Political Cartoon of the Day

Social 9 Curriculum Concept What is the relationship between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of Canada’s federal political system?

What’s a Political Party? A political party is a group of ppl who have similar ideas about how gov’t should respond to issues facing society. They are formally recognized as organizations. They put forward candidates in elections and seek to form the gov’t. Each party develops policies, based on the shared values of its members, to respond to issues. Anyone, including a Grade 9 student, can join a political party.

The Cell Phone Party The Cell Phone Party is one of the political parties available for you to join in Social 9. This political party believes every student should get a brand new cell phone first day of school and that they can use it anytime they want and teachers have no say. Students are free to call or text friends whenever they want for no charge, take pictures, play games, serf the internet, or do whatever else they want with their cell phone (like throwing it at teachers) anytime they want.

The All Sports Party The All Sports Party is another political party you can join in Social 9. The All Sports Party believes that everyday of school is playing sports and games and that no other subjects in school should exist. They are also against homework and tests of any kind. The All Sports party advocates that students have full access to the gym and can order whatever sports equipment and jerseys for whatever sports they want to play free of charge. They also want the school to get a pool.

1. Political Party Members In order to have our Social 9 Mock Election we first need to decide who will be registered members of each political party. Each political party is allowed 5 students (usually there is no limit on how many members a political party can have). If you are a registered party member you are allowed to vote for your party’s leader as well as choose who is going to represent your party in your specific constituency. Yet the expectation is that you will vote for your party when the official election happens.

1. Political Party Members Cell Phone Party Members All Sports Party Members 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

2. Our Constituencies In order to have our mock election we must divide our Social 9 class into 3 constituencies (regions): East Strathmore, Central Strathmore, and West Strathmore. Each constituency will have 1 MP (Member of Parliament) elected into our House of Commons, giving it 3 members. You are a member of the constituency in which you LIVE and you cannot vote for any other members of any other constituency except your own.

2. Our Constituencies East Strathmore Residents Central Strathmore West Strathmore Residents 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

3. Our Candidates Now we need to decide who our candidates are going to be in each constituency. In order to be a candidate you must live in the constituency you are running in and if you want to represent a political party you must be a member of that party.

3. Our Candidates East Strathmore Candidates Central Strathmore West Strathmore Candidates 1. 2.

4. The Election Now we are ready to have our election. Yet remember to follow these rules: Each person is allowed only one vote. You may only vote for those people who are running in your constituency. If you are a party member you are expected to vote for the representative of your party. Those of you who aren’t a party member can vote for whoever you want that is running in your constituency.

5. Election Results East Strathmore MP Central Strathmore MP West Strathmore MP 1.

6. The Prime Minister The Prime Minister is the person who was: Elected their party’s leader Elected as an MP Leader of the party who won the most seats in the House of Commons Based on this criteria our Prime Minister is: -

7. Prime Minister Chooses Senate In our government our prime minister is allowed to appoint 3 senators (1 from each constituency). They should be members of the prime minister’s political party but they don’t have to be.

7. Our Senators East Strathmore Senator Central Strathmore Senator West Strathmore Senator 1.

8. Prime Minister Chooses Supreme Court Judges In our government our prime minister is allowed to appoint 3 supreme court judges (1 from each constituency). Judges don’t need to be members of the prime minister’s political party.

8. Our Supreme Court Judges East Strathmore Supreme Court Judge Central Strathmore Supreme Court Judge West Strathmore Supreme Court Judge 1.

9. Our Cabinet Ministers To be a member of cabinet you must be: Elected as an MP or be a senator Belong to the leading political party in the House of Commons Cabinet members can be from any region. One of the cabinet ministers is always the prime minister. The rest will be appointed by our prime minister and in our government there will only be two appointed. Based on this criteria our cabinet ministers are: 1. 2. 3.

10. Our Social 9 Government Prime Minister (1) Members of Parliament (3) Senators (3) Supreme Court Judges (3) Cabinet Members (3)

The Executive Branch The executive branch is the part of government responsible for putting laws into action. It includes the prime minister (PM) and the cabinet.

