Editing Politics of Canada

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{{About|national politics in Canada|provincial politics|Provinces and territories of Canada|municipal politics|Municipal government in Canada}}
{{Infobox political system
| name                          = Politics of Canada
| image                         = 
| image_size                    = 100
| caption                       = [[Arms of Canada|Royal Coat of Arms of Canada]]
| type                          = [[Federation|Federal]] [[Parliamentary system|parliamentary]] [[constitutional monarchy]]
| constitution                  = [[Constitution of Canada]]
| legislature                   = [[Parliament of Canada|Parliament]]
| legislature_type              = [[Bicameralism|Bicameral]]
| legislature_place             = [[Canadian Parliament Buildings|Parliament Buildings]]
| legislature_speaker           = 
| legislature_speaker_title     =
| upperhouse                    = [[Senate of Canada|Senate]]
| upperhouse_speaker            = [[Raymonde Gagné]]
| upperhouse_speaker_title      = [[Speaker of the Senate of Canada|Speaker]]
| upperhouse_appointer          = Governor General
| lowerhouse                    = [[House of Commons of Canada|House of Commons]]
| lowerhouse_speaker            = [[Greg Fergus]]
| lowerhouse_speaker_title      = [[Speaker of the House of Commons (Canada)|Speaker]]
| current_hos                     = [[Monarchy of Canada|King]] [[Charles III]]<br>represented by <br> [[Mary Simon]], <br> [[Governor General of Canada|Governor General]]
| current_hog                     = [[Prime Minister of Canada|Prime Minister]]<br>[[Mark Carney]]
| appointer_hog                 = Governor General
| title_hosag                   =
| current_hosag                 =
| appointer_hosag               =
| cabinet                       = [[Cabinet of Canada]]
| current_cabinet               = [[30th Canadian Ministry]]
| cabinet_leader                = Prime Minister
| cabinet_deputyleader          = [[Deputy Prime Minister of Canada|Deputy Prime Minister]]
| cabinet_appointer             = Governor General
| cabinet_hq                    =
| cabinet_ministries            = [[List of Canadian ministries|30]]
| judiciary                     = [[Court system of Canada]]
| judiciary_head                = [[Richard Wagner (judge)|Richard Wagner]]
| courts                        =
| court                         = [[Supreme Court of Canada|Supreme Court]]
| chief_judge                   = [[Richard Wagner (judge)|Richard Wagner]]
| court_seat                    = 
| court1                        =
| chief_judge1                  =
| court_seat1                   =
}}
{{Canadian politics}}

The '''politics of Canada''' functions within a framework of  [[Parliamentary system|parliamentary democracy]] and a [[federation|federal system]] of [[Parliament of Canada|parliamentary government]] with strong democratic traditions.<ref>{{cite book|title=Canadian Law, 6th ed. (Canadian ed.)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RUdwCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA109|publisher=Nelson Education|isbn=978-0-17-672826-7|page=109}}</ref> [[Canada]] is a [[constitutional monarchy]] where the [[Monarchy of Canada|monarch]] is the ceremonial [[head of state]]. In practice, executive authority is entrusted to the [[Canadian Cabinet|Cabinet]], a committee of [[Minister of the Crown|ministers of the Crown]] chaired by the [[Prime Minister of Canada|prime minister of Canada]] that act as the executive committee of the [[King's Privy Council for Canada]] and are responsible to the democratically elected [[House of Commons of Canada|House of Commons]].<ref name="Tidridge2011">{{cite book|author=Nathan Tidridge|title=Canada's Constitutional Monarchy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KAvtMxqSDncC&pg=PA58|date= 2011|publisher=Dundurn|isbn=978-1-55488-980-8|page=58}}</ref>

Canada is described as a "[[Democracy Index#Definitions|full democracy]]",<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.eiu.com/topic/democracy-index|title=Democracy Index 2017- The Economist Intelligence Unit|website=eiu.com|access-date=November 29, 2017}}</ref> with a tradition of [[secular liberalism]],<ref name="WesthuesWharf2014">{{cite book|author1=Anne Westhues|author2=Brian Wharf|title=Canadian Social Policy: Issues and Perspectives|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=chTaAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA10|year=2014|publisher=Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press|isbn=978-1-55458-409-3|pages=10–11}}</ref> and an [[egalitarian]],<ref name="BickertonGagnon2009">{{cite book|author1=James Bickerton|author2=Alain Gagnon|title=Canadian Politics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1jd6oqRHxLYC&pg=PA56|year=2009|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-1-4426-0121-5|page=56}}</ref> [[Political moderate|moderate]] political ideology.<ref name="Johnson2016">{{cite book|author=David Johnson|title=Thinking Government: Public Administration and Politics in Canada, Fourth Edition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I_HzDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA13|year=2016|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-1-4426-3521-0|pages=13–23|quote=... most Canadian governments, especially at the federal level, have taken a moderate, centrist approach to decision making, seeking to balance growth, stability, and governmental efficiency and economy ... .}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Plurality-Majority Electoral Systems: A Review |url=http://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=res&dir=rec/fra/sys/courtney&document=courtney&lang=e |website=Elections Canada|date = 27 August 2018|quote= First Past the Post in Canada has favoured broadly-based, accommodative, centrist parties ... .}}</ref><ref name="BittnerKoop2013a">{{cite book|author1=Amanda Bittner|author2=Royce Koop|title=Parties, Elections, and the Future of Canadian Politics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TdFTCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA300|date=1 March 2013|publisher=UBC Press|isbn=978-0-7748-2411-8|pages=300–302}}</ref> Extremism has never been prominent in Canadian politics.<ref name="a838">{{cite journal | last=Blake | first=Raymond B. | title=Locating the Right in Canadian Political History | journal=American Review of Canadian Studies | publisher=Informa UK Limited | volume=54 | issue=1 | date=Jan 2, 2024 | issn=0272-2011 | doi=10.1080/02722011.2024.2326264 | pages=1–8|quote=Social conservatives and the extreme right have had limited success designing the direction and policies of Canada’s right-wing political parties.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1080/13537113.2015.1032033|title = Canadian Multiculturalism and the Absence of the Far Right| journal=Nationalism and Ethnic Politics| volume=21| issue=2| pages=213–236|year = 2015|last1 = Ambrose|first1 = Emma| last2=Mudde| first2=Cas|s2cid = 145773856}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/27/world/canada/canadas-secret-to-resisting-the-wests-populist-wave.html|title=Canada's Secret to Resisting the West's Populist Wave|newspaper= New York Times|year=2017}}</ref><ref name="Geddes 2022">{{cite web | last=Geddes | first=John | title=What's actually standing in the way of right-wing populism in Canada? | website=Macleans.ca | date=Feb 8, 2022 | url=https://www.macleans.ca/politics/ottawa/whats-actually-standing-in-the-way-of-right-wing-populism-in-canada/ | access-date=Oct 31, 2022}}</ref><ref name="The New York Times 2022">{{cite web | title=A Moment for Canada's Far Right, Still Struggling for Support | website=The New York Times | date=Feb 7, 2022 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/07/world/canada/canada-protests-right-populists.html | access-date=Nov 22, 2022}}</ref> The traditional "brokerage" model of Canadian politics leaves little room for ideology.{{efn| name=politics}}<ref>Cochrane, Christopher (2010). [http://www.jstor.org/stable/40983510 Left/Right Ideology and Canadian Politics]. Canadian Journal of Political Science / Revue Canadienne De Science Politique, 43(3), 583-605. Retrieved January 21, 2021,</ref> [[Peace, order, and good government]], alongside an [[Implied Bill of Rights]], are founding principles of the Canadian government.<ref name="DixonScheurell2016">{{cite book|author1=John Dixon|author2=Robert P. Scheurell|title=Social Welfare in Developed Market Countries|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=npzDCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA48|date=March 17, 2016|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-36677-5|page=48}}</ref><ref name="Boughey2017">{{cite book|author=Janina Boughey|title=Human Rights and Judicial Review in Australia and Canada: The Newest Despotism?|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dgK-DgAAQBAJ&pg=PA105|year=2017|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=978-1-5099-0788-5|page=105}}</ref> An emphasis on [[multiculturalism]] and [[social justice]] has been a distinguishing element of Canada's political culture.<ref name="Fierlbeck2006">{{cite book|author=Katherine Fierlbeck|title=Political Thought in Canada: An Intellectual History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0bZBHlF4V8EC&pg=PA87|year=2006|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-1-55111-711-9|page=87}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://internationalcomparisons.org/social/social-justice/|title=Social Justice – International Comparisons}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.wharton.upenn.edu/press-releases/2021/04/canada-is-the-no-1-country-in-the-world-according-to-the-2021-best-countries-report/|title=Canada is the No. 1 Country in the World, According to the 2021 Best Countries Report|date=April 13, 2021}}</ref> Canada has placed emphasis on [[diversity, equity and inclusion]] for all its people.<ref name="GuoWong2015">{{cite book|author1=Shibao Guo|author2=Lloyd Wong|title=Revisiting Multiculturalism in Canada: Theories, Policies and Debates|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HW8iCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA317|year=2015|publisher=University of Calgary|isbn=978-94-6300-208-0|page=317|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160413033116/https://books.google.com/books?id=HW8iCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA317|archive-date=April 13, 2016}}</ref><ref name="McQuaig 2010 p. 14">{{cite book | last=McQuaig | first=L. | title=Holding the Bully's Coat: Canada and the U.S. Empire | publisher=Doubleday Canada | year=2010 | isbn=978-0-385-67297-9 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9g4Xd12rIGYC&pg=PT14 | access-date=2021-10-10 | page=14}}</ref>

