Total Area: 9,984,670 sq km (6,204,186 sq
mi)
Somewhat larger than the U.S.
Borders US 8,893 km (5,525 mi)
Climate: temperate in south; sub-arctic
and arctic in north
Terrain: mostly plains with mountains in
west and lowlands in southeast
 Size:
somewhat larger than the US
Population: 33,487,208 (July 2009 est.);
British Isles origin 28%,
French origin 23%,
other European 15%,
Amerindian 2%,
 other, mostly Asian, African, Arab 6%,
 mixed background 26%
Growth Rate: 0.817% (2009 est.)
 Literacy Rate: 99%
Men-99%
Women- 99%
Life Expectancy:
Men-79
Women- 84
Religion:
Roman Catholic 42.6%,
Protestant 23.3%,
other Christian 4.4%,
Muslim 1.9%,
other and unspecified 11.8%,
none 16%
GDP: $39,300
Government Form: a parliamentary democracy, a
federation
Unemployment rate: 5.6%
 1000: Vikings Explore
 1497: John Cabot claimed Cape
Breton Island for Henry VII of
England; Newfoundland
 1535: Cartier sails up the St. Lawrence River and reaches
the St. Lawrence Iroquoian villages of Stadacona and
Hochelaga (now Quebec City and Montreal).
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•
1670: Formation of the Hudson’s Bay Company
1759: Battle of the Plains of Abraham
1867: British North America Act
1914 Entered WWI
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•
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1919 Joined League of nations
1931 Statue of Westminster
1939 Entered WWII
1969 Saturday mail delivery in Canada was
eliminated by Canada Post
• 1982 Canada Act of 1982
• 1997 Clarity Act
• 2003 Reform and PC Parties merge to
form Conservative Party of Canada
•
•
•
•
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•
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•
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July 1,1960 - Status Indians are given the right to vote
August 10, 1960 - The Canadian Bill of Rights is given royal assent
April 1964 - Canadians are issued Social Insurance cards for the first time
June 15 1964 - The Great Flag Debate begins in the House of Commons
December 16 1964 - Bill creating the new Flag of Canada passed in the
House of Commons after much controversy.
1969 Saturday mail delivery in Canada was
eliminated by Canada Post
July 3, 1974 - Canada first demands that its territorial waters be extended
to 200 nautical miles (370.4 km)
1982 Canada Act of 1982
1989 - Heather Erxleben becomes Canada's first official female combat
soldier
• January 7, 1995 - The opening of Parliament is televised for the first time
• May 11, 1999: Chevron announces a major natural gas find in the
Northwest Territories
• July 8, 2003: British Columbia follows Ontario's lead and permits same-sex
marriage
• May 30, 2008: Maxime Bernier resigned from his federal cabinet post as
Minister of Foreign Affairs
• June 14, 2008: Howard Hampton announces his resignation from the
leadership of the Ontario New Democratic Party, resulting in the
commencement of the Ontario New Democratic Party leadership election,
2009.
• July 1, 2008: Chief of the Defence Staff (Canada) General Rick Hillier's term
is set to end; Hillier is replaced by Walter Natynczyk
•Alberta
•British Columbia
•Manitoba
•New Brunswick
•Newfoundland and
Labrador
•Northwest Territories
•Nova Scotia
•Nunavut
•Ontario
•Prince Edward Island
•Québec
•Saskatchewan
•Yukon
Provinces and territories Cont.
• All provinces have unicameral, elected legislatures
headed by a Premier selected in the same way as the
Prime Minister of Canada. Each province also has a
Lieutenant-Governor representing the Queen, analogous
to the Governor General of Canada. The LieutenantGovernor is appointed on the recommendation of the
Prime Minister of Canada, though with increasing levels
of consultation with provincial governments in recent
years.
