Chapter 4 – Power and Countervailing Power

Review

Mr. Wilson History 404

What are the 3 different levels of government in Canada and what are they responsible for?

Federal: Responsible for the federal budget, the military,

foreign policy, federal law

Provincial: Responsible for the provincial budget, Education,

Medicare, electrical and provincial transportation networks.

Municipal: Responsible for the municipal budget,

transportation, waterworks, zoning, parking, etc.

What is a "Constitutional Monarchy" and how does that apply to Canada's power structure?

Canada is considered a Constitutional Monarchy because of its ties to the Crown of England.

We still have positions like the Governor General (who was the legal representative of the King/Queen) which no longer have any direct power – but they have a lot of symbolic power.

However, the Constitution states that the power to run the country comes from the voters.

From the chapter, what do we mean when we are talking about "power?" What are we talking about when we say "countervailing power?" Power meaning the authority to make laws

and enforce them for the “greater good” of our population.

Countervailing power meaning the checks and balances that are in place to make sure those in power are responsible and not taking advantage of their situation.

Explain how making decisions "for the common good" can be both a good thing and possibly a bad thing? Working for the “greater good” means making

decisions for a community as a whole, even if everyone does not necessarily agree.

However, this can be both a bad thing if the decisions being made do not favour the minorities being excluded.

Fill in the following table:

1763 - 1774

Constitution or Act Treaty of Paris

Principal Changes Switching from French to British rule…

Cause for the change The French lost to the British at the plains of Abraham

Fill in the Table:

1774 - 1791

Constitution or Act The Quebec Act

Principal Changes Payment of the tithe was mandatory, the archbishop was appointed to the Legislative Council, French civil law was reinstated.

Cause for the change To appease the French population and the Catholic church in the hopes of keeping the French quiet!

Fill in the Table:

1791-1840

Constitution or Act The Constitutional Act

Principal Changes Canada was split into Upper and Lower Canada.

Cause for the change To deal with the issues between the two cultures, the British gave them each their own government.

Fill in the Table:

1840-1867

Constitution or Act The Act of Union

Principal Changes Re-Uniting upper and lower Canada into one government.

Cause for the change After the rebellions and Durham’s report, this was an attempt to make the French a minority in the Legislative Assembly.

Fill in the Table:

1867

Constitution or Act The British North American Act

Principal Changes The BNA Act gave Canada the right to form its own government and Constitution.

Cause for the change The politics in England were changing to a more liberal view – and they decided to “free” their Colony.

Draw a diagram of the Royal Government established by France in 1663.

King Louis XIV

Minister of the Marine

Captains of the Militia

Citizens

The Sovereign CouncilGovernor General Intendant

What was the main power struggle within the Royal Government? The main power struggle was between the

Governor General and the Intendant. The main reason was that the Intendant

controlled the money while the Governor General controlled the miliatry.

Both had similar amounts of power, which made things difficult!

Considering how it was set-up, how much power did the Church have at this point and why?

The Church had a ton of power because the Bishop or the Archbishop was on the sovereign council.

As a result, the Church had quite a bit of say in making new laws, policies, etc.

What happened in 1701 that helped the French with the Fur Trade? The Great Peace of Montreal. 30 different Amerindian nations were present

and they made peace together and with the French.

The main idea was to solidify relations so they could do business and make money!

Describe the relationship between the French colony and the Mother Country. What is your main example to support your answer? The Mother Country saw their colony as a

way of making money. Thus the relationship was very “top-down.” The main example of this relationship was

how France ceded the ENTIRE colony to England in a heartbeat.

What did the new British Government look like in Canada after the conquest?

Place the following on a timeline: The Durham Report, The Quebec Act, The

Constitutional Act, The Act of Union, The Rebellions, The American Revolution

1. The Quebec Act (1774)

2. The American Revolution (1775-1783)

3. The Constitutional Act (1791-1840)

4. The Rebellions (1837-1838)

5. The Durham Report (1839)

6. The Act of Union (1840)

What kind of attitude did the Church adopt once the British took

over? Was this a good idea? Why or why not?

The Church adopted a conciliatory stance with the British.

The British were happy to have the help of the Church because they were worried about the French population uprising!

Is was a great idea and for the most part – it worked for quite some time.

How did the British Merchants feel towards the French in Quebec after the conquest? What did they want and why? The British Merchants felt the French were

“beneath” them – they acted like conquerors. They wanted the French to be assimilated

into British culture and they wanted British law applied to Quebec, so that it would be easier to do business.

When the Governor General would pick his Legislative Council, what kind of men and from what background did he usually choose them? The Legislative Council was picked from the

rich, upper-class of British merchants. This was a problem for the French, because

of how the Merchants felt about them.

What did the Canadian Government look like in 1791?

Governor General

Executive Council Legislative Council

Legislative Assembly(Representatives from various political parties)

Property Owners, mostly men!

APPOINTED! APPOINTED!

