1.
Parliament of Canada
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The Parliament of Canada is the federal legislative branch of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in the national capital, Ottawa, Ontario. The body consists of the Canadian monarch, represented by a viceroy, the general, an upper house, the Senate, and a lower house. Each element has its own officers and organization, by constitutional convention, the House of Commons is the dominant branch of parliament, the Senate and Crown rarely opposing its will. The Senate reviews legislation from a less partisan standpoint and the monarch or viceroy provides the necessary Royal Assent to make bills into law. The governor general also summons parliament, while either the viceroy or monarch can prorogue or dissolve parliament, either will read the Throne Speech. The most recent parliament, summoned by Governor General David Johnston in 2015, is the 42nd since Confederation in 1867, the Parliament of Canada is composed of three parts, the monarch, the Senate, and the House of Commons. Each has a role, but work in conjunction within the legislative process. Only those who sit in the House of Commons are called members of parliament, though legislatively less powerful, senators take higher positions in the national order of precedence. No individual may serve in more than one chamber of parliament at the same time, the sovereigns place in the legislature, formally called the Queen-in-Parliament, is defined by the Constitution Act,1867, and various conventions. All federal bills begin with the phrase Now, therefore, Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada. And, as such, the Crown is immune from acts of parliament unless expressed otherwise in the act itself. As both the monarch and his or her representatives are traditionally barred from the House of Commons, any parliamentary ceremonies in which they are involved take place in the Senate chamber. The upper and lower houses do, however, each contain a mace, which indicate the authority of the Queen-in-Parliament, following the burning of the Centre Block on 3 February 1916, the City of London, England, donated a replacement, which is still used today. The temporary mace, made of wood, and used until the new one arrived from the United Kingdom in 1917, is carried into the Senate each 3 February. The Senates 1. 6-metre-long mace comprises brass and gold, senators served for life until 1965, when a constitutional amendment imposed a mandatory retirement age of 75. Senators may, however, resign their seats prior to that mark, the Senate is divided equally amongst four geographic regions,24 for Ontario,24 for Quebec,24 for the Maritimes, and 24 for the Western provinces. Newfoundland and Labrador, which became a Canadian province in 1949, is represented by six senators, further, Canadas three territories—the Northwest Territories, Yukon, and Nunavut—are allocated one senator each. The elected component of the Canadian parliament is the House of Commons, with each member chosen by a plurality of voters in each of the countrys federal electoral districts
2.
Prime Minister of Canada
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Canadian prime ministers are styled as The Right Honourable, a privilege maintained for life. The office and its functions are instead governed by constitutional conventions, the prime minister, along with the other ministers in cabinet, is appointed by the governor general on behalf of the monarch. There are no age or citizenship restrictions on the position of prime minister itself, while there is no legal requirement for the prime minister to be a member of parliament, for practical and political reasons the prime minister is expected to win a seat very promptly. However, in rare circumstances individuals who are not sitting members of the House of Commons have been appointed to the position of prime minister, two former prime ministers—Sir John Joseph Caldwell Abbott and Sir Mackenzie Bowell—served in the 1890s while members of the Senate. Both, in their roles as Government Leader in the Senate, succeeded prime ministers who had died in office—John A. Macdonald in 1891 and that convention has since evolved toward the appointment of an interim leader from the commons in such a scenario. Prime ministers who are not Members of Parliament upon their appointment have since been expected to seek election to the commons as soon as possible. For example, William Lyon Mackenzie King, after losing his seat in the 1925 federal election, Turner was the last serving prime minister to not hold a commons seat. The Canadian prime minister serves at Her Majestys pleasure, meaning the post does not have a fixed term, once appointed and sworn in by the governor general, the prime minister remains in office until he or she resigns, is dismissed, or dies. Following parliamentary dissolution, the prime minister must run in the general election if he or she wishes to maintain a seat in the House of Commons. Should the prime ministers party subsequently win a majority of seats in the House of Commons, if, however, an opposition party wins a majority of seats, the prime minister may resign or be dismissed by the governor general. This option was last entertained in 1925, however, the function of the prime minister has evolved with increasing power. Caucuses may choose to follow rules, though the decision would be made by recorded vote. Either the sovereign or his or her viceroy may therefore oppose the prime ministers will in extreme, for transportation, the prime minister is granted an armoured car and shared use of two official aircraft—a CC-150 Polaris for international flights and a Challenger 601 for domestic trips. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police also furnish constant personal security for the prime minister, all of the aforementioned is supplied by the Queen-in-Council through budgets approved by parliament, as is the prime ministers annual salary of CAD$170,400. Should a serving or former prime minister die, he or she is accorded a state funeral, John Thompson also died outside Canada, at Windsor Castle, where Queen Victoria permitted his lying-in-state before his body was returned to Canada for a state funeral in Halifax. In earlier years, it was traditional for the monarch to bestow a knighthood on newly appointed Canadian prime ministers. Accordingly, several carried the prefix Sir before their name, of the first eight premiers of Canada, the Canadian Heraldic Authority has granted former prime ministers an augmentation of honour on the personal coat of arms of those who pursued them. To date, former prime ministers Joe Clark, Pierre Trudeau, John Turner, Brian Mulroney, the written form of address for the prime minister should use his or her full parliamentary title, The Right Honourable, Prime Minister of Canada
3.
