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The Parliament of Canada (French: Parlement du Canada) has two chambers. 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 The Canadian electoral system is based on a Parliamentary system of Government, modelled on that of the United Kingdom. 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 The Canadian electoral system is based on a Parliamentary system of Government, modelled on that of the United Kingdom. The Parliament of Canada (Parlement du Canada is Canada 's legislative branch, seated at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario. 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 Government, bicameralism (bi + Latin la ''camera'' chamber is the practice of having two legislative or Parliamentary chambers Thus a bicameral The House of Commons (French: Chambre des Communes) has 308 members, elected for a maximum five-year term in single-seat constituencies. 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 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 A constituency is any cohesive corporate unit or body bound by shared structures goals or loyalty The Senate (French: Sénat) has 105 appointed members. 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 Conservative government supports an elected Senate, but has made no substantive moves in that direction.
Although four parties are currently represented in Parliament, Canada has two dominant political parties, the Conservatives and Liberals, that have governed the country in some form since its formation in 1867. A two-party system is a form of Party system where two major Political parties dominate voting in nearly all Elections at every The Conservative Party of Canada ( Parti conservateur du Canada) colloquially known as the " Tories " is a conservative The Liberal Party of Canada ( Parti libéral du Canada) colloquially known as the Grits (originally " Clear Grits " is a major Canadian political
Historically, the Prime Minister could ask the Governor General to call an election at virtually any time, although one had to be called no later than five years after the return of the writs the last election under section 4 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Prime Minister of Canada ( French: Premier ministre du Canada) is the primary Minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus The Governor General of Canada ( French: Gouverneure générale du Canada, or: Gouverneur général du Canada) is the vice-regal representative Section Four of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is one of three democratic rights sections in the Charter. 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 same provision applies in all provinces and territories, although some provinces have local laws that require elections to be even earlier. The provinces and territories of Canada combine to make up the world's second largest country in total area. However, in 2007 the Conservative-controlled Parliament passed an act fixing federal election dates every four years, unless the government loses the confidence of the House of Commons.
The five-year time limitation is strictly applied to the life of the Parliament or Assembly in question—this body is not deemed to have been "formed" until the return of the writs and ceases to exist the moment it is dissolved. In Parliamentary systems a dissolution of parliament is the dispersal of a Legislature at the call of an Election. It is therefore possible to run slightly longer than five years between election days, as was the case between 1930 and 1935. The Canadian federal election of 1930 was held on July 28, 1930 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 17th Parliament The Canadian federal election of 1935 was held on October 14, 1935 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 18th Parliament
It is also possible for a general election to be delayed should Canada be embroiled in a war or insurrection. War is an international relations Dispute, characterized by organized Violence between National Military units An insurgency is a violent internal uprising against a sovereign government that lacks the organization of a revolution This provision was enacted to allow Prime Minister Robert Borden to delay a federal election for about a year during World War I. Not to be confused with his cousin Frederick Borden, Canadian Minister of Militia and Defence from 1896 to 1911 World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Since then, the provision has only been used twice, both times by provincial governments—Ontario delayed an election for a few weeks in the year following the Armistice in 1918. The Ontario general election 1919 was the fifteenth general election held in the Province of Ontario, Canada. Saskatchewan was the only jurisdiction to delay a general election by more than five years due to World War II, but held an election in 1944 (six years after the previous vote). World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The Saskatchewan general election of 1944 was the tenth provincial election in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan.
Traditionally, governments have waited four years between elections, but under Jean Chrétien's Liberal government in the 1990s, elections were held on average every three and half years. Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien, (generally known as Jean Chrétien) (born January 11, 1934) is a Canadian politician who was the twentieth Prime Parties generally only wait the maximum of five years between elections if they expect to lose, and hope (usually in vain) that a postponement will allow more time for things to change in their favour.
Elections are generally held in either the fall or spring. This avoids the problems of a winter campaign, where outdoor events are harder to hold. It also avoids the problems of the summer, when many Canadians are on holiday.
