Canada- Government & Politics

Canada maybe described as an independent Constitutional Monarchy, a Federation, and a Parliamentary Democracy. It is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. Canada is a federation of ten provinces (Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, and Saskatchewan) and three territories (Northwest Territories, Yukon, and Nunavut). Since it is a constitutional monarchy, the monarch of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (now Queen Elizabeth II) is the formal head of the State. The Governor-general of Canada is the official representative of this office. However, in reality, Canada is governed by its own House of Commons. Even the Governor General, who is the representative of the British Monarch, acts only on the advice of the Canadian Prime minister.

Canadian Constitution

Canada Act or the Constitutional Act of 1982 is the basic constitutional document of Canada. It replaced the British North America Act of 1867, giving Canada a fully sovereign status. It was approved by the British Parliament on March 25th, 1982, and proclaimed by Queen Elizabeth II on April 17th, 1982. It contains a Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees 34 rights including the rights of women and native people, religious freedom, minority language education, cultural tolerance, etc. The Charter also contains a clause which permits many rights to be overridden in federal or provincial legislatures by a “notwithstanding clause.” The Canada Act also gives recognition to native treaty rights, increasing the power of provinces in matters of control over their natural resources, and also a method to initiate amendments.

Quebec attempted to oppose the Canada Act and made claims to constitutional veto. But the Supreme Court of Canada rejected such a demand. Later, negotiations with Quebec continued with the Meech Lake Accord, which also failed in 1990.

Canada Government

The executive wing of the Canadian Government includes the British monarch, now Queen Elizabeth II as the Head of the State represented through a Governor General. She, as the Queen of Canada, serves as a symbol of the nation's unity. She appoints the Governor General, usually for a 5-year term, who serves as her representative in Canada and acts on the advice of the Prime minister of Canada.

However, the real Head of the Government is the Prime Minister who functions with the help of Cabinet. He is the leader of the political party in power and is the head of the Cabinet. The Cabinet remains in office as long as it enjoys majority support in the House of Commons.

As regarding the administration of the ten provinces, each province is governed by a premier and a single, elected legislative chamber. A Lieutenant Governor appointed by the Governor General represents the Crown in each of these provinces.

Canada has an independent judiciary. The Supreme Court with 9 members is the highest court of the judicial wing of the Government.

The Canadian Parliament and the Cabinet of ministers, headed by the Prime minister, exercise power on the federal level. The Canada federal government has the authority on all matters, which are not specifically reserved for the provincial governments. The provincial governments exercise power in the fields of property, civil rights, education and local government. However, the federal government can veto any provincial law.

In Canada's political set-up, one of the main challenges in front of any federal government is balancing the conflicting and varied interests of Canada's ten provinces and three territories. In order to have a coordinated approach in dealing with the federal government, the provinces and territories created a Council of the Federation in 2003. The leaders of the provinces hold regular meetings to develop a common position and synchronize varied provincial concerns.

Canada- Parliament

The legislative wing is formed by a bicameral Parliament consisting of 2 Houses, the House of Commons having 308 members and the Senate having 105-seat. The Senators are appointed by the Governor-general upon the advice of the prime minister and serve until the age of 75. The members of the House of Commons are elected from single-member constituencies. Elections are held every five years. However, the House may be dissolved and new elections held at the request of the Prime minister. Real legislative powers rest with the House of Commons.

Canadian Politics

Liberal Party, Conservative Party of Canada, Bloc Quebecois, New Democratic Party, Canadian Alliance, etc. are the chief federal level political parties. They keep contesting among themselves, to get the reigns of governance in their hands. Each one tries to out perform the other.

The Liberal Party (Grits) is one of Canada's oldest and most successful political parties. The second Prime Minister of Canada, Alexander Mackenzie, was a member of this party The Conservative Party is Canada's newest political party. It has been formed out of an "alliance" of the Canadian right wing parties- the Canadian Alliance and the remaining Tories. The Bloc Quebecois (the Bloc) party is the second newest of the 5 major parties in Canada. It has never formed the government but has formed the Official Opposition. The main agenda of the party is to achieve the separation of Quebec from Canada. Even the New Democratic Party (NDP) has till now never formed the government. It is a left-wing party.