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 - The House of Commons was established in 1867, when the Constitution Act, 1867 created the Dominion of Canada, and was modelled on the British House of Commons. The "lower" of the two houses making up the parliament, the House of Commons in practice holds far more power than the upper house, the Senate. Although the approval of both Houses is necessary for legislation, the Senate very rarely rejects bills passed by the Commons (though the Senate does occasionally amend bills). Moreover, the Government of Canada is responsible solely to the House of Commons. The Prime Minister stays in office only as long as he or she retains the support of the lower house. Selected political party -
George Brown the first Liberal Leader 1861-1867.
The Liberals are descended from the mid-19th century Reformers who agitated for responsible government throughout British North America. These included George Brown, Robert Baldwin, William Lyon Mackenzie and the Clear Grits in Upper Canada, Joseph Howe in Nova Scotia, and the Patriotes and Rouges in Lower Canada led by figures such as Louis-Joseph Papineau. The Clear Grits and Parti rouge sometimes functioned as a united bloc in the legislature of the Province of Canada beginning in 1854, and a united Liberal Party combining both English and French Canadian members was formed in 1861. Selected political picture - Did you know? -
Selected biography - Jean is a refugee from Haiti—coming to Canada in 1968—and was raised in the town of Thetford Mines, Quebec. After receiving a number of university degrees, Jean worked as a journalist and broadcaster for Radio-Canada and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), as well as undertaking charity work, mostly in the field of assisting victims of domestic violence. She was in 2005 appointed as governor general by Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, on the recommendation of Prime Minister of Canada Paul Martin, to replace Adrienne Clarkson as vicereine. At the time, comments of hers recorded in some of the film works by her husband, Jean-Daniel Lafond, were construed as supporting Quebec sovereignty and her holding of dual citizenship caused doubt about her loyalties. But Jean denied separatist leanings, renounced her citizenship of France, and eventually became a respected vicereine. As governor general, Jean is entitled to be styled Her Excellency while in office, and The Right Honourable for the duration of her viceregal tenure and life beyond; given current practice, she will be sworn in to the Queen's Privy Council for Canada when her term as the Queen's representative ends in 2010. Canadian politics category
Selected election -
The Canadian federal election of 1867, held from August 7 to September 20, was the first election for the new nation of Canada. It was held to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 1st Parliament of Canada. (Voter turn-out: 73.1%)
The Conservative Party of Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald won a majority of seats and votes in Ontario and Quebec. (Its candidates ran either as "Conservatives" or "Liberal-Conservatives".) Quebec and Ontario had previously been united as The Province of Canada with Macdonald and George-Étienne Cartier's Liberal-Conservative coalition forming the government. Officially, the Liberal Party of Canada had no leader, however while George Brown did not hold an official position in the party, he was generally considered the party's leader in the election campaign, and would have likely been Prime Minister in the unlikely event that the Liberals prevailed over Macdonald in the election. As it was, Brown ran concurrently for seats in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario and the Canadian House of Commons and hoped to become Premier of Ontario. However, he failed to win a seat in either body, and the Liberals remained officially leaderless until 1873.Topics
General
Related portalsWhat are Portals? · List of Canadian portals
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- ^ Puddington, Arch (2007). Freedom in the World: The Annual Survey of Political Rights and Civil Liberties. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 142. ISBN 9780742558977.
After a dozen years of center-left Liberal Party rule, the Conservative Party emerged from the 2006 parliamentary elections with a plurality and established a fragile minority government.