Wilfrid Laurier
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Sir Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier GCMG, PC, KC, known as Wilfrid Laurier, was the seventh Prime Minister of Canada, in office from 11 July 1896 to 6 October 1911. Canadas first francophone prime minister, Laurier is often considered one of the countrys greatest statesmen and he is well known for his policies of conciliation, expanding Confederation, and compromise between French and English Canada. His vision for Canada was a land of liberty and decentralized federalism. He also argued for an English-French partnership in Canada, I have had before me as a pillar of fire, he said, a policy of true Canadianism, of moderation, of reconciliation. He passionately defended individual liberty, Canada is free and freedom is its nationality, a 2011 Macleans historical ranking of the Prime Ministers placed Laurier first. Laurier holds a number of records, he holds the record for the most consecutive federal elections won, in addition, his nearly 45 years of service in the House of Commons is a record for that house. At 31 years,8 months, Laurier was the leader of a major Canadian political party. Finally, he is the fourth-longest serving Prime Minister of Canada, behind King, John A. Macdonald, Lauriers portrait is displayed on the Canadian five-dollar bill. The second child of Carolus Laurier and Marcelle Martineau, Wilfrid Laurier was born in Saint-Lin, Canada East, Laurier was among the seventh generation of his family in Canada. His ancestor François Cottineau, dit Champlaurier, came to Canada from Saint-Claud and he grew up in a family where politics was a staple of talk and debate. His father, a man having liberal ideas, enjoyed a certain degree of prestige about town. In addition to being a farmer and surveyor, he also occupied such sought-after positions as mayor, justice of the peace, militia lieutenant, at the age of 11, Wilfrid left home to study in New Glasgow, a neighbouring village largely inhabited by immigrants from Scotland. Over the next two years, he familiarized himself with the mentality, language and culture of British people, Laurier attended the Collège de LAssomption and graduated in law from McGill University in 1864. He was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 1874 election, chosen as leader of the federal Liberal Party in 1887, he gradually built up his partys strength through his personal following both in Quebec and elsewhere in Canada. The growing alienation of French-Canadians from the Conservative Party due to its links with anti-French and these factors, combined with the collapse of the Conservative Party of Quebec, gave Laurier an opportunity to build a stronghold in French Canada and among Catholics across Canada. Catholic priests in Quebec repeatedly warned their parishioners not to vote for Liberals and their slogan was le ciel est bleu, lenfer est rouge. Laurier led Canada during a period of growth, industrialization and immigration. His long career straddles a period of political and economic change
4.
