Transcript Slide 1

Canadian Government
Go to pg.50 in
the text and
copy out
diagram The
Government
of Canada
into your
notes .
Canada’s Federal Government
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The Monarch
The BNA (British North American) Act
1867, recognized the British monarch
as Canada’s official head of state. Her
role is, in reality, only ceremonial.
The
Queen is represented in Canada by the
governor general (David Johnston)
Unelected head of state
Duties include: signing bills passed by
Parliament, making public appearances,
receiving foreign heads of state, ambassadors
and dignitaries. He or she is supposed to act as
a unifying symbol for all Canadians.
1) Executive Branch = PM +
Cabinet
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Prime Minister (PM)- Stephen Harper
PM is head of Canada’s government
PM must be elected as a leader of his or
her political party
AND the PM must then be elected as a
member of Parliament or MP.
The leader of the political party that wins
the most seats (election of MPs) in the
House of Commons becomes the PM.
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The Cabinet includes people with
responsibility for different departments
and agencies.
Members of the Cabinet are called Cabinet
Ministers
The PM chooses cabinet ministers and
assigns portfolios or department.
The Cabinet and the PM carry out the dayto-day business of the government and
they propose most of the ideas that
become laws.
Federal Government Departments
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Department of :
-Fisheries & Oceans
-Environment
-National Defence
-Citizenship and
Immigration
- Human Resources
John Baird,
Minister of the
Environment
(again)
Peter Mackay, Minster of National Defence
giving an update on Canadian Forces
deployment.
2) Legislative Branch= House of
Commons + Senate
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The House of Commons is the major law-making
body of the government
Members of the HoC (MPs) debate, study, and
vote on bills which becomes laws if passed.
Each elected MP represents voters of one riding
or district.
An MP’s to key responsibilities :
a) represent their constituents (voters)
b) create effective legislation (or law)
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Seats in the House of Commons are
represented by population
- provinces are divided into ridings and
each MP in the House of Commons is
elected for the riding they represent
- that means that the #of seats each
province has is directly related to the
population of that province
SO, WHO WOULD HAVE THE MOST SEATS?
http://www.parl.gc.ca/SenatorsMembers/House/PartyStandings/standingse.htm
308 Seats in the
House of Commons
Newfoundland & Labrador = 7
Pop. 509,000
 Prince Edward Island = 4
Pop. 142,000
 Nova Scotia = 11
Pop. 942,000
 New Brunswick = 10
Pop. 751,000
 Quebec = 75
Pop. 7,907,400
 Ontario = 106
Pop. 13, 210,700
 Manitoba = 14
Pop. 1,235,400
 Saskatchewan = 14
Pop. 1,045,600
 Alberta = 28
Pop. 3,720,900
 British Columbia = 36
Pop. 4,531,000
 Yukon = 1
Pop. 34,500
 North West Territories = 1
Pop. 43,800
 Nunavut = 1
Pop. 33,200
TOTAL : 308
TOTAL Pop: 34,108,800 in Canada
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Conservatives 166, NDP 103, Liberal 34, BQ 4, Green 1
http://www40.statcan.gc.ca/l01/cst01/demo02a-eng.htm
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The members of the Senate are called
Senators Unlike MPs, Senators are
appointed (NOT elected) by the PM.
The Senate considers bills passed by the
House of Commons
Senators provide a second round of study,
debate and voting (sober second thought)
A bill cannot become a law until the House
of Commons AND the Senate pass it.
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Senators are appointed by regional divisions
within the country
Seats in the Senate are represented regionally
and equally:
- 24 for Ontario
- 24 for Quebec
- 24 for the Maritime provinces
- 24 for the Western provinces
- 6 for Newfoundland and Labrador (joined
confederation in 1949 and is not assigned to any
region)
- 1 for each of the Yukon, NWT, and Nunavut.
3) Judicial Branch = courts
(Supreme Court of Canada, Federal and Provincial courts)
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Includes all of Canada’s courts of law
All members come from the legal
profession
The Supreme Court is the highest court in
the country and has the final say in all
legal questions in the country.
See Canada’s court system diagram and
copy into notes (pg. 66)