Two Democracies growing up next door to one another
each with their own personality and type of democracy.
Political Parties of Canada
The three main political parties of Canada are:
Liberal
Conservative
New Democrat Party
Conservative Party
Major Policies
•Generally pro-business with emphasis
on federal debt reduction.
•Generally favour a less centralized party
structure than the liberals.
Sources of Support
•More likely middle aged and older
citizens, especially in rural areas.
•Since 1984 have dug into broader base
of former liberal supporters.
•Strong in western Canada in the
1980’s.
Liberal Party
Major Policies
•Generally pro business, with traditional
leanings toward ethnic voters.
•Supported spending on expanded social
welfare programs in the 1970’s & 80’s.
•Centralized party structure
Sources of Support
•More likely to be urban and central
Canadian.
•Eastern Canadian support at some times
•Lost Quebec support in the late 1980’s.
•Historically the dominant party in Canada.
New Democratic Party
Major Policies
•Generally pro union and supportive of
labour groups, small businesses.
•Emphasize social welfare state.
•Moving toward policies that will assist
business development.
•A more relaxed organizational structure,
but centralized at the national level.
Sources of Support
•Cuts across income and occupation lines
•Stronger in the prairies (Manitoba and
Saskatchewan)
•Recently have gained support in Ontario
and British Columbia.
Canadian Government
Canada is a federation governed under a parliamentary
democracy and constitutional monarchy.
Governmental powers in Canada are divided between
the central or federal government and the provincial and
territorial governments. Territories have less autonomy
from the federal government than provinces have.
The Queen
The Queen is the formal head of the Canadian state.
She is represented federally by the Governor
General, and provincially by the LieutenantGovernors.
The Prime Minister
The Prime Minister of Canada the head of the
Government of Canada, is usually the leader of the
political party with the most seats in the Canadian House
of Commons. The Prime Minister does not have a fixed
term. A prime minister may resign for personal reasons
at any time, but is required to resign only when an
opposition party wins a majority of the seats in the
House. If his or her party loses a motion of no
confidence, a prime minister may resign (allowing
another party to form the government), but more often
will ask the Governor General to dissolve Parliament
and bring about a general election.
The Cabinet
As mentioned, the Prime Minister chooses the
members of the Cabinet. The Cabinet in Canada is of
the British type. It is formed, on the request of the
governor-general, by a prime minister who is a member
of the House of Commons and usually the leader of the
strongest party in the house.
The House of Commons
The House of Commons is the major law-making
body. In each of the country’s 308 constituencies, or
ridings, the candidate who gets the largest number
of votes is elected to the House of Commons, even if
his or her vote is less than half the total. The number of
constituencies may be changed after every general
census, pursuant to the constitution and the Electoral
Boundaries Readjustment Act that allot parliamentary
seats roughly on the basis of population. Every province
must have at least as many Members in the Commons
as it had in the Senate before 1982. The constituencies
vary somewhat in size, within prescribed limits.
The Senate
The Senate usually has 105 members.
The Senators are appointed by the Governor General on the
recommendation of the Prime Minister. They hold office until age
75 unless they miss two consecutive sessions of Parliament. Till 1965,
they held office for life. The Senate can initiate any bills except bills
providing for the expenditure of public money or imposing taxes. It
can amend or reject any bill whatsoever. It can reject any bill as often as
it sees fit. Many people disagree with the appointed nature of the
senate and wish for it to be an elected organization.
Supreme Court of Canada,
Highest authority and final court of appeal in the judicial
system of Canada. Nine judges compose the Supreme
Court of Canada, which presides over cases of national
importance, settles disputes involving interpretations of
law, and evaluates the constitutionality of existing and
proposed legislation. By establishing legal precedents
that are followed by lower courts throughout the country,
the Supreme Court provides coherence and unity to the
Canadian legal system. Supreme Court justices and
staff work in the Supreme Court Building located in
Ottawa, Ontario.
The Constitution provides that almost all our courts shall
be provincial, that is, created by the provincial
legislatures. But it also provides that the judges of all
these courts from county courts up (except courts of
probate in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick) shall be
appointed by the federal government.
United States Government
The combination of federal, state, and local laws,
bodies, and agencies that is responsible for carrying out
the operations of the United States. The federal
government of the United States is centered in
Washington, D.C.
In the United States the one basic principle is
representative democracy, which defines a system in
which the people govern themselves by electing their
own leaders. The American government functions to
secure this principle and to further the common interests
of the people.
Republican Party
One of the two major United States political parties,
founded by a coalition in 1854. Also referred to as the
GOP (grand old party). Historically they are the
conservative, business oriented party.
Democratic Party
One of the two main political parties of the United
States. Its origins can be traced to the coalition formed
behind Thomas Jefferson in the 1790s to resist the
policies of George Washington’s administration.
Historically they are the Liberal, socially oriented party.
To implement its essential democratic ideals, the United
States has built its government on four elements:
(1) Popular sovereignty, meaning that the people are the
ultimate source of the government’s authority;
(2) Representative government;
(3) Checks and balances; and
(4) Federalism, an arrangement where powers are
shared by different levels of government.
Another focus of the American government is the
separation of powers that Montesquieu wrote about. No
branch having more power than another.
Executive
The president and vice president are the only officials
elected by all citizens of the United States; both serve
four-year terms. Although the president shares power
with Congress and the judiciary, he or she is the most
powerful and important officeholder in the country. The
president has no vote in Congress but proposes much of
the legislation that becomes law. As the principal maker
of foreign policy, the president of the United States has
become one of the world’s most important leaders in
international affairs.
The Cabinet of the U.S. government is made up of the
administrative heads of the executive departments of the
federal government, under the President of the United
States.
Legislative
Congress is the legislative branch of the government of
the United States. The Constitution divides Congress
into two structures—a House of Representatives and a
Senate. These structures are jointly assigned “all
legislative powers” in the national government.
Judicial
The Supreme Court is the highest court in the United
States. Litigants dissatisfied with a lower court decision
may appeal to the Supreme Court, although very few
cases ever reach the court. A ruling of the Supreme
Court cannot be appealed. As Justice Robert Jackson
once explained: “The [Supreme] Court is not final
because it is infallible; the court is infallible because it is
final.” There are currently nine Supreme Court justices,
who, like all federal judges, are appointed by the
president and confirmed by the Senate.
A basic difference between our constitution and the
American is, of course, that we are a constitutional
monarchy and they are a republic. That looks like only
a formal difference. It is very much more, for we have
parliamentary-cabinet government, while the
Americans have presidential-congressional.
Another is in the United States the head of state and the
head of the government are one and the same. The
President is both at once. Here, the Queen, ordinarily
represented by the Governor General, is the head of
state, and the Prime Minister is the head of the
Government.
For another thing, presidential-congressional
government is based on a separation of powers. The
American President cannot be a member of either
House of Congress.
Parliamentary-cabinet government is based on a
concentration of powers. The Prime Minister and every
other Minister must by custom (though not by law) be a
member of one House or the other, or get a seat in one
House or the other within a short time of appointment.