3 Branches of Canada's Federal Government
Summary
TLDRThis script offers an insightful look into Canada's federal government, highlighting its three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. The legislative branch, comprising the House of Commons, Senate, and Governor General, is responsible for creating laws. The executive branch, led by the Prime Minister and cabinet, enforces these laws. Lastly, the judicial branch, with the Supreme Court at its apex, interprets laws and ensures constitutional compliance. The script emphasizes the balance of power and the interconnected yet distinct roles of each branch in serving and protecting Canadian citizens.
Takeaways
- ποΈ The federal government in Canada is responsible for national laws and matters that affect the entire country, as opposed to provincial and municipal governments which handle regional and local issues, respectively.
- π€ The federal government convenes in Ottawa and is composed of individuals from all regions of Canada, aiming to address national concerns such as defense, trade, immigration, and criminal laws.
- βοΈ To prevent any single entity from gaining too much power, the federal government is divided into three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial, each with its own responsibilities and checks on the others.
- π’ The legislative branch, also known as Parliament, is made up of the House of Commons, the Senate, and the Queen or King, who together create and approve laws.
- π³οΈ The House of Commons is the most important part of the legislative branch, consisting of elected members of parliament (MPs) who represent the people and form the basis of Canada's representative democracy.
- π₯ The Senate is the less powerful, unelected upper house of Parliament, with senators serving until age 75, intended to provide a check on the House of Commons by potentially vetoing bills.
- π The Queen or King, as the head of state, has a symbolic role in the legislative process, with the Governor General representing them and giving royal assent to bills.
- π¨βπΌ The executive branch, responsible for enforcing laws, is led by the Prime Minister, the cabinet, and the Governor General, who ensures the government's actions align with the law.
- π The Prime Minister, chosen from the party that wins the most seats in the House of Commons, holds significant power, including selecting cabinet ministers and senators, though they are subject to elections every four years.
- π The judicial branch interprets laws and determines their constitutionality, with the Supreme Court at its apex, composed of nine justices appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister.
- ποΈ The interconnectedness of the legislative and executive branches, with MPs also serving in the cabinet, highlights the complex relationship between law-making and law-enforcing in Canada's government structure.
Q & A
What is the role of the federal government in Canada?
-The federal government in Canada deals with national laws and matters that affect the entire country, such as defense, trade with other countries, money, immigration, fishing and oceans, and criminal laws.
How does the federal government differ from provincial and municipal governments?
-The federal government handles national issues, while provincial governments manage laws within their provinces, and municipal governments deal with city-specific laws.
Why is the federal government divided into three branches?
-The federal government is divided into three branches to provide checks and balances, ensuring that no single branch becomes too powerful.
What are the three branches of the federal government in Canada?
-The three branches of the federal government in Canada are the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.
What is the legislative branch of the Canadian government, and what are its components?
-The legislative branch, also known as Parliament, consists of the House of Commons, the Senate, and the Queen or King, represented by the Governor General.
What is the function of the House of Commons in the legislative process?
-The House of Commons is responsible for forming bills that can become law, and its members, known as Members of Parliament (MPs), are elected by the public.
How are Senators in the Senate chosen, and what is their role?
-Senators are not elected by the public; they are appointed and serve until they are 75 years old. They can veto bills and provide a check on the House of Commons.
What is the role of the Governor General in the legislative branch?
-The Governor General represents the Queen or King and has the main job of approving laws or giving royal consent, following the advice of the Prime Minister.
What are the main components of the executive branch of the Canadian government?
-The executive branch consists of the Prime Minister, his cabinet, and the Governor General, who ensures that laws are obeyed and enforced.
How is the Prime Minister chosen, and what is his role in the government?
-The Prime Minister is the leader of the political party that wins the most seats in the House of Commons. He is the most powerful person in Canada and leads the government.
What is the judicial branch responsible for, and what is the highest court in Canada?
-The judicial branch interprets the meanings of laws and decides if they follow the Constitution. The Supreme Court is the highest court in Canada, made up of nine justices.
Outlines
ποΈ Overview of Canada's Federal Government
This paragraph introduces the concept of the federal government in Canada, distinguishing it from provincial and municipal governments. The federal government is responsible for national laws and issues that affect the entire country, such as defense, trade, immigration, and criminal laws. It is composed of three branches to ensure checks and balances: legislative, executive, and judicial. The legislative branch, also known as Parliament, consists of the House of Commons, the Senate, and the Queen or King. The House of Commons is the most important part, as it is made up of elected members representing the people. The Senate is less powerful and consists of appointed members who serve until age 75. The Queen or King's role is largely ceremonial, with the Governor General representing them and giving royal consent to laws.
π©ββοΈ The Executive and Judicial Branches of Canada's Government
The executive branch is responsible for ensuring that laws are obeyed and is composed of the Prime Minister, the cabinet, and the Governor General. The Prime Minister is the leader of the political party that wins the most seats in the House of Commons and has significant influence over the selection of cabinet ministers and Senators. The Prime Minister and cabinet members are also part of the legislative branch, highlighting the interconnectedness of these branches. The judicial branch interprets laws and determines their constitutionality. The Supreme Court, led by the Chief Justice, is the highest court and consists of nine justices appointed by the Governor General, though the Prime Minister has the real say in these appointments. Justices serve until age 75. Lower courts, such as provincial and military courts, also form part of the judicial branch.
Mindmap
Keywords
π‘Federal Government
π‘Provincial Government
π‘Municipal Government
π‘Check and Balances
π‘Legislative Branch
π‘Executive Branch
π‘Judicial Branch
π‘House of Commons
π‘Senate
π‘Governor General
π‘Constitutional Monarchy
Highlights
The federal government deals with national laws and issues that affect the entire country.
Federal government is distinct from provincial and municipal governments in its scope and responsibilities.
Federal government meets in Ottawa and is composed of people from all over Canada.
The federal government handles matters such as defense, trade, money, immigration, fishing, oceans, and criminal laws.
The three branches of the federal government are legislative, executive, and judicial to ensure checks and balances.
The legislative branch creates laws and is also known as Parliament, consisting of the House of Commons, Senate, and the Queen or King.
The House of Commons is the most important part of the legislative branch and is composed of members elected by the public.
Members of the House of Commons are called Members of Parliament (MPs) and they elect a Speaker to lead the house.
The Senate can veto bills that originate in the House of Commons.
Senators are not elected and serve until the age of 75, providing a check on the elected House of Commons.
The Queen or King is the third branch of the legislative, represented by the Governor General who gives royal assent to bills.
The Governor General's role is largely ceremonial and they act on the advice of the Prime Minister.
The executive branch enforces laws and is composed of the Prime Minister, the Cabinet, and the Governor General.
The Prime Minister is the leader of the political party with the most seats in the House of Commons and is the most powerful figure in Canada.
The Prime Minister chooses the Cabinet Ministers, who are in charge of various departments of the government.
The judicial branch interprets laws and decides their constitutionality, with the Supreme Court as the highest authority.
Justices of the Supreme Court are appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister and serve until age 75.
The federal government's structure aims to serve and protect the citizens through a system of checks and balances.
Transcripts
let's learn about Canada's three
branches of federal government first of
all what is the federal government it's
the level of government that deals with
national laws things that deal with the
entire country that's different than the
provincial government which deals with
the laws of the province and the
municipal government which deals with
the laws of your city the federal
government might deal with the laws of
the whole country but they meet together
in Ottawa federal perhaps you feel fed
up with federal because they are so far
away from you but actually the federal
government is made up of people from all
over the country coming together to make
important laws about offense trade with
other countries money immigration
fishing and oceans and criminal laws the
federal government is divided into three
branches to have check and balances so
that no one gets too powerful
legislative executive and judicial the
legislative create laws decides what's
legal legal legislative the executive
enforces the laws execute the law
execute executive and the judicial which
judges what the meaning of the laws are
judges law judge judicial let's take a
closer look at the legislative branch
it's also called the Parliament it has
three branches itself the House of
Commons the Senate and the queen or king
the House of Commons forms the bills
that become law the Senate can veto the
bills and the queen or king approves the
bills let's focus on each of the
legislative or Parliament branches the
House of Commons is the most important
branch but it's called the lower house
because it's made of common people from
communities common people in
the House of Commons these are the guys
that you vote for from your home they
represent you which makes us a
representative democracy you are writing
on what they decide so where they come
from is called a writing people in the
House of Commons are called members of
parliament members of parliament or MPs
and they elect a leader called the
Speaker of the House and don't forget
the House of Commons is where laws are
formed
but then laws can be vetoed or shut down
by the next branch of legislature or
Parliament that branch is the Senate run
by Senators these senators are not
chosen by you and I but they do come
from all over the country and once they
get to be a senator they don't have to
leave until they're 75 years old one
idea behind having a branch that is not
elected is that it should be harder to
manipulate them you can't say to them if
you do this you'll never get reelected
they can be confident of their place and
act on their conscience and they can
still get kicked out for accepting
bribes or doing illegal stuff but since
they don't actually represent the people
they don't have much power yet they are
still called the upper house often they
are of the upper class
that leaves one more branch of the
parliament the king or queen having
royalty who has to obey our
constitutional laws makes us a
constitutional monarchy but let's be
honest the queen is in charge of 16
different countries she lives really far
away and well let's face it she's old so
she has someone represent her all the
governor-general the Governor General's
main job is to approve loss or give her
royal consent this isn't too much power
because she knows what has happened in
other countries where royalty refused to
obey laws they have lost their power of
having a stay in law and so the
legislative or Parliament branch is made
up of the House of Commons Senate and
Governor General which together make
laws let's move on to the executive
branch the part of the federal
government that makes sure laws are
obeyed there are three main branches the
Prime Minister his cabinet and you
guessed it the king or queen of course
yet again the king or queen is
represented by the governor-general the
Prime Minister is the most powerful
person in all of Canada he is the chosen
leader of the political party that wins
the most seats in the House of Commons
his cabinet ministers are MPs members of
parliament that lead departments it's
kind of like an actual kitchen cabinet
there you have cops in charge of drinks
bowls in charge of liquid food and
plates in charge of solid food in the
Prime Minister's cabinet you have a
minister in charge of international
trade a minister in charge of
immigration and a minister in charge of
money and ministers in charge of every
main thing the federal government is
entrusted with the Prime Minister
chooses who's in his cabinet the prime
minister also chooses the Senators well
actually it's the governor-general who
follows the Prime Minister's advice but
we all know the governor doesn't have
too much say in fact it's a prime
minister the pretty much tells the Queen
who the governor-general should be I
know it sounds like the Prime Minister
might have too much power but his party
can be voted out every four years during
the federal elections even though the
Prime Minister and his ministers make up
the executive branch they started out in
the legislative branch as members of
parliament and are still a part of that
too in fact the House of Commons is
considered to have two parts the Prime
Minister and his cabinet and the rest of
the MPs as you can see the legislative
and executive branches are
interconnected but that's not all that
true about the last branch of the
federal government the judicial branch
the judicial branch interprets the
meanings of the laws and decides if the
laws follow the Constitution the Supreme
Court is the highest court and is made
up of nine justices
the lead justice is called the chief
justice they come from across the
country and are chosen by the
governor-general but yet again it's
actually the Prime Minister who really
decides who gets in and the justices
have their job until they are 75 years
old
there are also lower courts that are
part of the judicial branch they include
the provincial courts and the military
courts and there you have it the three
branches of the federal government the
legislative executive and judicial
branches each with their own set of
branches working together to hopefully
create a government that will serve and
protect you and me
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