exploring_political_parties
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School
University of Toledo *
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Course
COMPARATIV
Subject
Political Science
Date
Dec 6, 2023
Type
docx
Pages
4
Uploaded by MegaNarwhalMaster538
Exploring Political Parties
The party that wins the largest number of seats in a general election forms the Government. Its
leader is asked by the Governor General to become Prime Minister. If the winning party comes
out of the election with more than half the total seats in the House of Commons it is known as a
majority government and it can easily pass its bills into law because it can depend upon support
from more than half of the Members of Parliament. If however the government in office before
an election comes out of the election without a clear majority of the seats in the House of
Commons, it is known as a minority government. It has the right to meet the new House of
Commons and see whether it can get enough support from the minor parties to give it a majority.
This happened in 1925-26, 1962 and 1972.
1.
In your own words, define the following terms using the information above and
information found online:
Majority Government –
Minority Government –
Coalition Government –
2. Find an example of each (a majority, minority and coalition government) from Canadian
history at either Federal or Provincial Level
. (You’ll have to Google this!)
Majority –
Minority –
Coalition –
The 5 major political parties in Canada are:
Bloc Quebecois -
http://www.blocquebecois.org/horizon2015/accueil.php
Green Party -
http://www.greenparty.ca/
Liberal Party -
http://www.liberal.ca/
Conservative Party -
http://www.conservative.ca/
NDP -
http://www.ndp.ca/
The following website will also give you information about each of the parties:
http://canada.lilithezine.com/The-Canadian-Political-Spectrum.html
3. Go to each party website (listed above) and complete the following table.
Use the following website to find the number of seats each party currently holds:
http://www.parl.gc.ca/SenatorsMembers/House/PartyStandings/standings-e.htm
)
Bloc
Quebecois
Green Party
Liberal
Party
Conservative
Party
NDP
Leader’s
Name
Number of
Seats
Currently
Held
What they
Stand For (3
points)
Slogan
Symbol
(
Copy
and paste)
Use the following website to answer the next 4 questions
http://www.parl.gc.ca/SenatorsMembers/House/PartyStandings/standings-e.htm
)
4. Which party has the most seats in the House of Commons?
5. How many seats do you need to have a majority government (you need half of the total
plus one)?
6. Is there a political party which has the required number of seats? Do we currently have a
majority, minority or coalition government? How did you know?
7. Identify the advantages of forming a minority government. What are the disadvantages
of forming a minority government? If you were the Prime Minister, what would you do in a
situation where you did not have enough votes to have a majority?
Your Political Viewpoints
The purpose of the political spectrum is to show the differences in beliefs and ideologies
(communism, racism, feminism, capitalism, liberalism, sexism etc.). The main issues that
position a person's attitudes on the spectrum include:
o
Speed of change in a society
o
Freedom of individual versus security of group
o
Sharing of wealth through social benefits
Left Wing
Centre
Right Wing
-more liberal
-more conservative
-support change in order to
improve welfare of all citizens
-tradition is important but
change is supported if most
people want it
-tradition is important and
change should be treated
with caution
-government should play a
larger role in people's lives
(social services, benefits)
-government should play a role
only in that it improves the
lives of citizens
-government should play a
small role
-private business should
ensure needs of citizens are
met
-law and order are important to
protect right of all citizens fairly
and equally
-law and order are important to
encourage and protect right of
individuals
-emphasis of law and order
to protect society and its
traditions
-more freedom to individuals
and less power to police
-less freedom to individuals
and more power to police
Your preview ends here
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Go to the following website and see where you stand in the political spectrum.
http://www.wecdsb.on.ca/scr/CHC20/CHV2OC/CHV2OCU1/CHV2OCU1A11/mme1/Political
%20Spectrum.html
8. Where do you stand on different issues? Describe your opinion of at least 3 different
issues?
9. What political party best represents you and your views?
How Canada’s political spectrum compares to the world: