CN - Canada's Governmental Structure (Lesson)
Canada's Governmental Structure
Introduction
In 1867, Canada became a constitutional monarchy under the Constitution Act. At that time, Canada was considered an independent nation, but not politically. The British Crown became the foundation of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of Canada's government.
The Canadian government is defined by the constitution, and the Queen acts as the advisor. However, the Privy Council, or queen's personal advisors, consists of parliament, chief justices of the Supreme court, and politicians that direct the responsibilities of the Canadian government.
Canada's Executive Branch of Government
One of the main duties of the British Crown is to make sure that a democratically elected government is always in place. As a result, a prime minister is appointed and is the leader in the House of Commons. Like the president of the United States, the prime minister is the head of government in Canada. Once sworn in, the prime minister holds office until he or she resigns or is removed by the governor general.
Canada's Legislative Branch of Government
Like Capitol Hill in the United States, Canada has a capital, where legislative decisions are made, called Parliament Hill. Parliament Hill is located in Canada's national capital city, Ottawa. All of Canada's legislation is carried out on Parliament Hill.
Canada's Legislative branch of government is indirectly run by the Queen and is bicameral, meaning that it consists of two separate branches. The Senate makes up the upper house, and members of the House of Commons make up the lower house. The governor appoints each of the 105 senators on the advice of the prime minister. The 308 members of the House of Commons are directly elected by Canada's voters. Because of democratic tradition, the House of Commons is the dominant branch of parliament. The Senate and Crown rarely oppose decisions made by the House of Commons. The Senate's job is to review legislation or laws.
Canada's Judicial Branch
Like the United States, the Supreme Court of Canada is Canada's highest court. There are nine justices that are appointed by the governor and recommended by the prime minister. The Supreme Court of Canada hears appeals from decisions made by lower courts located in Canada's provinces and territories. Below the Supreme Court is the Federal Court, Federal Court of Appeals, and the Tax Court of Canada.
All decisions in the Supreme Court are made in the Queen's name. Although, the queen is never present to determine judgment.
Canada's Parliament
Canada's government is a parliamentary democracy; but per the Constitutional Acts of 1867 and 1982, Canada is a constitutional monarchy in which the role of the reigning sovereign (in this case Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain) is legal and practical but not political. (The main duty of the queen is to make certain that there is always a democratic government in place.)
The day-to-day government is administered by the prime minister (at the moment, Justin Trudeau.) The prime minister is the leader of the political party that holds the most seats in the House of Commons (the lower house of Parliament.) The prime minister holds office until he/she resigns or is removed by the governor general (appointed by the monarch) after either a vote of "no confidence" or the party's defeat in a general election.
The Parliament is a bicameral (two house) national legislature that is located on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Canada's capital. The Senate is the upper house and members are appointed by the governor general. (There are 105 members of the Senate.) The House of Commons is the lower house and there are 338 members who are elected by the general population. The House of Commons is the dominant house in Parliament and its members serve about 4 years with a maximum of 5 years.
Parliament is responsible for passing laws that concern the postal service, census, the military, criminal law, navigation and shipping, fishing, currency, banking, bankruptcy, copyrights and patents, and naturalization.
Canada's government is federal like the United States government in that the national (federal) government is responsible for some areas of government and the provincial governments (in Canada)/state governments (in the United States) are responsible for passing laws that relate to other areas not controlled at the national level. Both provincial and the national governments in Canada pass laws about taxation, borrowing money, punishment for criminals and the regulation of agriculture.
Differences between Canada and the United States
You can download a text version of this chart by clicking here. Links to an external site.
Review
Review your terms for this lesson by completing the activity below.
In this section you learned general information about Canada as well as its parliamentary democracy and the similarities and differences between Canada’s and the United States’ government. Now it’s time to move on and continue our study of Canada!
IMAGES CREATED BY GAVS