The country has a [[multi-party system]] in which many of its legislative practices derive from the unwritten [[Convention (norm)|conventions]] of and precedents set by the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|Westminster parliament]] of the United Kingdom. The [[Two-party system|two dominant political parties]] in Canada have historically been the [[Liberal Party of Canada]] and the current [[Conservative Party of Canada]] (as well as its numerous [[Conservative Party of Canada#Predecessors|predecessors]]).<ref name="Lansford2019">{{cite book|author=Tom Lansford|title=Political Handbook of the World 2018-2019|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oSJoDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA263|year=2019|publisher=SAGE Publications|isbn=978-1-5443-2713-6|page=263}}</ref> Parties like the [[New Democratic Party (Canada)|New Democratic Party]], the [[Quebec nationalist]] [[Bloc Québécois]] and the [[Green Party of Canada]] have grown in prominence, exerting their own influence to the political process.<ref name="Lansford2019"/> 

Canada has evolved variations: [[party discipline]] in Canada is stronger than in the United States and United Kingdom, and more parliamentary votes are considered [[Motion of no confidence|motions of confidence]], which tends to diminish the role of non-[[Cabinet (government)|Cabinet]] members of parliament (MPs). Such members, in the government [[caucus]], and junior or lower-profile members of [[parliamentary opposition|opposition]] caucuses, are known as [[backbencher]]s. Backbenchers can, however, exert their influence by sitting in parliamentary committees, like the [[Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Accounts|Public Accounts Committee]] or the [[Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security|National Defence Committee]].

==Context==

Canada's governmental structure was originally established by the [[British Parliament]] through the ''British North America Act, 1867'' (now the ''[[Constitution Act, 1867]]''),<ref name=CA67>[https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/const/page-1.html ''Constitution Act, 1867''].</ref> but the federal model and division of powers were devised by Canadian politicians. Particularly after World War I, citizens of the self-governing [[Dominion]]s, such as Canada, began to develop a strong sense of identity, and, in the [[Balfour Declaration of 1926]], the British government and the governments of the six Dominions jointly agreed that the Dominions had full autonomy within the British Commonwealth.

In 1931, after further consultations and agreements between the British government and the governments of the Dominions, the British Parliament passed the [[Statute of Westminster 1931|Statute of Westminster]], giving legal recognition to the autonomy of Canada and other Dominions. However, Canadian politicians were unable to obtain consensus on a process for amending the constitution, which was therefore not affected by the Statute of Westminster, meaning amendments to Canada's constitution continued to require the approval of the British parliament until that date. Similarly, the [[Judicial Committee of the Privy Council]] in Britain continued to make the final decision on criminal appeals until 1933 and on civil appeals until 1949.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.scc-csc.gc.ca/court-cour/creation/index-eng.asp|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090430084251/http://www.scc-csc.gc.ca/court-cour/creation/index-eng.asp|url-status=dead|title=The Creation and Beginnings of the Supreme Court of Canada|archivedate=April 30, 2009}}</ref>  It was not until 1982, with the [[Patriation]] of the Constitution, that the role of the British Parliament was ended.

==Political culture==
{{Further|Liberalism in Canada|Conservatism in Canada}}

Canada's [[egalitarian]] approach to governance has emphasized [[Social programs in Canada|social welfare]], [[Economy of Canada|economic freedom]], and [[Multiculturalism in Canada|multiculturalism]], which is based on selective [[economic migrant]]s, [[social integration]], and [[Dissent|suppression]] of [[far-right politics]], that has wide public and political support.<ref name="Ambrosea">{{Cite journal|title=Canadian Multiculturalism and the Absence of the Far Right – Nationalism and Ethnic Politics|journal=Nationalism and Ethnic Politics|volume=21|issue=2|pages=213–236|doi=10.1080/13537113.2015.1032033|year=2015|author1=Emma Ambrosea|author2=Cas Muddea|s2cid=145773856}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/27/world/canada/canadas-secret-to-resisting-the-wests-populist-wave.html|title=Canada's Secret to Resisting the West's Populist Wave|newspaper=The New York Times|year=2017|last1=Taub|first1=Amanda}}</ref> Its broad range of constituent nationalities and policies that promote a "[[just society]]" are constitutionally protected.<ref name="Rand Dyck 2011 88">{{cite book|author=Rand Dyck|title=Canadian Politics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BUOoN8e5Ps0C&pg=PA88|year=2011|publisher=[[Cengage Learning]]|isbn=978-0-17-650343-7|page=88|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160412160000/https://books.google.com/books?id=BUOoN8e5Ps0C&pg=PA88|archive-date=April 12, 2016}}</ref><ref name="Newman2012">{{cite book|author=Stephen L. Newman|title=Constitutional Politics in Canada and the United States|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ELWjuzADl7UC&pg=PA203|date=2012|publisher=[[SUNY Press]]|isbn=978-0-7914-8584-2|page=203|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160412151520/https://books.google.com/books?id=ELWjuzADl7UC&pg=PA203|archive-date=April 12, 2016}}</ref> Individual rights, equality and inclusiveness ([[social equality]]) have risen to the forefront of political and legal importance for most [[Canadians]], as demonstrated through support for the ''[[Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms]]'', a relatively free economy, and social liberal attitudes toward [[Feminism in Canada|women's rights]] (like [[Abortion in Canada|pregnancy termination]]), [[divorce]], [[homosexuality]], [[same-sex marriage]], [[birth control]], [[Euthanasia in Canada|euthanasia]] or [[cannabis in Canada|cannabis use]].<ref name="HollifieldMartin2014b">{{cite book|author1=James Hollifield|author2=Philip L. Martin|author3=Pia Orrenius|title=Controlling Immigration: A Global Perspective, Third Edition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oec_BAAAQBAJ&pg=PA103|year=2014|publisher=Stanford University Press|isbn=978-0-8047-8735-2|page=103}}</ref><ref name="Rand Dyck 2011 88"/><ref name="Newman2012"/><ref name="GuoWong2015"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/csj-sjc/rfc-dlc/ccrf-ccdl/cases.html|title=Examples of Charter-related cases - Canada's System of Justice|publisher =Department of Justice - Government of Canada|year= 2018}}</ref> There is also a sense of collective responsibility in Canadian political culture, as is demonstrated in general support for [[universal health care]], multiculturalism, [[evolution]], [[gun control]], [[foreign aid]], and [[social programs in Canada|other social programs]].<ref>{{cite book|first1=Darrell|last1=Bricker|first2=John|last2=Wright|title=What Canadians think about almost everything|publisher=Doubleday Canada|year=2005|isbn=978-0-385-65985-7|pages=8–28}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nanosresearch.com/sites/default/files/POLNAT-S15-T705.pdf|title=Exploring Canadian values|date=October 2016|author=Nanos Research|access-date=February 1, 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170405113447/http://nanosresearch.com/sites/default/files/POLNAT-S15-T705.pdf|archive-date=2017-04-05}}</ref><ref name="polls">{{cite web|url=http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/research/por-multi-imm/sec02-1.asp|title=A literature review of Public Opinion Research on Canadian attitudes towards multiculturalism and immigration, 2006–2009|publisher=Government of Canada|year=2011|access-date=December 18, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222133226/http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/research/por-multi-imm/sec02-1.asp|archive-date=December 22, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.queensu.ca/cora/_files/fc2010report.pdf|title=Focus Canada (Final Report)|publisher=Queen's University|department=The Environics Institute|year=2010|page=4 (PDF page 8)|access-date=December 12, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160204231952/http://www.queensu.ca/cora/_files/fc2010report.pdf|archive-date=February 4, 2016}}</ref>

{{external media
|width =180px
| float =right 
| video1 =[https://globalnews.ca/video/6336235/is-the-left-right-political-spectrum-outdated "Is the Left/Right political spectrum outdated?"] – [[Global News]], 2019 (7:23 mins).}}

