Politics, constitution and administrative structure of Canada

Canada, a state that is part of the British Commonwealth, is a federal state, which includes ten provinces and three territories. The head of the state of Canada is the British Queen, and the official representative is its general in the country is the governor. The parliamentary system of Canada is based on the democratic traditions of British rule. The modern political system of the state is based on the new theses of the Westminster system. Such a system was formally approved at an official level in the year 1867. In the same year, there was another very important thing for Canada – the Constitution was adopted, on which legislation still relies. At the same time, not a lot of amendments have been made to the Constitution since then.

The head of the executive branch of power in Canada is Queen Elizabeth. But in reality, the Queen does not have great powers in the country and her title is partly a formality. Almost all functions of the executive power are carried out by the Prime Minister. The leader of any party from the coalition operating in the country can become a Prime Minister in Canada. The main condition behind this happening is by securing the largest number of votes during the elections. The head of the Cabinet of Ministers is also elected in the same way. It is worth noting that the Prime Minister submits candidatures to the Queen for the post of the Governor General of the country, who will represent it on the territory of the state.

Legislative power in Canada is represented by a Parliament, which has a bicameral structure. The upper house, the senate, includes deputies who were personally approved by the Governor General himself. In this case, candidates are usually represented by the Executive power, namely, the Prime Minister. It should be noted that the number of deputies in the senate can change constantly. At the moment there are only 105 members in the upper chamber and this number is the maximum. The main function of the Senate is to review bills and carry out various legislative amendments. The power of the senate is to make certain changes to the bills themselves. However, practice shows that the Senate in Canada is trying to get as far away as possible from the political struggle. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

The lower house of parliament is called the House of Commons. At the moment, its membership includes more than three hundred members. Candidates who have put up their candidatures for the general election can get the position. Every citizen of Canada, who has already reached the age of eighteen, has the right to vote. It should be noted that the number of members of the House of Commons is also not a constant figure. Everything depends on the population in each province or separate territory. Though, representation in the parliament of each individual territorial units is not always proportional.

The main parties in Canada are the parties of liberals and conservatives. At the same time, in recent decades, a serious political tussle has been observed between these two parties. Periodically, each gets more supporters, making the other opponents get overshadowed. Henna, which is currently in power, is a party of conservatives. Equally popular in modern times is the Democratic Party of Canada, as well as the so called Bloc Quebecois. The Judicial system in Canada is quite unique. The judiciary also belongs to the Queen. Equally important and influential are the decisions of the Royal Courts. Both the standard provincial courts and the federal ones work according to the classical principle of the pyramid with four levels. The Supreme Court was recognized as the highest court in Canada. It is this body that has the right to issue a final state sentence, which cannot be appealed.

The work of the local self-government is carried out on the basis of the legislation of a particular province or a separate territory. Within the territorial unit there are direct elections, and all residents vote for their favorite candidates. Central city councils are formed by representatives from all municipal bodies. Special attention should be paid to such a territorial unit as Nunavut. It was founded only 18 years ago, and it is the local authorities of this territory that have extended rights. Nunavut gained some autonomy.

Canada’s foreign policy today is quite active. The country actively cooperates with the United Nations, while actively participating in various peacekeeping programs. In addition, Canada helps countries that have fallen into difficult financial situations, thereby further strengthening their importance on the international arena. Also, Canada is trying to get closer to the United States of America due to its territorial location (the border between the United States and Canada is the longest in the world). Speaking about domestic policy, the State pays much attention to the settlement of the conflict in Quebec, which once belonged to France and was its colony. Despite the fact that it has been more than 250 years since her transition to the UK, the local population is still a native speaker of the French language and shares the same ethnic customs. In modern times, Canada has been going through a bad time in terms of political and state system. Most Canadians are determined to abandon monarchical ideals that infringe the national dignity of Canada. After all, these ideals have remained since the colonial times.