Using the plurality voting system, Canadians vote for their local Member of Parliament (MP), who sits in the House of Commons. 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 A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a Parliament. Canadians do not vote directly for the Prime Minister, nor do they vote for senators.
By-elections can be held between general elections when seats become vacant. 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 It is at the discretion of the Prime Minister to call by-elections, but they must be called between the 11th and 180th day after the chief electoral officer receives notice of the vacancy. [1] The federal government can also hold nation-wide referendums on major issues. A referendum (plural referendums or referenda) ballot question, or plebiscite (from Latin plebiscita The last referendum was held in 1992 on proposed constitutional changes in the Charlottetown Accord. The Charlottetown Accord was a package of constitutional amendments proposed by the Canadian federal and provincial governments in 1992. On occasion, one particular issue will dominate an election, and the election will in a sense be a virtual referendum. The most recent instance of this was the 1988 election, which was considered by most parties to be a referendum on free trade with the United States. The Canadian federal election of 1988 was held November 21, 1988, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 34th Parliament Free trade is a system in which the trade of goods and services between or within countries flows unhindered by government-imposed restrictions The United States of America —commonly referred to as the
Every person who is Canadian citizen 18 years of age or older is allowed to vote except for the Chief Electoral Officer and the Deputy Chief Electoral Officer. The Chief Electoral Officer was created in 1920 by the Dominion Elections Act. In the Canada Elections Act, inmates serving a sentence of at least two years are also prohibited from voting, but on October 31, 2002, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in Sauvé v. Canada that such a law violated the section 3 of the Charter, and was rendered of no force or effect. 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 Sauvé v Canada (Attorney General, 3 SCR 519 is a leading Supreme Court of Canada decision where the Court held that Prisoners have a right to vote Section Three of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is a section of the Charter that constitutionally guarantees all Canadian citizens
Election turn-out has been steadily falling for many decades, although turnout rose by four percent in the last election. Currently, about sixty percent of registered voters vote in federal elections, but this amounts to less than 50% of the eligible, adult population.
The most recent election was held on January 23, 2006. 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 Events 393 - Roman Emperor Theodosius I proclaims his nine year old son Honorius co-emperor Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.
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Length of election campaigns
The length of election campaigns can vary, but under the Canada Elections Act the minimum length of a campaign is 36 days. Canada Elections Act (2000 c 9 is an Act of the Parliament of Canada respecting the Election of members of parliament to the Canadian There is no explicit maximum length for a campaign, although section 5 of the Charter requires that the Parliament sit at least once every twelve months, and thus a campaign would have to conclude in time for returns to be completed and parliament to be called into session within twelve months of the previous sitting. Section Five of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is a part of the Constitution of Canada, and the last of three democratic rights in the Charter The federal election date must be set on a Monday (or Tuesday if the Monday is a statutory holiday).
The longest election campaign was the 1926 election following the King-Byng Affair which lasted 74 days. The Canadian federal election of 1926 was held on September 14 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 16th Parliament of Canada. The King-Byng Affair was a Canadian Constitutional crisis that occurred in 1926 when the Governor General of Canada, Lord Byng of Vimy, refused Prior to the adoption of the minimum of 36 days in law, there were six elections that lasted shorter periods of time. The last of these was the 1904 election which occurred many decades before the time limit was imposed. The Canadian federal election of 1904 was held on November 3 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 10th Parliament of Canada.