Crisis
•
•
•
High turnover in government
Global recession hit Canada hard
Canadians supported Obama, but few
are interested in an equivalent change
Thinking About Canada
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U.S./ Canada perplexing relationship
U.S. media prevalence in Canada
Frequent Canadian travel to U.S.
Geography
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–
Third largest country in terms of land area
Much of Canada is above the Arctic Circle
Thinking About Canada
•
Diversity
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English and French Colony
¼ speak French (in Quebec)
Increasing immigration from the Caribbean, China, and
South Asia
“Visible minorities” make up 6% of the population
Diversity: Linguistic, racial, ethnic, and regional
Never tried to enforce a common identity
Language issue
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Bill 101
Key Questions
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•
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Why does Canada have more problems with
national unity than most established
democracies?
In what ways are regionalism and nationalism
important in Canadian politics?
What explains the high level of voter volatility in
Canada that led to massive swings in popular
support for the major parties and the birth of
several new ones since the 1960’s?
Why are Canadians apparently alienated from
their political institutions? But, at the same time,
why are they reluctant to engage in major
constitutional change?
Colonialism
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Native aboriginals nearly exterminated
Integration of remaining indigenous population
occurred after decades of brutality
Tension between British/ French Colonization of
North America
•
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French and Indian Wars
Loss of French territory related to European Politics
Quebec Act
Upper/lower Canada
Responsible Government
•
•
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Durham Report
Canada East and Canada West equal
division of seats
1860’s Legislature deadlocked
Confederation and British North America
Act
•
•
1864 Charlottetown Conference
British North America Act created Canadian
Confederation
Rouges not represented at Conference
Factions:
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•
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Conservatives
Bleus (Canada East) allied with Canada West
Tories
Reform Party
Federalism
Provisions of the British North America
Act
•
Federal system in BNA act was far more
centralized then Canada is today
–
Economic control in hands of federal
government
Features based on British colonial practice
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•
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Disallowance
The BNA Act contained important guarantees
for the English minority in Quebec
Provisions of the British North America
Act
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Canada’s system of government “similar in
principle” to that of the United Kingdom.
Senate upper house “check” on popularly elected
House of Commons
Representation unequal among provinces
Confederation created peacefully and encouraged
by British government
Confederation did not mark independence from
British crown
The Evolution of the British Federal
System
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Decentralizing pressures
Ontario/ Quebec: Industrial
Prairie Provinces: Agriculture
Maritime Provinces: Resource dependent
Federal government policies alienated the
country
Decisions of Judicial Committee of the Privy
Council and rise of provincial rights movements
led to decentralization
Deadlock and Its Solution
•
•
The first solution: amending the BNA Act to
transfer power from the provincial to the
federal government
The second solution: use of the federal
spending power in areas of provincial
jurisdiction
Decentralization in the Modern Era
•
•
•
Quiet Revolution 1960
Federal questions magnified with
leadership of Pierre Elliot Trudeau in 1968
Economic changes reinforced
decentralization
The Constitutional Problem
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•
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1980’s cut spending
The BNA Act did not contain a provision for
amending it by Canadians
Quebec government of the 1960’s and
1970’s began to demand “equality or
independence”
Independence a possibility under Rene
Levesque referendum on sovereignty
association
Adoption of the Charter of Rights
The Constitutional Problem
•
Opposition of Quebec to 1982
Constitutional patriation
Meech Lake Accord of 1987
•
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Opposition from Western Canada and
aboriginal population
Distinct society clause
Charlottetown Accord of 1992 defeated in a
referendum
Political Culture
•
•
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•
•
Canadians to the left of Americans, but less
divisive politics
Social class not a central political issue
US and Canada both had waves of
immigration, nonwhite migrants over the
last few decades
Both US and Canada have liberal and
tolerant cultures
Canada legalization of gay marriage
Political Culture
•
•
“Post-materialist” perspective
Hartz’s “fragment theory”
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English-speaking Canada has had a strong Tory
streak
Deference to authority
Opposition to individualism
Skepticism about popular democracy
Collectivist solutions rooted in communitarian
values
Political Culture
•
Problems with the fragment theory:
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Views Quebec as a conservative fragment of
French political culture from before the
Revolution of 1789
Does not allow for significant change in political
culture
Disagreements over regionalism, nationalism,
and language have played the most important
role in shaping Canadian politics
Political Participation
•
Canadian political parties have more in Common
with Europe than the United States
WWII- the 1993 election two and a half party
system- Liberals and Progressive Conservatives,
small competition from NDP
Two new parties Reform and Bloc Quebecois
Merge of Reform and PC to form the Conservative
Party
Brokerage Politics?
