Politics of Canada

Canada is a constitutional monarchy and 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 practices of and precedents set by the United Kingdom's Westminster parliament; however, Canada has evolved variations. Party discipline in Canada is stronger than in the United Kingdom, and more of the votes are considered confidence votes, which tends to diminish the role of non-cabinet Members of Parliament (MPs), known as backbenchers. Backbenchers can, however, exert their influence by sitting in parliamentary committees, like the Public Accounts Committee or the National Defence Committee.

Executive

Elizabeth II as Queen of Canada is the repository of executive power, which she normally 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 The 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.

Related Topics:
Elizabeth II - Queen of Canada - The Crown

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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 has no term limit, but the practice in recent decades is for the governor general to be replaced after about five years in office.

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The prime minister is appointed by the Governor General, but to ensure the continuity of a stable government this person will always be the one 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. However, the prime minister holds office until he or she resigns or is removed by the Governor General; therefore, the party that was in government, before the election, may attempt to continue to govern if they so desire, even if they hold less seats than another party. Coalition governments are rare at the federal level, Canada has only once had a coalition government: the Union Government of Sir Robert Borden during World War I.

Related Topics:
House of Commons - Seat - Lower house - Majority government - Minority government - Coalition government - Union Government - Robert Borden - World War I

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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 always to vote the "party line" or face consequences, up to expulsion from the party's caucus. While the government likes to keep strong control due to the issue of motions of no confidence in (unwritten) practice the only time it is required is when a money bill (financial or budget) does not pass. However if a government finds that it can not pass any legislation it is common to hold a vote of confidence. But the failed passage of most bills does not require a vote of confidence, contrary to how it is often portrayed. The exception would be if the Prime Minister or the government declared that if a bill did not pass they would consider it a confidence issue (hence how backbenchers are often held to strict party voting).

Related Topics:
Responsible government - John Turner - Cabinet - Motion of no confidence - Party discipline

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While a member of a governing party is free to vote their conscience, they are constrained by the fact that voting against the party line (especially in confidence votes) might lead to expulsion from their party. Such an expulsion would lead to loss of election funding and the former party backing an alternate candidate. However, in the 2004 election one independent member of parliament was elected. Chuck Cadman had sought nomination under the Conservative Party of Canada having held a seat in one of the two founding parties. He did not win the nomination but won the election for his seat. He is the first independent member of parliament to be elected in recent memory. Most independent members were elected under a party but either chose to leave it or were expelled. After the Conservative Party of Canada was formed, a number of members of the Progressive Conservative Party and the Canadian Alliance party chose to sit as independents. Carolyn Parrish was a Member of Parliament for the Liberal Party at the beginning of this government, however due to controversial statements she was kicked out of the party. This results in an interesting and unusual political situation. If there is a vote of confidence, the Liberal Party can win the confidence vote if all of the members of the New Democratic Party and both independents vote with the Liberal Party.

Related Topics:
Chuck Cadman - Conservative Party of Canada - Progressive Conservative Party - Canadian Alliance - Carolyn Parrish - Liberal Party - New Democratic Party

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When there are enough seats for another party to form a government after the resignation of a prime minister, the Governor General may ask the other party to try and form the government. This became clear after the King-Byng Affair in 1926. In practice, it is unlikely there could be a separate and new alliance created.

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