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…
Prime Minister of Canada is a great gig. If you’re going to be the leader of a country, it doesn’t get much better than Canada. We have so much going for us. One of our greatest assets actually has nothing to do with us at all but rather the stellar quality of our neighbours. And every Prime Minister since Mackenzie King could count on that. But that’s the thing about great neighbours, isn’t it? You think they’re gonna be there forever and then one day there’s a sold sign out front and you’re…
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. Growing up Paul Martin had first hand knowledge of Canada's…
In many countries such as Canada and the United States, the hegemony has been divided between the executive branch, the judiciary courts and the legislative branch. “Generally, the amount of power for each member of these institutions is to be uniformly divided; conversely, the fairly recent transformation has increasingly concentrated the majority of power towards the hearts of the government” ("Is the Canadian Prime Minister too Powerful?,"2010). In recent years, many political scientist have…
Have you ever wondered why Canada is so great? Or why Canada has free healthcare, social security, or unemployment insurance? Well, the answer is because our great prime ministers. Canada has had several great prime ministers. Great prime ministers that Canada has had include William Lyon Mackenzie King, Lester B Pearson, and Pierre Trudeau. Canada has had several great prime ministers. Another great prime minister of Canada is Lester B Pearson. Lester B Pearson is a politician, statesman,…
Throughout canada’s history with tons of prime ministers, many would argue that William Lyon Mackenzie King was the best one. To be a good prime minister you need to be able to connect with the people you’re in charge of and you need to have a good understanding of different cultures in the society. He was a good prime minister because he showed initiative and promise, he never gave up on his political career, he spent a lot of energy to accomplish what others didn’t, and William Lyon…
Every Wednesday, current Prime Minister, David Cameron, meets in the House of Commons for half an hour to answer questions from Members of Parliament. These questions are meant to address current events both international and domestic, and have come to be known as Prime Minister Questions (PMQs). All Members of Parliament must write their questions for the Prime Minister on the Order Paper several days prior to the PMQs. Once submitted, the questions are then sorted through, scrambled, and…
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…
How powerful is the Prime Minister within the British political system? By: Kamil Górka British political system evaluated over the time. In my work I would like to pay a special attention on the power of the British Prime Minister, to evaluate the topic I would try to describe the general political system in United Kingdom. Great Britain is a constitutional monarchy lead by Queen Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, but the Monarch is only responsible for representative purposes and step aside of…
Who are Ministers + need to scrutinise the government The Ministers of the Crown Act 1975 defines a Minister as the holder of any office in Her Majesty’s government in the UK. Ministers of the Crown are members of the governing political party who have been appointed to a political office in the government. Formally, they are appointed by the Crown on the advice of the Prime Minister, in practice this latter has the ultimate say on who is appointed. Ministers are members of one of either…