TED ROGERS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
MANAGEMENT
GMS690 The North American Business Environment
MODULE 3.3
Government/Politics
Canadian Government
Constitutional Monarchy
• Established as an independent federal state in
1867 through the BNA
• British control ended in 1982 with the Canada
Act
• 338 Elected Members of the House of
Commons (MP’s)
• 105 Appointed Senate Members
• Both must pass all legislative bills before Royal
assent and become law.
• House of commons only place to introduce bills
for expenditure of public funds
• House of Commons is more powerful than the
senate https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUi7P9ZpmOg
Source: https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/constitutional-monarchy Copyright 2020 Mark Viminitz
Canadian Government
• Constitution is defined as a set of
rules that authoritatively establishes
both the structure and fundamental
principles of the political regime
• Constitution perform 4 major
functions
• Division of Authority “who”
• Division of Power – National &
Regional
• Delineate the limits of
Governmental Power
• Orderly way to make changes to it
Source: https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/const/ Copyright 2020 Mark Viminitz
Canadian Government
• The Pillars of the Canadian
Constitution
• Responsible Government
• Federalism
• Charter of Rights and Freedoms
• CA 1867
• CA 1982
Source: https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/const/ Copyright 2020 Mark Viminitz
Canadian Government
• Constitution Act (CA) 1867
• Executive Power
• Legislative Power
• Judiciary Power
• Provincial Constitutions
• Federal Division of Power
Source: https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/const/ Copyright 2020 Mark Viminitz
Canadian Government
• Constitution Act (CA) 1982
• Charter of Rights and
Freedoms
• Aboriginal Rights
• Equalization...
• Amending Formula
• Definition of CA
Constitution
Source: https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/politics-government/proclamation-constitution-act-1982/Pages/proclamation-
constitution-act-1982.aspx Copyright 2020 Mark Viminitz
Canadian Government
3 Branches of Canadian Government
Three branches work together to govern
Canada: the executive, legislative, and
judicial branches.
• EXECUTIVE
• The executive branch (also
called the Government) is the decision-
making branch, made up of
the Monarch(represented by
the Governor General), the Prime
Minister, and the Cabinet.
• LEGISLATIVE
• The legislative branch is the law-making
branch, made up of the
appointed Senate and the elected House
of Commons.
• JUDICIAL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7C8uDuhLqvg
• The judicial branch is a series of
independent courts that interpret
the laws passed by the other two
branches
Source: https://lop.parl.ca/about/parliament/education/ourcountryourparliament/html_booklet/overview-
canadian-parliamentary-system-e.html Copyright 2020 Mark Viminitz
Canadian Government
• Understanding the
difference between
Responsible Government
vs. Separation of Powers
• Canada – Responsible
Government
• United States – Separation
of Powers
Copyright 2020 Mark Viminitz
Canadian Government
• Responsible Government
• Queen represented by the
Governor General is the head of
state
• Canadian Prime Minister and
cabinet members belong to the
parties
• Parliament can be dissolved by
votes of “non confidence”
• House is Commons is the true
power within the Canadian
government
• Senators are not elected but
appointed and have been seen
more of a rubber stamp
Source: https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/responsible-government-plain-language-summary Copyright 2020 Mark Viminitz
Canadian Government
• Separation of Powers
• Head of State and the Head of the
government are the same person
• US President is not a member of
Congress or Senate
• Cabinet members cannot be
members of the Congress or
Senate
• President, Congress, and Senate
are voted for fixed terms
• Each house is elected separately
• House and Senate play key roles in
legislation
Source: https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/intro-2-2-2/ALDE_00000031/
Copyright 2020 Mark Viminitz
Canadian Government
• Understanding the concept of
Party Discipline
• MP’s vote the party line in the
House of Commons
• The logic of Responsible
government drives Party
Discipline
• Why? Because the Prime
Minister and the Cabinet are
not directly elected by the
people
Cabinet must have support of the House of Commons
Source: https://bdp.parl.ca/sites/PublicWebsite/default/en_CA/ResearchPublications/201826E
Copyright 2020 Mark Viminitz
Canadian Government
Copyright 2020 Mark Viminitz
Canadian Government
• Judicial
• Supreme Court is final
court of appeal
• Federal Courts/Tax
Courts/Federal Court of
Appeal (95%)
• Military Courts
• Provincial Courts
Source: https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/csj-sjc/just/07.html Copyright 2020 Mark Viminitz
Canadian Government
• Federalism
• Authority is Federal
constitutionally
divided between two
levels of government
• National – Federal
Government
Territories
• Provincial First
Nations
Source: https://www.canada.ca/en/intergovernmental-affairs/services/federation/federalism-canada.html Copyright 2020 Mark Viminitz
Canadian Politics
• Elections
• What type of electoral system does
Canada use?
• The system is called Single Member
Plurality System SMP
• Country divided into a number of
electoral districts
(ridings/constituencies)
• Each has “1” representative
• Winning is by plurality not majority
(meaning a candidate will usually win with
less than 50% of the vote)
• We often call it “first-past-the-post”
electoral system
Source: https://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=res&dir=ces&document=index&lang=e Copyright 2020 Mark Viminitz
Canadian Politics
• Elections
• What other type of electoral
system are there?
