 |
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
| ||||||||
| Elections and parties in Canada |
List of election results |
Canada is a constitutional monarchy as a Commonwealth Realm (see Monarchy in Canada) with a federal system of parliamentary government, and strong democratic traditions. Many of the country's legislative practices derive from the unwritten British constitution. In that context the executive tends to apply strict party discipline on members of its party, with the net effect of seriously diminishing the influence of its own backbenchers and opposition parties alike. This effect is exacerbated in Canada by the practice of having party leaders elected by the party at large rather than by the parliamentary caucus.
This situation, where much power is held in the hands of the Prime Minister, has been characterized by Paul Martin as a "democratic deficit". The situation may be contrasted with the written constitutional provisions of its American neighbour that provide for the separate elections of a president and a legislature.
The political system under which Canada operates was first set forth by the Constitution Act 1867 (formerly called the British North America Act 1867), a statute of the British Parliament and is modeled on the Westminster System. An effect of this was that any amendments to Canada's constitution required the approval of the British Parliament. Over time, and particularly after World War I, citizens of the self-governing "dominions" (including Canada, Australia, Ireland, Dominion of Newfoundland, South Africa, and New Zealand) began to develop a strong sense of identity, and in the Balfour Declaration 1926 the British government expressed its intent to grant full autonomy to these dominions. Thus in 1931 the British Parliament passed the Statute of Westminster giving legal recognition to the autonomy of Canada and the other "white" dominions. The British Parliament still retained its power to amend the Canadian Constitution. This was an improvement, but still unacceptable for many Canadians even as this power was only treated as a formality. However, political partisanship and the inability to obtain consensus on an amending process led to the status quo remaining in effect until 1982.
Elizabeth II as Queen of Canada is the repository of executive power, which she does not exercise herself. As expressed in the constitution, “the Executive Government and Authority of and over Canada is hereby declared to continue and be vested in the Queen”. The government acts in her name. The term “Crown” is usually used to represent the power of the monarchy. Government ministers are ministers of the Crown. Criminal prosecutions are made by Crown prosecutors in the name of the monarch.
Since the monarch does not reside in Canada, she appoints a governor general to represent her and exercise her powers. The person who fills this role is selected on the advice of the prime minister. “Advice” in this sense is a choice without options since it would cause a major political crisis if the prime minister's advice were not followed. This convention protects the monarchy. As long as the monarch is only following the advice of her ministers, she is not held personally responsible for the decisions of the government. The governor general is appointed for a five-year term that may be extended.
The prime minister is the person who has the confidence of the House of Commons to lead the government. In practice, the position usually goes to the leader of the strongest political party in the Commons which usually has most of the seats in the lower house and forms a majority government. On several occasions in Canadian history no party has had a majority in the House of Commons and thus one party, usually the largest, forms a minority government. Coalition governments are rare at the provincial level. At the federal level, Canada has only once had a coalition government: the Union Government of Sir Robert Borden during World War I.
Political parties are private organizations that are not mentioned in the constitution. By the convention of responsible government, the prime minister and most of his cabinet are members of Parliament so they can answer to Parliament for their actions. But, constitutionally, any adult Canadian is eligible for the jobs, and prime ministers have held office after being elected leader but before taking a seat in the Commons (John Turner, for example), or after being defeated in their constituencies. The prime minister selects ministers to head the various government departments and form a cabinet. The members of the Cabinet remain in office at the pleasure of the prime minister. If the Commons passes a motion of no confidence in the government, the prime minister and his cabinet are expected either to resign their offices or to ask for Parliament to be dissolved so that a general election can be held. To avoid non-confidence voting, strong party discipline has long been an established fact of life in the Canadian parliament, in which members of a party, especially members of the ruling party, are strongly urged to always vote the "party line" or face consequences, up to expulsion from the party's caucus.
Canada's parliament consists of the monarch, an elected House of Commons and an appointed Senate. The prime minister nominates Canadians to the Senate according to a formula that distributes the seats among the provinces. In practice, legislative power rests with the party that has the majority of seats in the House of Commons which is elected from a current 308 constituencies (or electoral districts) for a period not to exceed five years. Canada's highly disciplined political parties and first-past-the-post electoral system have, since the 1970s, almost always given one political party control of the Commons. The five-year period has only been extended once, in 1916. The prime minister may ask the governor general to dissolve Parliament and call new elections at virtually any time. That request was refused only once, during the minority government of 1926. For strategic reasons, prime ministers usually call new elections after four years in power.
Since 1867 there have been only three Canada-wide referenda.
Each province is governed by a premier and a single, elected legislative chamber. Provincial governments operate under a parliamentary system similar in nature to that of the federal government, with the premier chosen in the same manner as the Prime Minister of Canada. A lieutenant governor, recommended by the prime minister and then appointed by the governor general, represents the Crown in each province. A lieutenant governor, like the governor general, has real power only in extreme emergencies.
