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Elections in Canada. Voting. Any Canadian over the age of 18 can vote in any election. Canadians vote for a Member of Parliament Members of Parliament represent Canadians in the House of Commons. Members of Parliament represent geographical regions called ridings
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Voting • Any Canadian over the age of 18 can vote in any election. • Canadians vote for a Member of Parliament • Members of Parliament represent Canadians in the House of Commons. • Members of Parliament represent geographical regions called ridings • There are 308 Members of Parliament
Ridings or Constituencies • Canada has a lot of land and a small population • Ridings are determined by geographic regions not population • Canada’s largest riding has 29 000 people and covers 2 million square km • Canada’s smallest riding has 104 000 people and covers 9 square km
Elections • The Prime Minister must call an election every 5 years but can decide to call it at any time • The Chief Electoral Officer is a bureaucrat who manages the election and makes sure the rules are followed
The Vote • Each riding has many polling stations, these are where people go to vote • Polling stations are often found in schools or public buildings • People vote by putting an x on a ballot for the person they want to vote for
Political Parties • There are five major political parties in Canada • NDP • Liberals • Conservatives • Green Party • Bloc Quebecois • Political parties are formed by people who share the same ideas • Anybody can become a member of a party by paying a membership fee
Party Leader • Each political party chooses a leader • The leader represents the party and is its main voice • If the party wins the party leader becomes the Prime Minister
Candidates • A political party wins an election by electing the most candidates to the House of Commons • Parties can choose candidates however they like, sometimes the Party Leader will choose a candidate, sometimes they will be chosen by the people in the riding
Party Platform • A party platform is the main ideas that a party will do if they are elected • It is their reason for why people should vote for them • If a party is elected they don’t have to do what they said, but if they don’t next election no one will believe them
Public Opinion Polls • Parties will often ask the public what they will like when they are forming their platform • They will use these polls to decide who is a good candidate or a good leader • They also use these polls to decide where they need to spend the most money while campaigning
Campaigning • During an election the party and candidates campaign for election • They try to spread their message and raise money to spend on running the campaign • The more money a party gets the easier it is for them to campaign because they can spend more on TV ads, etc.
Negative vs. Positive • Campaiging can be negative or positive • Negative campaigning involves saying bad things about a candidates opponent and saying why there policies are bad • Positive campaigning involves saying good things about yourself and explaining why your policies are good
First-Past-the-Post (FPTP) • Canada has a FPTP system • Winner’s do not need to have more than 50% of the vote, they only need to have more votes than anyone else • Sometimes this can result in a party who has a majority of the votes not winning the election
Single Transferable Vote (STV) • A voting system which gives parties seats based on the percentage of votes they win in the election • Some people argue that this type of voting is better because it makes every count
Majority or Minority • The party that gets the most candidates elected wins the election • If a party gets 50% of its 308 candidates elected it wins a majority government • If a party gets less than 50% of its candidates elected it wins a minority government • Minority governments cannot do whatever they want, they have to work with the other parties to pass the laws they want
Voter Apathy • Some Canadians don’t want to vote, normally only 60-70% of Canadians who can vote, do so • There is no one reason for voter apathy, but generally people either are not interested, don’t like the candidates, or don’t think their vote would matter
Review • Dissolution – the government is shut down and the an election is called • Enumeration – a list of voters is made • Nomination – political parties choose their candidates • Campaigning – Parties spread their message and try to make money • Voting/Balloting – People vote for a candidate • Tabulating – Votes are counted and a winner is chosen