In practice, the Prime Minister will generally keep a campaign as brief as is legal and/or feasible, because spending by parties is strictly limited by the Elections Act, a law which contains no provisions that would allow for increased spending in a lengthy campaign. The 1997, 2000 and 2004 elections were all of the minimum 36 days in length which has led to a common misconception that elections must be 36 days long. The Canadian federal election of 1997 was held on June 2, 1997, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 36th Parliament of The 2000 Canadian federal election was held on November 27, 2000, to elect 301 Members of Parliament of the Canadian House of Commons of The Canadian federal election 2004 (more formally the 38th General Election) was held on June 28, 2004 to elect members of the Canadian House of However, prior to 1997, elections averaged much longer: aside from the 47 day campaign in 1993, the shortest election period after World War II was 57 days and many were over 60 days in length. The Canadian federal election of 1993 (officially the 35th general election) was held on October 25 of that year to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including
Much speculation had surrounded how long the campaign for the 39th federal election would be in 2006, especially as it became certain the election would be called in the weeks preceding Christmas 2005. 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 The government of Joe Clark, which fell on December 12, 1979, recommended a campaign of 66 days for the resulting election, and nothing legal barred a similarly lengthened campaign. Charles Joseph "Joe" Clark PC CC AOE (born June 5 1939 is a Canadian Journalist, Politician, Statesman Events 627 - Battle of Nineveh: A Byzantine army under Emperor Heraclius defeats Emperor Khosrau II 's Persian Year 1979 ( MCMLXXIX) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1979 Gregorian calendar) The Canadian federal election of 1980 was held on February 18, 1980 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 32nd Parliament In the end, the 2006 election was called on November 29, 2005, for January 23, 2006—making a 55-day long campaign. Events 1777 - San Jose California, is founded as el Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 393 - Roman Emperor Theodosius I proclaims his nine year old son Honorius co-emperor Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.
Provincial elections
The following table lists the results of the most recent provincial and territorial elections. The provinces and territories of Canada combine to make up the world's second largest country in total area. A link to complete lists for each province and territory is below. The winning party is indicated in bold and by the coloured bar at the left of the table. The table does not show the current state of the parties within the legislative bodies; refer to the articles on the individual houses for the current state. This is a list of the Legislative Assemblies of Canada 's provinces and territories.
In some cases the provincial parties are not associated with their federal equivalents. Most notably, in British Columbia and Quebec the provincial Liberals are wholly emancipated from the federal Liberals, and often completely differ from their federal counterparts on policy. Both the Saskatchewan and Yukon parties are closely tied to the Conservative party. Thus, names of provincial parties are sometimes misleading when associating a provincial party with a national party.
| Province | Date of most recent election |
Total Seats | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Progressive Conservative | Liberal | New Democrat | Other | ||||
| Alberta | 2008-03-03 | 72 | 9 | 2 | 83 | ||
| Saskatchewan | 2007-11-07 | 20 | 38 (Saskatchewan Party) | 58 | |||
| Ontario | 2007-10-10 | 26 | 711 | 10 | 107 | ||
| Newfoundland & Labrador | 2007-10-09 | 44 | 3 | 1 | 48 | ||
| Prince Edward Island | 2007-05-28 | 3 | 24 | 27 | |||
| Manitoba | 2007-05-22 | 19 | 2 | 36 | 57 | ||
| Quebec | 2007-03-27 | 481 | 41 (A.D.Q.) 36 (Parti Québécois) |
125 | |||
| Yukon | 2006-10-10 | 5 | 3 | 10 (Yukon Party) | 18 | ||
| New Brunswick | 2006-09-18 | 26 | 29 | 55 | |||
| Nova Scotia | 2006-06-13 | 23 | 9 | 20 | 52 | ||
| British Columbia | 2005-05-17 | 461 | 33 | 79 | |||
| Total | 213 | 246 | 125 | 125 | 709 | ||