Robert Borden
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Sir Robert Laird Borden, GCMG PC KC was a Canadian lawyer and politician. He served as the eighth Prime Minister of Canada from October 10,1911, to July 10,1920, after retiring from public life, he served as the chancellor of Queens University. His portrait appears on Canadian $100 notes produced since 1976 but in late 2016 the government announced Bordens image would be removed during the next redesign, also arriving in this group was a great great grandfather, Robert Denison, who had come from Connecticut at about the same time. Perry had accompanied his father, Samuel Borden, the chief surveyor chosen by the government of Massachusetts to survey the former Acadian land, Robert Borden was the last Canadian Prime Minister born before Confederation. His mother Eunice Jane Laird was more driven, possessing very strong character, remarkable energy, high ambition and her ambition was transmitted to her first-born child, who applied himself to his studies while assisting his parents with the farm work he found so disagreeable. His cousin Sir Frederick Borden was a prominent Liberal politician, from 1868 to 1874, he worked as a teacher in Grand-Pré and Matawan, New Jersey. Seeing no future in teaching, he returned to Nova Scotia in 1874, despite having no formal university education, he went to article for four years at a Halifax law firm. In August 1878, he was called to the Nova Scotia Bar, Borden went to Kentville, Nova Scotia, as the junior partner of the Conservative lawyer John P. Chipman. In 1880, he was inducted into the Freemasons – St Andrews lodge #1, in 1882, he was asked by Wallace Graham to move to Halifax and join the Conservative law firm headed by Graham and Charles Hibbert Tupper. In the Autumn of 1889, when he was only 35, Borden became the senior partner following the departure of Graham and Tupper for the bench and politics, respectively. His financial future guaranteed, on September 25,1889, he married Laura Bond, in 1894, he bought a large property and home on the south side of Quinpool Road, which the couple called Pinehurst. In 1893, Borden successfully argued the first of two cases which he took to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. He represented many of the important Halifax businesses, and sat on the boards of Nova Scotian companies including the Bank of Nova Scotia and the Crown Life Insurance Company. In 1896, he became President of the Nova Scotia Barristers Society, by the time he was prevailed upon to enter politics, Borden had what some judged to be the largest legal practice in the Maritime Provinces, and had become a wealthy man. Borden was a Liberal until he broke with the party in 1891 over the issue of Reciprocity and he was elected to Parliament in the 1896 federal election as a Conservative and in 1901 was selected by the Conservative caucus to succeed Sir Charles Tupper as leader of the Conservative Party. He was defeated in his Halifax seat in the 1904 federal election, despite his efforts, his party lost the 1908 federal election to Wilfrid Lauriers Liberals. Borden was however elected again for Halifax and his partys fortunes turned around in the 1911 federal election, however, when the Conservatives successfully campaigned against Lauriers proposals for a Reciprocity agreement with the United States. Borden countered with a version of John A. Macdonalds National Policy and appeals of loyalty to the British Empire
5.
Government of Canada
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The Government of Canada or more formally Her Majestys Government, is the federal government of Canada, a country in North America, composed of 10 provinces, Ottawa, and 3 territories. The head of government is Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose party the Liberal Party of Canada won the majority of seats in the Canadian Parliament in the 2015 Canadian federal election, in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council. Further elements of governance are outlined in the rest of the Canadian constitution, which includes written statutes, court rulings, in Canadian English, the word government is used to refer both to the whole set of institutions that govern the country, and to the current political leadership. In federal department press releases, the government has sometimes referred to by the phrase Government. The same cabinet earlier directed its press department to use the phrase Canadas New Government, as per the Constitution Acts of 1867 and 1982, Canada is a constitutional monarchy, wherein the role of the reigning sovereign is both legal and practical, but not political. The executive is formally called the Queen-in-Council, the legislature the Queen-in-Parliament. The government is defined by the constitution as the Queen acting on the advice of her privy council, however, the Privy Council—consisting mostly of former members of parliament, chief justices of the supreme court, and other elder statesmen—rarely meets in full. This body of ministers of the Crown is the Cabinet, one of the main duties of the Crown is to ensure that a democratic government is always in place, which means appointing a prime minister to thereafter head the Cabinet. The monarch and governor general typically follow the advice of their ministers. The royal and viceroyal figures may unilaterally use these powers in exceptional constitutional crisis situations, politicians can sometimes try to use to their favour the complexity of the relationship between the monarch, viceroy, ministers, and parliament, and the publics general unfamiliarity with it. Per democratic tradition, the House of Commons is the dominant branch of parliament, the Senate, thus, reviews legislation from a less partisan standpoint. The Constitution Act,1867, outlines that the general is responsible for summoning parliament in the Queens name. After a number of sessions, each parliament comes to an end via dissolution. As a general election typically follows, the timing of a dissolution is usually politically motivated, the sovereign is responsible for rendering justice for all her subjects, and is thus traditionally deemed the fount of justice. However, she does not personally rule in cases, instead the judicial functions of the Royal Prerogative are performed in trust. Below this is the Federal Court, which cases arising under certain areas of federal law. It works in conjunction with the Federal Court of Appeal and Tax Court of Canada, in some cases, however, the jurisdictions of the federal and provincial parliaments may be more vague. For instance, the federal parliament regulates marriage and divorce in general, other examples include the powers of both the federal and provincial parliaments to impose taxes, borrow money, punish crimes, and regulate agriculture
6.
