Canadian & World Politics Federal Elections

1.Federal Government in Canada 2.Federal Voting Process 3.How Ridings are Created 4.Key Players 5.Federal Issues

Federal Government in Canada Canada’s constitution divides all government powers and responsibilities between the federal government and the provinces Federal Government Responsibilities –National Defence –Unemployment Insurance –Trade Regulation –External Relations –Citizenship –Indian Affairs –Criminal Law –Transportation

Federal Voting Process Members of Parliament (MPs) are elected in federal elections. Federal elections are held every four years, but can be called earlier at the discretion of the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister. The last election was held in October The next election will be held on October 19, 2015, unless the Governor General calls one earlier.

How Ridings are Created 1 — Allocation to the territories Starting with 282 seats that the House of Commons of Canada had in 1985, one seat each is allocated to Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, and Yukon Territory, leaving 279 seats. This number is used to calculate the electoral quotient.

How Ridings are Created 2 — Calculating the electoral district average (national quotient) The total population of the ten provinces is divided by 279 (the number obtained after allocating seats to the territories) to obtain the electoral quota or quotient, which is used to determine the number of seats for each province.

How Ridings are Created 3 — Distributing the seats to each province The theoretical number of seats to be allocated to each province in the House of Commons is calculated by dividing the total population of each province by the national quotient obtained in step 2. If the result leaves a remainder higher than 0.50, the number of seats is rounded up to the next whole number.

How Ridings are Created 4 — Adjustments (special clauses) After the theoretical number of seats per province is obtained, adjustments are made in a process referred to as applying the "senatorial clause" and the "grandfather clause". Since 1915, the "senatorial clause" has guaranteed that no province has fewer members in the House of Commons than it has in the Senate. The Representation Act, 1985, brought into effect a new grandfather clause that guaranteed each province no fewer seats than it had in 1976 or during the 33rd Parliament.

How Ridings are Created

How Ridings are Created Province/ TerritoryPopulation estimate ÷ Elect oral quotie nt = Initial seat allocation + Senatorial clause + Grandfath er clause + Representati on rule = Total seats British Columbia4,573, , Alberta3,779, Saskatchewan1,057, Manitoba1,250, Ontario13,372, Quebec7,979, New Brunswick755, Nova Scotia945, Prince Edward Island145, Newfoundland and Labrador 510, Yukon34,666n/a1 Northwest Territories43,675n/a1 Nunavut33,322n/a1 Total34,482,

How Ridings are Created – 2001 Compared to 2011 Province/ Territory Percentage of combined provincial populations House of Commons seats Province/ Territory Percentage of combined provincial populations Current seat allocation Seat allocation after redistribution (To take effect when the representation order comes into force) Seats % of provincial seats Seats % of provincial seats British Columbia13.31%3611.8% % British Columbia 13.31% Alberta11.00%289.18% %Alberta11.00% Saskatchewan3.08%144.59%144.18%Saskatchewan3.08% Manitoba3.64%144.59%144.18%Manitoba3.64% Ontario38.91% % %Ontario38.91% Quebec23.22% % %Quebec23.22% New Brunswick2.20%103.28%102.99% New Brunswick 2.20% Nova Scotia2.75%113.61%113.28%Nova Scotia2.75% Prince Edward Island0.42%41.31%41.19% Prince Edward Island 0.42% Newfoundland and Labrador 1.49%72.3%72.09% Newfoundland and Labrador 1.49% Provincial total100%305100%335100%Provincial total100%

How Ridings are Created NL 7 PE 4 NS 11 NB10 QC 75 ON106 MB14 SK14 AB28 BC36 YT1 NT1 NU1 = 308 seats total

How Ridings are Created NL 7 PE 4 NS 11 NB10 QC 78 ON121 MB14 SK14 AB34 BC42 YT1 NT1 NU1 = 338 seats total

How Ridings are Created The 41 st Federal Election Results Conservative Party of Canada New Democratic Party Liberal Party of Canada Bloc Québécois Green Party

Key Players Incumbents Whitby-Oshawa MP Jim Flaherty Conservative Leader Stephen Harper NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair Liberal Interim Leader Bob Rae

Key Players Candidates (during the 2006 election) LiberalJim Flaherty Conservative NDP Others

Federal Issues Spending the Surplus –Tax Cuts –Reducing the Debt –Spending on Programs Stability in Parliament Ethical Conduct by Politicians Gun Violence Child Care Health Care Standards and Wait Times