It is time for a big-one, that is both in terms of the size of Canada which is the 2nd largest country in the world behind Russia and also the fact that it is a well-known country around the world compared to previous countries I have done, Canada is in-fact probably one of the most popularly-known countries that I have so far done on this series. I suspect it will be a similar system to Australia that I have already done.
Featured Photo Map: By Addicted04 from Wikimedia. License. (I edited the flag on)
Canada is located in the Northern-most part of the North American continent with a long border with the United States of America, it also borders Alaska, a US state separated from the mainland, Canada also has numerous islands up in the North that stretch around Greenland, a large mostly frozen sparsely populated island administered by Denmark. The further north you go in Canada the more sparsely populated the land becomes and much of it is made up of forests and tundra. The majority of the population is found in the large cities which are mostly focused in the Southern areas of the country, often not too far from the border with the USA.
Originally the areas that are now Canada were inhabited by many indigenous groups of people before Europeans, mostly from France and Britain begun exploring the land and many colonies were set up by France and Britain, over time due to war and conflict between the two imperial powers, such as the Seven Years’ War, the French Empire’s land would be ceded to the British Empire in Canada.
Over time Canada would become a confederation, have its own government created and get more and more autonomy from the British through the passing of legislation such as the Constitution Act, 1867 and the Statute of Westminster. Eventually Canada gained full independence and sovereignty from Britain by the Canada Act in 1982. Although Canada is today an independent country it still recognises the British Monarch as Head of State due to being a part of the Commonwealth Realm, this is mostly ceremonial with limited powers.
The official languages are English and French. Canada’s capital city, Ottawa, is located in the east of Southern Ontario not too far from the US border close to the US state of New York. The largest religion is Christianity followed by those with No Affiliation. The currency used is the Canadian dollar and the country’s population, which has experienced slight declines recently, is estimated to reach 37,694,085 by July 2020 according to the CIA World Factbook
Government Type
Canada is a federal parliamentary democracy which means provinces have a degree of freedom over election of province governments, Premier’s that lead the government of a province, creation of province laws through elected province legislatures and their own province constitutions and judiciary, Lieutenant Governors are appointed by the British Monarch for each province, of course though it is important that the constitutions of a state do not come into conflict with the federal constitution and that the state laws do not come into conflict with federal laws. Multiple parties are of course allowed.
The federal government has a part of it a bicameral legislature with the lower house being the primary legislative chamber similar to how it works in the United Kingdom. The upper house is more a check on elected government and to spur reconsideration than not but can still challenge things deemed necessary to be challenged.
Monarchy and Executive Government
The British Monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II, is the Head of State and is represented in Canada by an appointed Governor-General who serves for life and represented in each of Canada’s provinces by an appointed Lieutenant Governor for each province, serving for life. The Prime Minister is Head of Government in the country and is appointed by the Governor-General after the result of parliamentary elections based on who commands the confidence of the House of Commons (lower chamber of parliament), it is by convention the leader of the largest party.
There is a Privy Council that assists the Governor-General and the government in their duties, the members of this council are appointed by the Governor-General and can be removed by him. The Prime Minister’s Cabinet also acts as a committee within the Privy Council and members of the Privy Council appointed by the Governor-General are on advice of the Prime Minister.
The Governor-General mostly performs his functions on advice from the Prime Minister such as appointing members of government, ministers and members of the Prime Minister’s governing Cabinet. The Governor-General can summon sessions of parliament and dissolves the lower chamber for parliamentary elections.
The Queen is the ceremonial Commander-in-Chief of Canada’s armed forces.
The Governor-General gives royal assent to laws passed by parliament and also appoints judges to the Supreme Court on advice from the Prime Minister, advisory committees may also nominate some judges for the PM to choose from, those appointed must have been a Provincial judge or a lawyer for at least 10-years on their province’s bar. Federal Judges serve until the age of 75 where they then must retire. Possible misconduct or complaints against federal judges are investigated by the Canadian Judicial Council and may recommend removal to the Minister of Justice, removal requires consent from both chambers of parliament.
The Canadian Judicial Council is chaired by the Chief Justice of Canada (of the Supreme Court) and it has 38-members that include other chief justices, associate chief justices and senior judges from superior and provincial courts.
The Prime Minister, his government and his Cabinet implement laws and governing policy for the federation of Canada and is subject to the confidence of the lower chamber of legislative government.
Legislative Government
The legislative federal government is made up of a bicameral parliament which is an elected lower primary chamber called the House of Commons of Canada and the unelected upper chamber of parliament that is less prominent and more of a checks and balances and body to spur secondary opinion, the upper chamber is called the Senate.