Liberal Party of Canada
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The Liberal Party of Canada, colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism, and generally sits at the centre of the Canadian political spectrum, the Liberal Party is traditionally positioned to the left of the Conservative Party of Canada and to the right of the New Democratic Party. During the beginning of the 21st century, the party lost a significant amount of support, in the present times, the Liberal party has favoured a variety of big tent policies from both right and left of the political spectrum. It also legalized same-sex marriage and allowed the use of cannabis for medical purposes, during the 2015 election, the Liberal partys proposed policies included, Cut the middle class tax bracket from 22% to 20.88 per $100 to $1. In the 29 years after Canadian confederation, the Liberals were consigned to opposition, with the exception of one stint in government. Alexander Mackenzie was able to lead the party to power for the first time in 1873, Mackenzie subsequently won the 1874 election, and served as Prime Minister for an additional four years. However the party was able to build a solid support base in Ontario. The Liberals would spend the next 18 years in opposition, in their early history, the Liberals were the party of continentalism and opposition to imperialism. The Liberals also became identified with the aspirations of Quebecers as a result of the hostility of French Canadians to the Conservatives. It was not until Wilfrid Laurier became leader that the Liberal Party emerged as a modern party, Laurier was able to capitalize on the Tories alienation of French Canada by offering the Liberals as a credible alternative. Laurier was able to overcome the reputation for anti-clericalism that offended the still-powerful Quebec Roman Catholic Church. In English-speaking Canada, the Liberal Partys support for reciprocity made it popular among farmers, Laurier led the Liberals to power in the 1896 election, and oversaw a government that increased immigration in order to settle Western Canada. Lauriers government created the provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta out of the North-West Territories, there was no national membership of the party, an individual became a member by joining a provincial Liberal party. The new organization allowed individuals to join the national Liberal Party for the first time. No national convention was held, however, until 1948, the Liberal Party held only three national conventions prior to the 1950s – in 1893,1919 and 1948). Over time, provincial Liberal parties in most provinces were separated from provincial wings of the federal party, by the 1980s, the National Liberal Federation was officially known as the Liberal Party of Canada. Under Laurier, and his successor William Lyon Mackenzie King, the Liberals promoted Canadian sovereignty, after the King–Byng Affair of 1926, the Liberals argued that the Governor General of Canada should no longer be appointed on the recommendation of the British government. The decisions of the Imperial Conferences were formalized in the Statute of Westminster, which was passed in 1931
7.
