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Government Structure in Canada

The document summarizes key aspects of the Canadian federal government. It outlines that the Prime Minister is the head of government and leader of the ruling party. It also describes the roles of the Senate, as the upper house that reviews and approves legislation, and the House of Commons, as the major law-making body elected through general elections. Finally, it provides an overview of the Cabinet, noting that the Prime Minister selects Ministers who are collectively responsible for decisions and policies of the government.

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MichelleLaw
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374 views

Government Structure in Canada

The document summarizes key aspects of the Canadian federal government. It outlines that the Prime Minister is the head of government and leader of the ruling party. It also describes the roles of the Senate, as the upper house that reviews and approves legislation, and the House of Commons, as the major law-making body elected through general elections. Finally, it provides an overview of the Cabinet, noting that the Prime Minister selects Ministers who are collectively responsible for decisions and policies of the government.

Uploaded by

MichelleLaw
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Federal Government Provincial Government

Head of State Queen Elizabeth II [Monarch] Queen Elizabeth II [Monarch]

Head of Gov Stephen Harper [Prime Minister] Christie Clarke [Premiere]

Queens Rep David Lloyd Johnston [Governor General] Steven Point [Lieutenant Governor]

[Provincial Gov] Steveston MLA Rep: John Yap

THE PRIME MINISTER


The Prime Minister is the leader of the party in power and is the Head of Government. A Prime Minister's duties include presiding over Cabinet meetings, meeting official foreign delegations to Ottawa and answering questions in the House of Commons. Since the Prime Minister is usually a Member of Parliament (two Prime Ministers who held office in the 1890s were Senators), he or she also spends time helping constituents.

THE SENATE
The Senate studies, amends and either rejects or approves bills passed by the House of Commons. It can also introduce its own bills, except those to spend public money or impose taxes, which must be introduced in the House of Commons. No bill can become law until it has been passed by the Senate. Senators also study major social, legal and economic issues through their committee work. One of the duties of the Senate is to represent the interests of Canada's regions, provinces, territories and minority groups. Seats in the Senate are distributed to give each major region of the country equal representation. The Senate has 105 members. Senators are appointed by the Governor General on the recommendation of the Prime Minister and hold office until age 75. To be a senator you must be minimum 30, hold $4000 of property, and live in the area which you represent; representation by region.

THE HOUSE OF COMMONS


The House of Commons is the major law-making body in Parliament. In the Commons Chamber, Members devote most of their time to debating and voting on bills. The Chamber is also a place where Members represent constituents' views, discuss national issues and call on the government to explain its actions. How do you become a Member of Parliament (MP)? By running in a federal election, which is held about every four years. In each of the country's 308 constituencies, or ridings, the candidate who gets the most votes is elected to the House of Commons, even if he or she gets less than half of the total votes. Seats in the House of Commons are distributed roughly in proportion to the population of each province and territory. In general, the more people in a province or territory, the more Members it has in the House of Commons. Every province or territory must have at least as many members in the Commons as it has in the Senate.

THE CABINET
The Prime Minister chooses the Cabinet Ministers, and the Governor General formally appoints them. Most are MPs, and there is always at least one representative from the Senate. The Prime Minister and Cabinet meet regularly to discuss and decide on important issues affecting Canada. These issues concern government spending, ideas for bills, and new policies, programs and services. Most Cabinet Ministers are in charge of a government department and they report on their department's activities to Parliament. A key feature of Cabinet is the concept of collective responsibility, which means that all Ministers share responsibility for the administration of government and for the government's policies. They must all support a Cabinet decision. They may not agree with it, but they have to support it in public. If a Minister cannot support a decision, he or she must resign from Cabinet. Another important feature of our parliamentary system is responsible government. This means that the government must have the support of the majority of Members in the House of Commons to stay in power. In the British tradition, if the government loses a vote on a major measure, or on any motion of non-confidence, it is expected to resign or to ask the Governor General to call a general election.

Canadian Government:

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