Government of Canada

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

The Government of Canada does a lot of things. Everything from providing us with transportation to making sure everyone has a say in parliament. This group is made up of citizens that we elect to run this country and provide the citizen with a pretty good quality of life. This is the opinion is held by most Canadians. Unfortunately, some still think that we do not live as good a life here as we could somewhere else. Yes, the Government provides and maintains a high quality of life for its citizens. Social Programs provide assistance financially and physically to people that are in need of it. As Canadians, we have an abundance of freedoms and rights to protect us and our government is run as a democracy, where everyone gets a say.

The prime minister has a significant amount of power within the Canadian government. Some of the sources of the prime minister’s powers are the number of seats in the House of Commons he and his party has, his ability to give push/give priority to certain government agendas, and his ability to appoint different governmental positions. For a politician to hold the office of PM his party must hold the majority of the seats in the house; this means that by convention his party must be in solidarity with his decisions, which gives the PM’s the loyal support of his party. Another power of the PM is the ability to put forward government agendas that they believe should be prioritized. The PM also has the ability to appoint people who they believe

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.

Canada’s friendly neighbor to the South, the US, has an electoral system that is composed of 3 separate elections, one of them deciding the head of state. The president elected by the people and he or she is the determining person of the country’s political system. In the US runs like a majority system” In Canada, however, elections are held slightly differently. Citizens vote for a Member of Parliament in a 308-seat house and candidates win not by a majority, unlike in the US, but by a plurality. This means that a candidate can actually win by simply having more votes than the other candidates. This method of representative democracy, in general, does not cause too much controversy in a global scope but has

Do you feel your government is fair? Does it manage the issues properly, with careful thought, and an open, objective mind? Is it effective? Do you feel that the Senate is a “sober chamber of second thought?” Do you feel that the best interests of the Canadian public are always preserved in the current model of our governance? If so, you’re mistaken. Under our present governance, we have two houses, the House of Commons, and the Senate, the reform to the latter being the main topic of

they have proposed when it comes to the usage of taxes, as a way to alleviate the insurmountable

Opposing the belief that a dominating leader is running Canada, Barker brings up several key realities of the Canadian government. He gives examples of several “… instances of other ministers taking action that reveal the limits prime-ministerial power,” (Barker 178). Barker conveys the fact that Canada is not bound by a dictatorial government, “…it seems that the prime minister cannot really control his individual ministers. At times, they will pursue agendas that are inconsistent with the prime minister’s actions,” (Barker 181). Both inside and outside government are a part of Canada and they can remind the prime minister that “…politics is a game of survival for all players,” (Barker 188). Barker refutes the misinterpretation of the Canadian government by acknowledging that a prime-ministerial government existing in Canada is an overstatement.

“Protection of life is NOT a legitimate use for a firearm in this country sir! Not! That is expressly ruled out!"- Justice Minister Allan Rock, 1994. Guns are highly controlled in Canada for a reason, because if they were not, where would Canada be now? Canada would be in anarchy as they slowly watch their country slip into violence and on to its impending doom(Hyperbole). To think back on life, whether 19 years of age or 90 years of age, has there ever been a time where safety is found in holding a gun, or a situation that felt a gun would have been necessary?

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

The solution to this seems quite simple, increase the prime minister’s power during minority governments while ensuring that this increase of power does not infringe unjustly upon the democratic process. One reason in which prime ministerial lack of power is an issue in minority governments rests in the ability for motions of non-confidence to be passed, resulting in the forcing of an election. In federal cases, these votes of no-confidence can easily be asserted in many cases, the most common case being the failure of the federal budget to pass a parliamentary vote in the House of Commons. The issue with this concept of no-confidence, however, as pointed out by Kaare Strom in Minority Government and Majority Rule is addressed with basic questions such as “Why would any party agree to support a government legislatively if it gets no portfolios in exchange,” and “Why the opposition, by definition a majority coalition in parliament, does not depose the government and take the spoils of office for itself?” This concern can be seen in various contemporary examples throughout Canadian political history.

Today, Ontario and Quebec have maintained their 24 member senatorial status. The four Western provinces have 6 members each. Nova Scotia and New Brunswick both have 10 seats. Prince Edward Island was given 4 out of the original 24 Maritime senators. Together, Newfoundland and Labrador have a total of 6 members. Finally, Nunavut, the Yukon and the Northwest Territories stand in the equation with 1 senator apiece. Along with the Senate`s original intentions, the principle of equality between the provinces is evidently lost. The Senate primarily fails because it was formerly created to balance out the representation by population which lies in the House of Commons however currently only seems to reinforce it. In fact, Canada’s central provinces, Ontario and Quebec, account for 60 percent of the seats in the House of Commons and almost half of the seats in the Senate at 46 percent.5 The inadequacy of regional representation is emphasized as the Canada West Foundation clearly states: “Canada is the only democratic federal system in the world in which the regions with the largest populations dominate both houses of the national legislature.“6 With an unelected Senate that no longer fulfills its role of equal regional representation and a House of Commons grounded on the representation of provinces proportional to their population, the legitimacy of Parliament has become a

1. A Municipal government is considered one of the three types of governments practiced in Canada. They form a local council to provide services, facilities, and infrastructure for residents within their city/town. Their main features include nature, taxing power, elected council members and the geographic boundaries.

On July 1st, 1867, Canada confederated into a nation and committed to uphold democracy “From Sea to Sea”. As stated in the Constitution of our nation, Canada would be governed through a Parliamentary system, with both an upper and lower house of legislature. The lower house, the House of Commons, would include elected members from across the country. Conversely, the upper house, the Senate, according to Section 24 of the Constitution Act (1867), states: “The Governor General shall… summon qualified Persons to the Senate; and… every Person so summoned shall become… a Member of the Senate.”[1] This has amounted to almost 800 Canadians being appointed to the Senate since Confederation. However, as Canadians have grown to demand transparency

Firstly, Canada has three levels of government, all with contrasting yet vital responsibilities. This consists of the federal government that is responsible for the whole country; a provincial and territorial government, who is in control of education and health care; and a municipal government, such as towns and cities, who takes care of firefighters, city streets, and other local affairs (Settlement Ontario). These levels of government aid in keeping order and organization, which leads to a stable and effective political system. In addition, the federal government also has a House of Commons that makes laws in Canada. “Members of the House of Commons are individually elected to represent their constituents within a single electoral district; elections are based on a single-member constituency, first-past-the-post or simple-plurality system” (Parliament of Canada). The House of Commons is an effective part of the political system because it is handled by people who's job is to maintain Canada’s stability. Lastly, the members of parliament in Canada represent or belong to a political