Canadian Prime Minister

Great Essays
Prime Minister vs American President The head of Government, or leader of a country, is thought to be the most powerful and influential member of a nation; yet, in a democratic nation, their power only stretches as far as their constitution and election outcomes permits. The people they choose to aid them in implementing their ideas and the congressional power their party holds, both tie in to the actual power a leader has to propose and employ their promises. When comparing two democratic nations such as the United States and Canada, one may assume that their way of governing would be quite similar, when in reality, the way these countries govern themselves has many more differences than similarities. The United States government is run …show more content…
Although it is promoted that candidates are over the age of 18, live within Canada and have citizenship. Eligibility is not nearly discussed to critiqued as much as in the states. The Prime Minister is expected to speak and or at least understand the two languages of Canada, French and English, a responsibility the President does not have to preform, seeing as there is no official language of the United States (1). The Canadian Prime Minister is given the title of Head of government, head of cabinet, leader of their political party (unless independent) and member of parliament. Unlike the states, Canada’s government works together to create and uphold law. As the head of government, the Prime Minister is expected to be a strong leader alongside his hand-picked cabinet when proposing bills and upholding the Canadian constitution. As head of cabinet, the prime minister has the duty to appoint their cabinet, keep their cabinet in line and hold cabinet meetings (1). As the active leader of their party, similar to the states, they must uphold party values and keep their likeability high, yet they have far more power implementing party discipline than the President. Because all of the branches work together, the party whip is able to act on behalf of the prime minister to keep their party members from making decisions …show more content…
In the United States, the president has far more military authority and global influence than the Prime Minister of Canada (4). The American President has to be far more cognisant of global inequality and when to take action, due to the United States Military being regarded as the strongest Militant force the World. In Canada, the Prime Minister typically makes militant decisions based on the advice given to them by their minister of defence and because of our smaller population, hold less worldly power. However, even though the U.S. president has more global influence, the Canadian Prime Minister holds more power when it comes to their domestic issues and governing their country. Prime Ministers power over their party, voting system and appointive power, far outweigh the ability of a president. Prime Ministers can appoint and be a crucial member in determining who their party officially elects to run in electoral districts around Canada. They choose their cabinet, and (If they have a majority) they are able to pass law as they see fit. When it comes to manipulating the voting system, the President is at a disadvantage. With the title of head of state, the active president receives immense public exposure, and if they receive good publicity, can help them win another term. Because of fixed election days and the titles the president hold, it is very

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Topic: This essay will focus on Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau otherwise known as Pierre Elliott Trudeau the 15th Prime Minister of Canada and the controversial issue of, if he met the challenges of his era or if he made things worse for Canada. Pierre Trudeau was born in Montreal, Quebec, on October 18, 1919 to a wealthy bilingual family. Trudeau graduated from university to enter law school in Montreal. As a student he was conscripted to join the Canadian army, he was against conscription and supported an anti-conscription candidate in a local election. He then was expelled as a result of political activism. Trudeau became a liberal member of Parliament (MP) in 1965, a liberal party leader, and the Prime Minister of Canada in 1968. Soon after Trudeau was elected he was faced with many challenges Canadians needed taken care of. French and English citizens were in dispute, immigrants were not being protected and valued, and Canada was still under British…

    • 746 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Being elected as prime minister of Canada is the greatest honour a Canadian political leader can receive. Lester Bowles Pearson was the most impactful man ever to take on the role of prime minister. Lester B. Pearson Pearson deserves this title because he defined Canada 's identity whilst creating and improving various social programs, which drastically improved the overall quality of life in Canada.(Biris ‘6’) Additionally, Pearson elegantly established Canada as a peacekeeping nation through his international relationships.(Biris ‘2’)…

