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The Canadian electoral system is based on a parliamentary system of government, modelled on that of the United Kingdom. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page The politics of Canada function within a framework of Constitutional monarchy and a federal system of parliamentary government with strong democratic In Political science and Constitutional law, the executive is the branch of government responsible for the day-to-day management of the State. Throughout the Commonwealth realms The Crown is an abstract metonymic concept which represents the legal authority for the existence of any government TalkCommonewalth realm.-->The monarchy of For the ship see RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Context States headed by Elizabeth II The Governor General of Canada ( French: Gouverneure générale du Canada, or: Gouverneur général du Canada) is the vice-regal representative Michaëlle Jean, CC CMM COM CD ʒɑ̃ (born September 6, 1957, in Port-au-Prince, The Queen's Privy Council for Canada (QPC (Conseil privé de la Reine pour le Canada (CPR sometimes called Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or the Privy Council The Prime Minister of Canada ( French: Premier ministre du Canada) is the primary Minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus WikipediaManual of Style (biographies#Honorific prefixes --> Stephen Joseph Harper PC The Cabinet of Canada (Cabinet du Canada plays an important role in the Government of Canada, in accordance with the Westminster System. The Twenty-Eighth Canadian Ministry is the combined Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and Secretaries of State that have governed The following list outlines the Structure of the Canadian federal government. In the Canadian cabinet the President of The Queen's Privy Council for Canada (President du Conseil privé de la Reine pour le Canada is nominally in charge of the Privy In Canada the Privy Council Office (Bureau du Conseil privé is the Secretariat of the federal cabinet and the department of the Prime Minister The Clerk of the Privy Council (Greffier du Conseil privé is the senior Civil servant in the government and the Secretary to the Canadian Cabinet. The Canadian Government, formally Her Majesty's Government in Canada, is the Federal government of Canada. A legislature is a type of representative Deliberative assembly with the power to create amend and change Laws The law created by a legislature is called Legislation The Parliament of Canada (Parlement du Canada is Canada 's legislative branch, seated at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario. The 39th Canadian Parliament was in session from April 3 2006 until September 7 2008 The Senate of Canada (Le Sénat du Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the sovereign (represented by the governor general The Speaker of the Senate of Canada ( French: Président du Sénat du Canada) is the presiding officer of the Senate of Canada. The Leader of the Government in the Senate (Leader du gouvernement au Sénat is a Canadian cabinet minister who leads the government side in the Canadian Senate In Canada, the Leader of the Official Opposition in the Senate ( French: Leader de l'opposition au Sénat) is the leader of the largest party in the Representation in the Canadian Senate is divided into seats on a provincial basis The House of Commons (Chambre des communes is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign (represented by the Governor General) and In Canada the Speaker of the House of Commons ( French: Président de la Chambre des communes) is the presiding officer of the The Leader of the Government in the House of Commons (Leader du gouvernement à la Chambre des communes more commonly known as the Government House Leader, is the In Canada Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition ( French: L'Opposition Loyale de Sa Majesté) commonly known as the Official Opposition, is usually In Canada, each political party with representation in the House of Commons has a House Leader who is a Front bench Member of Parliament (MP and an expert The Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet of the 39th Canadian parliament is listed below See also Canadian electoral system, Timeline of Canadian elections The Parliament of Canada (Parlement du Canada has two chambers. The 2006 Canadian federal election (more formally the 39th General Election) was held on January 23 2006 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the In Law, the judiciary or judicial system is the system of Courts which administer Justice in the name of the sovereign or State The Supreme Court of Canada ( French: Cour suprême du Canada) is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeal in the Canadian The Supreme Court of Canada consists of the Chief Justice of Canada ( Juge en chef du Canada) and eight Puisne Justices all appointed by Beverley McLachlin PC (born September 7, 1943) is the Chief Justice of Canada, the first woman to hold that position List of final courts of appeal in Canada. For details on the court system see Canadian court system. The Constitution of Canada is the supreme law in Canada; the country's Constitution is an amalgamation of codified acts and uncodified traditions The British North America Acts 1867&ndash1975 are the original names of a series of Acts at the core of the Constitution of Canada. In many Commonwealth jurisdictions the phrase "peace order and good government" is an expression used in law to express the legitimate objects of Legislative The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (also known as The Charter of Rights and Freedoms or simply the Charter) is a Bill of rights entrenched in the The provinces and territories of Canada combine to make up the world's second largest country in total area. Canadian federalism is one of the three pillars of the constitutional order along with Responsible government and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Federal and provincial aspects Across the country the Canadian Crown is unitary the headship of state is not a part of either the federal or provincial jurisdictions In Canada, the Lieutenant-Governor (lɛfˈtɛnənt often without a Hyphen) ( French: lieutenant-gouverneur, or: lieutenant-gouverneure Executive Councils in the Provinces and territories of Canada are constitutional organs headed by the Lieutenant-Governor. National regions Provinces and territories are normally grouped into the following Regions (generally from west to east Northern Canada Canadian political culture is in some ways part of a greater North American and European political culture, which emphasizes Constitutional law The foreign relations of Canada are Canada 's relations with other governments and peoples This is a list of leaders and office-holders of Canada. See also Canadian incumbents by year. Information on politics by country is available for every Country, including both De jure and De facto independent A parliamentary system, also known as parliamentarianism (and parliamentarism in American English) is a System of government in which For the government of parliamentary systems see Executive (government. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located

