1. The Branches of government

2. The powers of Canada’s government are divided into three branches:
Legislative Branch
has the power to make or change laws
Executive Branch
makes decisions and enforces them through the civil service
Judicial Branch
interprets and administers the law

3. The Legislative Branch
This branch of government is made up of three parts:
House of Commons
Senate
Governor General
These three parts of the legislative branch make up Canada’s Parliament.

5. What is the purpose of Parliament?
Parliament meets at least once a year in a session.
During each session, Parliament
passes new laws
changes or removes old laws
debates issues that are important to Canadians
To fully understand how parliament works, we need to take a closer look at each of its three components...

6. The House of Commons (Lower House)
This is the only part of Parliament that is democratically elected.
The people who sit in the House of Commons are called Members of Parliament (MPs).

7. HOW DO MPS GET THEIR JOBS?
MPs are elected (every five years).
Each MP comes from a different riding.
Canada is divided into 308 ridings, each representing approximately 100,000 people.
Ridings are also known as electoral districts or constituencies.

8. Ridings in BC

9. Ridings by Province Alberta 28 BC 36 Manitoba 14 New Brunswick 10
Newfoundland 7
NWT 1
Nova Scotia 11
Nunavut 1
Ontario
PEI 4
Quebec 75
Saskatchewan 14
Yukon 1

10. WHAT DO MPS DO IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS?
MPs usually sit with and vote with their party.
Discuss and vote on all the new laws.
The governing party (party in power) is the party that has the most seats (MPs) in the House of Commons. Leader = Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister is also an MP. The PM chooses the most important MPs from his party to become part of his Cabinet.
The PM and the Cabinet come up with most new bills that are proposed in Parliament.
The MPs who belong to the other parties make up the opposition.

11. WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THE OPPOSITION?
The second largest party = Official Opposition. Leader is known as the Official Leader of the Opposition.
The main job of the opposition is to scrutinize all decisions made by the government.

12. DO MPS HAVE TO VOTE WITH THEIR PARTY?
Usually YES!
Every political party holds meetings of its MPs in which they discuss their opinions freely. These closed door meetings are called a caucus.
Once decisions are made in caucus, ALL of the MPs are expected to vote in favour of them in the House of Commons.
If MPs do not follow the party line, they risk being kicked out of the party!

13. HOWEVER... Sometimes there are free votes in the House of Commons.
In such cases, MPs are free to vote as they wish.
Situations where free vote may occur involve debates on controversial topics such as gay marriage, abortion, capital punishment...

14. The Senate (Upper House)
This is the second house of Parliament
The people who sit in the Senate are called Senators.

15. How do Senators get their jobs?
Senators are NOT elected. They are appointed by the Governor General after being recommended by the Prime Minister.
Senators keep their position until they retire (age 75) or die.
Usually, Prime Ministers fill empty seats in the Senate with supporters of their own party. This is called patronage.

16. Senators at work

18. Result of Patronage:
People argue that positions in the Senate are given to people the PM likes people the PM likes as opposed to those who are best qualified.
This is one of the main reasons why many Canadians support the idea of abolishing the Senate.

19. What do Senators do?
Senators basically do the same thing in the Senate that the MPs do in the House of Commons.
A bill cannot be turned into law unless both the Senate and the House of Commons have passed it.
The main difference between the two Houses are
Senators cannot propose money bills
The Senate represents regions as opposed to populations

20. Population per Senator (2006 census)
Province or Territory  
Number of Senators  
Population per Senator (2006 census)  
British Columbia 6
685,581
Alberta
548,391
Ontario 24
506,678
Quebec
314,422
Manitoba
191,400
Saskatchewan
161,359
Nova Scotia 10
91,346
Newfoundland and Labrador
84,244
New Brunswick
72,999
Northwest Territories 1
41,464
Prince Edward Island 4
33,962
Yukon Territory
30,372
Nunavut
29,474
Total/Average
105
301,075

21. So what is the purpose of the Senate?
To provide “sober second thought” to any decisions made by the democratically elected House of Commons.
To be more representative of regions with smaller populations.