•
•
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•
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Catch-all parties
Mass parties
Political Participation
•
Reform/ Bloc Quebecois not brokerage or catchall parties
Criticisms of catch-all parties:
•
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•
Deliberately distract from class and economic issues
Parties undermine democratic accountability
Catch-all or brokerage parties are elite driven
Advantages of Catch-all parties:
–
Bridge differences in society
Political Participation
•
The Evolution of the Canadian Party System
–
Reform parties in Ontario and Quebec could
not work together
Ontario Conservatives and the Bleus found it
easier to cooperate with each other
“National Policy” sparked opposition
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•
•
•
Rebellion led by Louis Riel
Opposition of Westerners
1896 election Liberals built an electoral coalition of
Westerners and Quebecers
Political Participation
•
Other issues dividing the Conservatives and
Liberals:
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–
•
Free trade
Relationship with Britain
Draft
After WWI: First third party, Progressives
Political Participation
• Interwar period dominated by the Liberal Party
• After WWII, Liberals and Tories embraced the
Keynesian consensus
• Canadian welfare state
• Rise of prairie populist politician John Diefenbaker
• 1990’s last major change in the Canadian party
system- Reform (renamed Alliance), merged with the
PC and created today’s Conservative Party in 2003
The Role of Smaller Parties
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•
•
•
•
Progress Party 1921 election
CCF 1930’s
NDP 1961
The Bloc Quebecois 1990
The Reform Party
The Party System Today
• Four party system
– Two major parties: Liberal and Conservatives
– NDP and Bloc Quebecois
– Reform/Alliance
• As of December 2009 The Conservatives under
Harper and his team still in power
• Conservative party tries to combine two important
strands in Canada’s political history:
– Deference to authority and resistance to dramatic change
– Right wing populism
Electoral System
• First past the post electoral system
• A party can and almost always does win an
election with less than a majority of the votes
• Criticisms of first past the post:
– Undemocratic because allows parties to form a
government without a majority vote
– Exaggerates regional differences
– Exaggerates the power of large parties and
minimizes smaller ones
Electoral System
• An advantage of first past the post is that it
creates a stable government
• Governments in Canada are almost always
controlled by a single party rather than
coalitions
• Alternative to first past the post is
proportional representation
Voter Behavior
• Voter volatility is directly related to the
brokerage nature of the Liberal and
Conservative parties
• Factors in voting behavior:
– Religion
– Gender and race
– Urban/rural split
• Class not a major factor
• Media plays a key role
Group and Movement Politics
• Canada has both highly organized groups with
substantial resources and clear goals and lessorganized movements and less resources
– Canadian Council of Chief Executives
– Groups that start off as movements become
institutionalized
– Trade union movement does not have close
relationship with federal government and is
divided
– Competing groups claiming to promote interests
of workers and businesses
The Canadian State
• Queen (or Crown) is less important in day-today life than the UK
– Symbol
– Governor-general
– Canada is a sovereign state
• Federal system
The Government
• Governor-general advised by Privy Council
• The cabinet is led by the prime minister, who also
serve as MP’s
• Ministerial responsibility/collective responsibility
• Firm party discipline
– MP’s can be expelled from caucus and deprived of party
support
– Opposition caucuses have shadow critics
– High turnover rate
– Roles of House of Commons compromised by party
discipline; a reason for rising level of voter dissatisfaction
– Reform party critique
The Government
• The Senate has general law-making authority
• Senators are appointed do not usually exercise
their right to reject legislation
• Rarely does more than delay the passage of