The Canadian federal Parliament consists of:

Elections Canada is the non-partisan agency responsible for the conduct of elections in Canada, including federal elections, by-elections and referendums. Elections Canada is an independent non-partisan agency reporting directly to the Parliament of Canada. In Political science, nonpartisan denotes an Election, event or organization in which the participants declare or do not formally have a Political party See also Canadian electoral system, Timeline of Canadian elections The Parliament of Canada (Parlement du Canada has two chambers. A by-election or bye-election (called special election in the United States) is an Election held to fill a political office that has become vacant A referendum (plural referendums or referenda) ballot question, or plebiscite (from Latin plebiscita It is headed by the Chief Electoral Officer. The Chief Electoral Officer was created in 1920 by the Dominion Elections Act.

Contents

Representation in the House of Commons

Representation in the House of Commons is based on geographical divisions known as electoral districts, constituencies or ridings. A constituency is any cohesive corporate unit or body bound by shared structures goals or loyalty A constituency is any cohesive corporate unit or body bound by shared structures goals or loyalty A riding is an administrative jurisdiction or electoral district particularly in several current or former Commonwealth countries Each riding elects one member to the House of Commons, and the number of ridings is established through a formula set out in the Constitution. The Constitution of Canada is the supreme law in Canada; the country's Constitution is an amalgamation of codified acts and uncodified traditions

Riding boundaries are established by independent commissions, and take into account:

New commissions are set up following each decennial census to make any necessary revisions to existing boundaries, following criteria defined in the Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act. An anniversary (from the Latin anniversarius, from the words for year and to turn meaning (returning yearly known in English since c. The process of redefining electoral boundaries is called redistribution, and the results are recorded in a representation order. Redistricting, a form of redistribution, is the process of changing of political Borders in the United States The Representation Order of 2003 set the number of ridings at 308.

First past the post

Canada’s electoral system is referred to as a first past the post system. A voting system allows voters to choose between options often in an Election where candidates are selected for public office. The plurality voting system is a Single-winner voting system often used to elect executive officers or to elect members of a legislative assembly which is based on single-member The candidate with the most votes wins; an absolute majority is not needed. They receive a seat in the House of Commons and represent their riding as its Member of Parliament. A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a Parliament.

