Canadian Politics 101

1
Canadian Politics 101

• Talking to your kids about politics

2
Democracy

• Origins
• Democracy originated in the Agora (the ancient
  marketplace) of ancient Greece
• Principles
• -In a functioning democracy, the power resides
  with the PEOPLE.
• -One person, one vote. No matter who you are or
  what you do, if you are a citizen of voting age,
  your vote counts EQUALLY.

3
Canadian Democracy

• Head of State
• The Crown (Queen Elizabeth II) is the legal head
  of state for Canada, and appoints a Governor
  General (Michaëlle Jean) to represent it.
• The Governor General performs ceremonial duties
  and internationally represents Canadian culture.
• The Crown grants royal assent to all legislation
  passed in Parliament.
• The Canadian Head of State is primarily a
  symbolic position.

4
Canadian Democracy

• Head of Government
• The Prime Minister of Canada is the elected head
  of government.
• The PM is the leader of the political party with
  the most seats in the House of Commons.
• The PM and his personally appointed cabinet carry
  out the day-to-day decisions of government.
• The PM meets with other heads of government to
  discuss and decide international issues.

5
Canadian Democracy

• Parliament
• The Canadian Parliament consists of two chambers
  House of Commons and Senate.
• House of Commons
• Consists of 308 elected Members of Parliament
  (MPs)
• MPs debate issues, pass legislation, and hold
  the government of the day accountable.
• Senate
• Consists of 105 appointed senators
• Each senator represents a geographic region
• The Senate provides a chamber of sober second
  thought

6
Elections

• The PM asks the Governor General to dissolve
  Parliament and to call Federal Elections.
• A Federal Election must be held within 5 years of
  the last.
• Voters elect a Member of Parliament to represent
  their individual riding through their political
  party in the House of Commons
• Canada is divided into 308 ridings/constituencies.
  
• The party with the most MPs in the House of
  Commons is asked by the Governor General to form
  a ruling government.

7
Elections

• In each of the 308 federal ridings, the MP is
  elected by the voters using a single member
  plurality system (first past the post).
• In this system, the candidate with the most votes
  (even if that number is less than 50 of all
  votes) becomes the ridings MP.
• The MP is responsible for making sure that the
  views and opinions of the people in his or her
  riding are represented in the House of Commons.

8
Calgarys Federal Electoral Districts

• Calgary West MP Rob Anders
• Calgary Nosehill MP Diane Ablonzky
• Calgary Northeast MP Devinder Shory
• Calgary Centre North MP Jim Prentice
• Calgary Centre MP Lee Richardson
• Calgary East MP Deepak Obhrai
• Calgary Southeast MP Jason Kenney
• Calgary Southwest MP Stephen Harper

9
Political Parties

• Members of Parliament usually carry the flag of a
  national political party.
• In Canada there are 5 well-recognized parties
• Conservative Party,
• Liberal Party,
• National Democratic Party,
• Bloc Québécois (no candidates outside Quebec)
• Green Party.
• Sometimes MPs choose to run as independents,
  where they have no political party affiliation.

10
Getting Involved in Calgary West
11
How can YOU get involved?

• VOTE! You must be 18 years of age to vote in a
  federal election.
• Join a political party. Youth as young as 14 can
  become active members in their political party of
  choice.
• Write a letter to your Member of Parliament.
• Talk to your friends about politics.
• Read the newspaper, watch the news, stay up to
  speed! Members of a democracy have a
  responsibility to make informed decisions.