The Branches and Roles of Government in Canada

Social Studies 10MUNDY

3 Levels of Government

• Federal•Provincial •Municipal

3 Branches of Government

• Legislative• Executive• Judiciary

Legislative Branch

• The role of the people and groups involved in this branch is to:

– Create, debate and vote on possible laws

Legislative Branch

• Laws can be criminal, such as:– It is illegal to assault another person, punishable

by up to life imprisonment

• Laws can also be for any other matter as well, such as:– cell phone companies cannot charge more than

50 cents per minute of downloading– people with part-time jobs will have their income

taxes reduced by 35%

Legislative Branch

• 3 parts of the legislative branch at the Federal level are:

•Governor General• Senate

•House of Commons

Legislative Branch

• 2 parts of the legislative branch at the PROVINCIAL level are:

• Lieutenant Governor (similar to Governor General)

• Legislative Assembly (similar to House of Commons)

Legislative Branch

• The people involved in the House of Commons are called Members of Parliament; each are elected (one per riding – 308 ridings across Canada)

• The people involved in the Senate are called Senators; each are appointed (selected by the Prime Minister, then appointed formally by the Governor General) – 105 senators total

Executive Branch

• The role of the people and groups involved in this branch is to:

– Implement and carry out the laws made by the legislative branch

Executive Branch

• Laws are carried out by the various Ministries and Departments, such as:– BC Ministry of Education, which ensures there are

public schools, and creates the curricula (content) of each of the courses we study

– Department of National Defence, which manages our country’s army

– Delta Parks and Recreation, which maintains and cleans our local parks and sports fields

Executive Branch

• The person in charge of a ministry is known as a Minister, or Cabinet Minister

• Together, all the Ministers form a group known as the Cabinet

• Ministers are appointed by the Governor General (or Lieutenant Governor) after selected by Prime Minister (or Premier)

• They choose MP’s elected to House of Commons

Governor General

• The top position for both the Legislative and Executive Branches is the Governor General (or the Lieutenant Governors of each of the provinces)

• The Governor General represents the Queen of England

• The Queen of England is known as Canada’s HEAD OF STATE

Governor General

• The Queen’s job is to oversee that Canada’s government is effectively and legally managing the country

• The Queen cannot be here to do this, so she appoints a Governor General federally and one Lieutenant Governor for each of the provinces for 5 year terms

Governor General

• In the Legislative Branch, the Governor General approves all proposed laws passed through the House of Commons and Senate – this is known as Royal Assent;

• As well, he/she appoints the Prime Minister and formally starts elections

• In the Executive Branch, the Governor General approves all policies and appoints Ministers

Judicial Branch

• The role of the people and groups involved in this branch is to:

• Enforce laws that have been broken by anyone in Canada (including the other branches of government)

Judicial Branch

• The judicial branch is made up of the courts of each province, and the Supreme Court of Canada

• Judges and lawyers are the main positions for this branch

• Lawyers are hired but judges, such as Supreme Court Justices, are appointed by the Governor General and selected by the PM