Would You Mind If I Told You How We Do Things In Canada?
By gordo | Related entries in General Politics, The WorldMy name is Gordon Fischer and I’ll be blogging a bit about Canadian politics here at Donklephant. Justin and I worked together at kozoru where I regaled him with political tales from the Great White North. Now it’s time to polish those thoughts and share them with a larger audience.
My credentials: I am a dual citizen, was raised and schooled in Canada and moved to Texas in 1998. Right now I’m living in Harveyville, KS.
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Canada is divided into provinces (those are like states) and territories (sorta like Puerto Rico). Provinces are divided into a number of ridings (like a congressional district) each of which send an MP (member of parliament) to the House of Commons. There are 308 seats in the House of Commons.
The Senate is made of 105 appointed members who serve until they reach 75. In practice the Senate is a lame duck. Although any bill must be passed by both House and Senate, the Senate very rarely disagrees with the elected House.
A major difference between American and Canadian politics is the distinction between legislative and executive powers. This is combined in a parliamentary system with the leader of the party being the “executive”. In Canada, like other Commonwealth nations there’s an argument to be made that technically, the Queen or her representative, the Governor General, could be considered the executive — but that’s for political theorists — not pragmatists.
The 4 major political parties in Canada, their leaders and how Americans might view them are:
- Conservative Party - led by Stephen Harper the Canadian Prime Minister.
- Think Clinton Democrats who don’t like same-sex marriage.
- Liberal Party ( leadership race underway )
- Think Dean Democrats who majored in free-market economics.
- New Democratic Party - led by Jack Layton
- Socialists & Labour … no wait - in America, they’d be commies.
- Bloc Québécois - led by Giles Duceppe
- Imagine a socialist, secessionist Texas that spoke French.
Early this year, Canada had a federal election in which a minority Conservative government was elected. A minority government is when the party with the most votes can be outvoted by a coalition of the other parties. In 2006 it broke down as 124 Conservative, 103 Liberal, 51 Bloc, 29 NDP.
This marks the first time in just over 12 years that the Liberals haven’t been the party in power. Wikipedia has a nice overview on the causes of the election - but I find it a bit overzealous on blaming the corruption scandal. I think Canadians needed something new - but being a cautious folk we chose the weakest form of new - a minority government.
Part 1 of 4
Next time - minority governments and the parliamentary system.
November 6th, 2006 at 3:16 pm
As someone who has le sang Québécois in his body, I look forward to reading the remaining articles!
BTW… this was a great idea.
November 6th, 2006 at 6:23 pm
I agree. Fascinating reading!
November 6th, 2006 at 9:24 pm
# Bloc Québécois - led by Giles Duceppe
* Imagine a socialist, secessionist Texas that spoke French.
I think I’m going to have nightmares tonight.:) But thanks for the info.
November 6th, 2006 at 11:54 pm
Ryan, Deirdre and Nick - Thanks! Glad you liked it.
Hopefully you’ll find parts 2-4 as interesting.
A little sneak peek for those who read the comments :
2. Minority Governments
3. A Conservative Work Ethic
4. The Liberal Leadership
November 9th, 2006 at 7:21 pm
For the scoop on the rumoured conflict between Prime Minister Stephen Harper and our Governor General with the mostest + the background behind it - have a look at the Calgary Eye Opener story of November 8 at http://www.calgaryeyeopener.com
November 16th, 2006 at 11:56 am
[...] Previous Posts: Part 1 of 4 - Would You Mind If I Told You How We Do Things In Canada [...]
November 16th, 2006 at 4:36 pm
thanks for the info! your posting on Canadian minority governments is very informative. :)
The US really needs a system closer to this… and the only way i think it can happen (without changing the whole system of government) would be to have more parties in Congress. WE NEED at least 4 or 5 parties here. How else will there be any accountability of the administration and the Congress itself?
November 27th, 2006 at 2:45 pm
[...] Previous Posts: Part 1 of 4: Would you mind if I told you how we do things in Canada? Part 2 of 4: Minority Governments and the Parliamentary System This entry was posted on Monday, November 27th, 2006 and is filed under The World, General Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. [...]
November 28th, 2006 at 1:18 pm
[...] Previous Posts: Part 1 of 4: Would you mind if I told you how we do things in Canada? Part 2 of 4: Minority Governments and the Parliamentary System Part 3 of 4: A Conservative Work Ethic This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 28th, 2006 and is filed under The World, General Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. [...]