Canadian Prime Minister's Power

In Canada, the Prime Minister has too much power, some PM take advantages of this power while others do not. The Prime Minister is the head of the party with a plurality of seats in the House of Commons. Some of the things that the PM is responsible for are: summons and dissolves, decides of the cabinet make up, advising the governor general, etc. All of these responsibilities allocated to the PM give him the absolute power. First, the PM has the ability to choose when to end the session of the parliament or simply dissolve it. The PM could use this power for his advantages. For example, Stephen Harper asked Michaëlle Jean to suspend the Parliament because he knew that a coalition was formed against him and could even lead to new elections.

Now that you are up to date with currents events I will briefly touch on some strong point of the Canadian democratic system. Citizens in Canada indirectly hold power in a free electoral system and are given better representation and more freedoms for their citizens than other systems of government. The freedom of speech, freedom of political expression, and the freedom of the media allow citizens to vote in favour of their own interest. Democracy in Canada is rooted on the grounds of equal rights; this gives people equality before the law, human rights, free and fair elections and so on. In comparison to the Third World, power is in the hands of the “Big Men”, the police and army are the ones who hold control not the people and where corruption is a norm, Canada may look like a utopia. Another strong point in the Canadian political system is everyone no matter race or sex has the right to vote as long as you are a Canadian citizen over the age of eighteen. Until the 60s/70s parties would make up electoral boundaries this was done to increase the number of votes in that location this is called gerrymander, this was unfair because certain parties had an advantage over others. However, now under the Electoral Boundaries Commissions this problem does not occur and no party has the upper hand over another. Interestingly the

Many people would like to believe that the president is the most powerful person in the world. However, the structure of America has put restraints on the president that a Prime Minister would not have. There are many differences between the President of the United States and the Prime Minister of Canada. These differences include regulations, term of office, powers, and cultures. Throughout this paper you will learn that just being the leader of their country is about as similar as these two people get.

Canada is a democratic country. Canadians elect the parliament and the Prime Minister. But because Canada is a market economy, jobs, prices and the economic situation depends on big businesses. The fact that American companies own such a huge part of Canadian industry that it puts them in control of business in Canada. In other words a straight economical dependence, where Canadian people are no longer in control of things in their own country. A good example is a situation when American corporation buys a Canadian company. They take Canadian workers only for low paid positions. Most of the managers, accountants, sales executives who really control big business operations in Canada are Americans. Most of the times the specialists who work in American owned companies in Canada are also brought from America on contracts. In this case Canada is too depended to act the way it wants without support from the U.S.

Democracy the government is established on cheap transcription and balanced, make sure primarily based basic leadership in individuals normally intrigue. the nice government offers long-term strength, security from dangers each residential and abroad, and a dream that extends well past four-year call cycles.

As time goes on, some countries become more relevant in the global sphere while others start to fade away. Canada is a country that only becomes more relevant as time goes on. Since being granted full sovereignty, Canada has had a growing role as a major world player. Much of their international growth has to do with its close ties to the United States and the United Kingdom. However, the country has also undergone huge change and refocusing on a domestic level. With influence from both Europe and the United States, Canada has a very unique system of governing. This paper will focus on a few major areas of Canada. It will look into the history of Canada, the structure of its government, its politics, and many of the major issues it faces today.

idea of turning Canada back to its original roots. He compares Harper's government system with Pierre Trudeau’s. Arguing about the struggles and failures of

A great Prime Minister should always do what is right for Canada, no matter what obstacles he or she faces. Looking at the fifteen years he was in power, Pierre Elliot Trudeau did exactly that. For instance, he implemented the Official Languages Act and made bilingualism law. In another case, he put an end to the October Crisis by putting into effect the War Measures Act. Finally, Trudeau amended the Constitution which gave Canadians a Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Pierre Elliot Trudeau was a successful Prime Minister who accomplished his goals despite facing enormous opposition.

