Ipsos-Reid following the first prorogation of the 40th parliament on 4 December 2008, it was found that 42% of the sample group thought the prime minister was head of state, while 33% felt it was the governor general. Only 24% named the Queen as head of state,[140] a number up from 2002, when the results of an EKOS Research Associates survey showed only 5% of those polled knew the Queen was head of state (69% answered that it was the prime minister).[161]