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.

Provincial governments

Each province is governed by a Lieutenant Governor, 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. The 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.

Related Topics:
Lieutenant Governor - Premier

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Residual 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 Judicial Committee of the 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.

Related Topics:
American Civil War - Judicial Committee of the Privy Council - Quebec - Alberta - Ontario

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