Canadian Canadian GovernmentGovernmentStructure and Electoral Process

What You NEEDNEED To Know!

The Political Spectrum and the Ideologies The different levels of Government The responsibilities of each level The different branches of Government What some current political parties stand for How the Electoral System works

The Political Spectrum

The Political Spectrum

Left Wing Right Wing

Moderate

Political IdeologiesPolitical Ideologies

The Ideologies

Communism

Socialism

o Revolutionary, sharing of all resources; ultimate goal: no class or status; strong gov’t control in economy

o Believe in the good of the whole over the good of the individual; support social programs/welfare state

The Ideologies Continued…

Liberalism

Conservatism

o Believe in personal freedoms, social programs; some government control in economy

o Believe in tradition, some personal freedom; strongly support smart finances over social programs

The Ideologies Continued

Fascism o Strong state control over everything; no personal freedoms, obedience to the state; one party and one leader

The Political Spectrum – So where do the Ideologies fit?

Communism

Socialism

Liberalism

Conservatism

Fascism

Political Parties in Canada

Liberals

Conservatives

NDP

Bloc Quebecois

Support individual freedoms, social programs, multiculturalism, free trade

Balance between programs and budget, free trade

Social programs, gov’t sponsored healthcare, education

Quebec separatist party

Structure of the Canadian Government Canadian Government is divided up into

three different levels; each level has its own responsibility

Additionally, the government is also divided up into different branches, with each branch responsible for a different aspect of governing

Government StructureGovernment Structure

The Levels of Canadian Government

Federal

Provincial

Municipal

o Foreign policy, immigration, taxation, currency, defense, EI, postal system

o Health care and education (federally funded), police, resources, road + bridges, housing

o Libraries, local police, fire departments, building permits, parks + rec, garbage/recycling

Structure of the Federal Government

Canadian Government is broken up into three separate branches, each responsible for it’s own part of governing

Executive – executes/makes decisions Legislative – makes new laws Judicial – enforces the laws

Structure of Federal Government

Executive Branch

Prime Minister

Cabinet

Back Benchers

Shadow Cabinet

The Executive Branch Prime Minister – head of government;

represents Canada in matters of national importance, develops relationships with other nations etc.

Cabinet – members of the majority party, given a specific portfolio (ie. Minister of Finance)

Backbenchers – members of parliament who don’t have a specific office

Shadow Cabinet – Critics of the current members of Cabinet

Structure of the Federal Government

Legislative Branch

House of Commons

Senate

Governor General

The Legislative Branch

The House of Commons – elected by Canadians, serve for 5 years, vote on bills

The Senate – appointed, final check on bills passed on the house of commons

The Governor General – Queen’s representative in Canada; a figure head, mostly for ceremonial purposes

The Senate – A Side Note

Men and women are appointed to the Senate not for their skills or abilities, but for loyal support or service to the government (patronage)

Critics of this system want a Senate that follows the “Triple – E” process: Elected, Equal (not voting on party lines), and Effective (they do little other than review bills passed in the house of commons)

The House of Commons – A Side NoteFor a bill to become law, it must go through a number

of steps before it is signed by the Prime Minister and the Governor General

First Reading – bill is read and printed Second Reading – bill is debated Committee Stage – members break the bill down

part by part (clause) Report – Members are allowed to make other

amendments to the bill Third Reading – Members debate one last time and

votes are cast Senate – Bill goes through the Senate in a similar

fashion Royal Assent – Bill is signed by the GG

Structure of the Federal Government

Judicial Branch

Supreme Court of Canada

Provincial Courts

The Judicial Branch

Supreme Court of Canada – highest court; decisions are binding and final, must pass a law to reverse these decisions

Provincial Courts – have own Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Small Claims Court, and Trial Division

The Electoral ProcessThe Electoral Process

The Electoral Process

Areas are divided up into ridings (areas containing roughly 100,000 people – not according to actual land area)

The people vote at polling stations

Winners are determined by the First Past the Post (FPTP) – someone wins when they have more votes than every other candidate

The Electoral Process

The winning government is the party First Past the Post (with the most votes)

Can win one of two primary ways:

Majority – having more than half the seats in parliament

Minority – having more votes than any other party, but less than half the seats (ie. The last election)

The Electoral Process

After all votes have been counted, we are usually left with two primary parties:

The Government – the party elected to make decisions for Canada

The Official Opposition – the party with the next most votes, who will attempt to keep the current government accountable for its actions