legislation
• Cannot initiate some bills
The Courts
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•
•
•
Power of judicial review
Supreme Court of Canada
Criticisms that courts are too powerful
Constitutional entrenchment of the Canadian
Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982
– Human rights
– Individual and collective rights
– Equal rights
• “Notwithstanding clause”
• Reference cases
Public Policy
• Health care
– Single-payer system
• Keynesian state
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Liberal governments of the 1940’s and 1950’s embraced this policy
Supported idea of welfare state
Joined GATT
1980’s shift away from Keynes model
• Election of Mulroney government in 1984
– Free trade between U.S./ Canada began in 1987, opposition
immediately
– Liberals did not restore Mulroney cuts (Canada Health and Social
Transfer)
– Today, Canadian economy is in good shape despite recession
• U.S./Canadian currency roughly equal in value
Public Policy
• Foreign Policy
– Military converted to one whose primary mission is
peacekeeping
• CANADEM
• Overwhelming majority of Canadians opposed invasion in Iraq
– Taking a leading role in international development efforts,
largest county to commit to spending 0.7% of GDP on
development assistance
– World’s longest undefended border with U.S.
Feedback
• Political debates over the nature and role of
the American media in Canada
• Canadian version of the BBC is in jeopardy due
to being underfunded
• CTV
• Hundreds of newspapers, many local
• Ownership of newspapers highly centralized
until recently
Quebec
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•
•
Given the province's heritage and the preponderance of French (unique among
the Canadian provinces), there is an ongoing debate in Canada regarding the
status of Quebec and its people (wholly or partially).
Prior attempts to amend the Canadian constitution to acknowledge Quebec as a
'distinct society' – referring to the province's uniqueness within Canada regarding
law, language, and culture – have been unsuccessful; however, the federal
government under prime minister Jean Chrétien would later endorse recognition
of Quebec as a distinct society.
The Quebec sovereignty movement (French: Movement souverainiste du Québec)
is a political movement aimed at either attaining independent statehood
(sovereignty) or some degree of greater political autonomy
Meech Lake Accord (1987)
Canadian Government
• “Her Majesty's Government in Canada”
• A constitutional monarchy that is also a parliamentary democracy
and a federation
• Queen Head of State
• Queen Elizabeth II; sovereign and head of state; gives “repository”
to executive power, judicial and legislative
Executive Branch
• Prime Minister: Stephen Harper (22)
• Prime Minister Head of Government
• Appointed by the governor general
Executive Cont.
• Queen appoints Governor General; selected on advice of
prime minister
• Governor General: Michaëlle Jean
• Governor General has no term limit; representative of the
queen
• Governor General elects his “Ministers of the Crown”
Government departments and
structure
• Significant departments include Finance,
Revenue, Human Resources and Skills
Development, National Defense, Public Safety
and Emergency Preparedness, and Foreign
Affairs/International Trade.
Prime Minister
• Office is not outlined in any document in the Constitution
• Executive authority is formally vested in Canadian
Sovereignty
• British prime minister ship, although fully developed by
1867, was not formally integrated into the British
constitution until 1905
• Prime Minister is the head of the Political party that
holds the most seats in the house of Commons
Governor General
• Head of State of Canada
• Michaëlle Jean is the holds the current office
• The monarch appoints the Governor General on the advice
of the Canadian Prime Minister, after which the Governor
General maintains direct contact with the monarch.
• There is no specific term.
Bill of Rights
• The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (also known
as The Charter of Rights and Freedoms or simply the
Charter) is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of
Canada
• the first part of the Constitution Act, 1982.