    • 1789 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Considering his views towards Quebec, Trudeau said in 1968, “I am trying to put Quebec in its place, and the place of Quebec is in Canada.” Prior to becoming Prime Minister, Trudeau, was concerned about Quebec’s political state. To help the French feel more comfortable and accepted, Trudeau had made numerous comments towards the problem. He said, “Canada will be a strong country when Canadians of all provinces feel at home in all parts of the country, and when they feel that all Canada belongs to them.” Trudeau also created a French magazine, which he named, “Cité Libre” (Community of the Free), which gave details about democracy to help the citizens in Quebec. With his “Just Society”, Trudeau made it a main concern to make French Canadians feel more satisfied in civilization. With this in mind, Trudeau passed the Official Languages Act in 1969; making English and French Canada’s official languages. This act made a major difference in federal workplaces who served in both languages; accordingly, English administration employees were trained on how to speak French. The act made sure that services were providing in French in regions where there was at least ten percent of population who spoke French. Trudeau wished the French culture and heritage would balance the equality among English and French. Trudeau’s attempt to ease the strain between French and English Canadians was…

    • 1142 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Pierre Elliott Trudeau was born on the 18th of October 1919 in Montreal, Québec, and was the 15th Prime Minister of Canada. Before Trudeau became a politician he worked as an assistant professor until he was elected as a new Liberal to the House of Commons (Pierre Elliott Trudeau, 22 Nov 2014). Trudeau was the Prime Minister of Canada from 20th of April 1968 to 4th of June 1979, and again from March 3 1980 to June 29 1984. Even after his death in 28th of September 2000 he is still known as one of the greatest politicians of Canada because of all the historical events he set in place during his time as Prime Minister. Pierre Elliott Trudeau was Canada’s greatest Prime Minister because he created the Multicultural Policy, the Official Languages…

    • 1023 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    There was a quote said once by Pierre Trudeau, “Canada will be a strong country when Canadians of all provinces feel at home, in all parts of the country, and when they feel that all Canada belongs to them”. Trudeau was hoping that while he was Prime Minister, he would make every Canadian love their country and feel like everyone belongs. Trudeau took office in 1968 and ended his first term in 1979 and did a second term from 1980–84. During his time in office, he accomplished many things. Trudeau created the Official Languages Act of 1969, He enacted the War Measures Act during the FLQ Crisis in 1970, and made the Constitution Act of 1982. For these three Reasons, Pierre Trudeau was a successful Prime Minister during his time in office.…

    • 1189 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Trudeau Government

    • 1043 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Trudeau Government anticipates change in the foreign policy. As well as, change for Canada in the international realm. On October 19, 2015 there was a highly contested election in Canada. This election had a significant liberal victory and a high voter turnout. The parliament composition was taken by the new Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau. Justin Trudeau plans on reinventing Canada’s government and following in his father’s footsteps. Trudeau says “The future’s going to be better, and this is what we’re going to do to make it that way”. After winning the election Justin Trudeau is very optimistic about Canada’s future. Due to Canada’s decrease in power at the world’s “stage” the liberals decided to come up with a new plan to make Canada…

    • 1043 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The craze of Trudeaumania is making a comeback since way back in 1968. Canada’s current Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau is currently the headline for many newspapers all throughout Canada. However, the man whose footsteps Trudeau followed were his father’s, who was also Canada 's fifteenth Prime Minister. Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau was an extremely well known Prime Minister for Canada. He inspired many Canadians and rebuilt the nation. Trudeau has greatly impacted Canada during his sixteen years as Prime Minister. He had made many contributions and decisions for Canada while gaining respect from many Canadians. Trudeau gained great adoration and praise from the population, this admiration increased his fame which was named as Trudeaumania. Pierre Trudeau was an outstanding Prime Minister for Canada who made memorable…

    • 1684 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In this democratic nation, we have the right to vote, and in this election, which had the longest campaign in history, people all across Canada exercised their right to vote and elected a liberal majority government with Justin Trudeau as the Prime Minister of Canada. There were five main parties that campaigned for office; The Conservative Party of Canada, which was led by Steven Harper, earned 99 seats, The Liberal Party of Canada, which was led by Justin Trudeau, earned 184 seats, The New Democratic Party of Canada, which was led by Thomas Mulcaire, earned 44 seats, The Bloc Québécois Party, which was led by Gilles Duceppe, earned 10 seats, and The Green Party of Canada, which was led by Elizabeth May, earned 1 seat.…

