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CANADIAN GOVERNMENT

CANADIAN GOVERNMENT. THE HISTORY OF OUR SYSTEM. BRITISH NORTH AMERICA ACT. Mid-1800s there was a desire by the inhabitants of British North America to combine their forces and become a Confederation of provinces in order to avoid being unprepared for a possible invasion by Americans;

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CANADIAN GOVERNMENT

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  1. CANADIAN GOVERNMENT THE HISTORY OF OUR SYSTEM

  2. BRITISH NORTH AMERICA ACT • Mid-1800s there was a desire by the inhabitants of British North America to combine their forces and become a Confederation of provinces in order to avoid being unprepared for a possible invasion by Americans; • There was also an intention to end political deadlock by the provincial leadership;

  3. BRITISH NORTH AMERICA ACT • The union would form a connection between Lower Canada (Ontario), Upper Canada (Quebec), New Brunswick and Nova Scotia; • The government would follow the British model – parliamentary democracy – with a monarch (British King/Queen) at the head; • It would also be a federal system with provincial governments as well;

  4. BRITISH NORTH AMERICA ACT • The parliament would be bicameral (‘two chambers’) with the lower chamber filled with elected officials (House of Commons) and the upper chamber filled by appointment (House of Lords or the Senate); • The 72 Resolutions would become the British North America Act and would be passed by British law, signed by Queen Victoria on March 29, 1867; effective July 1, 1867;

  5. GROWTH AND CHANGE • As the first Prime Minister of Canada, John A. MacDonald had to make some changes in what the union meant for the country; • There were per-capitasubsidies made to the provinces in order to make the Confederation a more acceptable notion (grants of money based on per person in the province); • These grants connected the poorer provinces to the richer and made sure that they shared similar values;

  6. GROWTH AND CHANGE • The other challenge was to make sure that the rest of BNA was not invaded by the Americans; • This meant that the remainder of the geographic area between Ontario and British Columbia had to be sufficiently developed; • Individual provinces were established at different times to accommodate the growing country;

  7. ASSIGNMENT #1 • Using the textbook, answer the following questions: • Pg. 19 #1-3 • Pg. 20 #1 • Pg. 22 #1-4

  8. STRUCTURE OF GOVERNMENT • The newly formed government of 1867 has to ensure that it was effective and catered to the needs of all its citizens; • The challenges it faced included • Meeting the needs of different regions and cultures; • As an expression of the majority, but protected the minority; • Had to be specific for the time but flexible to changes for the future;

  9. STRUCTURE OF GOVERNMENT • MacDonald decided it was best to have most the power with the central government (federal) to avoid a potential civil war (as was experienced by the U.S.); • Article 91 of the BNA Act allowed the central government to the hold many powers (criminal law, trade, defence, foreign affairs, taxing, residual powers) and the provinces would control (education, civil law and health care);

  10. POWER SHIFT • Canada and the United States have gone in different directions regarding the power sharing between the central and the provincial/state governments; • There are a number of factors that have affected this difference and help to explain the subtle differences between the populations of the two countries;

  11. POWER SHIFT • In Canada: • People demanding a more responsive government; • Strong provincial leaders can influence a weak central leader; • 1867 BNA Act ensured provincial control over education, health care and welfare for the provinces; • 1931 Constitutional Amendment gave the provinces control over natural resources; • Meech Lake Accord (1987) and the Charlottetown Accord (1992) attempted to shift more power to the provinces; (both defeated)

  12. As society has become more complex and has grown culturally, economically and in population, the government has adjusted to reflect new social concerns: Secret Ballot 1874 Department of Labour (1900) External Affairs (1909) Vote to Women (1918) Old-Age Pension (1926) Wheat Board (1930s) Aboriginal Vote (1950s) Pension Income Supplement (1966) Medicare (1950s) CHANGING GOVERNMENT SYSTEMS

  13. PROVINCES AND TERRITORIES • PROVINCE: • Exists in its own rights as a creation of the Constitution Act 1867/1982; • Own provincial lands “in the Crown” in the right of the province; • Provinces get a vote in the Constitutional amendments;

  14. PROVINCES AND TERRITORIES • TERRITORY: • A creation through federal law; • Crown (federal government) owns the lands in the territory; • Some provincial-like abilities relating to government (ie: education); • Not included in Constitutional amendments;

  15. PROVINCES AND TERRITORIES • NUNAVUT: • Special circumstance among the territories; • Nunavut Land Claims Agreement (NLCA) allowed the territorial government some decision-making capacity in areas of jurisdiction that the federal government normally retains;

  16. CHANGING ROLE OF GOVERNMENT • Major trends in the 20th century can be summarized into 3 topics: • Canada achieving political separation from Great Britain (1931& 1982) and controlling it’s own future; • Provincial governments getting stronger and federal government getting weaker; • Change in the role of government (becoming more complex in its duties);

  17. CHANGING ROLE OF GOVERNMENT • In 1982 – Prime Minister P.E. Trudeau re-patriated the Canadian Constitution (brought the control of the Constitution and Canadian lawmaking to the Canadian government); • The Constitution Act of 1982 was a combination of the BNA Act 1867 and all other applicable statutes passed since that time; • It was approved by British parliament and Queen Elizabeth II on July 1, 1982;

  18. ASSIGNMENT #2 • Using your textbook, answer the following questions; • Ensure that you provide the date, page numbers and question numbers; • Pg. 25 #2 • Pg. 27 #1, 2 • Pg. 30 #2, 3

  19. SUBMISSION • At the end of the period, make sure you submit the following assignments : • Questions from Assignments #1 and #2 (pages 19 – 30); • Handout on the Historic Timeline • Handout on the Government Powers

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