Elections occur every four years, except when the government of the day is defeated by a "no confidence" motion, which triggers an election at any time. Canada has broken with the tradition Westminster system and has fixed election dates. The Westminster system is a democratic Parliamentary system of Government modelled after the British government (the Parliament of the United Historically in Canada both the Prime Minister and the provincial Premiers have had the power to call a General election at will as is traditional in Westminster-style

Any number of candidates may run for election in an electoral district, but each candidate may only run in one district, either independently or under the banner of a political party. A political party is a Political organization that seeks to attain and maintain political power within Government, usually by participating in electoral Each party may endorse only one candidate per riding. Candidates who run for election without party affiliation may be designated as independent or as having no affiliation. In Politics, an independent is a Politician who is not Affiliated with any Political party.

A political party is a group of people who together:

To obtain the right to put the party name on the ballot, under the names of the candidates it endorses, a political party must register with the Chief Electoral Officer. A ballot is a device (originally a small ball—see blackball) used to record choices made by Voters Each voter uses one ballot and ballots are not At the 2000 election, there were 11 registered political parties operating at the federal level in Canada. The 2000 Canadian federal election was held on November 27, 2000, to elect 301 Members of Parliament of the Canadian House of Commons of See List of political parties in Canada. This article lists political parties in Canada. Federal parties See also List of federal political parties in Canada Provincial

After an election, the party with the most elected representatives usually becomes the governing party. The leader of this party becomes the Prime Minister of Canada and chooses people (usually MPs of his or her party) to head the various government departments. The Prime Minister of Canada ( French: Premier ministre du Canada) is the primary Minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus The party with the second largest number of MPs is called the Official Opposition. In Canada Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition ( French: L'Opposition Loyale de Sa Majesté) commonly known as the Official Opposition, is usually All the elected candidates have a seat in the House of Commons, where they vote on draft legislation (called Bills) and thus have an influence on government policy. For other uses see Bill. A bill is a proposed new law introduced within a Legislature that has not been ratified, adopted

Everyone must have access

All citizens have the right to a voice in choosing their parliamentary representatives. Canada’s electoral law requires the Chief Electoral Officer to inform the public about the system and about individual rights under that system, and to remove obstacles that may make voting difficult for some.

During an election, Elections Canada informs Canadians about their right to vote, how to get on the National Register of Electors and the voters list, and where and how they can vote. Suffrage (from the Latin suffragium, meaning "voting tablet" and figuratively "right to vote" probably from suffrago "hough" and originally Its public information activities include

Between elections, the agency publishes additional background information for the public, keeps its telephone enquiries centre and Website open to answer questions, and works with educators to encourage young people to vote when they become eligible.

Helping to remove obstacles to voting is an important part of Elections Canada’s work. Voters who are not able to vote on polling day can vote at the advance polls. Early voting, is the process which voters can cast their vote on a single or series of days prior to an election A mail-in special ballot is available for Canadians who are away from their ridings, traveling or temporarily resident overseas. Even Canadians in their own ridings during the election period may use the special ballot if they do not wish to go to a Polling Station. In special cases, electors with a disability may vote at home, in the presence of an election officer. Mobile polls serve voters living in certain institutions, such as nursing homes for people who are elderly or who have a disability.

Wherever possible, election officers at polling stations speak both official languages (English and French). English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people In addition, a deputy returning officer can appoint and swear in an interpreter to help communicate with a voter. In various parliamentary systems a Returning Officer is responsible for overseeing Elections in one or more constituencies

For voters with special needs, most polling stations provide level access, or voters can get a transfer certificate to vote at a station with level access. Templates are available for voters with a visual disability. On request, a deputy returning officer can help a voter with a disability or a voter who cannot read in any way that will enable the person to vote. A friend or relative can also assist the voter. Elections Canada maintains a toll-free TTY telephone enquiries line for voters who are deaf or hard of hearing.

All votes are made on the same standard heavy paper ballot which is inserted in a standard cardboard box, furnished by Elections Canada. The ballot and the box are devised to ensure that no one except the elector knows the individual choice that was made. Counting the ballots is done by hand in full view of the representatives of each candidate. There are no mechanical, electrical or electronic systems involved in this process.

References

See also

External Links

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