Election and Government Review

1. Election and Government Review

2. Elections • Every Canadian over the age of 18 can vote • Prime Minister can call an election any time within 5 years of getting elected • Canada is divided into 308 parts, called ridings and each part votes for a Member of Parliament who will represent them in the House of Commons • The candidate in the riding who gets the most votes becomes the Member of Parliament for that riding

3. Political Parties • Canada has 5 main political parties • A party is formed by people with the same beliefs • Each party chooses its own leader • Each party nominates 308 candidates to run in one of the ridings • Candidates compete for their party against the other candidates in their riding

4. The Government • The party that has the most candidates elected becomes the government and their leader becomes the Prime Minister • The Prime Minister will pick who they want to be in their Cabinet and what their Cabinet will look like

5. The Opposition • The party with the second most candidates elected becomes the opposition • The leader of this party is called the Official Opposition • They will pick who they want to be in their shadow cabinet • The shadow cabinet matches up with the PM’s Cabinet and debates with them in the House of Commons

6. Election 2011

8. Minority Government • If a party wins less than 50% of the seats it is called a minority government

10. 3 Main Parts of the Government • Executive Branch – decides government policy and makes laws • Legislative Branch – passes laws and makes laws • Judicial Branch – enforces laws and judges them • The executive & legislative branch make the rules, the judicial branch enforces the rules

13. Executive Branch 4 Main Parts • Governor General - just for show, not important • Prime Minister • Cabinet • Privy Council/Bureaucrats – does what the PM and the cabinet tells them to do

14. Prime Minister & Cabinet • The most important parts of the executive branch • They decide what the government will do and can create new laws • Cabinet is made of 30-40 people from the House of Commons; each have a special area to watch, e.g. Defense, Foreign Affairs, Business, etc. • Prime Minister watches over the cabinet and makes sure they are doing a good job, if they are not he will replace them

15. Legislative Branch • 3 Main Parts • Governor General – just for show • House of Commons – the main part of Canada’s government • Senate – not that important

16. House of Commons • In charge of discussing new laws and debating about government policy • Made up of 308 Members of Parliament • The Prime Minister and Cabinet are part of the House of Commons

17. Passing a bill/law

18. A Bill • Propose – to suggest or put forward • A bill is a proposed law • It is not a law until it has been voted on and accepted by the House of Commons • Anyone can propose a bill but normally the Cabinet, after talking with the PM, makes a bill • A bill put forward by someone not in the Cabinet is called A Private Member’s Bill

19. Part 1: House of Commons • Whoever is proposing the bill writes the bill on an order paper, which puts it on the agenda for the next meeting • Whoever proposed the bill, will then read it at the next meeting, this is called the first reading, there is no debate, • The first reading is done to give information to the Members of Parliament

20. 2nd Reading and Debate • At the second reading there is a debate; anyone can speak, but unless you are the minister who proposed the bill, or the opposition critic, you can only speak once. • Speakers have a time limit of normally around twenty minutes. • The Speaker of the House is oversees the debate and makes sure everyone follows the rules

21. Committee • After the debate there is a vote, if the bill passes it goes to a house committee. • At the committee the legislation is cleared up and changed to make it as efficient as possible.

22. The Third Reading • At the third reading, the bill can be debated again, but normally it is just voted • A bill needs more than 50% to be accepted • After the third reading the bill is sent to the Senate.

23. Types of Votes • There are two types of votes and the party leader decides how the party members vote • Loyalty – everyone must vote as the party leader tells them to, if they don’t they could be punished or kicked out of the party • Free Votes – Members of Parliament can vote however they like

24. Part 2: The Senate • The Senate follows the same procedures as the House of Commons • The Senate rarely, if ever, rejects a bill, but it can and does change the bills contents

25. Part 3: The Governor General • The Governor General does not have any real effect on passing a bill, but he gives the bill Royal assent, changing it from a bill into a full blown Law.

26. Important People in Passing a Bill • Speaker of the House – the referee of the House of Commons, makes sure everyone follows the rules • Party Whip – makes sure all of the MPs are at the vote and voting the right way, each party has a party whip who is also a MP • Opposition Critic – a senior MP of a party that is not the government, in charge of debating bills passed by the government

27. Order in Council • Not all bills need to go through the House of Commons • The Cabinet can pass an order-in-council and create or change a law • They are not used very often and often only are used in an emergency

28. Review Step 1: Bill is Proposed Step 2: First Reading Step 3: Second Reading Step 4: Committee Stage Step 5: Third Reading Step 6: Senate Review Step 7: Royal Assent