Nunavut does not have political parties; political parties in the Northwest Territories were disbanded in 1905. There are a number of conservative parties in Canada, a country that has traditionally been dominated by two political parties, one liberal and one conservative Liberalism has been a strong force in Canadian politics since the late 18th Century Principles policies and electoral achievement The NDP grew from populist, agrarian and democratic socialist roots The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is one of two components of the Legislature of Alberta, the other being the Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta. Alberta's 27th general election was held on March 3 2008. It was expected to be called early because the governing Progressive Conservatives held a The Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan is one of two components of the Legislature of Saskatchewan, the other being the Lieutenant-Governor of Saskatchewan The 26th Saskatchewan general election was held on November 7, 2007; the writ was dropped on October 10, 2007. The Saskatchewan Party is a Centre-right Political party in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. See also Politics of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (also known as Ontario Legislative Assembly or OntLA) is the Legislature The Ontario general election of 2007 was held on October 10 2007 to elect members ( MPPs) of the 39th Legislative Assembly of the Province The Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly is one of two components of the General Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador, the other being the Lieutenant-Governor The Newfoundland and Labrador general election of 2007 was held on October 9, 2007 to elect members of the House of Assembly of the Province The Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island is one of two parts of the General Assembly, the other being the Lieutenant-Governor. The 63rd Prince Edward Island general election was held on May 28 2007. The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba and the lieutenant governor form the Legislature of Manitoba the legislative branch of government in the The Manitoba general election held on May 22 2007 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba The National Assembly of Quebec (Assemblée nationale du Québec is the name for the legislative body of the province of Quebec, Canada. The Quebec general election of 2007 was held in the Canadian province of Quebec on March 26, 2007 to elect members of the The Action démocratique du Québec (ADQ is a conservative, nationalist and autonomist provincial Political party in Quebec The Parti Québécois ' is a Sovereignist Political party that advocates national sovereignty for the Canadian province of Quebec and The Yukon Legislative Assembly is the Legislative assembly for Yukon, Canada. The 32nd Yukon general election was held on October 10 2006, in the Yukon Territory in Canada to elect members of the Yukon Legislative The Yukon Party is a conservative political party in the Yukon Territory of Canada. The Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick is located in Fredericton. The 2006 general election (more formally the 56th general election) was held on September 18, 2006, in the province of New Brunswick The Nova Scotia Legislature, consisting of the Lieutenant Governor (sometimes referred to as the Governor) and the House of Assembly, is the The 2006 election (more formally 60th Nova Scotia general election) in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada was held on June 13 The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia is one of two components of the Parliament of British Columbia, the other being the Lieutenant-Governor The 38th British Columbia general election was held on May 17, 2005, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia Nunavut (ˈnuːnəvʊt ( Inuktitut syllabics: ᓄᓇᕗᑦ is the largest and newest territory of Canada; it was separated officially from the The Northwest Territories (ˌnɔrθˌwɛstˈtɛrɨtɔriz ( NWT or NT; French, les Territoires du Nord-Ouest) is a territory For lists of general elections in each province and territory, see the infobox at the bottom of the article.
1Note: Provincial Liberal Parties that are not affiliated with the federal Liberal Party of Canada
Municipal
- Ontario municipal elections, 2003
- Ontario municipal elections, 2006
- List of Toronto municipal elections
- List of Ottawa municipal elections
- Results of mayoral elections in Winnipeg
Senate nominee (Alberta)
- Alberta Senate nominee election, 1989
- Alberta Senate nominee election, 1998
- Alberta Senate nominee election, 2004
See also
- List of elections in the Province of Canada (pre-Confederation)
- Canadian federal election results since 1867
- Electronic voting in Canada
- Electoral calendar
- Electoral system
- Canadian electoral calendar
- List of Canadian federal electoral districts
- Past Canadian electoral districts
- Referendums in Canada
- List of federal by-elections in Canada
External links
- Maple Leaf Web—Political Education Website
- Adam Carr's Election Archive
- Pollingreport.ca
- Nodice.ca—Complete Coverage of Federal, Provincial and Territorial Elections in Canada
- CBC Digital Archives—Voting in Canada: How a Privilege Became a Right
- CBC Digital Archives—Campaigning for Canada
- Predicting the 2006 Canadian Election
Publications
The Hill Times: Canada's national newsweekly of politics and government
The Tyee's Election Blog: Canada's Daily Election Blog based in British Columbia
The Tyee: Daily Election stories from this daily independent BC-based online news source
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