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Students will: examine the structure of Canada’s federal political system by exploring and reflecting upon the following questions and issues:
• How are laws passed in the federal political system?
• What is the relationship between the executive, legislative and judicial branches of Canada’s federal political system?
• What processes are used to determine Members of Parliament (MPs) and Senators?
• To whom are Members of Parliament and Senators accountable?
• What is the role of political parties within Canada’s federal political system?
• What is the role of the media in relation to political issues?
• How do lobby groups impact government decision making?
• To what extent do political and legislative processes meet the needs of all Canadians?
Key Questions
What is the structure of Canada’s federal political system?
How do laws become laws?
How do the media connect Canadians to their government?
What do lobbyists do?
Terminology
Bias
Cabinet
Committee stage
Constituent
Executive Branch
First reading (of a Bill)
Governor General
House of Commons
Judicial Branch
Lobbyist
Legislative Branch
Monarchy
Member of Parliament
Non-confidence
Official opposition
Portfolio
Prorogue
Provincial/territorial courts
Prime minister
Recess
Report stage
Second reading (of a Bill)
Supreme Court
Third reading (of a Bill)
Click here for some help with the definitions
Overview of the Canadian Parliamentary System
Three branches work together to govern Canada: the executive, legislative and judicial branches. The executive branch (also called the Government) is the decision making branch, made up of the Monarch represented by the Governor General, the Prime Minister, and the Cabinet. The legislative branch is the law-making branch, made up of the appointed Senate and the elected House of Commons. The judicial branch is a series of independent courts that interpret the laws passed by the
other two branches. Parliament itself is made up of the following three parts: the Monarch, the Senate and the House of Commons. Canada is a constitutional monarchy, which means that we recognize the Queen or King as the Head of State, while the Prime Minister is the Head of Government
How Canadian Government Works
How Parliament Works
If a political party wins the majority of seats in the House of Commons, it always forms the government. Here, the blue party would form the government.
If a political party wins the most seats in the House of Commons, but not the majority of seats, it usually forms the government. Here, the blue party would still form the government. To stay in power, however, this party would need to negotiate for the support of at least one other party in the House of Commons, to ensure that more than 50 percent of MPs in the House would vote for the government’s proposals.
What is the relationship between the executive, legislative and judicial branches of Canada's Federal political system?
Study Questions
- What is the constitution?
- What are the 3 branches of government?
a)Who’s involved?
b) Who do they each represent?
c) What are their responsibilities/roles?
d) Relationship between the branches
- How are Members of Parliament & Senators determined?
- What is the difference between minority/majority governments?
Pros & cons of each
- What is the role of political parties?
- What is the difference between First past the post and popular vote?
- What are the steps in the bill to law process?
- What is the role of media in federal politics?
- What is the role of lobbyists in federal politics?
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