• guarantees certain political and civil rights of people in
Canada from the policies and actions of all levels of
government
Bill of Rights cont.
• The Charter was preceded by the Canadian Bill of
Rights, which was enacted in 1960
• One of the most notable effects of the adoption of
the Charter was to greatly expand the scope of
judicial review, because the Charter is more explicit
with respect to the guarantee of rights and the role
of judges in enforcing them than was the Bill of
Rights.
Judiciary
• Has the power to strike down laws that violate the
Constitution
• Nine members are appointed by the Governor General
on the advice of the Prime Minister and Minister of
Justice.
• All judges at the superior and appellate levels are
appointed after consultation with non-governmental
legal bodies
• Common law prevails everywhere except in Quebec,
where civil law predominates
Judiciary Cont.
• The Court system of Canada is made up of many courts differing in levels
of legal superiority and separated by jurisdiction. Some of the courts are
federal in nature while others are provincial or territorial.
• Almost all cases, whether criminal or civil, start in provincial courts and
may be eventually appealed to higher level courts. The quite small system
of federal courts only hear cases concerned with matters which are under
exclusive federal control, such as immigration.
Foreign relations and military
•
•
Canada and the United States share the world's longest undefended border, cooperate on military campaigns and exercises, and are each other's largest trading
partners. Canada has nevertheless maintained an independent foreign policy, most
notably maintaining full relations with Cuba and declining to participate in the Iraq
War.
Strong attachment to the British Empire and Commonwealth in English Canada led
to major participation in British military efforts in the Second Boer War, the First
World War, and the Second World War. Since then, Canada has been an advocate
for multilateralism, making efforts to resolve global issues in collaboration with
other nations.[40][41] Canada joined the United Nations in 1945 and became a
founding member of NATO in 1949.
Foreign relations and military Cont.
• During the Cold War, Canada was a major contributor to UN forces in the
Korean War and founded the North American Aerospace Defense
Command (NORAD) in cooperation with the United States to defend
against aerial attacks from the Soviet Union.
• Canada has played a leading role in UN peacekeeping efforts.
• In February 2007, Canada, Italy, Britain, Norway, and Russia announced
their funding commitments to launch a $1.5 billion project to help develop
vaccines they said could save millions of lives in poor nations, and called
on others to join them.
Foreign relations and military Cont
(2)
• One of the most unique aspects of Canadian foreign policy is the high level
of freedom the provinces have to operate internationally.
• Provinces have always participated in some foreign relations, and
appointed agents-general in the United Kingdom and France for many
years, but they cannot legislate treaties. The French-speaking provinces of
Quebec and New Brunswick are members of la Francophone, and Ontario
has announced it wishes to join. Quebec, ruled primarily by separatist
governments since 1976, has pursued its own foreign relations, especially
with France. Alberta opened an office in Washington D.C. in March 2005 to
lobby the American government
Economy
• Canada is one of the world's wealthiest nations, with a high percapita income, and is a member of the Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development (OECD) and Group of Eight. Canada
is a mixed market,[58] ranking lower than the U.S. but higher than
most western European nations on the Heritage Foundation's index
of economic freedom.
• Canada closely resembles the U.S. in its market-oriented economic
system, pattern of production, and high living standards. As of
October 2007, Canada's national unemployment rate of 5.9% is its
lowest in 33 years.
Economy Cont.
•
•
Canada is one of the few developed nations that are net exporters of energy.[2]
Atlantic Canada has vast offshore deposits of natural gas and large oil and gas
resources are centred in Alberta. The vast Athabasca Tar Sands give Canada the
world's second largest reserves of oil behind Saudi Arabia.[62] In Quebec, British
Columbia, Newfoundland & Labrador, New Brunswick, Ontario and Manitoba,
hydroelectric power is a cheap and clean source of renewable energy.