At the federal level, Canada has been dominated by two relatively [[Centrism|centrist]] parties practising "brokerage politics",{{efn| name=politics|"Brokerage politics—A Canadian term for successful [[Big tent|big tent parties]] that embody a [[Pluralism (political philosophy)|pluralistic]] catch-all approach to appeal to the median Canadian voter ... adopting centrist policies and [[Electoral alliance|electoral coalitions]] to satisfy the short-term preferences of a majority of electors who are not located on the ideological fringe."<ref name="MarlandGiasson2012">{{cite book|author1=Alex Marland|author2=Thierry Giasson|author3=Jennifer Lees-Marshment|title=Political Marketing in Canada|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GSeSaYPa2A4C&pg=PA257|year=2012|publisher=UBC Press|isbn=978-0-7748-2231-2|page=257}}</ref><ref name="CourtneySmith2010">{{cite book|author1=John Courtney|author2=David Smith|title=The Oxford Handbook of Canadian Politics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5KomEXgxvMcC&pg=PA195|year=2010|publisher=OUP USA|isbn=978-0-19-533535-4|page=195}}</ref>}}<ref name="Brooks2004">{{cite book|author=Stephen Brooks|title=Canadian Democracy: An Introduction|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DeQnPIXV5CEC|year=2004|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-541806-4|page=265|quote= Two historically dominant political parties have avoided ideological appeals in favour of a flexible centrist style of politics that is often labelled brokerage politics}}</ref><ref name="Smith2014">{{cite book|author=Miriam Smith|title=Group Politics and Social Movements in Canada: Second Edition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iG4rAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA17|year=2014|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-1-4426-0695-1|page=17|quote=Canada's party system has long been described as a “brokerage system”  in which the leading parties  (Liberal and Conservative) follow strategies that appeal across major [[Cleavage (politics)|social cleavages]] in an effort to defuse potential tensions.}}</ref><ref name="Johnson2016c">{{cite book|author=David Johnson|title=Thinking Government: Public Administration and Politics in Canada, Fourth Edition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I_HzDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA13|year=2016|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-1-4426-3521-0|pages=13–23|quote=...most Canadian governments, especially at the federal level, have taken a moderate, centrist approach to decision making, seeking to balance growth, stability, and governmental efficiency and economy...}}</ref> the [[Centre-left politics|centre-left]] leaning [[Liberal Party of Canada]] and the [[Centre-right politics|centre-right]] leaning [[Conservative Party of Canada]] (or its [[Conservative Party of Canada#Predecessors|predecessors]]).<ref name="BaumerGold2015">{{cite book|author1=Donald C. Baumer|author2=Howard J. Gold|title=Parties, Polarization and Democracy in the United States|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uBbvCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT152|date= 2015|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-317-25478-2|pages=152–}}</ref> "The traditional ''brokerage'' model of Canadian politics leaves little
room for ideology"<ref>Christopher Cochrane . (2010). [http://www.jstor.org/stable/40983510 Left/Right Ideology and Canadian Politics]. Canadian Journal of Political Science / Revue Canadienne De Science Politique, 43(3), 583-605. Retrieved January 21, 2021,</ref> as the Canadian [[Big tent|catch-all party]] system requires support from a broad spectrum of voters.<ref name="MarlandGiasson2012"/><ref name="Smith2014"/><ref name="Johnson2016c"/><ref name="Brooks2004"/> The historically predominant Liberals position themselves at the centre of the political scale,<ref name="Gill 2021 p. 485">{{cite journal | last=Gill | first=Jessica K. | title=Unpacking the Role of Neoliberalism on the Politics of Poverty Reduction Policies in Ontario, Canada: A Descriptive Case Study and Critical Analysis | journal=Social Sciences | publisher=MDPI AG | volume=10 | issue=12 | date=Dec 20, 2021 | issn=2076-0760 | doi=10.3390/socsci10120485 | page=485| doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Amanda Bittner|author2=Royce Koop|title=Parties, Elections, and the Future of Canadian Politics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TdFTCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA300|date=1 March 2013|publisher=UBC Press|isbn=978-0-7748-2411-8|page=300|quote=Domination by the Centre The central anomaly of the Canadian system, and the primary cause of its other peculiarities, has been its historical domination by a party of the centre. In none of the other countries is a centre party even a major player, much less the dominant....}}</ref><ref name="Johnston2017">{{Cite book |last=Johnston |first=Richard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aZAwDwAAQBAJ |title=The Canadian Party System: An Analytic History |publisher=UBC Press |year=2017 |isbn=978-0-7748-3610-4}}</ref>  with the Conservatives sitting on the right and the [[New Democratic Party]] occupying the [[Left-wing politics|left]].<ref name="BittnerKoop2013b">{{cite book|author1=Amanda Bittner|author2=Royce Koop|title=Parties, Elections, and the Future of Canadian Politics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TdFTCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA300|date=1 March 2013|publisher=UBC Press|isbn=978-0-7748-2411-8|pages=300–}}</ref><ref name="EvansGraaf2013">{{cite book|author1=Geoffrey Evans|author2=Nan Dirk de Graaf|title=Political Choice Matters: Explaining the Strength of Class and Religious Cleavages in Cross-National Perspective|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bZhcx6hLOMMC&pg=PA166|year=2013|publisher=OUP Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-966399-6|pages=166–167}}</ref><ref name="Carlisle2005b">{{cite book|author=Rodney P. Carlisle|title=Encyclopedia of Politics: The Left and the Right|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Bpx2AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA274|year=2005|publisher=SAGE Publications|isbn=978-1-4522-6531-5|page=274}}</ref> Five parties had representatives elected to the federal parliament in the [[2021 Canadian federal election|2021 election]]: the Liberal Party who currently form the government, the Conservative Party who are the [[Official Opposition (Canada)|Official Opposition]], the New Democratic Party, the [[Bloc Québécois]], and the [[Green Party of Canada]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news2/interactives/results-2015/|title=CBC News: Election 2015 roundup|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151022233012/http://www.cbc.ca/news2/interactives/results-2015/|archive-date=October 22, 2015}}</ref>

Polls have suggested that Canadians generally do not have a solid understanding of [[civics]].<ref>{{Citation |last=Jackson |first=Michael D. |title=The Crown and Canadian Federalism |page=11 |year=2013 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZcIf46DzpfUC |access-date=6 June 2014 |publisher=Dundurn Press |isbn=978-1-4597-0989-8}}</ref> This has been theorized to be a result of less attention being given to the subject in provincial education curricula, beginning in the 1960s.<ref>{{Citation |last=Tidridge |first=Nathan |title=Canada's Constitutional Monarchy: An Introduction to Our Form of Government |page=19 |year=2011 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JvGsvHsAtDgC |location=Toronto |publisher=Dundurn Press |isbn=978-1-4597-0084-0}}</ref> By 2008, a poll showed only 24 per cent of respondents could name the monarch as [[head of state]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=15 December 2008 |title=In the Wake of Constitutional Crisis: New Survey Demonstrates that Canadians Lack Basic Understanding of Our Country's Parliamentary System |url=http://www.dominion.ca/DominionInstituteDecember15Factum.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200612183428/http://www.dominion.ca/DominionInstituteDecember15Factum.pdf |archive-date=12 June 2020 |access-date=18 May 2010 |publisher=Ipsos Reid |place=Toronto |page=1}}</ref> Likewise, Senator [[Lowell Murray]] wrote five years earlier that "the Crown has become irrelevant to most Canadians' understanding of our system of Government."<ref>[[Lowell Murray|Murray, Lowell]]. 2003. ''<nowiki/>'Which Criticisms are Founded?' Protecting Canadian Democracy: The Senate You Never Knew'', edited by S. Joyal. Montreal: [[McGill–Queen's University Press|McGill-Queen's University Press]]. p. 136.</ref> As John Robson of the ''[[National Post]]'' opined in 2015: "Intellectually, voters and commentators succumb to the mistaken notion that we elect 'governments' of prime ministers and cabinets with untrammelled authority, that indeed ideal 'democracy' consists precisely in this kind of [[Plebiscite|plebiscitary]] [[autocracy]]."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Robson |first=John |date=2015-11-03 |title=John Robson: Trudeau's menacing promise of electoral reform |url=https://nationalpost.com/opinion/john-robson-trudeaus-promise-of-electoral-reform-is-menacing |access-date=2022-03-19 |work=National Post |language=en}}</ref>

==Governmental organization==
{{Main|Government of Canada}}

; Type of government : [[Westminster system|Westminster style]] [[Federation|federal]] [[Parliamentary system|parliamentary democracy]] within a [[constitutional monarchy]].

; Administrative divisions : [[Provinces of Canada|Ten provinces]] and [[Territories of Canada|three territories]]*: [[Alberta]], [[British Columbia]], [[Manitoba]], [[New Brunswick]], [[Newfoundland and Labrador]], [[Northwest Territories]]*, [[Nova Scotia]], [[Nunavut]]*, [[Ontario]], [[Prince Edward Island]], [[Quebec]], [[Saskatchewan]], [[Yukon]]*.

; Constitution : [[Westminster system]], based on unwritten [[Constitutional convention (political custom)|conventions]] and written [[Constitution of Canada|legislation]].

; Legal system : [[English law|English]] [[common law]] for all matters within federal jurisdiction and in all provinces and territories except Quebec, which is based on the [[civil law (legal system)|civil law]], based on the Custom of Paris in pre-revolutionary France as set out in the [[Civil Code of Quebec]]; accepts compulsory [[International Court of Justice]] jurisdiction, with reservations.
{{Further|Law of Canada}}

; Suffrage : Citizens aged 18 years or older. Only two adult citizens in Canada cannot vote: the [[Chief Electoral Officer (Canada)|Chief Electoral Officer]], and the Deputy Chief Electoral Officer. The [[Governor General of Canada|Governor General]] is eligible to vote, but abstains due to [[Constitutional convention (political custom)|constitutional convention]].

===Monarchy===
; [[Head of state]]: [[Charles III]], [[Monarchy of Canada|King of Canada]] (since September 8, 2022).