• Proportional Representation
• AKA Party List System
• Parties prepare a list of
candidates in rank order
• No electoral districts exist
• Number of seats is
determined by the
proportion of votes that it
received
• Single Transferable Vote (STV)
• Mixed Member Proportional
Source: https://www.fairvote.org/research_electoralsystems_world Copyright 2020 Mark Viminitz
Canadian Politics
Source: https://www.fairvote.org/research_electoralsystems_world Copyright 2020 Mark Viminitz
Canadian Politics
POLITICAL SPECTRUM
Source: https://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/2407648-Is-Bernie-Sanders-Really-a-Socialist/page2
Copyright 2020 Mark Viminitz
Canadian Politics
• SPECTRUM
Source: http://bclearningnetwork.com/LOR/media/SS11/COURSE_4034644_M/my_files/module1/section1/lesson2/topic2.html Copyright 2020 Mark Viminitz
Canadian Politics
• Liberal Party - 1867
• Movement of reform-minded middle class French
Canadian in the mid 19th century
• Wilfred Laurier became Canada’s first French-
Canadian Prime Minister - 1896
• Currently a more centrist party favouring free
markets
• Rooted in a left-wing direction
• Supports social rights
• Balance between individual and group rights
important to the party
https://liberal.ca/
Source: https://thecanadaguide.com/government/political-parties/ Copyright 2020 Mark Viminitz
Canadian Politics
• Conservative Party – 1867
• Combination/Coalition of the
Progressive Party and the
Conservative Party
• John A. Macdonald
• Dominated Canadian politics for
30 years post confederation
• Government should have a
smaller role
• Reduced taxes and services
offered by the government
https://www.conservative.ca/
Source: https://thecanadaguide.com/government/political-parties/ Copyright 2020 Mark Viminitz
Canadian Politics
• New Democratic Party (NDP) – 1930
• Founded from the Co-operative
Commonwealth Federation (CCF)
• Social Democratic Party
• Became officially the NDP party in 1961
(CCF/CLC) Tommy Douglas
• Became official opposition in 2011
• Increased social services
• Increased government involvement in
society
• Strong supporters of workers’ rights and the
environment
https://www.ndp.ca/
Source: https://thecanadaguide.com/government/political-parties/ Copyright 2020 Mark Viminitz
Canadian Politics
• Bloc Quebecois – 1991
• Leader of the Bloc in 1991 –
Lucien Bouchard
• 1993 was the official opposition
party
• Supports strong social services
• Dedicated to Quebec
independence and uniqueness
of Quebec
http://www.blocquebecois.org/
Source: https://thecanadaguide.com/government/political-parties/ Copyright 2020 Mark Viminitz
Canadian Politics
• Green Party – 1983
• First leader was Dr. Trevor Hancock
• Party ideology is rooted in the
“Charter of the Global Greens”
• Six principles
• Ecological Wisdom
• Social Justice
• Participatory Democracy
• Non-Violence
• Sustainability
• Respect for Diversity
https://www.greenparty.ca/en
Source: https://thecanadaguide.com/government/political-parties/ Copyright 2020 Mark Viminitz
Canadian Politics
• 1984 Election Results – Blue Wave
Source: https://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=ele&dir=pas&document=index&lang=e Copyright 2020 Mark Viminitz
Canadian Politics
• 2000 Election Results – A Country Divided
Source: https://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=ele&dir=pas&document=index&lang=e Copyright 2020 Mark Viminitz
Canadian Politics
• 2011 Election Results – Conservative Dominance
Source: https://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=ele&dir=pas&document=index&lang=e Copyright 2020 Mark Viminitz
Canadian Politics
• 2015 Election Results – Liberal Dominance
Source: https://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=ele&dir=pas&document=index&lang=e Copyright 2020 Mark Viminitz
Canadian Politics
• 2019 Election Results – A Country Divided
Source: https://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=ele&dir=pas&document=index&lang=e Copyright 2020 Mark Viminitz
Canadian Politics People’s
party
Election 2015
• Registered Federal Parties
184 Majority
99
44
10
INDEPENDENT
1
INDEPENDENT
338 Total
Seats
• Alliance of the North
• Animal Protection Party of Canada
• Christian Heritage Party of Canada
• Communist Party of Canada
• Libertarian Party of Canada
• Marijuana Party
• Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada
• Rhinoceros Party (Revive British Heritage/Increase
Tourism by increasing the temp in Canada/Knock down the https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mr-93C176qI
Rockies) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nM3hyZOH75Q Copyright 2020 Mark Viminitz
Canadian Politics
Highlights 2019 Election
• Liberal Minority
Government
• Conservatives win
popular vote 34.4%
• Resurgence of the Bloc
Quebecois
• West goes Conservative
• Ontario stays Liberal
Source: https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/elections/federal/2019/results/ Copyright 2020 Mark Viminitz
Canadian Politics
Source: https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/elections/federal/2019/results/ Copyright 2020 Mark Viminitz
Canadian Politics
Source: https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/elections/federal/2019/results/ Copyright 2020 Mark Viminitz
Canadian Politics
• Ethics Challenges
• 5 Ethic Investigations since
2015
• SNC-Lavalin
• Aga Khan Trip – Bahamas (Guilty
of violating 4 sections of the
Conflict of Interest)
• WE Foundation
• Arctic surf clam license (Dominic
LeBlanc)
• Blackface Scandal
Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/grenier-trudeau-ethics-we-1.5645464
Copyright 2020 Mark Viminitz
Canadian Politics
• Current Issues:
• The WEXIT Movement -
• Faction of the Wild Rose Party the Maverick
Party
• Advocates for secession of Western
Canada
• Plans to run candidates across the 4
provinces and 3 territories in the next
Federal Election
• Jay Hill
Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/alberta-separation-wexit-report-covid-1.5788443
Copyright 2020 Mark Viminitz
Canadian Politics
• The WE Scandal –
• Kielbergers leave the country
• Finance Minister resigns
• Trudeau family paid hundreds of
thousands
Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/we-charity-student-grant-justin-trudeau-testimony-1.5666676 Copyright 2020 Mark Viminitz
Copyright 2020 Mark Viminitz