Economic integration with the United States has increased significantly since
World War II. The Canada-United States Automotive Agreement in 1965 opened
the borders to trade in the auto manufacturing industry. The Canada-United States
Free Trade Agreement of 1988 eliminated tariffs between the two countries, while
North American Free Trade Agreement expanded the free trade zone to include
Mexico in the 1990s . Canadian nationalists continue to worry about their cultural
autonomy as American television shows, movies and corporations are
omnipresent.
Economy Cont. (2)
• Since 2001, Canada has successfully avoided economic
recession and has maintained the best overall economic
performance in the G8.Since the mid-1990s, Canada's federal
government has posted annual budgetary surpluses and has
steadily paid down the national debt.
Federal-provincial relations
•
The provinces are considered co-sovereign; sovereignty of the provinces is passed
on, not by the Governor General or the Canadian parliament, but through the
Crown itself. This means that the Crown is "divided" into eleven legal jurisdictions;
into eleven "Crowns" - one federal and ten provincial.
•
Federal-provincial (or intergovernmental, formerly Dominion-provincial) relations
is a regular issue in Canadian politics: Quebec wishes to preserve and strengthen
its distinctive nature, western provinces desire more control over their abundant
natural resources, especially energy reserves; industrialized Central Canada is
concerned with its manufacturing base, and the Atlantic provinces strive to escape
from being less affluent than the rest of the country.
Federal-provincial relations Cont.
• the federal government makes payments to less wealthy Canadian
provinces to equalize the provinces' "fiscal capacity" — their ability to
generate tax revenues. This is known as transfer (equalization) payments
• The richer provinces often favor freezing transfer payments, or
rebalancing the system in their favor, based on the claim that they already
pay more in taxes than they receive in federal government services, and
the poorer provinces often favor an increase on the basis that the amount
of money they receive is not sufficient for their existing needs.
Canadian Parliament
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Senate (105)
Upper house
“Red Chamber”
Appointed by the governor with advice by P.M.
Prime ministers normally choose members of their own parties
to be senators
30 years of age (min)
1/5th the cost of the House of Commons
Average age 65
Many Senators have more than one job
Each district of Canada receive 24 senators
Canadian Parliament cont.
•
•
•
•
•
•
House of Commons (308)
Lower house
Elected by popular vote (single member, “first past the post”)
Serve 5 year terms
Country divided into electoral districts with each getting a seat
Most bills originate in HC
Bloc Québécois- formed in 1991, social democrats,
leader= Lucien Bouchard
Conservative Party- founded in 2003, conservative,
leader= Stephen Harper
Liberal Party of Canada- found in 1867, liberal, leader=
Michael Ignatuff
New Democratic Party- social democrats, leader= Jack
Layton
Green Party of Canada- lead by Elizabeth May
Communist Party of Canada- leader= Sandra Smith
Most Parties are catch-all parties
Many similarities with the United States
Very tolerant and progressive on social issues
- Gay marriage is legal
Slow to change issues, work through compromise/ negotiation
No issues about social class
Favor capitalist economy, and a government that provides
basic freedoms
People believe that state should not interfere in determining
how people run their lives
Voter turnout similar to US
Issues- status of Quebec(should it be allowed to leave
country)
- relationship between provinces and national
government
Post-materialistic
Louis Hartz and the Fragment Theory
-cultures of settler societies of North America reflect
only cultural fragments of the societies from which
immigrants came
Disagreements of regionalism, nationalism, and
language play the most important role in Canadian
politics
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (also known as The
Charter of Rights and Freedoms or simply the Charter) is a bill of
rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada
the first part of the Constitution Act, 1982.
guarantees certain political and civil rights of people in Canada from
the policies and actions of all levels of government
The Charter was preceded by the Canadian Bill of Rights, which was
enacted in 1960
One of the most notable effects of the adoption of the Charter was
to greatly expand the scope of judicial review, because the Charter is
more explicit with respect to the guarantee of rights and the role of
judges in enforcing them than was the Bill of Rights.
