Essay

On October 19th,2015 we vote to end the reign of the man who had been called the worst prime minister in history this man is Steven Harper. Harper became prime minister in 2006 and since then has done nothing but bad for Canada. Harpers record is that of someone who doesn’t hold the values of us Canadians. Some very “un-Canadian” things about Harper are; His “attack on science”, sexism, and racism.

In the article: After circling the world, Trudeau is ready for Question Period as Prime Minister (2015) by Campbell Clark, raises many points about how effective Trudeau has been with implementing his political agenda. Therefore, upon reading this article, I think it exemplifies a glimpse of a responsible government (so far) under the processes of democracy in comparison to other countries, which can be evaluated with a metric of democracy: participation.

Carty and Cross (2010) characterize institutions who carry out “electoral pragmatism”, one such tenet, as those who are “consumed with winning and holding office, and they combine an organizational ruthlessness marked by a propensity to abandon losing leaders, with an ideological catholicity that engenders great policy flexibility” (Carty and Cross 2010, 3). This trait has not been sufficiently showcased during the preceding months of the 2015 election, with Prime Minister Stephen Harper being retained by the party, even in the face of the aforementioned stagnation in the polls and the failure to clearly distinguish itself in the polls against the opposition parties; doing so at an opportune time, such as the party’s upward trend in April 2015 which culminated in a polling percentage of 36%, might have allowed for a notion of “insurance” to prevent the NDP from overtaking the party in the current polling consensus. Harper’s longevity can be seen as a legitimate consequence of the centrality with which his office dictates all procedures

To begin with, the legislative branch of government in Canada is Parliament, which is bicameral and consists of the House of Commons and the Senate. The House of Commons is made up of 338 members of Parliament that represent different constituencies which vote in Canada’s federal elections (Courtney, 2015). More importantly, the electoral system in which members of parliament are elected is called first past the post system and the candidate with the most votes wins the elections with plurality voting (Cross, 2010, p. 130). On the other hand, the second chamber of Canada’s Parliament is the appointed Senate. The Senate is regarded as the chamber of “sober second thought” as the Senate reviews legislation

Canada’s electoral system has come under scrutiny by citizens who believe it is not a fair representation of a modern democracy. The idea of reformation has been an issue in Canada through out it’s history. Most recently, the idea of an electoral system reformation was a key political goal of the Liberal party in the 2015 election, but was later abandoned by the party, outraging many Liberal voters who saw the reformation as an issue for which they voted for (Liberal Party of Canada 2015). It has become clear that Canadians want change in the way they elect their government. The current Canadian electoral system is in dire need of reform to better represent voters, increase voter turnout, and discourage strategic voting. The Canadian government

Democracy is an important fundamental aspect of changing the electoral system. In Ontario, the provincial governments called a referendum after poorly educating the masses on electoral reform. Many electoral systems were mentioned but the majority believed that MMP (mixed-member) could be easily implemented. The author suggests that electoral reform often fails in Canada because of the many problems that arise: negative media portrayal of electoral reform, an uneducated mass (on the topic of electoral systems), and diminishing government enthusiasm. The article states why electoral reform in Canada fails and why democracy needs to play an important role in the development of an electoral system that represents every Canadian citizens viewpoint.

Canada has been claimed to be a country of democracy and fairness, where majority rules and everyone gets a say. Though this is evident in some areas of Canada, in The House of Commons and in the political background it is not. Members of Parliament are not as powerful as they are said to be and due to party discipline, the amount of power they actually have is very limited. Party discipline has taken Members of Parliament and trained them to obey whatever the leader of the Party and their whips say, just like seals. There are several arguments supporting this issue, such as Members of Parliament are forced to vote in whatever way their Political Party wants them to, even if they do not agree with the decision. This is seen in plenty

Over the recent decades, Canada’s political landscape has undergone several shifts with the 2015 elections taking another new course of government. The 2015 elections market Canada’s 29th general elections following a request of the Jim Prentice to the governor of Alberta to dissolve the legislative assembly in April 2015. Further, this marked the fourth time that the people of Alberta changed their system of government. With reference to the provincial election act, the set election date was set and the people of Alberta were allowed to the polls. This election led to the majority of the progressive conservative associations of Alberta (PCs) losing their positions as several New Democratic Party (NDP) aspirants were elected into the

Since the 1860s, Canada’s voter turn-out has generally declined, however, the decline in voter turn-out in the last several elections is one of great concern to Canada’s democracy. As a result, mandatory voting has gained the attention of many political scientists and political analysts. While there are good reasons to worry about Canadians’ diminishing voter turn-out, it is also fair to say that mandatory voting will not prove beneficial to the future of Canada’s democracy. Although mandatory voting will increase the voter turn-out, it will not create an informed voter base and neither raise a more politically knowledgeable society. Making voting compulsory is accompanied by both positive and negative outcomes, but in Canada, many fear that the negative outcomes outweigh the positives.

“Canada is not a democracy in the strictest sense of the word, but rather can be aptly described as a Constitutional Monarchy. The highest ranking official in government is not an elected representative, not even a Canadian (residing in or born in), but rather an un-elected British monarch” (Wheelwright, 2009)

This paper will argue that Canada should reform the Senate because it is not representative. Representation is defined as “the action or speaking or acting on behalf of someone or the state of being so represented” (Oxford, 2015). In relation to Senate representation, it is known as the disjointed relationship of Senators with their respected regions and citizens as well as their fiduciary relationship with the Head of State, also known in Canadian parliament as the Prime Minister. The true intentions of the Senate will be uncovered and divulged to further explain and signify the importance of a representative Senate by reform in current day Canada.

Those who believe polling publication is negatively affecting Canadian democracy argue two claims. Firstly, due to the influence polling publications have on

The 2015 Canadian Federal Election, which saw Justin Trudeau become the new Prime Minister, brought in the highest ever number of voters in Canadian history. Despite the high confidence of the Conservative party to win this election, many factors contributed to their defeat. Chief among these factors, which is the focus of this paper, pertains to the type of electoral system employed in Canada: the “first-past-the-post” (FPTP) or “single-member plurality.” This paper presents an analysis of the outcome of the 2015 election that is grounded in a discussion of how different electoral systems produce the particular structures that directly

As Canadian citizens we are entitled to our rights and freedoms however, certain ’civic duties’ exist that every member of our democratic society must uphold. Among these, voting is probably the most crucial to the successful operation of a democratic society.

Interestingly, the current Federal Government’s is frequently criticized for its stronger ties to business, its lack of support for culture, and its habit of shutting down expression in favour of getting its agenda through. The Federal Conservative government has successively cut funding to the CBC, a non-profit and objective news source, and earlier this year announced a further 10 percent reduction. “Gradual cuts will begin with $27.8-million in