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Constraints on the powers of the Canadian PM
Power of the prime minister of canada
Power of the prime minister of canada
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The factors that gave rise to Canadian prime ministerial powers is the very structure of Canada’s Westminster system and its effect on the legal powers of the Prime Minister, unwritten conventions and the decline in the Crown’s power. Firstly, the powers of the Prime Minister in its very nature are much wide spread in terms of what he can do as an executive power. Secondly, the history and development of unwritten conventions have created a tradition in which very few sources of constraints can be enacted on the Prime Minister within the parliamentary system. Lastly, with the decline of the Crowns powers, the existence of an absolute power check fades away. These structural and historical factors of the Canadian Westminster style government gives forms the base of a strong domineering de facto head of state, the Prime Minister.
The executive branch of the Westminster system gives any Prime Minister tremendous power in directing, managing and halting government. In essence, there are no constraints on the Prime Minister from neither House nor Cabinet (Aucoin 113). In terms of directing government, the Prime Minister also has the authority to create policies and bills without consulting any other body of government, leading to swift implementations of them so long as House agrees (Aucoin 111). Very few government systems would allow a single representative to direct policies at will, in fact, the Canadian Prime Minister scored above all other Westminster systems on the PM scale, which measures the degree of influence policy making and King’s index, which measures the degree of influence on government (O’Malley 8). Furthermore, in terms of managing government, Aucoin also brings up that the Prime Minister has a wide spectrum of ap...
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...g Executive Accountability? Westminster Legacies of Executive Power." Parliamentary Affairs 66.3 (2013): 579-96. Oxford Journals. Web. 13 Mar. 2014.
Lewis. "Elite Attitudes on the Centralization of Power in Canadian Political Executives: A Survey of Former Canadian Provincial and Federal Cabinet Ministers, 2000–2010." Canadian Journal of Political Science46.4 (2013): 799-819. Cambridge Journals Online. Web. 13 Mar. 2014.
Messamore, Barbara J. "‘The Line over Which He Must Not Pass’: Defining the Office of Governor General, 1878." Canadian Historical Review 86.3 (2005): 453-84. Print.
O'Malley, Eoin. "The Power of Prime Ministers: Results of an Expert Survey." International Political Science Review 28.1 (2007): 7-27. SAGE Journals. Web. 13 Mar. 2014.
Svoie, Donald J. "Power at the Apex: Executive Dominance." Canadian Politics 5th ed (2004): 145-61. Web. 13 Mar. 2014.
William Lyon Mackenzie King, Canada’s longest serving prime minister, is known for both the great contributions he brought to Canada and for the scandals he was involved in. The one event that makes him most famous to Canadians is the King-Byng Affair of 1926. During this event, Mackenzie King asked Lord Byng to dissolve parliament in order to force a new election as he had lost with a minority. Because King’s intentions were to regain a majority government, Byng refused out of distrust for King’s plans and King was replaced in power by the Conservatives. While William Lyon Mackenzie King’s actions were in accordance with all the laws regarding his power as Prime Minister, he acted for selfish reasons thus putting him in the wrong. Mackenzie King’s and Lord Byng’s histories will be quickly analyzed to understand their actions in the affair. Right after, King’s options and reasons for dissolving parliament will be analyzed. Thirdly, Byng’s options and reasons for refusing King’s request will be researched. Once enough evidence has been collected, the end results of this affair will be discussed and the conclusion as to whether or not King was right to go against responsible government will be made.
The history between the British Empire and its dominions always was significantly distinguished through the strong ties which people connected to the mother-country of Britain. However, as always in history changes were about to happen as each dominion urged to become more and more independent. The end of this process is marked by the Statute of Westminster passed in 1931 which granted the former dominions full legal freedom and established legislative equality between the now self-governing dominions of the British Empire. Therefore, the Statute of Westminster is one of the most remarkable acts in Canadian history as it set the road to the development of Canada in which we live today.
English, John. Citizen of the World: The Life of Pierre Elliott Trudeau. Toronto: Vintage Canada, 2007. Print.
Mallory, J.R.. 1965. “The Five Faces of Federalism.” In P.A. Crepeau and C.B. Macpherson (eds.) The Future of Canadian Federalism. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
It is cold hard fact that Canadian government is not entirely democratic. The question remains of how to deal with this. Canadian government, as effective as it currently is, has major factors in their system that have a negative effect on Canadians. Our current voting system favors the higher-populated provinces and creates a tyranny of the majority. Our Senate is distinctly undemocratic as it is an assigned position. Our head of State, the Prime Minister, holds too much power. Unless we resolve these issues, our government will remain far from a perfect governing system.