ELECTED!

What did the Parti Patriote want and how did the situation deteriorate into a Rebellion?

The Parti Patriote wanted more democracy for Canada and more autonomy over their economic decisions (at that point, England was still controlling quite a lot.)

When the Governor General refused their 92 Resolutions, they started to spread their ideas through public speeches in 1837.

And by the end of 1837 – fights had started breaking out in the streets, and the Military was called in to deal with the situation.

What was the main motivation behind the Durham Report and the Act of Union?

The Durham report was written after the Rebellions in order to ascertain what happened.

Durham suggested re-uniting Canada’s Legislative assemblies with the intention of making the French a political minority.

The Act of Union was passed a year later.

What did the Canadian Government look like after the Act of Union?

What happened after the Act of Union that the British did not expect? Which party then came into being? Once the new Unionized Assembly was

formed, the British expected people to align themselves based on their language and culture (i.e.: French on one side, English on the other.)

Instead, they made parties based on their politics (mostly Conservatives and Liberals.)

This is how the Reform Party came into being around the 1840’s.

What did Governor Elgin finally give to the Legislative

Assembly, and what did he promise to do? Governor Elgin (1847-1854) gave the Reform

Party, because they had a majority, the right to name the members of the EXECUTIVE COUNCIL.

He also promised that the Governor General would no longer identify with one political party, nor would he intervene with the Executive Councils decisions.

The GG would only help with defence and foreign relations.

Governor Elgin’s decision made one group very angry, what did they do as a result? The Conservatives were not happy with

Elgin’s decision, because very suddenly, the Reformers had a lot of power.

As a result the Conservatives set fire to the Parliament building in Montreal.

For years afterwards, the parties in the Assembly could not come to any agreements – which led to the eventual adoption of the British North American Act in 1867.

Which Act was passed in 1867 and what did it give Canada the right to do?

With the adoption of the BNA act of 1867, Canada became a federation made up of four provinces.

The BNA act gave the provinces power over things like education, health care and social services.

This split between the Federal and the Provincial governments helped the Canadian government get over the events surrounding the burning of parliament.

Federal Legislative Assembly Provincial Legislative Assembly

Provincial Executive AssemblyFederal Executive Assembly

Prime Minister Prime Minister

Crown of England

Governor General

Legislative Council (Senate)Lieutenant Governors (one per

province)

Why did Canada go to war so quickly in 1914? Describe what the propaganda looked like and why the French Canadians were not impressed?

Canada went to war in 1914 because it was still very attached to the British government.

This attachment is clearly visible in the WWI propaganda posters.

This element, mostly British, did not impress the French Canadian citizens because WWI was not only about the British – but you’d never know from looking at the posters!

What was the “Grand Noirceur?”

The Grand Noirceur refers to the period when Maurice Duplessis was in control of Quebec.

He was particularly conservative and religious, hence the term “Noirceur,” as in a move backwards or towards dark times.

What happened during the Louis Riel Rebellions? Louis Riel was the leader of the Metis (which means

Half-French / Half-Native or “Mixed”) and the Amerindians out in Manitoba

He set up his own government in an attempt to piss-off the British enough so they would notice what was going on with respect to the Natives.

In 1870 - Riel executed Sir Thomas Scott who was there negotiating with him.

This led to what is now know as the Louis Riel Rebellions – Riel eventually lost and was publicly hanged.

What was the Indian Act and how did it have a

hige impact on the Natives for a long time? The Indian Act was put in place in an attempt

to ASSIMILATE the native population into “civilized” society.

This led to many previous treaties being ignored, the creation of special reserves for Indians and the implementation of the Residential schools.

How did the role of Women change during the Contemporary period and why?

At first women were denied the vote because of the position of the Church as well as the wealthy Merchants.

But after the emergence of the Suffragettes, and their role in WWI – women were finally granted the right to vote.

Today – women are still fighting against gender stereotypes and some obvious social imbalances in our system.

What are Unions and how do they act as a countervailing power? Unions act as a communication tool between

a worker and their employer. They were not always legal (e.g.: the padlock

act) but they became increasingly important after the Great Depression.

They act as a countervailing power to the economic power of major corporations, and they protect the interests of the general labour force.

What are lobbyist groups and how do they act as a countervailing power? Lobbyist groups are paid to specifically

influence the political system – and this can be a good thing, and sometimes it can be bad!

E.G.: a lobbyist group promoting more bike paths in Montreal? Vs. a lobbyist groups for the oil consortiums of Alberta?

Lobbyist groups can have a huge influence on political decisions and they can have an effect on the media – which can obviously influence the voters!

Name one of the newest countervailing powers to emerge in the last few elections. How has their situation changed since the end of WWII? The green party or the “Green” movement in

general. This group has served as a countervailing

power to the major political parties for many years now.

As environmental issues are becoming more and more important to the voters, you can see how the political platforms of the major parties have changed in the last few elections.

THE END!