Canadian Federal Government: Branches and Federalism

• The Federal Government is made up of 3 branches: the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial.
• Canada's parliamentary system includes the Queen (King Charles III), Governor General (Mary Simon), Prime Minister (Justin Trudeau), the Cabinet, The Senate, The House of Commons, and the Supreme Court of Canada.

Function of Branches

• Executive branch creates policies and implements legislation.
• Legislative branch passes legislation.
• Judicial branch oversees and interprets laws.

Federalism

• The Federal government is responsible for national and international matters, such as armed forces, trade, currency, and criminal law.
• Canada is a Parliamentary democracy where representatives are elected to Parliament and Provincial/Territorial legislatures.
• Canada is a constitutional monarchy, with the monarch of Great Britain as the Head of State.
• Elected representatives usually belong to a political party.
• The party with the most representatives forms the government, and its leader becomes the Prime Minister.

Executive Branch

• Creating policies and implementing laws and regulations are the responsibilities of The Executive branch.
• This branch consists of the monarch (King Charles III), the Governor General (Mary Simon), the Prime Minister (Justin Trudeau), and the Cabinet.
• The Prime Minister appoints elected representatives to lead departments or ministries, who become ministers.
• Ministers and the Cabinet oversee areas like defense, transportation, and Indigenous services.

Executive Branch Equivalents

• Monarch's Representative: Governor General (Federal), Lieutenant Governor (Provincial)
• Leader: Prime Minister (Federal), Premier (Provincial)
• Appointed Members: Cabinet (Federal and Provincial)

Legislative Branch

• The Legislative Branch is responsible for debating, amending, and passing laws.
• The Federal Legislative branch includes the Senate (upper house) and the House of Commons (lower house).
• Members of Parliament (MPs) are elected federally.
• Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) are elected provincially or territorially.
• There is no Senate Provincially or Territorially.

Legislative Branch Equivalents

• Lower House: House of Commons (Federal), Legislative Assembly (Provincial)
• Elected by voters: MP (Federal), MLA (Provincial)
• Number of elected representatives: 338 (Federal), 87 (Provincial)
• Upper House: Senate (Federal), No equivalent (Provincial)
• Appointed by PM: Senate (Federal)

Judicial Branch

• Overseeing and administering the law is the responsibility of the Judicial branch.
• The Supreme Court of Canada, with nine appointed judges, heads the judicial branch federally.
• The Chief Justice of British Columbia leads the judicial branch at the provincial level.
• This branch interprets the law, punishes those who violate laws, and operates independently from the other branches of government.