Harper used the weak liberal leaders to ensure he stayed in power and he was able to ensure that a coalition did not happen between the Liberals, New Democrats and the Bloc Quebecois. He remained strong when the possibility of his government being replaced by a coalition almost happened, he was successful by saying that the deal the liberals made was “‘a betrayal of the voters of this country… a betrayal of the best interests of our economy… a betrayal of the best interests of our country. And we will fight it with every means that we have’” (223). Harper kept his opponents divided and he showed Canadians that he was not going anywhere. Finally, he showed leadership after winning a majority by promising “‘major reforms’ in ‘a whole range of areas’ to ‘secure the sustainability of our key programs… for a generation to come’” (364). This showed that he was just getting started. Stephen Harper’s leadership style was to remain a strong leader while making as few headlines as possible. Harper did not like making headlines, “This helps explain why he has lasted. He lies low because he wants to last” (291). Harper was an effective leader because he knew how to keep a low profile which limited the amount of bad

First-past-the-post (FPTP) voting system in general allows candidates to win who may not have a majority of the vote. It privileges big parties and majorities at the cost of smaller parties and coalitions. It also favours parties with strong regional concentrations over parties whose electoral base is more spread out. This is Canada’s current election system and for the past couple of years. In the years that Harper has been in power, he has won majority of the seats with less than 50 percent of the votes. In fact, in 2011, “Stephen Harper won a majority government with 54.1 percent of the seats and only 39.6 percent of the total vote” (Aucoin 161). Harper was able to form a majority government without a majority of the vote and he had a plurality of votes that was less than 50 percent. Canada has been electing its government in this way and the winning party does not hold the majority of the votes, with a few exceptions. In terms of changing the election system, FPTP system is able to produce a clear majority and the majority that wins is able to produce a clear line of power through a majority government. Also, supporters of FPTP, such as Brian Crowly, say that clear lines of power are

Pierre Trudeau has had an impact on the Canadian legal system and society by bringing more of an attraction to lower status groups, having an influence on others, and changing laws in Canada. Many Canadians believe Trudeau did not have a positive effect on Canada but as the minister of justice and the prime minister of Canada, he has succeeded in his attempt of making Canada a safer and established country for all. Under the social welfare measures in 1968, Trudeau made the Divorce Act a federal law which previously was a provincial jurisdiction. Pierre Trudeau’s first move as prime minister was giving French and English equal status in Canada and making them the languages of parliament for debates and records. After failing at many attempts

Mackenzie king was probably the most controversial and ambitious Prime Minister Canada had ever seen. The road for him in procuring and retaining the position of prime minister was not an easy one. His political career was fraught with dangerous obstacles such as his arch nemesis Arthur Meighen, the great depression, and the matter of conscription. Only with his determination and grit was he able to maintain office (although not consecutively), for almost 22 years, becoming Canada’s longest serving prime minister. Although he was an excellent politician he was not this way as a person. He was not below conspiring against his so called friends or even dishonoring their reputation or position. He was very subtle in the ways he obtained and

Canada’s parliamentary system is designed to preclude the formation of absolute power. Critics and followers of Canadian politics argue that the Prime Minister of Canada stands alone from the rest of the government. The powers vested in the prime minister, along with the persistent media attention given to the position, reinforce the Prime Minister of Canada’s superior role both in the House of Commons and in the public. The result has led to concerns regarding the power of the prime minister. Hugh Mellon argues that the prime minister of Canada is indeed too powerful. Mellon refers to the prime minister’s control over Canada a prime-ministerial government, where the prime minister encounters few constraints on the usage of his powers.

In theory, the Parliament is the most important institution in the Canadian government and all members of the parliament are equal. The Prime Minister is supposed to be primus inter pares, meaning first among equals. But over the years, the cabinet has become more institutionalized and less departmentalized. Hence the Prime Minister’s power has increased over the years. Canada is the one of the most decentralized federations in the

In 2011, three legal and constitutional scholars, Peter Aucoin, Mark D. Jarvis and Lori Turnbull set out to write a book detailing what they believed to be obvious and egregious errors in the way in which the current form of responsible government as it was practiced in the Canadian federal government, fell short of operating within basic democratic parameters. Canada has a system that is based one the Westminster system, in which its the Constitution act of 1867 is influenced by British principles and conventions. “Democratizing the Constitution reforming responsible government” is a book that makes an analysis for the reform of responsible government in Canada. The authors believe that from the unclear rules, pertaining to the role and power of the prime minster foresees for a failing responsible government. In this essay the functions of the government , conventions of the constitution, the a proposal for reform will be addressed.