Portal:Canadian politics
Introduction
The politics of Canada function within a framework of constitutional monarchy and a federal system of parliamentary government with strong democratic traditions. Many of the country's legislative practices derive from the unwritten conventions of and precedents set by the United Kingdom's Westminster Parliament. However, Canada has evolved variations: party discipline in Canada is stronger than in the United Kingdom, and more parliamentary votes are considered motions of confidence, which tends to diminish the role of non-Cabinet Members of Parliament (MPs). Such members, in the government caucus, and junior or lower-profile members of opposition caucuses, are known as backbenchers. Backbenchers can, however, exert their influence by sitting in parliamentary committees, like the Public Accounts Committee or the National Defence Committee. Canada's governmental structure was originally established by the British parliament through the British North America Act (now known as the Constitution Act, 1867), but the federal model and division of powers were devised by Canadian politicians. Particularly after World War I, citizens of the self-governing Dominions, such as Canada, began to develop a strong sense of identity, and, in the Balfour Declaration of 1926, the British government expressed its intent to grant full autonomy to these regions. Thus in 1931, the British Parliament passed the Statute of Westminster, giving legal recognition to the autonomy of Canada and other Dominions. Following this, Canadian politicians were unable to obtain consensus on a process for amending the constitution until 1982, meaning amendments to Canada's constitution continued to require the approval of the British parliament until that date. Similarly, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in Britain continued to make the final decision on criminal appeals until 1933 and on civil appeals until 1949. Selected article - As per the Constitution Act, 1867, Canada is a constitutional monarchy, wherein the role of the reigning sovereign is both legal and practical. The Crown is regarded as a corporation, with the monarch, vested as she is with all powers of state, at the centre of a construct in which the power of the whole is shared by multiple institutions of government acting under the sovereign's authority; the Crown has thus been described as the underlying principle of Canada's institutional unity, with the executive formally called the Queen-in-Council, the legislature the Queen-in-Parliament, and the courts as the Queen on the Bench. Selected political party -
The party broke 1% of the popular vote in the 2004 federal election, when it received 4.3% and qualified for federal funding. Its support has ranged between 4.5% and 14% since the 2006 federal election and it has not polled below 5% in any opinion poll from 2007 onwards. In the 2008 federal election, the Green Party of Canada was invited to the debates for the first time and achieved a high mark of 6.8% of the popular vote. With just under a million votes, it was the only federally-funded party to receive more votes than in 2006, but it still failed to win any seats. On August 30, 2008, independent MP Blair Wilson joined the Green Party and became its first Member of Parliament. He was defeated in the 2008 federal election, which was called before he had a chance to officially sit in the House of Commons as a Green MP. Selected political picture - Did you know? -
Selected biography - After becoming Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador in 2001, he was elected to the House of Assembly in a by-election for the riding of Humber West in Corner Brook. Williams' premiership has been considered controversial outside of Newfoundland and Labrador. Events such as ordering all Canadian flags to be removed from provincial government buildings over offshore oil revenues, and launching the Anything But Conservative in the 2008 election, have garnered national attention. While Williams remains a controversial politician outside Newfoundland and Labrador he was continuously ranked one of the most popular premiers in Canada, with approval ratings in the province consistently in the high seventies and eighties. Canadian politics category
Selected election -
The 2006 Canadian federal election (more formally, the 39th General Election) was held on January 23, 2006, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 39th Parliament of Canada. The Conservative Party of Canada won the greatest number of seats: 40.3% of seats, or 124 out of 308, up from 99 seats in 2004, and 36.3% of votes: up from 29.6% in the 2004 election.
The election resulted in a minority government led by the Conservative Party with Stephen Harper becoming the 22nd Prime Minister of Canada. By proportion of seats, this was Canada's smallest minority government since Confederation. Despite this it was the longest serving minority government led by a party other than the Liberal Party of Canada, and the third longest serving minority government overall. This unusual winter general election was caused by a motion of no confidence passed by the House of Commons on November 28, 2005. The following morning, Prime Minister Paul Martin met Governor General Michaëlle Jean, who then dissolved parliament, summoned the next parliament, and ordered the issuance of writs of election. The latter set January 23, 2006, as election day and February 13 as the date for return of the writs. The campaign was almost eight weeks in length, the longest in two decades, in order to allow time for the Christmas and New Year holidays.Topics
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