Both houses are able to introduce legislation, debate legislation, introduce amendments and reject legislation although the upper house is unable to introduce money bills (to do with revenue, spending, taxes etc), only the lower house can. Legislation and amendments must be consented to by both houses and this can sometimes result in ping-pong if houses are unable to agree over legislation and amendments, by convention the upper house is usually the one to give-in if the lower house persists, which is likely more so if the lower house has a large single majority rather than a fractured, small majority or hung parliament. A hung parliament is when no one party gets an overall majority and coalitions of political parties and others are required to form a working majority. The upper house is seen as a chamber meant to encourage the lower house to have secondary thoughts or to reconsider its actions, more so if a law bill is seen as controversial or polarizing, very similar to how it works in the UK.
The lower house of Parliament, the House of Commons, currently has 338 elected members that are divided by provinces and territories based on population worked out by a set formula, the Fair Representation Act 2015 increased the number of MPs from 308 to 338 in an attempt to fix disparities between places with lower population but similar representation to a place with higher population. The Speaker of the House of Commons is elected from among themselves and makes decisions on agenda, represents the chamber, moderates debate and makes sure chamber rules are followed. The Speaker can only have a casting vote to break a deadlock and cannot vote otherwise and must be neutral.
The upper chamber of Parliament, the Senate, has a set 105 members and they are divided up between the provinces and territories for regional representation, representing their designated areas in the Senate. In some cases, the Governor-General can ask the Queen for permission to summon more Senators if needed, this process cannot exceed 113 members. Members appointed serve until the age of 75 and members are appointed by the Governor-General on advice from the Prime Minister.
The Governor-General also appoints the Speaker of the Senate, a member who moderates debate and makes sure chamber rules are followed. The Speaker of the Senate is allowed to vote on all matters.
The requirements for members of the Senate are that those appointed must be at least 30-years or older, be a Natural-Born Subject of the Queen or a Subject of the Queen naturalized by an Act of the Parliament. There are also some requirements to do with properties, equity and property-worth such as owning property worth at least $4,000 above his or her debts and liabilities. They must be a resident of the Province they are appointed to represent.
Members of the Senate can be disqualified for bankruptcy, failing to attend two consecutive sessions, becoming a subject or citizen of a foreign power, convicted of treason or indictable offense and where the requirements for being a senator are no longer met (above).
Just like with the House of Lords in the UK, the Senate in Canada generates controversy over its unelected status and long serving period (until 75 years of age) and there have been campaigns for its abolishment or to make it an electable chamber. Certain changes such as the retirement at 75 were introduced due to pressure against the Senate as well as an independent advisory board introduced by Justin Trudeau that nominates appointments for the Senate. Large scale change though such as making the chamber electable requires constitutional amendment.
When a bill is passed by both houses it goes to the Governor-General for royal assent. The Queen can choose to annul the act within two-years after royal assent. The only instance where the Governor-General would refuse royal assent or where the Queen would annul it would be under extraordinary circumstances such as constitutional problems for example.
Electoral System
Parliamentary elections are held every 4-years in Canada to elect the lower chamber of parliament, after parliamentary elections the Governor-General appoints the Prime Minister usually from the largest party.
The members of parliament are elected from single-seat electoral districts or ridings using a first-past-the-post system.
Requirements for candidates for the House of Commons are determined by laws passed by parliament and not by the constitution and so can easily be changed, currently requirements are 50-100 signatures from constituents (number based on electoral district population), they must be an eligible voter meaning 18-years or older and being a citizen of Canada. Must not be in prison and cannot run for 5-to-7-years if convicted of electoral crimes. Holders of certain offices cannot stand, see the Canada Elections Act.
Voters must be at least 18-years or older and be a citizen of Canada. Voting is not mandatory.
Sources
My source were from the Canada Constitution 1867 with Amendments through to 2011 along with lots of cross-research from references on Wikipedia and the CIA World Factbook as Canada’s constitution is old it can be hard to interpret and parts that have changed due to being allowed to be changed by law instead of constitutional amendment as stated will obviously still state the old system in that instance, so cross-checking is essential as Canada’s system of government is old and complex and the room of possible misinterpretation and error is higher than usual.
Amendments to Canada’s constitution can be proposed by either parliamentary chamber or by provincial legislatures. Generally, approval requires consent, possibly unanimous dependent on types of changes, from both chambers of the federal parliament, approval of at least two-thirds of the provincial legislative assemblies as well as assent from the Governor-General. Again, here it can be complex and other or varying requirements may also be there or needed, so cross-research is further required.
Next up will be the government system of Cape/Cabo Verde.
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