Welcome to my new series, the “Canadian List of Ten”! Ten weeks, ten posts, ten lists and one hundred new Canadian things to discover, from foods to languages, from cities to the weather.

Canadian politics take some time to get used, especially for Europeans. The three levels of government are new to us—there are no provinces nor states in Europe—and national politics matters are somewhat eclipsed by local news, more relevant to communities in this huge country.

Canada is a parliamentary democracy

The Parliament has three constituent parts—the House of Commons, the Senate and the Sovereign, or the Sovereign’s representative. Provincial legislatures include the Lieutenant Governor and the elected Assembly.

There are three levels of government

These three levels are the federal government (national level), the provincial or territorial government (provincial or territorial level) and the municipal government (city level).

The federal government is responsible for defence, foreign policy and foreign relations, the postal service, criminal law, immigration and citizenship.

The provinces and territories are responsible for education and municipal institutions. They also share responsibilities with the federal government for matters such as health and transportation.

The municipal government deals with police and fire protection, water and sewer services, recreation and local public transportation.

The are four main federal political parties

These four parties are the Conservative Party of Canada, the Liberal Party of Canada, the New Democratic Party and the Bloc Québécois.

There are another 15 parties or so of lesser importance recognized by Election Canada. For instance, the Communist Party of Canada, the Marijuana Party of Canada and the Work Less Party.

The federal government has three branches

These three branches are the executive, the legislative, and the judicial branch.

The executive branch, represented by the Governor General, is the decision-making branch.

The legislative branch is made up of the Governor General, the House of Commons, and the Senate and it creates laws.

The judicial branch administers justice.

There are elections for several levels of government

Canada holds elections for several levels of government—nationally, provincially and territorially, and municipally.

To vote, you must be a Canadian citizen aged 18 and older and be on the voters’ list. Elections Canada, which ensures that Canadians can exercise their democratic rights to vote and be a candidate, is an independent, non-partisan agency that reports directly to Parliament.

Elections campaigns in Canada are definitely shorter than in France

The minimum length of a campaign is 36 days and the longest campaign lasted 74 days (back in 1926!).

Canadians do not vote directly for a Prime Minister.

They vote for their local Member of Parliament (MP), who sits in the House of Commons. These MPs are members of a federal political party. Generally, the leader of the party with the most seats in the House of Commons becomes the Prime Minister.

Historically, the Prime Minister could ask the Governor General to call an election at any time

However, one had to be called no later than five years after the last election. In 2007 the Parliament passed an act fixing federal election dates every four years, unless the government loses the confidence of the House of Commons.

We recently had an epidemic of elections, with national elections held in 2004, 2006 and 2008. We avoided an election in 2009, though.

Taking holidays when you are in politics is easy

For instance, Prime Minister Stephen Harper just shut down the Parliament until March. The Conservative Party holds the record for shutting down Parliament—148 days over just four years in office.

Canada has had a number of political scandals

In 2004, the sponsorship scandal involved the misuse and misdirection of funds disbursed through the Liberal government’s 1990s sponsorship program. In 2008 there was the Julie Couillard scandal—Conservative Foreign Minister Maxime Bernier resigned after leaving sensitive NATO documents in the home of Julie Couillard, an ex-girlfriend with links to the Hells Angels biker gang!

Share this article!