Premier (Canada) in the context of Premier of the Northwest Territories

Executive councils in the provinces of Canada are constitutional organs headed by the lieutenant governor and composed of the ministers in office. The executive branch of the Canadian federal government is not called an executive council; instead, executive power is exercised by the Canadian Cabinet who are always members of the King's Privy Council for Canada.

A Council's informal but functioning form is the Cabinet, headed by a provincial premier, who holds de facto power over the body. The Executive Council in Canadian provinces is composed only of ministers in office, and is the official body by which the Cabinet's constitutional advice is given to the lieutenant governor. That is, it serves the same function provincially as the Privy Council does federally, except that the Executive Council does not have the ceremonial role of directly advising the Monarch, proclaiming their successors, or assenting to some royal marriages.

The premier of Manitoba (French: premier ministre du Manitoba) is the first minister and head of government for the Canadian province of Manitoba—as well as the de facto President of the province's Executive Council.

In formal terms, the premier receives a commission to form a government from the Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba, who represents the monarch at the provincial level.