; [[Viceroy]]: [[Mary Simon]], [[Governor General of Canada]] (since July 26, 2021).
{{Multiple image
| align             = right
| total_width       = 260
| image1            = King Charles III (July 2023).jpg
| caption1          = [[Charles III]], King of Canada, the country's [[head of state]]
| image2            = Mary Simon, Governor General of Canada.jpg
| caption2          = [[Mary Simon]], Governor General of Canada, the monarch's representative
}}
{{quote box
| quote = The function of constitutional monarchy is to personify the democratic state, to sanction legitimate authority, to assure the legality of means, and guarantee the execution of the public will.<ref>{{Cite web| url=https://www.readersdigest.ca/culture/queen-elizabeth-quotes/| title=The Queen's speech to the Quebec Legislature emphasizing the role of constitutional monarchy as a source of freedom, good government, and national unity| date=9 October 1964| author=Elizabeth II| publisher=Reader's Digest Canada| access-date=May 15, 2023| archive-date=29 May 2023| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230529183631/https://www.readersdigest.ca/culture/queen-elizabeth-quotes/| url-status=live}}</ref>
| source = [[Elizabeth II]], Queen of Canada, [[Quebec City]], 1964
| align = right
| width = 250px
| border = 1px
| salign = right
}}Canada is a constitutional monarchy, wherein the role of the reigning [[sovereign]] is both legal and practical, but not political.<ref name="Forsey">{{Cite journal |last=Forsey |first=Helen |date=1 October 2010 |title=As David Johnson Enters Rideau Hall&nbsp;... |url=http://www.policyalternatives.ca/publications/monitor/david-johnson-enters-rideau-hall |url-status=live |journal=The Monitor |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110203201325/http://www.policyalternatives.ca/publications/monitor/david-johnson-enters-rideau-hall |archive-date=3 February 2011 |accessdate=23 January 2011}}</ref> The [[Monarchy of Canada|monarch]] is formally vested with all powers of state,<ref>{{cite book |last=Privy Council Office |url=http://www.pco-bcp.gc.ca/index.asp?lang=eng&page=information&sub=publications&doc=ag-gr/2008/ag-gr-eng.htm |title=Accountable Government: A Guide for Ministers and Ministers of State – 2008 |publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-100-11096-7 |location=Ottawa |page=45 |author-link=Privy Council Office (Canada) |access-date=17 May 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100318110030/http://www.pco-bcp.gc.ca/index.asp?lang=eng&page=information&sub=publications&doc=ag-gr%2F2008%2Fag-gr-eng.htm |archive-date=18 March 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> which are in practice exercised only by the various institutions of government acting under the sovereign's authority.<ref name="Smith6">{{citation |last=Smith |first=David E. |title=Conference on the Crown |date=10 June 2010 |work=The Crown and the Constitution: Sustaining Democracy? |page=6 |url=http://www.queensu.ca/iigr/conf/ConferenceOnTheCrown/CrownConferencePapers/The_Crown_and_the_Constitutio1.pdf |location=Ottawa |publisher=Queen's University |accessdate=22 May 2020}} Archived from the [http://www.queensu.ca/iigr/conf/ConferenceOnTheCrown/CrownConferencePapers/The_Crown_and_the_Constitutio1.pdf original] on 17 June 2010.</ref><ref>{{citation |last1=Bosc |first1=Marc |title=Parliamentary Institutions |year=2017 |url=https://www.ourcommons.ca/About/ProcedureAndPractice3rdEdition/ch_01_2-e.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170507081041/http://www.parl.gc.ca/About/House/compendium/web-content/c_d_rolecrowngovernorgeneral-e.htm |archive-date=7 May 2017 |url-status=live |chapter=1: House of Commons Procedure and Practice |edition=3 |location=Ottawa |publisher=House of Commons Table Research Branch |last2=Gagnon |first2=André |accessdate=22 May 2020}}</ref><ref>{{citation |author=Table Research Branch of the House of Commons |title=The Canadian Parliamentary System |url=https://www.ourcommons.ca/procedure/our-procedure/ParliamentaryFramework/c_g_parliamentaryframework-e.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220530121029/https://www.ourcommons.ca/procedure/our-procedure/ParliamentaryFramework/c_g_parliamentaryframework-e.html |archive-date=30 May 2022 |url-status=live |chapter=Our Procedure |location=Ottawa |accessdate=22 May 2020}}</ref><ref name="Murdoch">{{cite journal |last=Cox |first=Noel |date=September 2002 |title=Black v Chrétien: Suing a Minister of the Crown for Abuse of Power, Misfeasance in Public Office and Negligence |url=http://www.murdoch.edu.au/elaw/issues/v9n3/cox93.html |url-status=live |journal=Murdoch University Electronic Journal of Law |volume=9 |issue=3 |page=12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200626163652/http://www.murdoch.edu.au/elaw/issues/v9n3/cox93.html |archive-date=26 June 2020 |access-date=17 May 2009}}</ref> The executive is thus formally referred to as the ''King-in-Council'', the legislature as the ''King-in-Parliament'', and the courts as the ''King-on-the-Bench''.<ref name="MacLeod17">{{Harvnb|MacLeod|2015|p=17}}</ref>

Though the person who is monarch of Canada (currently [[{{Canadian monarch, current|plainname=1}}]]) is also the monarch of [[Commonwealth realm|14 other countries]] in the [[Commonwealth of Nations]], he nevertheless reigns separately as [[Style of the Canadian sovereign|King of Canada]], an office that is "truly Canadian" and "totally independent from that of the [[Monarchy of the United Kingdom|monarch of the United Kingdom]] or the other Commonwealth realms."<ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.pch.gc.ca/pgm/ceem-cced/fr-rf/crnCdn/index-eng.cfm |title=Crown of Maples- Constitutional Monarchy in Canada |publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-662-46012-1 |edition=2008 |pages=5, 12, 20, 40, 49 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727093738/https://www.canada.ca/home.html |archive-date=27 July 2020 |url-status=live |accessdate=2 May 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Queen and Canada: History and present Government |url=http://www.royal.gov.uk/MonarchAndCommonwealth/Canada/Historyandpresentgovernment.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727070332/http://www.royal.gov.uk/MonarchAndCommonwealth/Canada/Historyandpresentgovernment.aspx |archive-date=27 July 2020 |accessdate=2 May 2012 |publisher=The Royal Household}}</ref> On the advice of the Canadian prime minister, the sovereign appoints a federal [[Viceroy|viceregal representative]]—the [[Governor General of Canada|governor general]] (currently [[Mary Simon]])—who, since 1947, is permitted to exercise almost all of the monarch's [[royal prerogative]]; though, there are some duties which must be specifically performed by the monarch themselves (such as assent of certain bills). In case of the governor general's absence or incapacitation, the [[administrator of Canada]] performs the Crown's most basic functions.

[[Royal assent]] is required to enact laws. As part of the royal prerogative, the [[royal sign-manual]] gives authority to [[letters patent]] and [[Order in Council|orders-in-Council]]. The royal prerogative also includes summoning, [[Prorogation in Canada|proroguing]], and [[Dissolution of parliament#Canada|dissolving Parliament]] in order to [[Dropping the writ|call an election]] and extends to foreign affairs, which include the negotiation and ratification of treaties, alliances, international agreements, and [[Declaration of war by Canada|declarations of war]];<ref>{{citation |last=Brode |first=Patrick |title=War power and the Royal Prerogative |date=1 May 2006 |journal=Law Times |url=http://www.lawtimesnews.com/20060501549/Headline-News/War-power-and-the-Royal-Prerogative |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121122075404/http://www.lawtimesnews.com/20060501549/Headline-News/War-power-and-the-Royal-Prerogative |archive-date=22 November 2012 |url-status=dead |publisher=Thomson Reuters Canada |accessdate=22 October 2012}}</ref> the accreditation of Canadian diplomats and receipt of foreign diplomats; and the [[Canadian passport|issuance of passports]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Elizabeth II |author-link=Elizabeth II |year=2006 |title=Canadian Passport Order |url=http://www.pptc.gc.ca/publications/pdfs/81-86_administrative_2006_eng.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326043231/http://www.pptc.gc.ca/publications/pdfs/81-86_administrative_2006_eng.pdf |archive-date=26 March 2009 |access-date=19 May 2009 |series=4.4 |publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada |publication-date=28 June 2006 |location=Ottawa |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

Despite the wide theoretical extent of the sovereign's powers, in actual practice he or she exercises them only through or with the advice of the Prime Minister and [[Cabinet of Canada|Cabinet]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Forsey |first=Eugene |url=http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/library/idb/forsey/PDFs/How_Canadians_Govern_Themselves-6ed.pdf |title=How Canadians Govern Themselves |publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-662-39689-5 |edition=6 |location=Ottawa |page=1 |author-link=Eugene Forsey |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325074418/http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/library/idb/forsey/PDFs/How_Canadians_Govern_Themselves-6ed.pdf |archive-date=25 March 2009 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all |accessdate=14 May 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Marleau |first1=Robert |last2=Montpetit |first2=Camille |year=2000 |title=House of Commons > 1. Parliamentary Institutions |url=http://www2.parl.gc.ca/MarleauMontpetit/DocumentViewer.aspx?DocId=1001&Sec=Ch01&Seq=5&Lang=E&Print=2 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110828112251/http://www.parl.gc.ca/MarleauMontpetit/DocumentViewer.aspx?DocId=1001&Lang=E&Print=2&Sec=Ch01&Seq=5 |archive-date=28 August 2011 |accessdate=28 September 2009 |publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada |df=dmy-all}}</ref> Within the [[Constitutional_conventions_of_the_United_Kingdom|constitutional conventions]] of the [[Westminster system]], the sovereign's freedom of action or personal choice in any area of governance is quite limited.<ref name="MacLeod16">{{Harvnb|MacLeod|2015|p=16}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Russell |first=Peter |title=And no one cheered: federalism, democracy, and the Constitution Act |date=1983 |page=217 |editor-last=Banting |editor-first=Keith G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sUwOAAAAQAAJ |contribution=Bold Statecraft, Questionable Jurisprudence |location=Toronto |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-0-458-95950-1 |editor2-last=Simeon |editor2-first=Richard}}</ref>

===Executive power===
[[File:Prime Ministers of Canada to 1963.jpg|right|thumb|[[List of prime ministers of Canada|Canada's Prime Ministers]] from 1867 to 1963. The [[Prime Minister of Canada]] serves as the [[head of government]].]]
; [[Head of government]]: [[Mark Carney]], [[Prime Minister of Canada]] (since March 14, 2025).

