Politics of Canada

This article is about national politics in Canada. For provincial politics, see Provinces and territories of Canada. For municipal politics, see Municipal government in Canada.
Politics of Canada
Polity typeFederal parliamentary constitutional monarchy
ConstitutionConstitution of Canada
Legislative branch
NameParliament
TypeBicameral
Meeting placeParliament Buildings
Upper house
NameSenate
Presiding officerRaymonde Gagné, Speaker
AppointerGovernor General
Lower house
NameHouse of Commons
Presiding officerGreg Fergus, Speaker
Executive branch
Head of state
CurrentlyKing Charles III
represented by
Mary Simon,
Governor General
Head of government
CurrentlyPrime Minister
Justin Trudeau
AppointerGovernor General
Cabinet
NameCabinet of Canada
Current cabinet29th Canadian Ministry
LeaderPrime Minister
Deputy leaderDeputy Prime Minister
AppointerGovernor General
Ministries29
Judicial branch
NameCourt system of Canada
Supreme Court
Chief judgeRichard Wagner
Politics of Canada
Government (structure)
The Crown
Executive
Legislative
Judicial
Elections
Local government
Foreign relations
Crown and Indigenous peoples
Related topics

The politics of Canada functions within a framework of parliamentary democracy and a federal system of parliamentary government with strong democratic traditions.[1] Canada is a constitutional monarchy where the monarch is head of state. In practice, executive authority is entrusted to the Cabinet, a committee of ministers of the Crown chaired by the Prime Minister of Canada that act as the executive committee of the King's Privy Council for Canada and are responsible to the democratically elected House of Commons.[2]

Canada is described as a "full democracy",[3] with a tradition of secular liberalism,[4] and an egalitarian,[5] moderate political ideology.[6][7][8] Extremism has never been prominent in Canadian politics.[9][10][11][12][13] The traditional "brokerage" model of Canadian politics leaves little room for ideology.[a][14] Peace, order, and good government, alongside an Implied Bill of Rights, are founding principles of the Canadian government.[15][16] An emphasis on multiculturalism and social justice has been a distinguishing element of Canada's political culture.[17][18][19] Canada has placed emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusion for all its people.[20][21]

The country has a multi-party system in which many of its legislative practices derive from the unwritten conventions of and precedents set by the Westminster parliament of the United Kingdom. The two dominant political parties in Canada have historically been the Liberal Party of Canada and the current Conservative Party of Canada (as well as its numerous predecessors).[22] Parties like the New Democratic Party, the Quebec nationalist Bloc Québécois and the Green Party of Canada have grown in prominence, exerting their own influence to the political process.[22]

Canada has evolved variations: party discipline in Canada is stronger than in the United States and United Kingdom, and more parliamentary votes are considered motions of confidence, which tends to diminish the role of non-Cabinet members of parliament (MPs). Such members, in the government caucus, and junior or lower-profile members of opposition caucuses, are known as backbenchers. Backbenchers can, however, exert their influence by sitting in parliamentary committees, like the Public Accounts Committee or the National Defence Committee.

  1. ^ Canadian Law, 6th ed. (Canadian ed.). Nelson Education. p. 109. ISBN 978-0-17-672826-7.
  2. ^ Nathan Tidridge (2011). Canada's Constitutional Monarchy. Dundurn. p. 58. ISBN 978-1-55488-980-8.
  3. ^ "Democracy Index 2017- The Economist Intelligence Unit". eiu.com. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
  4. ^ Anne Westhues; Brian Wharf (2014). Canadian Social Policy: Issues and Perspectives. Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press. pp. 10–11. ISBN 978-1-55458-409-3.
  5. ^ James Bickerton; Alain Gagnon (2009). Canadian Politics. University of Toronto Press. p. 56. ISBN 978-1-4426-0121-5.
  6. ^ David Johnson (2016). Thinking Government: Public Administration and Politics in Canada, Fourth Edition. University of Toronto Press. pp. 13–23. ISBN 978-1-4426-3521-0. ... most Canadian governments, especially at the federal level, have taken a moderate, centrist approach to decision making, seeking to balance growth, stability, and governmental efficiency and economy ... .
  7. ^ "Plurality-Majority Electoral Systems: A Review". Elections Canada. 27 August 2018. First Past the Post in Canada has favoured broadly-based, accommodative, centrist parties ... .
  8. ^ Amanda Bittner; Royce Koop (1 March 2013). Parties, Elections, and the Future of Canadian Politics. UBC Press. pp. 300–302. ISBN 978-0-7748-2411-8.
  9. ^ Blake, Raymond B. (Jan 2, 2024). "Locating the Right in Canadian Political History". American Review of Canadian Studies. 54 (1). Informa UK Limited: 1–8. doi:10.1080/02722011.2024.2326264. ISSN 0272-2011. Social conservatives and the extreme right have had limited success designing the direction and policies of Canada's right-wing political parties.
  10. ^ Ambrose, Emma; Mudde, Cas (2015). "Canadian Multiculturalism and the Absence of the Far Right". Nationalism and Ethnic Politics. 21 (2): 213–236. doi:10.1080/13537113.2015.1032033. S2CID 145773856.
  11. ^ "Canada's Secret to Resisting the West's Populist Wave". New York Times. 2017.
  12. ^ Geddes, John (Feb 8, 2022). "What's actually standing in the way of right-wing populism in Canada?". Macleans.ca. Retrieved Oct 31, 2022.
  13. ^ "A Moment for Canada's Far Right, Still Struggling for Support". The New York Times. Feb 7, 2022. Retrieved Nov 22, 2022.
  14. ^ Cochrane, Christopher (2010). Left/Right Ideology and Canadian Politics. Canadian Journal of Political Science / Revue Canadienne De Science Politique, 43(3), 583-605. Retrieved January 21, 2021,
  15. ^ John Dixon; Robert P. Scheurell (March 17, 2016). Social Welfare in Developed Market Countries. Routledge. p. 48. ISBN 978-1-317-36677-5.
  16. ^ Janina Boughey (2017). Human Rights and Judicial Review in Australia and Canada: The Newest Despotism?. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 105. ISBN 978-1-5099-0788-5.
  17. ^ Katherine Fierlbeck (2006). Political Thought in Canada: An Intellectual History. University of Toronto Press. p. 87. ISBN 978-1-55111-711-9.
  18. ^ "Social Justice – International Comparisons".
  19. ^ "Canada is the No. 1 Country in the World, According to the 2021 Best Countries Report". April 13, 2021.
  20. ^ Shibao Guo; Lloyd Wong (2015). Revisiting Multiculturalism in Canada: Theories, Policies and Debates. University of Calgary. p. 317. ISBN 978-94-6300-208-0. Archived from the original on April 13, 2016.
  21. ^ McQuaig, L. (2010). Holding the Bully's Coat: Canada and the U.S. Empire. Doubleday Canada. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-385-67297-9. Retrieved 2021-10-10.
  22. ^ a b Tom Lansford (2019). Political Handbook of the World 2018-2019. SAGE Publications. p. 263. ISBN 978-1-5443-2713-6.


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