Canada Prime Minister

Since the confederation of Canada in 1867 and the election of Sir John A. Macdonald as the first prime minister, the role of the nation’s leader has changed. While the prime minister is elected by the people to govern at the helm of Canada, “the excessive centralization of executive powers by the prime minister can damage good democratic government”. In our Westminster-style government, the power vested within the prime minister has become somewhat absolute, with too much control over the House of Commons. Over time, numerous factors have contributed to the decline of responsible government and the rise of the prime minister’s power. Such factors like the Canadian Constitution, the type of government, party solidarity and the liberty for the prime minister to choose members of both his Cabinet and the Senate have been crucial in the growth of power. The Canadian Constitution stands a symbol of pride for many Canadians but it is arguably one of the greatest problems behind prime ministerial power in Canada. The Constitution fails to directly specify the duties of the …show more content…
Similarly, to the issue with the Constitution, this type of government is also loosely structured in terms of defining the role of the prime minister, which has added to rise in power. Though it is synonymous with responsible government, “the great weakness of the Westminster system as practiced in Canada is that it lacks firm rules and thus must rely on the prime minister to act in good faith and not abuse those powers for merely partisan advantage”. In contrast to Canada, the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries, like Australia and New Zealand, have taken the liberties to write some sort of role outline. The possibility remains that a leader could have mal intentions, leaving Canadians to put their trust in the prime minister to govern in an honest manner, without the misuse of their