; Cabinet: [[The Ministry|Ministers]] (usually around thirty) chosen by the prime minister and appointed by the governor general to lead various ministries and agencies, generally with regional representation. Traditionally most, if not all, cabinet ministers will be members of the leader's own party in the House of Commons or Senate (see [[Cabinet of Canada]]); however this is not legally or constitutionally mandated, and occasionally, the prime minister will appoint a cabinet minister from another party.

; Elections : The monarchy is hereditary. The governor general is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister for a non-specific term, though it is traditionally approximately five years. Following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party in the House of Commons is usually designated by the governor general to become prime minister.
{{Further|Monarchy of Canada|Monarchy in the Canadian provinces|Lieutenant Governor (Canada) |Premier (Canada)|Elections in Canada}}

===Legislative power===
The [[Bicameralism|bicameral]] [[Parliament of Canada]] consists of three parts: the [[Monarchy of Canada|monarch]], the [[Senate of Canada|Senate]], and the [[House of Commons of Canada|House of Commons]].

Currently, the Senate, which is frequently described as providing regional representation, has 105 members appointed by the Governor-General on the advice of the Prime Minister to serve until age 75. It was created with equal representation from the three regions of Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritimes (originally New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, expanded in 1873 to include Prince Edward Island). In 1915, a new Western division was created, with six senators from each of the four western provinces, so that each of the four regions had 24 seats in the Senate. When Newfoundland and Labrador joined Confederation in 1949, it was not included in an existing region and was assigned six seats. Each of the three territories has one seat. It is not based on representation-by-population. The normal number of senators can be exceeded by the monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister, as long as the additional senators are distributed equally with regard to region (up to a total of eight additional Senators). This power of additional appointment has only been used once, when Prime Minister [[Brian Mulroney]] petitioned [[Elizabeth II|Queen Elizabeth II]] to add eight seats to the Senate so as to ensure the passage of the [[Goods and Services Tax (Canada)|Goods and Services Tax]] legislation.

[[File:Colline du Parlement, Édifice du Centre 04.jpg|thumb|A democratically elected body, the [[House of Commons of Canada]] is one of three components of the [[Parliament of Canada]].]]

The House of Commons currently has 343 members elected in [[single-member district]]s in a [[Plurality voting|plurality voting system]] (first past the post), meaning that members must attain only a [[Plurality (voting)|plurality]] (the most votes of any candidate) rather than a [[majority]]. The [[Electoral district (Canada)|electoral districts]] are also known as [[Riding (division)|ridings]].

Mandates cannot exceed five years; an election must occur by the end of this time. This fixed mandate has been exceeded only once, when Prime Minister [[Robert Borden]] perceived the need to do so during World War I. A [[British North America Acts#British North America Act, 1916|constitutional amendment]] was passed, extending the life of the Parliament by one year, by the unanimous consent of the House of Commons. The size of the House and [[Apportionment (politics)|apportionment]] of seats to each province is revised after every decennial census, conducted every ten years, and is based on population changes and approximately on representation-by-population.

===Elections and government formation===
{{More citations needed section|date=October 2018}}
[[Canadians]] vote for the election of their local [[Member of Parliament (Canada)|member of parliament]] (MP) only. A vote is cast directly for a candidate. The candidate in each riding who receives a plurality of votes ([[First-past-the-post voting|first-past-the-post system]]) is elected.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Elections Canada |date=2022-10-17 |title=The Electoral System of Canada |url=https://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=res&dir=ces&document=part1&lang=e#p11 |access-date=2023-01-21 |website=www.elections.ca}}</ref> An MP need not be a member of any political party: such MPs are known as [[Independent politician|independents]]. When a number of MPs share political opinions they may form a body known as a [[political party]].

The ''[[Canada Elections Act]]'' defines a political party as "an organization one of whose fundamental purposes is to participate in public affairs by endorsing one or more of its members as candidates and supporting their election." Forming and registering a federal political party are two different things. There is no legislation regulating the formation of federal political parties. [[Elections Canada]] cannot dictate how a federal political party should be formed or how its legal, internal and financial structures should be established.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=pol&dir=pol/bck&document=index&lang=e|title=Registration of Federal Political Parties|first=Elections|last=Canada|website=elections.ca|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180201235534/http://elections.ca/content.aspx?section=pol&dir=pol%2Fbck&document=index&lang=e|archive-date=2018-02-01}}</ref>

Most parties elect their leaders in [[Instant-runoff voting|instant-runoff elections]] to ensure that the winner receives more than 50% of the votes. Normally the party leader stands as a candidate to be an MP during an election. This happens at [[leadership convention]]s. Canada's parliamentary system empowers political parties and their party leaders. Where one party gets a majority of the seats in the House of Commons, that party is said to have a "majority government." Through party discipline, the party leader, who is elected in only one riding, exercises a great deal of control over the cabinet and the parliament.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Canada |first=Elections |date=2023-01-18 |title=FAQs on Leadership Contests |url=https://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=med&document=lea_faq&lang=e&cid=e |access-date=2023-01-21 |website=www.elections.ca}}</ref>

Historically, the [[Prime Minister of Canada|prime minister]] and senators are selected by the [[Governor General of Canada|Governor General]] as a representative of the King, though in modern practice the monarch's duties are ceremonial. Consequently, the prime minister, while technically selected by the Governor General, is for all practical purposes selected by the party with the majority of seats. That is, the party that gets the most seats normally forms the government, with that party's leader becoming prime minister. The prime minister is not directly elected by the general population, although the prime minister is almost always directly elected as an MP within his or her constituency.

Often the most popular party in an election takes a majority of the seats, even if it did not receive a majority of the vote. However, as there are usually three or more political parties represented in parliament, often no party takes a majority of the seats. A [[minority government]] occurs when the party that holds the most seats in the House of Commons holds fewer seats than the opposition parties combined. Where no party is given a majority, the defeated Ministry may choose to stay in office until defeated on a vote of confidence in the House, or it may resign. If it resigns, the Governor General will ask the leader of the opposition party most likely to enjoy the confidence of the House to form a government;<ref>https://www.ourcommons.ca/procedure/procedure-and-practice-3/ch_01_2-e.html</ref> however, for the government to survive and to pass laws, the leader chosen must have the support of the majority of the House, meaning they need the support of the elected members of at least one other party. This can be done on a case-by-case basis, through a coalition government (which has only occurred once at the federal level, the [[10th Canadian Ministry|Unionist government]] formed during World War I) or through a [[confidence-and-supply agreement]] (such as the one the Liberals and the NDP signed in 2022).

==Federal-provincial relations==
{{More citations needed section|date=October 2018}}
{{Canada provinces map|align=right|prefix =Politics of|the=the|caption=A map of Canada's provinces and territories}}
[[File:Mackenzie King with Ferguson and Taschereau.jpg|thumb|[[William Lyon Mackenzie King]] (centre), Prime minister of Canada, between [[Howard Ferguson]] (left), Premier of Ontario, and [[Louis-Alexandre Taschereau]] (right), Premier of Quebec, at the [[First Ministers' conference|Dominion-Provincial Conference]], 1927.]]
As a federation, the existence and powers of the federal government and the ten [[Provinces and territories of Canada|provinces]] are guaranteed by the Constitution. The ''Constitution Act, 1867'' sets out the basic constitutional structure of the federal government and the provinces.<ref name=CA67/>  The powers of the federal Parliament and the provinces can only be changed by constitutional amendments passed by the federal and provincial governments.<ref>[https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/const/page-13.html#h-57 ''Constitution Act, 1982'', Part V — Procedure for Amending Constitution of Canada.]</ref> The Sovereign is the formal head of state of the federal government and each of the ten provinces, but has no political role.  The governments are led by the representatives of the people:  elected by all adult Canadians at the federal level, and by the citizens of each province at the provincial level.

