GOVERNMENT
Canada
is a constitutional monarchy with a federal system, a parliamentary
government, and strong democratic traditions. The 1982 Charter
of Rights guarantees basic rights in many areas. Queen Elizabeth
II, as Queen of Canada, serves as a symbol of the nation's unity.
She appoints a governor general, who serves as her representative
in Canada, on the advice of the prime minister of Canada, usually
for a 5-year term. The prime minister is the leader of the political
party in power and is the head of the cabinet. The cabinet remains
in office as long as it retains majority support in the House
of Commons on major issues.
Canada's parliament consists of an elected House of Commons and an appointed Senate. Legislative power rests with the 308-member Commons. Legislation to provide for federal elections to be held on fixed dates, every four calendar years, was passed in the spring of 2007. The first fixed election date is scheduled for 2009, but the prime minister may ask the governor general to dissolve parliament and call new elections at any time should the governing party lose the confidence of the House of Commons. Vacancies in the 105-member Senate, whose members serve until the age of 75, are filled by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister. Recent constitutional initiatives have sought unsuccessfully to strengthen the Senate by making it elective and assigning it a greater regional representational role. In an effort to bring about incremental Senate reform without a constitutional amendment, bills to place term limits upon Senators and to create a process of public consultation in the appointment of Senators have been introduced in parliament. However, the bills face substantial opposition, both from within parliament and from certain provinces, which question the constitutionality of the proposed legislation, putting the success of the legislation in doubt.
Criminal
law, based largely on British law, is uniform throughout the nation
and is under federal jurisdiction. Civil law is also based on
the common law of England, except in Quebec, which has retained
its own civil code patterned after that of France. Justice is
administered by federal, provincial, and municipal courts.
Each province
is governed by a premier and a single, elected legislative chamber.
A lieutenant-governor appointed by the governor general represents
the Crown in each province.
POLITICAL
CONDITIONS
On February 6, 2006, Stephen Harper was sworn in as Canada's twenty-second Prime Minister, succeeding Liberal Party leader Paul Martin. An admitted "policy specialist," Harper rose from the ranks of conservative political party staffers. Prior to becoming Prime Minister, he sat as a Member of Parliament, including as Leader of the Opposition since 2002 when he became head of the western-based Canadian Alliance. He was elected the first leader of the Conservative Party of Canada when it was created in 2003 through the merger of Canadian Alliance and Peter MacKay's Progressive Conservative Party. The January 23, 2006 election victory by the Conservative Party ended 12 years of Liberal Party rule that, in the end, was tainted by corruption and ethics concerns, despite the economic progress Canada achieved while the Liberals were in power.
In the January 2006 elections, the Conservatives made unexpected gains in Quebec, winning ten seats. Many observers have noted how a reinvigorated Conservative option in Quebec represents a boost for national unity. Harper's government is in a minority position in the House of Commons, however, and has a slimmer minority than the preceding Liberal government. The Conservatives now hold 127 seats and the Liberals 96. The separatist Bloc Quebecois (BQ) has a majority (48) of Quebec's 75 seats (the BQ offers candidates only in Quebec). The left-leaning New Democratic Party (NDP) now has 30 seats, and four independents also sit in Parliament (three seats are vacant, awaiting by-elections probably later in 2008). The Harper government is already the longest-serving minority government in Canadian history, but there is speculation that there might be federal elections in the fall of 2008.
Policy priorities of the Conservatives under Prime Minister Harper has remained
fairly consistent since 2006: improving accountability and ethics in government;
cutting the federal value-added sales tax; fighting crime and urban violence;
reinvesting in defense; bolstering Canada's Arctic sovereignty; promoting
national unity; and raising the profile of Canada's role abroad, through its
combat mission in Afghanistan, contributions to stabilization in Haiti, and
renewed partnership with the Americas.
In Canada's political system, a key challenge for any federal government is
balancing the conflicting interests of Canada's 10 provinces and 3 territories.
Recognizing the advantages of a coordinated approach in dealing with the federal
government, the provinces and territories created a Council of the Federation in
2003, with their leaders (Canada's premiers) meeting regularly in that forum to
develop common positions. Prime Minister Harper met with the provincial premiers
formally on January 11, 2008.
Quebec, which represents 23% of the national population (and has a similar proportion of seats in the House of Commons), seeks to preserve its distinctive francophone nature, and is perceived by the less-populous western provinces as wielding undue influence on the Federal Government. At least until January 2006's election of Albertan Stephen Harper as Prime Minister, the western provinces had sometimes expressed concern that Ottawa did not fully attend to their interests. Ontario, believes that it pays out significantly more to the Federal Government than it gets back in revenues, while the Atlantic Provinces seek to assert greater control over fishing and mineral rights off their shores. The Federal Government ceded some power in a few areas of provincial jurisdiction, while seeking to strengthen the federal role in many other areas such as inter-provincial trade and the regulation of securities.
National
Unity
Popular support for sovereignty appears to be on the wane in Quebec, although pride in that province's unique cultural and linguistic identity remains very strong. Most Quebec voters seem to appreciate the economic benefits of remaining in the Canadian confederation and aim to advance their separate francophone identity within the confederation. But support for federalism is fragile. Anger over the "sponsorship" program reignited talk of sovereignty in 2005, while Prime Minister Harper's talk of "open federalism" brought the numbers back down in 2006. In the March 2007 provincial election, the ruling provincial Liberals garnered only 33% of the vote, and Premier Jean Charest heads a minority government. The Action Democratique du Quebec (ADQ), led by Mario Dumont, finished second, while the pro-sovereignty Parti Quebecois (PQ) finished a close third.
Principal
Government Officials
Head of State--Queen Elizabeth II
Governor General--Michaelle Jean
Prime Minister--Stephen Harper
Minister of Foreign Affairs--Maxime Bernier
Ambassador to the United States--Michael Wilson
Ambassador to the United Nations--John McNee
Canada
maintains an embassy
in the United States at 501 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington,
DC 20001 (tel. 202-682-1740).
Type: Federation, parliamentary democracy, and constitutional monarchy.
Confederation: July 1, 1867.
Constitution: The amended British North America Act of 1867 patriated to Canada on April 17, 1982, Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and unwritten custom.
Branches: Executive--Queen Elizabeth II (head of state represented by a governor general), prime minister (head of government), cabinet. Legislative--bicameral parliament (308-member House of Commons; 105-seat Senate). Judicial--Supreme Court.
Federal-level political parties: Liberal Party, Conservative Party of Canada, Bloc Quebecois, New Democratic Party.
Subdivisions: 10 provinces, 3 territories.