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February
1952)
represented by Governor General Michaelle
JEAN (since 27 September 2005)
head of government: Prime Minister Stephen HARPER
(since 6 February 2006)
Currently: Her Excellency the Right Honorable Michaëlle Jean
Presides over the swearing-in of the prime minister, the
Chief Justice of Canada and cabinet ministers.
Ensure that Canada always has a prime minister and a
government in place
In the case of the death of a prime minister, it is the
governor general’s responsibility to ensure the continuity of
government.
Summons Parliament
Royal Assent, which makes acts of Parliament into law.
Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Forces
Chancellor of the Order of Canada and the Order of Military
Merit.
Michaëlle Jean (2005 to present)
Adrienne Clarkson (1999 to 2005)
Roméo Leblanc (1995 to 1999)
Ramon Hnatyshyn (1990 to 1995)
Jeanne Sauvé (1984 to 1990)
Edward Schreyer (1979 to 1984)
Jules Léger (1974 to 1979)
Roland Michener (1967 to 1974)
Georges Vanier (1959 to 1967)
Vincent Massey (1952 to 1959)
The Viscount Alexander of Tunis
(1946 to 1952)
Earl of Athlone (1940 to 1946)
Lord Tweedsmuir (1935 to 1940)
Earl of Bessborough (1931 to 1935)
Viscount Willingdon (1926 to 1931)
Lord Byng (1921 to 1926)
Duke of Devonshire (1916 to 1921)
Duke of Connaught and Strathearn (1911
to 1916)
Earl Grey (1904 to 1911)
Earl of Minto (1898 to 1904)
Earl of Aberdeen (1893 to 1898)
Lord Stanley (1888 to 1893)
Marquess of Lansdowne (1883 to 1888)
Marquess of Lorne (1878 to 1883)
Earl of Dufferin (1872 to 1878)
Lord Lisgar (1869 to 1872)
Viscount Monck (1867 to 1868)
Currently Stephan Harper leader of the Conservative
Party of Canada.
The primary Minister of the Crown, chairman of the
Cabinet, and thus head of government of Canada
Initially modeled after the job as it existed in Britain at time
of Confederation in 1867
Not elected directly but is by constitutional convention the
leader of the political party that holds the largest
number of seats in the House of Common
The Cabinet must have "unanimous" consent on all
decisions they make, but in practice whether or not
unanimity has been achieved is decided by the prime
minister
Controls the appointments: all members of the Cabinet,
vacant seats on the Supreme Court of Canada;
vacant seats in the Senate
William McKenzie King- Liberal(‘38-’48)
Lois St. Laurent- Liberal-(‘48-’57)
John Diefenbaker- P. Conservative-(‘57-’63)
Lester Pearson- Liberal-(63-68)
Pierre Trudeau- Liberal-(68-79; 80-84)
Joe Clark- Progressive Conservative-(79)
Brian Mulroney- Progressive Conservative-(84-93)
Kim Campbell-Progressive Conservative-(93)
Jean Chretien-Liberal-(93-03)
Paul Martin- Liberal-(03-06)
Stephan Harper- Conservative-(06-Present)
Bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate and the House
Common Amendments can only be passed by the
Canadian House of Commons, the Senate, and a two-thirds
majority of the provincial legislatures representing at least
50% of the national population
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Upper house
“Red Chamber”
Appointed by the governor with advice by P.M.
Prime ministers normally choose members of their own
parties to be senators
30 years of age (min)
1/5th the cost of the House of Commons
Average age 65
Many Senators have more than one job
Each district of Canada receives 24 senators
 Lower house
 Elected by popular vote (single member, “first past the
post”)
 Serve 5 year terms
 Country divided into electoral districts with each getting a
seat
 Most bills originate in HoC
 Has the power to strike down laws that violate the
Constitution aka Judicial Review
 Nine members are appointed by the Governor General
on the advice of the Prime Minister and Minister of
Justice.