Federal-provincial (or intergovernmental, formerly Dominion-provincial) relations is a regular issue in Canadian politics: Quebec wishes to preserve and strengthen its distinctive nature, western provinces desire more control over their abundant natural resources, especially energy reserves; industrialized Central Canada is concerned with its manufacturing base, and the Atlantic provinces strive to escape from being less affluent than the rest of the country.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Sears |first=Robin |date=May 1, 2010 |title=The next federal-provincial battles: This time it's different |url=https://policyoptions.irpp.org/fr/magazines/the-fault-lines-of-federalism/the-next-federal-provincial-battles-this-time-its-different/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220819223125/https://policyoptions.irpp.org/fr/magazines/the-fault-lines-of-federalism/the-next-federal-provincial-battles-this-time-its-different/ |archive-date=August 19, 2022 |access-date=January 22, 2023 |website=Policy Options}}</ref>

In order to ensure that social programs such as health care and education are funded consistently throughout Canada, the "have-not" (poorer) provinces receive a proportionately greater share of federal "[[equalization payments|transfer (equalization) payments]]" than the richer, or "have", provinces do; this has been somewhat controversial. The richer provinces often favour freezing transfer payments, or rebalancing the system in their favour, based on the claim that they already pay more in taxes than they receive in federal government services, and the poorer provinces often favour an increase on the basis that the amount of money they receive is not sufficient for their existing needs.<ref name=":0" />

Particularly in the past decade, critics have argued that the federal government's exercise of its unlimited constitutional spending power has contributed to strained federal-provincial relations.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bélanger |first=Claude |date=February 26, 2001 |title=Canadian federalism and the Spending Power of the Canadian Parliament |url=http://faculty.marianopolis.edu/c.belanger/quebechistory/federal/spending.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112030655/http://faculty.marianopolis.edu/c.belanger/quebechistory/federal/spending.htm |archive-date=November 12, 2020 |access-date=January 22, 2023 |website=Quebec History}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Scotia |first=Communications Nova |date=2018-05-11 |title=New Study Confirms Fiscal Imbalance in Canada |url=https://novascotia.ca/news/release/?id=20020731014 |access-date=2023-01-23 |website=News Releases |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=August 1, 2002 |title=A NEW STUDY BY THE CONFERENCE BOARD CONFIRMS THE EXISTENCE OF AN IMPORTANT FISCAL IMBALANCE IN CANADA |url=https://scics.ca/en/product-produit/a-new-study-by-the-conference-board-confirms-the-existence-of-an-important-fiscal-imbalance-in-canada/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181027002018/https://scics.ca/en/product-produit/a-new-study-by-the-conference-board-confirms-the-existence-of-an-important-fiscal-imbalance-in-canada/ |archive-date=October 27, 2018 |access-date=January 22, 2023 |website=Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Busby |first=Colin |date=May 28, 2021 |title=Could down-payment federalism help kickstart reform in long-term care? |url=https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/may-2021/could-down-payment-federalism-help-kickstart-reform-in-long-term-care/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220925115759/https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/may-2021/could-down-payment-federalism-help-kickstart-reform-in-long-term-care/ |archive-date=September 25, 2022 |access-date=January 22, 2023 |website=Policy Options}}</ref> This power allows the federal government to influence provincial policies, by offering funding in areas that the federal government cannot itself regulate. The federal spending power is not expressly set out in the ''[[Constitution Act, 1867]]''; however, in the words of the [[Court of Appeal for Ontario]] the power "can be inferred" from s. 91(1A), "the public debt and property".<ref>[http://canlii.org/en/on/onca/doc/2004/2004canlii15104/2004canlii15104.html ''Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. v. Iness''] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120712162257/http://canlii.org/en/on/onca/doc/2004/2004canlii15104/2004canlii15104.html |date=2012-07-12 }}, 2004 CanLII 15104 at paragraph 25.</ref>

A prime example of an exercise of the spending power is the ''[[Canada Health Act]]'', which is a conditional grant of money to the provinces. Regulation of health services is, under the Constitution, a provincial responsibility. However, by making the funding available to the provinces under the ''Canada Health Act'' contingent upon delivery of services according to federal standards, the federal government has the ability to influence health care delivery.

===Quebec and Canadian politics===
Except for three short-lived transitional or minority governments, prime ministers from [[Quebec]] led Canada continuously from 1968 to early 2006. People from Quebec led both [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal]] and [[Progressive Conservative Party of Canada|Progressive Conservative]] governments in this period.

Monarchs, governors general, and prime ministers are now expected to be at least functional, if not fluent, in both [[Canadian English|English]] and [[French language in Canada|French]]. In selecting leaders, political parties give preference to candidates who are fluently bilingual.

By law, three of the nine positions on the [[Supreme Court of Canada]] must be held by judges from Quebec. This representation makes sure that at least three judges have sufficient experience with the [[civil law (legal system)|civil law]] system to treat cases involving Quebec laws.<ref name="2014 SCC 21">{{cite web|title=Reference re Supreme Court Act, ss. 5 and 6|url=https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/2014/2014scc21/2014scc21.html|website=CanLII|access-date=August 5, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140505164818/http://www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/2014/2014scc21/2014scc21.html|archive-date=May 5, 2014}}</ref>

==National unity==
{{More citations needed section|date=October 2018}}
Canada has a long and storied history of secessionist movements (see [[Secessionist movements of Canada]]). National unity has been a major issue in Canada since the forced union of [[Upper Canada|Upper]] and [[Lower Canada]] in 1840.

The predominant and lingering issue concerning Canadian national unity has been the ongoing conflict between the French-speaking majority in Quebec and the English-speaking majority in the rest of Canada. Quebec's continued demands for recognition of its "[[distinct society]]" through special political status has led to attempts for constitutional reform, most notably with the failed attempts to amend the constitution through the [[Meech Lake Accord]] and the [[Charlottetown Accord]] (the latter of which was rejected through a national [[referendum]]).

Since the [[Quiet Revolution]], sovereigntist sentiments in Quebec have been variably stoked by the [[Canada Act 1982|patriation of the Canadian constitution in 1982]] (without Quebec's consent) and by the failed attempts at constitutional reform. Two provincial referendums, in [[1980 Quebec referendum|1980]] and [[1995 Quebec referendum|1995]], rejected proposals for sovereignty with majorities of 60% and 50.6% respectively. Given the narrow federalist victory in 1995, a reference was made by the [[Jean Chrétien|Chrétien]] government to the [[Supreme Court of Canada]] in 1998 regarding the [[Re Secession of Quebec|legality of unilateral provincial secession]]. The court decided that a unilateral declaration of secession would be unconstitutional. This resulted in the passage of the ''[[Clarity Act]]'' in 2000.

The [[Bloc Québécois]], a sovereigntist party which runs candidates exclusively in [[Quebec]], was started by a group of MPs who left the Progressive Conservative (PC) party (along with several disaffected Liberal MPs), and first put forward candidates in the 1993 federal election. With the collapse of the PCs in that election, the Bloc and Liberals were seen as the only two viable parties in Quebec. Thus, prior to the 2006 election, any gain by one party came at the expense of the other, regardless of whether national unity was really at issue. The Bloc, then, benefited (with a significant increase in seat total) from the impressions of corruption that surrounded the Liberal Party in the lead-up to the 2004 election. However, the newly unified Conservative party re-emerged as a viable party in Quebec by winning 10 seats in the 2006 election.  In the 2011 election, the [[New Democratic Party (Canada)|New Democratic Party]] succeeded in winning 59 of Quebec's 75 seats, successfully reducing the number of seats of every other party substantially. The NDP surge nearly destroyed the Bloc, reducing them to 4 seats, far below the minimum requirement of 12 seats for [[official party status]].

[[Newfoundland and Labrador]] is also a problem regarding national unity. As the [[Dominion of Newfoundland]] was a self-governing country equal to Canada until 1949, there are large, though uncoordinated, feelings of Newfoundland nationalism and [[anti-Canadian sentiment]] among much of the population. This is due in part to the perception of chronic [[Collapse of the Atlantic northwest cod fishery|federal mismanagement of the fisheries]], [[Resettlement (Newfoundland)|forced resettlement]] away from isolated settlements in the 1960s, the government of Quebec still drawing inaccurate political maps whereby [[Labrador#Boundary dispute|they take parts of Labrador]], and to the perception that mainland Canadians look down upon Newfoundlanders. In 2004, the [[Newfoundland and Labrador First Party]] contested provincial elections and in 2008 in federal ridings within the province. In 2004, then-premier [[Danny Williams (Canadian politician)|Danny Williams]] ordered all federal flags removed from government buildings as a result of lost offshore revenues to equalization clawbacks.<ref name="cbc.ca">{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/maple-leaf-flags-removed-in-offshore-feud-1.494970|title=Maple Leaf flags removed in offshore feud &#124; CBC News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819084310/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/maple-leaf-flags-removed-in-offshore-feud-1.494970|archive-date=2014-08-19|url-status=live|access-date=2014-08-16}}{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/maple-leaf-flags-removed-in-offshore-feud-1.494970|title=Maple Leaf flags removed in offshore feud|website=CBC News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819084310/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/maple-leaf-flags-removed-in-offshore-feud-1.494970|archive-date=19 August 2014|url-status=live|access-date=16 August 2014}}</ref> On December 23, 2004, premier Williams made this statement to reporters in [[St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador|St. John's]],

{{Blockquote|They basically slighted us, they are not treating us as a proper partner in Confederation. It's intolerable and it's insufferable and these flags will be taken down indefinitely. It's also quite apparent to me that we were dragged to Manitoba in order to punish us, quite frankly, to try to embarrass us, to bring us out there to get no deal and send us back with our tail between our legs.|sign=Premier [[Danny Williams (Canadian politician)|Danny Williams]]<ref name="cbc.ca"/>}}

[[Western alienation]] is another national-unity-related concept that enters into Canadian politics. Residents of the four western provinces, particularly Alberta, have often been unhappy with a lack of influence and a perceived lack of understanding when residents of Central Canada consider "national" issues. While this is seen to play itself out through many avenues (media, commerce, and so on.), in politics, it has given rise to a number of political parties whose base constituency is in western Canada. These include the [[United Farmers of Alberta]], who first won federal seats in 1917, the [[Progressive Party of Canada|Progressives]] (1921), the [[Social Credit Party of Canada|Social Credit Party]] (1935), the [[Co-operative Commonwealth Federation]] (1935), the [[Reconstruction Party]] (1935), [[New Democracy (Canada)|New Democracy]] (1940) and most recently the [[Reform Party of Canada|Reform Party]] (1989).