22. The Governor General
The Governor General is the Queen’s representative in Canada.
He or she is appointed by the Prime Minister.
A Governor General normally serves for 5 years.

23. What does the Governor General Do?
Gives formal assent (royal assent) to any bill passed by Parliament.
After the Governor General gives formal assent, the bill becomes a law.
The Governor General also ensures that the government abides by the Constitution and opens each session of Parliament with a speech.

25. The Executive Branch
This branch of government is made up of four parts:
Governor General
Prime Minister
Cabinet
Civil Service (Public Service / Bureaucracy)

26. What is the role of the Executive Branch?
To make decisions and make sure that they are carried out through the civil service.
Example:
The Provincial government decides how many provincial exams you must write.
The people who run your school make sure that you actually write them.

27. So what does each part of the Executive Branch do?
The Governor General has the simplest job:
Gives formal assent to bills, making them laws that must be enforced.

28. What does the PM do?
The Prime Minister has a number of roles to play in Canada’s government:
Is the leader of the political party with the most seats in the House of Commons
After an election, is asked by the Governor General to become Prime Minister

30. The Prime Minister is the Head of Government:
As head of government, the PM
Asks the Governor General to name new judges and senators
Decides when to ask the Governor General to call an election
Chooses Cabinet Ministers
Has final say in creating the policies of the government

31. The Prime Minister is the Leader of the Nation:
As leader of the nation, the PM
Explains the goals of the government to the people
Addresses Canadians on important issues
Represents Canada on trips to other nations
Works with premiers to coordinate federal / provincial responsibilities

32. The Prime Minister is the Leader of his Political Party:
As leader of his party, the PM
Acts as spokesperson for his party
Gives patronage appointments
Leads other party members in Parliament

33. What is the Cabinet? The cabinet is made up of MPs chosen by the PM.
Members of the cabinet are known as Cabinet Ministers
Each cabinet minister is responsible for one cabinet department
Examples:
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Minister of Finance
Minister of Defence
Minister of Fisheries

35. How does a PM select Cabinet Ministers?
The PM has to consider a number of factors:
The cabinet must make the different regions of Canada feel as though they are fairly represented.
The cabinet must make the different ethnic, linguistic and social groups in Canada feel as though they are fairly represented.
The cabinet must be made up of people who are capable, trustworthy and loyal to their leader.

36. What do Cabinet Ministers do?
They help to form government policy for the department they are in charge of.
They are free to express their opinions behind closed doors, but in public their job is to show full support for the decisions of the government – this is the principle of Cabinet Solidarity.
Solidarity is ensured by one MP of the party who has the role of Party Whip.

37. What do Cabinet Ministers do?
They help to form government policy for the department they are in charge of.
They are free to express their opinions behind closed doors, but in public their job is to show full support for the decisions of the government – this is the principle of Cabinet Solidarity.
Solidarity is ensured by one MP of the party who has the role of Party Whip.

38. What happens after the Governor General, the PM, and the Cabinet have made their decisions?
They get the civil service to put their decisions into practice.

40. What is the civil service?
Everyone who is employed by the government is part of the civil service. They are the people who perform the ongoing business of government.
This includes teachers, fire fighters, police, the military, ambassadors, tax collectors...
The civil service is also known as the public service or the bureaucracy.

41. Civil Servants do many things:
Gather statistics
Advise cabinet ministers (deputy ministers)
Write details for new laws
Represent Canada in other countries
Collect taxes
Inspect food
Deliver mail...

42. ASSIGNMENT
Prepare a job advertisement for one of the following positions: Governor General, Prime Minister, Cabinet Minister, or Senator.
Include:
a brief job description
personal qualities that are necessary for the job
work experiences that are necessary for the job