Residuary power – that is, all powers not specified in the constitution – resides with the federal government; the original intent of this provision was to avoid the sectionalism which had recently resulted in the American Civil War. However, in 1895 the imperial Privy Council ruled that the federal government could exercise its residuary power only in wartime. As a result, responsibilities for new functions of government such as labour law or social welfare had to be accommodated under powers specified in the British North America Act. Many ended up being assigned to provincial areas of jurisdiction, so that Canada today is a highly decentralized federation. Further decentralization of functions has been implemented to accommodate provincial aspirations, chiefly those of Quebec, as described below. However, all provinces have the right to assume the powers now exercised only by Quebec, and Alberta and Ontario have expressed interest in doing so.
Criminal law is uniform throughout the nation and is under federal jurisdiction. Civil law is based on the common law of England, except in Quebec, to which Britain granted the right in 1774 to retain the French civil code. Justice is administered by federal, provincial, and municipal courts.
Beyond the lower courts and courts of appeal, the Supreme Court of Canada is the court of final jurisdiction. The Supreme Court had nine justices, appointed by the Governor General on the advice of Cabinet.
Country name:
Data code: CA
Government type: Constitutional Monarchy Capital: Ottawa, Ontario
Administrative divisions: 10 provinces and three territories*; Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories*, Nova Scotia, Nunavut*, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Yukon Territory*
National holiday: Canada Day, 1 July (1867)
Constitution: Based on unwritten constitutional conventions and on several documents, notably the British North America Act of 1867 and the April 17, 1982, (Constitution Act), which includes the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Legal system: except for criminal law, it is based on English common law, except in Quebec, where a civil law system, centred on the Civil Code of Quebec and based on the Custom of Paris in pre-revolutionary France; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations. See Law of Canada.
Suffrage: Citizens aged 18 years or older. Only 2 citizens in Canada cannot vote; the Chief Electoral Officer, and the Deputy Chief Electoral Officer. Other residents cannot vote.
Executive branch:
Legislative branch: The bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate and the House of Commons. Currently the Senate is limited to 104 members, who are appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister to serve until age 75. The number of Senators was exceeded once when Prime Minister Brian Mulroney sought to ensure the passage of a national sales tax. The House of Commons currently has 308 members elected by a plurality of popular votes in separate constituencies for terms that do not exceed five years. The five-year term has been exceeded once when Prime Minister Robert Borden perceived the need during World War I.
Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges are appointed by the governor general on the advice of the Cabinet without parliamentary review.
Political parties and leaders: by number of elected representatives
Government department and structure
Notable Crown corporations and other government agencies
International organization participation: ABEDA, ACCT, AfDB, APEC, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, C, CCC, CDB (non-regional), Council of Europe (observer), The Commonwealth, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECLAC, ESA (cooperating state), FAO, La Francophonie, G-7, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, Kyoto Protocol, MINURCA, MINURSO, MIPONUH, MONUC, NAM (guest), NAFTA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS, OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNTAET, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, Zangger Committee
Flag description: three vertical bands of red (hoist side), white (double width, square), and red with a red maple leaf centred in the white band (See Flag of Canada)
For almost forty of the past fifty years, the position of PM has been held by a Quebecer. Quebecers are usually prominent in the federal cabinet and, by law, must hold three of the nine positions on the Supreme Court of Canada.
Paul Martin's Liberal Party won a minority victory in the June 2004 general elections. Martin, a Member of Parliament from Quebec, had succeeded fellow Liberal Jean Chretien (who had in 2000 became the first Prime Minister to lead three consecutive majority governments since 1945) in December of 2003. However, the Liberals lost seats in Parliament, going from 172 of 301 Parliamentary seats to 135 of 308, and decreasing the polular vote from 40.9% to 36.7%. The Canadian Alliance, which did well in western Canada in the 2000 election, but was unable to make significant inroads in the East, merged with the Progressive Conservative Party to form the Conservative Party of Canada in late 2003. They proved to be moderately successful in the 2004 campaign, gaining seats from a combined Alliance-PC total of 78 in 2000 to 99 in 2004. However, the new Conservatives lost in popular vote, going from 37.7% in 2000 down to 29.6%. The Conservatives currently form the Official Opposition.
Federal-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.
National unity has been a major issue in Canada since its very beginning with the forced union of the Canadas in 1840. In recent years some residents of the oil-rich province of Alberta have threatened separation from Canada if the Kyoto Protocol was applied in the country (which has been ratified). However, the predominant issue concerning Canadian national unity is the ongoing conflict between the French-speaking majority of Québec and the English-speaking majority of Canada.
See Constitutional debate of Canada
In March 2001 Bernard Landry succeeded Lucien Bouchard as premier of Quebec (see List of Quebec Premiers) and pledged to promote independence for Quebec and to hold another referendum on separation from Canada. In the 2003 Quebec election, Quebecers elected the Quebec Liberal Party, and Jean Charest became premier, the first solidly federalist premier since the 1960s.
Advertising efforts by the federal government following the 1995 referendum led to alleged excesses by government officials; while the issue broke in the press in 2002, it came to full prominence after the Auditor's Report, causing the 2004 Canadian sponsorship scandal.
Currently, such issues as medicare, unemployment, housing, education, taxes, trade and the environment preoccupy many Canadians more urgently than national unity.
|
||||
| View Live Article | This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License | |
||