The Reform Party's slogan "The West Wants In" was echoed by commentators when, after a successful merger with the PCs, the successor party to both parties, the Conservative Party won the 2006 election. Led by Stephen Harper, who is an MP from Alberta, the electoral victory was said to have made "The West IS In" a reality. However, regardless of specific electoral successes or failures, the concept of western alienation continues to be important in Canadian politics, particularly on a provincial level, where opposing the federal government is a common tactic for provincial politicians. For example, in 2001, a group of prominent Albertans produced the [[Alberta Agenda]], urging Alberta to take steps to make full use of its constitutional powers, much as Quebec has done.

==Political conditions==
{{More citations needed section|date=October 2018}}
Canada is considered by most sources to be a very stable democracy. In 2006, ''[[The Economist]]'' ranked Canada the third-most democratic nation in its [[Democracy Index]], ahead of all other nations in the Americas and ahead of every nation more populous than itself. According to the [[V-Dem Democracy indices]], in 2023 Canada was the 19th most electoral democratic country in the world.<ref name="vdem_dataset">{{cite web |last=V-Dem Institute |date=2023 |title=The V-Dem Dataset |url=https://www.v-dem.net/data/the-v-dem-dataset/ |access-date=14 October 2023}}</ref><ref>[https://www.v-dem.net/documents/29/V-dem_democracyreport2023_lowres.pdf Democracy Report 2023, Table 3, V-Dem Institute, 2023]</ref>

More recently, with the existence of strong third parties and first-past-the-post elections amongst other factors, Canada on a federal and provincial level has experienced huge swings in seat shares, where third parties (e.g. NDP, Reform) end up (usually briefly) replacing the Liberals, the Progressive Conservatives or the Conservatives as the main opposition or even the government and leaving them as a rump. Such examples federally include the [[1993 Canadian federal election|1993 federal election]] with the collapse of the Progressive Conservatives, and the [[2011 Canadian federal election|2011 election]] leaving the Liberal Party a (temporary) rump along with Bloc Québécois. Other examples include the changes of fortune for the Alberta NDP during the province's 2015 and 2019 elections, and possibly the 2018 Quebec elections with the rise of [[Coalition Avenir Québec]] taking government from the Liberals and [[Parti Québécois]].
[[File:GoverningPoliticalPartyByProvince v2.png|thumb|250x250px|The governing political party(s) in each Canadian province. Multicoloured provinces are governed by a coalition or minority government consisting of more than one party.]]
On a provincial level, in the legislatures of western provinces the NDP often is the left-leaning main party instead of that province's Liberal Party branch, the latter generally being a rump or smaller than the NDP. The other main party (right of the NDP) is either the Progressive Conservatives or their successor, or the Saskatchewan Party in Saskatchewan.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Renzsch |first=Wolfgang |date=2001 |title=Bifurcated and Integrated Parties in Parliamentary Federations |url=https://www.queensu.ca/iigr/sites/iirwww/files/uploaded_files/2001-4WolfgangRenzsch.pdf |journal=Queen's Institute of Intergovernmental Relations Working Papers |pages=10}}</ref>

=== Party systems ===
{{Main|Party system#Canada}}According to recent scholars, there have been four party systems in [Canada] at the federal level since Confederation, each with its own distinctive pattern of social support, [[patronage]] relationships, leadership styles, and electoral strategies.<ref>[[Party system#Gag07|Gagnon and Tanguay, 2007]]: 1</ref>  Political scientists disagree on the names and precise boundaries of the eras, however.  Steve Patten identifies four party systems in Canada's political history<ref>[[Party system#Pat07|Patten, 2007]]: 57–58</ref>

Clarkson (2005) shows how the [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal Party]] has dominated all the party systems, using different approaches. It began with a  "clientelistic approach" under [[Sir Wilfrid Laurier|Laurier]], which evolved into a "brokerage" system of the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s under [[William Lyon Mackenzie King|Mackenzie King]]. The 1950s saw the emergence of a "pan-Canadian system", which lasted until the 1990s. The 1993 election — categorized by Clarkson as an electoral "earthquake" which "fragmented" the party system, saw the emergence of regional politics within a four party-system, whereby various groups championed regional issues and concerns. Clarkson concludes that the inherent bias built into the first-past-the-post system, has chiefly benefited the Liberals.<ref>Stephen Clarkson, ''The Big Red Machine: How the Liberal Party Dominates Canadian Politics'' (2005)</ref>

===Party funding===
The rules governing the funding of parties are designed to ensure reliance on personal contributions. Personal donations to federal parties and campaigns benefit from tax credits, although the amount of tax relief depends on the amount given. Also only people paying income taxes receive any benefit from this.

The rules are based on the belief that union or business funding should not be allowed to have as much impact on federal election funding as these are not contributions from citizens and are not evenly spread out between parties. The new rules stated that a party had to receive 2% of the vote nationwide in order to receive the general federal funding for parties. Each vote garnered a certain dollar amount for a party (approximately $1.75) in future funding. For the initial disbursement, approximations were made based on previous elections. The NDP received more votes than expected (its national share of the vote went up) while the new Conservative Party of Canada received fewer votes than had been estimated and was asked to refund the difference. [[Quebec]] was the first province to implement a similar system of funding many years before the changes to funding of federal parties.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Reid |first=Madeline |date=April 2018 |title=Chapter 13 {{!}} Campaign Finance Laws: Controlling the Risks of Corruption and Public Cynicism |url=https://dspace.library.uvic.ca/bitstream/handle/1828/9253/Ch.%2013_April2018_web.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220308131918/https://dspace.library.uvic.ca/bitstream/handle/1828/9253/Ch.%2013_April2018_web.pdf |archive-date=March 8, 2022 |access-date=January 22, 2023 |website=University of Victoria}}</ref>

[[Federal political financing in Canada|Federal funds]] are disbursed quarterly to parties, beginning at the start of 2005. For the moment, this disbursement delay leaves the NDP and the Green Party in a better position to fight an election, since they rely more on individual contributors than federal funds. The Green Party now receives federal funds, since it for the first time received a sufficient share of the vote in the 2004 election.<ref name="debates">[http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCAN1039064420080910 ''Greens win spot in TV election debates'', Reuters Canada, September 10, 2008] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080910233525/http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCAN1039064420080910 |date=September 10, 2008 }}, (accessed September 10, 2008)</ref>

In 2007, news emerged of a funding loophole that "could cumulatively exceed the legal limit by more than $60,000", through anonymous recurrent donations of $200 to every riding of a party from corporations or unions. At the time, for each individual, the legal annual donation limit was $1,100 for each party, $1,100 combined total for each party's associations, and in an election year, an additional $1,100 combined total for each party's candidates. All three limits increase on 1 April every year based on the inflation rate.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://thetyee.ca/Views/2007/08/13/DemoSale/ |title=Our Democracy for Sale, Still |access-date=August 16, 2007 |last=Conacher |first=Duff |date=August 13, 2007 |work=The Tyee |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071017135000/http://thetyee.ca/Views/2007/08/13/DemoSale/ |archive-date=October 17, 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/Page/document/v5/content/subscribe?user_URL=https://www.theglobeandmail.com%2Fservlet%2Fstory%2FRTGAM.20070802.wdonations02%2FBNStory%2FNational%2Fhome%2Fangle&ord=20544885 |title=Ottawa refuses to close donation loophole |access-date=August 16, 2007 |last=Leblanc |first=Daniel |author2=Jane Taber |date=August 2, 2007 |work=Globe and Mail |location=Canada |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930140829/http://nationalcitizens.ca/cgi-bin/news.cgi?rm=display&articleID=1186055872&search=&category=3&order=&page=1 |archive-date=Sep 30, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070801.wdonationsloophole01/BNStory/National/home |title=Loophole tears lid off political donations |access-date=August 16, 2007 |last=Leblanc |first=Daniel |date=August 1, 2007 |work=Globe and Mail |location=Canada }}{{Dead link|date=July 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Two of the biggest federal political parties in Canada experienced a drop in donations in 2020, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic impact on the global economy.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://globalnews.ca/news/7244145/coronavirus-political-party-donations/|title=Canadians donated far less to federal political parties in height of coronavirus pandemic|access-date=1 August 2020|website=Global News}}</ref>

=== Political parties, leaders and status ===
<small>''Ordered by number of elected representatives in the House of Commons''</small>
* [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal Party]]: [[Mark Carney]], [[Prime Minister of Canada]] 
* [[Conservative Party of Canada|Conservative Party]]: [[Pierre Poilievre]]
* [[Bloc Québécois]]: [[Yves-François Blanchet]]
* [[New Democratic Party]]: [[Don Davies]] (interim)
* [[Green Party of Canada|Green Party]]: [[Elizabeth May]]

===Leaders' debates===
{{Main|Canadian leaders debates}}
Leaders' debates in Canada consist of two debates, one English and one French,<ref name="TarasWaddell2012">{{cite book|author1=David Taras|author2=Christopher Waddell|title=How Canadians Communicate IV: Media and Politics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6bdw1VFSQuoC&pg=PA85|year=2012|publisher=Athabasca University Press|isbn=978-1-926836-81-2|pages=85–}}</ref> both produced by a consortium of Canada's five major television broadcasters ([[CBC Television|CBC]]/[[Ici Radio-Canada Télé|SRC]], [[CTV Television Network|CTV]], [[Global Television Network|Global]] and [[TVA (Canada)|TVA]]) and usually consist of the leaders of all parties with representation in the House of Commons.