The Prime Minister (PM) The prime minister is the head of Canada’s gov’t. To become prime minister you must be: 1. Elected as the leader of a political party 2. Elected as a member of parliament 3. The political party you lead must win the most seats in the House of Commons

Our Prime Minister Is… Stephen Harper Appointed the 22nd Prime Minister of Canada on February 6, 2006. He is leader of the Conservative Party of Canada. Stephen Harper

The Cabinet The cabinet includes the people with responsibility for different government departments and agencies (portfolios) such as health, finance and environment. To become a member of cabinet (cabinet minister) you must: 1. Belong to the political party with the most seats in the House of Commons 2. Be a member of parliament (MP) or senator 3. Chosen by the PM to be a cabinet minister

The Cabinet Cont’d The PM decides what portfolios to include in the cabinet. The cabinet proposes most of the ideas that become laws. The PM and the cabinet run the day-to-day business of gov’t. Example, the Minister of Environment runs the department of the environment.

The Legislative Branch The legislative branch includes the House of Commons, the Senate, and the governor general. The legislative branch is also called Canada’s parliament. The legislative branch is the part of government that makes laws.

The House of Commons The House of Commons is the major law-making body in Canada’s federal political system. The members debate, study, and vote on laws proposed for Canada, called bills. All proceedings of the House of Commons are in Canada’s two official languages: French and English.

MPs (Members of Parliament) Members of Parliament (MPs), are members of the House of Commons. Voters elect them. Each MP represents the voters of 1 constituency, (riding). Most MPs belong to political parties. The party with the most MPs usually forms the gov’t. The other parties form the opposition.

“Who Forms the Government?” pg. 28 If you were prime minister, to what extent would you work with the opposition? Would it matter if you were prime minister of a majority or minority government?

MPs’ Responsibilities MPs have 2 key responsibilities: To represent their constituents (someone who lives in the constituency that the MP was elected from.) To create legislation (make laws) for the peace, order, and good government of all Canadians.

How are MPs Elected? To become elected a MP, a candidate must win the most votes, but not necessarily more than 50% of the votes. Results Calgary East pg. 29

Elections & Popular Vote Popular vote means the total votes political parties win during an election, regardless of whether they win ridings. What if the votes in the 2006 federal election had been counted by popular vote instead of constituency? How would the way Albertans are represented in the House of Commons be different?

Popular Vote vs. Constituencies Alberta has 28 constituencies (MPs that are elected) into the House of Commons In the 2006 federal election 28 out of 28 constituencies in Alberta were won by the Conservatives. That means all 28 MPs from Alberta were part of the Conservative Party of Canada. Conservatives 28 See map pg. 30.

Popular Vote vs. Constituencies Cont’d However, in that same election 65% of Albertans voted Conservative, 16% voted Liberal, 12% NDP, 6% Green, and 1% other. If we took those 28 constituencies Alberta gets and decided them by popular vote, how many of those 28 seats would each party get? Conservatives 18 Liberal 5 New Democratic 3 Green 2

Where do the MPs sit in the House of Commons? Members 308                                       Political groups       Conservatives (143)      Liberals (77)      Bloc Québécois (48)      New Democrats (36)      Independent (1)      Vacant (3)

How much do MPs make??? Currently a Canadian MP earns a base salary of $155,400.00. The Prime Minister earns an additional $155,400 (total of $310,800.00), a cabinet Minister earns an additional $74,400 as does the Leader of the Opposition and the Speaker of the House (total of $229,800.00). There are other allowances such as car and rent that are given as well.

The Senate Members of the senate are called senators. Senators are NOT elected. They are usually appointed by the prime minister and they can stay in office until they’re 75. The PM usually only appoints senators who support his/her political party but because Senate seats only become vacant at certain times, the Senate includes people from a variety of political parties.

The Senate Continued Senators represent the interests and rights of Canada’s regions, and especially Canada’s minorities. Like the House of Commons, all proceedings of the Senate are in French AND English.

The Senate’s “Second Thought” The Senate can reject bills from the House of Commons as well as propose laws (except if it deals with taxes) but they rarely do. Instead, they primarily give “second thought” to all legislation (bills) proposed for Canada. This means all bills receive a 2nd round of study, debate, and voting. Because the senate provides a voice for regions in Canada, it brings a different perspective to issues that concern everyone.

Making Laws A bill cannot become a law until BOTH the House of Commons and Senate pass it. Examine graph on pg. 33.