 All judges at the superior and appellate levels are
appointed after consultation with non-governmental
legal bodies
 Common law prevails everywhere except in Quebec,
where civil law predominates
The Court system of Canada is made up of many courts
differing in levels of legal superiority and separated
by jurisdiction. Some of the courts are federal in
nature while others are provincial or territorial.
Almost all cases, whether criminal or civil, start in
provincial courts and may be eventually appealed
to higher level courts. The quite small system of
federal courts only hear cases concerned with
matters which are under exclusive federal control,
such as immigration.
 Canada and the United States share the world's longest
undefended border, co-operate on military campaigns and
exercises, and are each other's largest trading partners.
Canada has nevertheless maintained an independent
foreign policy, most notably maintaining full relations with
Cuba and declining to participate in the Iraq War.
 Strong attachment to the British Empire and
Commonwealth in English Canada led to major participation
in British military efforts in the Second Boer War, the First
World War, and the Second World War. Since then, Canada
has been an advocate for multilateralism, making efforts to
resolve global issues in collaboration with other
nations.[40][41] Canada joined the United Nations in 1945
and became a founding member of NATO in 1949.
 During the Cold War, Canada was a major contributor to UN
forces in the Korean War and founded the North American
Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) in cooperation with
the United States to defend against aerial attacks from the
Soviet Union.
 Canada has played a leading role in UN peacekeeping
efforts.
 In February 2007, Canada, Italy, Britain, Norway, and Russia
announced their funding commitments to launch a $1.5
billion project to help develop vaccines they said could save
millions of lives in poor nations, and called on others to join
them.
 Canada is one of the world's wealthiest nations, with a high
per-capita income, and is a member of the Organisation for
Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and
Group of Eight. Canada is a mixed market,[58] ranking lower
than the U.S. but higher than most western European
nations on the Heritage Foundation's index of economic
freedom.
 Canada closely resembles the U.S. in its market-oriented
economic system, pattern of production, and high living
standards. As of October 2007, Canada's national
unemployment rate of 5.9% is its lowest in 33 years.
 Canada is one of the few developed nations that are net exporters of
energy.[2] Atlantic Canada has vast offshore deposits of natural gas and
large oil and gas resources are centred in Alberta. The vast Athabasca
Tar Sands give Canada the world's second largest reserves of oil behind
Saudi Arabia.[62] In Quebec, British Columbia, Newfoundland &
Labrador, New Brunswick, Ontario and Manitoba, hydroelectric power is
a cheap and clean source of renewable energy.
 Economic integration with the United States has increased significantly
since World War II. The Canada-United States Automotive Agreement in
1965 opened the borders to trade in the auto manufacturing industry.
The Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement of 1988 eliminated
tariffs between the two countries, while North American Free Trade
Agreement expanded the free trade zone to include Mexico in the 1990s
. Canadian nationalists continue to worry about their cultural autonomy
as American television shows, movies and corporations are
omnipresent.
Since 2001, Canada has successfully
avoided economic recession and has
maintained the best overall economic
performance in the G8.Since the mid-1990s,
Canada's federal government has posted
annual budgetary surpluses and has
steadily paid down the national debt.
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describe basic characteristics of the diversity of the people in Canada
identify political and economic factors that contributed to the development of
Canadian federalism
identify differences between “two founding nations” federalism and “equal provinces”
federalism
describe five major elements of Canadian political culture
compare “brokerage” parties in Canada with catch-all parties in the USA and Western
Europe
describe the effects of “brokerage” parties on voter behavior in Canada
explain how the “first past the post” electoral system affects Canadian politics and
political parties
explain how the organization of interest groups in Canada reflects the country’s primary
political cleavages
distinguish between collective and individual responsibility and explain the role of each
in the Canadian regime
describe the tension between party discipline in Parliament and the representation of
voters in MP’s ridings