By the Constitution Act, 1867, “the executive government of and over Canada is declared to continue and be vested in the Queen. She acts, ordinarily through the Governor General, whom she appoints, on the advice of the Canadian Prime Minister. Parliament consists of the Queen, the House of Commons and the Senate.

The Queen
The Queen is the formal head of the Canadian state. She is represented federally by the governor General, and provincially by the Lieutenant-Governors’.  All Federal Acts of Parliament begin with the words: “Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the senate and the House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows.” Acts of Legislatures in most provinces begin with similar words. All Members of Parliament swear or affirm allegiance to the Queen.

The Governor General

The Governor General is the Queen’s representative in Canada. Under the Constitution, the Governor General is appointed by the Queen on the advice of the federal Cabinet. The Governor General is appointed for a term of five years, though the term may be extended.

The House of Commons

The House of Commons is the major law-making body. In each of the country’s 308 constituencies, or ridings, the candidate who gets the largest number of votes is elected to the House of Commons, even if his or her vote is less than half the total. The number of constituencies may be changed every ten years, pursuant to the Constitution, and the Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act,  that allots parliamentary seats roughly on the basis of population. Every province must have at least as many Members in the Commons as it has in the Senate. The constituencies vary somewhat in size, within prescribed limits.

Every ten years the Electoral Boundaries Commission is charged with the task of finalizing new electoral riding boundaries across Canada to better reflect Canada’s growing population. There are now 308 Members of Parliament. These ridings and boundaries came into effect when the 2004 election was called.

 For more information on how the House of Commons works, click here.

The Senate

While seats in the House of Commons are distributed roughly in proportion to each province’s population, seats in the Senate were originally intended to be distributed to provide each major region of the country with approximately equal representation. The Senate has 105 members who are appointed by the Governor General on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. Senators hold office until age 75 unless they miss two consecutive sessions of Parliament. The Senate can initiate any bills except bills providing for the expenditure of public money or imposing taxes.

The Prime Minister

The Prime Minister is normally a Member of the House of Commons. A non-Member could hold the office but, by custom, would have to be elected to a seat very soon after appointment. A Prime Minister may lose his or her seat in an election but can remain in office as long as the party can command a majority in the House of Commons. Again, he or she must, by custom, win a seat promptly. The traditional way of arranging this is to have a Member of the party resign, creating a vacancy, which give the defeated Prime Minister the opportunity to run in a by-election.

The Cabinet

The Cabinet is the executive arm of the Government, consisting of those Members and Senators appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister. The Cabinet is the policy forming body of the government. Most Cabinet Ministers are responsible for the administration of one or more Government departments for reporting on their departments’ activities to Parliament. By convention, almost all Cabinet Ministers are members of the House of Commons. Members of Cabinet are bound by collective responsibility.

Parliamentary Secretary

A Parliamentary Secretary is appointed by the Prime Minister to assist a Minister. A Parliamentary Secretary may table documents or answer questions on behalf of the Minister

Official Opposition

In a parliamentary system the Official Opposition is the driving force in holding the government accountable and responsible. The process of contest and confrontation between the government and the opposition pushes the government to produce policies that have the widest possible acceptance. A good opposition shows leadership, discloses the flaws in the government and presents serious and acceptable policy alternatives. A good opposition acts as the conscience of the Government in power and wields considerable influence. A weak opposition would not be able to ensure accountability, nor would it be considered a credible alternative.