    • 553 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Our current prime minister, Justin Trudeau, has one of the largest impacts on Canada. This essay on Justin Trudeau will show his impact on Canada as prime minister in 2017.…

    • 383 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In Canada's history there have been 22 Prime Ministers, Paul Martin was Canada's 21st Prime Minister who was succeeded by the current Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Paul Martin was in office as the leader of Canada as the Liberal Party from Dec 12th 2003 to February 6, 2006, Martin also served as Canada's 34th Minister of Finance from 1993 to 2002 and was born on August 28, 1938 as Paul Edgar Philippe Martin in Windsor, Ontario.…

    • 745 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Many people think that President of the United States has more power than Prime Minster of Canada. However, when we look at the constitution of both countries, we can see that Prime Minister of Canada has more power in his or her country than President of United States does. When we want to compare and differentiate the power of both Prime Minster of Canada and President of United States, we need to look at their system of Government, roles of both Prime Minster of Canada and President of United States on legislative power, party discipline, appointive power, influence, and military power, and ability to implement their agenda.…

    • 1437 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The U.S. has the House of Representatives and the Senate and in Britain Parliament consists of the House of Commons and the House of Lords. However, in the U.S. both chambers are elected, whereas it is only the House of Commons that is elected in Britain. Because of this, the President of the United States has more limitations to his power than the Prime Minister in Britain (Classroom.synonym.com). For example, Barack Obama was the previous Democratic President but had a Republican majority in Congress which made it difficult for him to get his policies through, as the Congress could vote down every suggestion from him. In Britain however, there such limitation on the Prime Minister’s power. However, his room for movement on various policies, for example, depends on his party’s majority in the House of Commons. The larger the majority, the more easily the PM and the government can get through policies and legislation, without the interference of any branches such as in the U.S. Therefore, if the Prime Minister has a large majority, he or she can make a significant change in Britain during their time in power (Ndla.no). In summary, both nations a\have two chambers, however the U.S.’s political system can give the President more limited power than the PM’s in…

    • 1014 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    The United States and the United Kingdom’s system of choosing the leader of vary greatly in how the processes are done. But if one were to investigate and research further into the systems, one would find the fundamental processes are similar in which they operate with only a few key differences between the two electoral processes. One of the major differences between the United Kingdom and the United States is that in the UK citizens do not directly elect the leader of the country, they simply vote for members of parliament, and the party with the most seats in parliament usually has its leader selected by the Queen as its prime minister. (UK Parliament 2015) The difference between that process and the one present in the United States is that…

    • 2495 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    There are many benefits and powers both available and granted to the Prime Minster that can help them whilst in office. These powers can vary in many forms such as helping to solidify their position, gaining support on a view or decision and even playing down their own responsibilities. However the extent to which these powers can go have to be taken into consideration as Prime Ministers are still susceptible to pressure groups, mass public opinion and even other MP 's in parliament. This essay will assess the abundance of different powers the Prime Minister has at their disposal and will expand on their importance on influencing decisions as well as how far these powers can truly extend to. Taking into consideration the powers that Prime Ministers…

    • 1930 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    There are two different systems of a democratic government, parliamentary and presidential, which are seen in multiple countries across the world. World powers such as the Canada and the United Kingdom thrive with their parliamentary system while the United States of America has shown stability and power with their presidential system. While both parliamentary and presidential systems have benefits and drawbacks, parliamentary systems are evidently more democratic because it gives majority of its power to the people by allowing them to call for a vote of no confidence and not setting maximum limits to prime minister term periods. This paper will compare and contrast the two democratic systems, discuss the benefits and critiques of each and finally examine why…

    • 1169 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays