Canadian Government Flashcards
What is the federal government’s role/which area(s) does it apply to?
Controls matters that pertain to the entire country
What is the provincial government’s role/which area(s) does it apply to?
Deals with matters that only apply to their province/territory
What is the municipal government’s role/which area(s) does it apply to?
Deals with matters that applies to cities or towns
Give 3 examples of the duties of the federal government
National security (defence and military)
International relations
Banking and money
Postal services
Citizenship and immigration
Give 3 examples of the duties of the provincial government
Schools and education**
Healthcare**
Social assistance
Natural resources
Licenses
(** are very important)
Give 3 examples of the duties of the municipal government
Waste management (garbage)
Libraries
Water
Snow removal
Transit
Building permit
Property tax
What are shared responsibilities between all 3 governments? Name 3.
Roads
Laws
Police
Tourism
Environment
Parks
What does jurisdiction mean?
Power
True or false: Canada has a parliamentary democracy
True
Where are the parliament buildings located
Ottawa
What are the 3 institutions in Canada’s parliament?
House of Commons, senate, monarch
Who is the current monarch and head of state? Does he/she have any political power?
King Charles lll, he does not have any political power.
Who represents the king in Canada? How is he chosen?
The Governor General, who is appointed by the King based on the Prime minister recommendation.
Who is the current Governor General of Canada? What sets him/her apart from the previous Governor Generals?
Mary Simon- the first indigenous Governor General in Canada
Are the members of the House of Commons elected or appointed?
Elected by the Canadian population
What are the members of the House of Commons called?
Members of parliament or MPs
What is the difference between right wing parties compared to left winged parties?
Right wing- conservative and traditional
Left- progressive and liberal
What are the five main parties?
Liberal, conservative, NDP (new Democratic Party), Bloc Québécois, Green
Who is the party leader of the liberal party?
Justin Trudeau
Who is the party leader of the conservative party?
Pierre Poilievre
Who is the party leader of the Bloc Québécois party?
Yves-François Blanchet
Who is the party leader of the NDP party?
Jagmeet Singh
Who is the party leader of the green party?
Elizabeth may
Why isn’t the Green Party considered an official party?
In order to be an official party, they must have a minimum of 12 seats.
How many seats are in the House of Commons?
338
How many total riding are in Canada
338
What is a riding?
Territory whose population elects someone to represent them in government
How many federal ridings are in Quebec?
78
Why might you want to spoil your ballot?
To show that you do not like any of the options of the parties
Is there a limit to how many times an MP can be elected to the House of Commons?
No
What is the first past the post system
A system where the candidate with the most votes in a riding wins. The party with the most ridings wins.
How often does a federal election HAVE TO BE held?
Every 4 years
How often CAN a federal election be held?
Whenever the prime minister asks the Governor General to call an election
True or false: the party that receives the most votes might not necessarily win the election
True
True or false: there is a limit to how many times a prime minister can serve
False, there is no limit
What is the official opposition
The party that wins the second largest number of seats becomes the official opposition, and the leader of that party becomes the leader of the official opposition. Challenges the governments bills and policies in the house of commons
What is a majority government?
A government who has the majority of seats in the House of Commons (50% of seats +1)
What is a minority government
A government that has less than half of the seats in the House of Commons. The sum of the opposition parties’ seats outnumber the governing party.
Is the current government (liberal) a majority or minority government?
Minority
What party makes up the official opposition?
Conservative
Name a disadvantage of having a minority government
- takes longer to pass bills
-more unstable and must depend on other governments to make compromises
-not all promises can be completed
Name an advantage of having a minority government
There is more collaboration between parties and more voices are heard.
What are members of the cabinet called?
Ministers
What are the duties of the Ministers (in the cabinet)?
They must support the government in all its decisions and are responsible for a portfolio
How are members of the Cabinet/ministers chosen?
The prime minister chooses his closest advisors from his party in the House of Commons
Who is the current federal cabinet minister
Chrystina freeland
How are senates chosen to do their job?
They are appointed by the Governor General on advice of the prime minister
“Upper house” and “lower house” corresponds to which institutions?
Upper= senate
Lower= House of Commons
What is the role of the senate?
They must carefully review legislation from the House of Commons. They read them and may debate them. majority of the time, they are passed.
True or false: new senators of named on election day
False
What is the Order of institutions that must approve a bill
Members if the cabinet makes bills, it’s goes to the House of Commons, then the senate, then the Governor General
Who represents the monarchy in the passage of a bill?
Governor General
What happens if the House of Commons rejects a bill made by the Cabinet?
They must restart completely, and the entire process must be restarted
True or false: the Governor General never refuses to pass a bill
True
Fill in the blank: Once the senate passes a bill, the bill is sent to the Governor General to receive _______ ______ and become a law.
Royal Assent
True are false: the parties represented in a provincial election are provincial parties and are the same as the federal parties.
False, they are different
What is the leader of the provincial governing party named?
Premier
Fill in the black: In a provincial election, the candidate who wins the most votes in a riding wins a seat and becomes a _______ of the ______ _______.
Member of the National Assembly
True or false: every province has a senate
False, only federal
What are the four provincial parties that hold seats in our National Assembly?
Coalation Avenir Québec
Quebec liberal party
Quebec solidaire
Parti québécois
Who is the leader of the coalition avenir Quebec?
Francois legault
What are 3 differences between the federal government and provincial government?
-no senate in provincial
-National assembly vs House of Commons
-have a different amount of seats