Official Opposition (Canada)
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This is usually the second-largest party in a legislative house, although, in certain unusual circumstances, it may be a third or fourth party or even the largest party. The Official Opposition is viewed as the caucus tasked with keeping the government in check and it is also generally viewed as the alternative government or government in waiting. The spokesperson for each portfolio is known as an opposition critic, thus, in the event the government loses the confidence of the House or the Official Opposition party wins a general election, the party is ready to become the government. The Official Opposition is styled as Loyal Opposition to demonstrate that, although the group may be against the government, it remains loyal to the Crown. The Leader of the Opposition has a residence in Ottawa known as Stornoway. Additionally, the Leader and other cabinet members have the privilege of meeting with visiting foreign dignitaries. The Official Opposition party has advantages over other parties in the House. They are assigned to speak first after the government, and receive time in question period than other opposition parties. It also gets more space, funding for research. The third-place Conservative Party, led by Arthur Meighen, thus became the Official Opposition, as a result of the 1925 election, the Official Opposition was actually the largest party in the House of Commons, the Conservatives. The Ontario Liberal Party, the second largest party, governed from 1985 to 1987 with supply provided by the Ontario New Democratic Party, in 1993, the Reform Party challenged whether the Quebec sovereigntist Bloc Québécois could hold the position of official opposition. The Speaker ruled in favour of the Bloc, as they held two more seats than Reform, during the Blocs time as the official opposition, Quebec issues on national unity dominated Question Period, often to the irritation of the other opposition parties. However, Reform was considered to be opposition to the Liberals on all other issues that were not specific to Quebec. In 1987, the Liberals won every seat in the 51st New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, to ensure the proper functioning of the parliamentary system, Premier Frank McKenna named several members of his own caucus, led by Camille Thériault, to serve as the Official Opposition. Since November 2015 the Official Opposition is the Conservative Party, there is also an Official Opposition in the Canadian Senate. This is the largest party in the Senate that is not in government, as the governing party is determined in the House of Commons, the Official Opposition in the Senate may actually be larger than the government party in the Senate. It is customary, however, for the Senate to pass legislation approved in the House of Commons even if the government has a minority in the Senate, although the Senate nominally has the power to block most legislation, this power is rarely exercised in practice. The party that forms Official Opposition in the Senate is not necessarily the same party as in the House of Commons and this is because the BQ, and Reform Party had no Senators
8.
Conservative Party of Canada
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The Conservative Party of Canada, colloquially known as the Tories, is a political party in Canada. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum, the partys leader from 2004 to 2015 was Stephen Harper, who served as Prime Minister from 2006 to 2015. The Conservative Party is the successor to multiple right-wing parties which have existed in Canada for over a century, until 1942, one of the partys predecessors was known as the Conservative Party of Canada, and participated in numerous governments. Before 1942, the predecessors to the Conservatives had multiple names, but by 1942, in 1957, John Diefenbaker became the first Prime Minister from the Progressive Conservative Party, and remained in office until 1963. Another Progressive Conservative government was elected after the results of the 1979 federal election, Clark served from 1979 to 1980, when he was defeated by the Liberal Party after the 1980 federal election. In 1984, the Progressive Conservatives won with Brian Mulroney becoming Prime Minister, Mulroney was Prime Minister from 1984 to 1993, and his government was marked by free trade agreements and economic liberalization. A similar result occurred in 1997, and in 2000, when the Reform Party became the Canadian Alliance, in 2003, the Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservatives merged, forming the Conservative Party of Canada. The party is currently being led by interim leader Rona Ambrose as it is undergoing a leadership election, which will take place in 2017. John Lynch-Staunton served as leader of the newly created Conservative Party of Canada from 8 December 2003 until 20 March 2004. On 19 January 2016, the party announced that a permanent leader will be elected on 27 May 2017, the National Council is the partys national governing body that is elected by the Conservative Party membership at its bi-annual meetings. A National Councillor is elected for a term and cannot serve for more than three consecutive terms. The party president is elected by National Council following their election, since 2016, the President of the Conservative Party has been Scott Lamb, a councillor representing British Columbia. The party President is the conduit between the Party Leader and the National Council, don Plett interim until 2005 John Walsh Scott Lamb The Executive Director answers to the party President, and is responsible for the day-to-day management and operations of the party. From February 2009 to October 2013, the Executive Director was Dan Hilton, from October to December 2013, the Acting Executive Director was Dave Forestell. Dimitri Soudas was named the new Executive Director in December 2013, on 30 March 2014, Soudas was told to resign or be fired from the position after allegedly interfering with the nomination contest taking place in his fiancees riding. On 30 March 2014, Simon Thompson was named as interim Executive Director, Thompson was previously the partys Chief Information Officer. In July 2014, Dustin Van Vugt was brought in as the Deputy Executive Director – a position created specifically for him, in October 2014, Van Vugts position was unanimously ratified by the partys National Council, and Thompson became the Chief Operations Officer. The Director of Political Operations reports to the Executive Director, and is one of the most important positions within the party
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