These debates air on the networks of the producing consortium as well as the public affairs and parliamentary channel [[CPAC (TV channel)|CPAC]] and the American public affairs network [[C-SPAN]].

==Judiciary==
{{Main|Supreme Court of Canada}}
{{See also|Court system of Canada|Law of Canada}}
[[File:Ottawa - ON - Oberster Gerichtshof von Kanada.jpg|thumb|The [[Supreme Court of Canada]] is the highest court in the [[Canadian justice system]].]]
{{Excerpt|Court system of Canada|only=paragraph|paragraph=1,2,3|hat=no}}

==Government departments and structure==
The Canadian government operates the public service using departments, smaller agencies (for example, commissions, tribunals, and boards), and crown corporations. There are two types of departments: central agencies such as Finance, Privy Council Office, and Treasury Board Secretariat have an organizing and oversight role for the entire public service; line departments are departments that perform tasks in a specific area or field, such as the departments of Agriculture, Environment, or Defence.

*Significant departments include [[Department of Finance (Canada)|Finance]], [[Canada Revenue Agency|Revenue]], [[Human Resources and Skills Development Canada|Human Resources and Skills Development]], [[Department of National Defence (Canada)|National Defence]], [[Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada|Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]], and [[Department of Foreign Affairs (Canada)|Foreign Affairs]]/[[Department of International Trade (Canada)|International Trade]].
{{Further|Structure of the Canadian federal government}}

Scholar Peter Aucoin, writing about the Canadian Westminster system, raised concerns in the early 2000s about the centralization of power; an increased number, role and influence of partisan-political staff; personal-politicization of appointments to the senior public service; and the assumption that the public service is promiscuously partisan for the government of the day.<ref>Aucoin, Peter (2008). ''New Public Management and the Quality of Government: Coping with the New Political Governance in Canada'', Conference on "New Public Management and the Quality of Government", SOG and the Quality of Government Institute, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, 13–15 November 2008, p.14.</ref>

==Elections==
{{Main|Elections in Canada}}
{{See also|Senate of Canada}}
{{Further|2025 Canadian federal election}}
* ''Elections''
** House of Commons: direct [[Plurality voting system|plurality]] representation (last election held April 28, 2025)
** Senate: appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the prime minister
* ''Election results'':
{{2025 Canadian federal election results}}

==See also==
{{portal|border=no|Canada|Politics}}
* [[Censorship in Canada]]
* [[Constitutional debate in Canada]]
* [[Fair Vote Canada]]
* [[Federal political financing in Canada]]
* [[Hate speech laws in Canada]]
* [[List of Canadian federal electoral districts]]
* [[List of Canadian federal general elections]]
* [[List of Canadian political scandals]]
* [[List of political parties in Canada]]
* [[Populism in Canada]]
* [[Republicanism in Canada]]
* [[Socialism in Canada]]

== Notes==
{{Notelist}}

== References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
{{Refbegin}}
* Argyle, Ray. ''Turning Points: The Campaigns That Changed Canada - 2011 and Before'' (2011) 440pp [https://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/B005233WJG/ excerpt and text search] ch. 1
* {{Cite book |last=Bickerton |first=James |year=2009 |title=Canadian Politics |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1jd6oqRHxLYC |publisher=University of Toronto Press |isbn=978-1-4426-0121-5}}
* {{Cite book | author = R. Kenneth Carty | date = 1 September 2015 | title = Big Tent Politics: The Liberal Party's Long Mastery of Canada's Public Life | publisher = UBC Press  | isbn = 978-0-7748-3002-7 | oclc = 1091201103 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=D-c0CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA1}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Courtney |first1=John C. |last2=Smith |first2=David E. |year=2010 |title=The Oxford handbook of Canadian politics |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5KomEXgxvMcC |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-533535-4}}
* {{Cite book |last=Clément |first=Dominique |year=2009 |title=Canada's Rights Revolution: Social Movements and Social Change, 1937–82 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-kgS9cr2JYUC&q=Politics%20%20of%20canada&pg=PP1 |publisher=Univ of British Columbia Press |isbn=978-0-7748-1480-5}}
* {{Cite book |last=Dyck |first=Rand |title=Canadian Politics, Concise Fifth Edition |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BUOoN8e5Ps0C&pg=PP1|year=2011|publisher=Cengage Learning|isbn=978-0-17-650343-7}}

* Granatstein, J. L. ''Prime ministers : ranking Canada's leaders'' (1999) [https://archive.org/details/primeministersra0000gran  online] evaluates all 20 prime ministers from 1867 to 1999.
* {{Cite book |last=Hale |first=Geoffrey E. |year=2002 |title=The politics of taxation in Canada |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=myG38h5oIv4C&q=Politics%20%20of%20canada&pg=PP1 |publisher=Broadview Press |isbn=978-1-55111-300-5 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Hill |first=Tony L. |year=2002 |title=Canadian politics, riding by riding |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=opvmE2AExc8C&q=Politics%20%20of%20canada&pg=PR1 |publisher=Prospect Park Press |isbn=978-0-9723436-0-2}}
* Hyde, Anthony (1997). ''Promises, Promises: Breaking Faith in Canadian Politics''. Toronto: Viking. viii, 218 p. {{ISBN|0-670-87710-7}}
* {{Cite book |last=Lightbody |first=James |year=2006 |title=City politics, Canada |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hnYuA5zZs8UC&q=Politics%20%20of%20canada&pg=PP1 |publisher=Broadview Press |isbn=978-1-55111-753-9}}
* {{Cite book |last=Macdonald |first=Douglas |year=2007 |title=Business and environmental politics in Canada |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KHCNDx5rYRkC&q=Politics%20%20of%20canada&pg=PP1 |publisher=Broadview Press |isbn=978-1-55111-277-0}}
* {{Cite book |last=Morton |first=Frederick Lee |year=2002 |title=Law, politics, and the judicial process in Canada |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dj_4_H35nmYC&q=Politics%20%20of%20canada&pg=PP1 |publisher=Frederick Lee |isbn=978-1-55238-046-8}}
* {{Cite book |last=Newman |first=Stephen L. |year=2004 |title=Constitutional politics in Canada and the United States |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=28X4RsAOftgC&q=Politics%20%20of%20canada&pg=PP1 |publisher=State University of New York Press |isbn=978-0-7914-5937-9}}
* Pammett, Jon H., and Christopher Dornan, eds. ''The Canadian Federal Election of 2011'' (2011) [https://www.amazon.com/Canadian-Federal-Election-2011/dp/1459701801/ excerpt and text search]; 386pp; essays by experts
* {{Cite book |last=Patten |first=Steve |year=2006 |title=The Chrétien legacy: politics and public policy in Canada |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MSiZO2mBYuQC&q=Politics%20%20of%20canada&pg=PP1 |publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press |isbn=978-0-7735-3095-9}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Trimble |first1=Linda |last2=Arscott |first2=Jane |year=2008 |title=Still Counting: Women in Politics Across Canada |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cDFubvyy3IUC&q=Politics%20%20of%20canada&pg=PP1 |publisher=Univ of Toronto Press |isbn=9781442600546}}
* {{Cite book |last=Wiseman |first=Nelson |year=2007 |title=In search of Canadian political culture |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TD5bmHBbDFIC&q=Canadian%20Culture&pg=PP1 |publisher=Univ of British Columbia Press |isbn=978-0-7748-1388-4}}

; Political thought
* Katherine Fierlbeck, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=0bZBHlF4V8EC&lpg=PP1&dq=Political%20Thought%20in%20Canada%3A%20An%20Intellectual%20History&pg=PP1 Political Thought in Canada: An Intellectual History]'', Broadview Press, 2006
* Ian McKay, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=Gc_yHAW03fIC&lpg=PP1&dq=Rebels%2C%20Reds%2C%20Radicals%3A%20Rethinking%20Canada's%20Left%20History&pg=PP1 Rebels, Reds, Radicals: Rethinking Canada's Left History]'', Between the Lines, 2006
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Politics of Canada}}
* [http://www.canadanewsnet.com/ Canada Newsnet (formerly PoliWonk) - Extensive Canadian Politics news and resources]
* [http://canadian-politics.com/ Canadian-Politics.com]; {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080828034200/http://canadian-politics.com/ |date=2008-08-28 }}—Comprehensive overview of politics in Canada
* [http://archives.cbc.ca/IDD-1-73-1700/politics_economy/political_scandals/ CBC Digital Archives – Scandals, Boondoggles and White Elephants]
* [http://archives.cbc.ca/IDD-1-73-1181/politics_economy/federal_elections/ CBC Digital Archives – Campaigning for Canada]
* [http://etatscanadiens-canadiangovernments.enap.ca/fr/index.aspx Canadian Governments Compared]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120313090329/http://www.northernblue.ca/cpo/index.php/Canadian_Politics_Online Canadian Politics Online Digital Textbook]

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