Trying to apply new reforms in the Canadian constitution has been no easy task. The mixture of the parliamentary/monarchy powers denies the citizens’ direct participation in the government’s decision-making process and does not allow the existence of a complete free democratic system. A true democracy simply cannot fully exist with a restricted monarch selecting type of government and any reforms must be applied to make Canadian constitutions’ laws be based on democratic principles.
This essay has argued that there are many limitations that the Prime Minister is subjected too. The three most important are federalism in Canadian society, the role of the Governor General, and the charter of rights and freedoms. I used two different views of federalism and illustrated how both of them put boundaries on the Prime Minister’s power. Next I explain the powers of the governor general, and explained the ability to dissolve parliament in greater detail. Last I analyzed how the charter of rights of freedoms has limited the Prime Minister’s power with respect to policy-making, interests groups and the courts. The Prime Minister does not have absolute power in Canadian society, there are many infringements on the power that they have to respect.
Gibbins, R A New Senate for a More Democratic Canada. Calgary: The Canada West Foundation, 1981
May, E. (2009). Losing Confidence: Power, politics, and the crisis in Canadian democracy. Toronto, ON: McClelland & Stewart.
Two history texts by Bumstead and Silver will be considered. The manner in which they organize Canadian history into logical and comprehensive periods will be taken into account. Each text establishes a chronological framework and within this, creates historical periods. Each period is intended to represent as logically as possible, the major cultural inclinations, political and social events, and thematic trends occurring within that period. Bumstead and Silver outline several broad periods, then delve into each period with a precise focus. Silver has a social focus within each period, and Bumstead has a thematic focus.
Sprague, D.N. (1980). Government Lawlessness in the Administration of Manitoba Land Claims, 1870-1887. 10 Man. L.J. 433 (1979-1980)
A century ago, Canada was under control by the British Empire. The battles we fought the treaties we signed and the disputes we solved all helped us gain independence from our mother country “Britain”. Canadians fought a long battle protecting others, and from these battles we gained our peaceful reputation and our independence from Britain. Canada became a nation on July, 1st 1867. Although we were an independent country, our affairs and treaties were all still signed by Britain. In the next years Canada would establish its own government, and lead its own affairs. Many important events led to Canada’s independence, one of the earliest signals that Canada wanted to establish autonomy was the Chanak affair of 1921. In addition the battle of Normandy, which occurred on June 6 1944, contributed to the autonomy of Canada. The Suez Canal Crisis, which took place in the year 1956, earned Canada a place in the media spotlight, displaying Canada as a peaceful country that deserves the right to be independent. One of the final steps that aided with Canada’s independence from Britain was the Canada Act of 1982. Independence from Britain steadily increased throughout the 20th century because of political decisions made in Canada.
Canada’s parliamentary system is designed to preclude the formation of absolute power. Critics and followers of Canadian politics argue that the Prime Minister of Canada stands alone from the rest of the government. The powers vested in the prime minister, along with the persistent media attention given to the position, reinforce the Prime Minister of Canada’s superior role both in the House of Commons and in the public. The result has led to concerns regarding the power of the prime minister. Hugh Mellon argues that the prime minister of Canada is indeed too powerful. Mellon refers to the prime minister’s control over Canada a prime-ministerial government, where the prime minister encounters few constraints on the usage of his powers. Contrary to Mellon’s view, Paul Barker disagrees with the idea of a prime-ministerial government in Canada. Both perspectives bring up solid points, but the idea of a prime-ministerial government leading to too much power in the hands of the prime minister is an exaggeration. Canada is a country that is too large and complex to be dominated by a single individual. The reality is, the Prime Minister of Canada has limitations from several venues. The Canadian Prime Minister is restricted internally by his other ministers, externally by the other levels of government, the media and globalization.
be necessary to take a brief look at the history of the office of the
To conclude, in the present Canadians are seeing change in PSE funding policies begin to come from the provinces. Due to the fact that “when Ottawa went against the grain and launched the Millennium Scholarship programs, provincial feathers, especially Quebec’s, were immediately ruffled,” provinces such as Quebec and British Columbia, among others, were motivated to “set up their own research funding agencies with the view to [maximize] the likelihood of obtaining funds from Ottawa,” (Bakvis 216). As for the legitimacy of cooperative federalism in Canada today, it seems as though executive federalism itself is turning largely paternalistic – at least in the sense of PSE. More often than not, in PSE funding, the federal government has taken the initiative while “one set of executives – those from provincial governments – was largely absent,” (Bakvis 218).