This has led to the familiar conservative call to reform the courts on the grounds they are interfering in the government's ability to rule. While this is a seductive argument, because it has some basis in truth, it is up to the courts to ensure that the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is respected and the Constitution is upheld. If any government complains because they aren't allowed to contravene their country's constitution and do what they want, shouldn't one wonder about them instead of wondering about the courts? I would think that we should be grateful that the politicians have someone, or somebody, holding them accountable.
For those of you not familiar with Canada's form of democracy, we are what's called a Constitutional Monarchy, with the Queen of England being our titular head of state represented in Canada by a Governor-General. This is a figure head position with no real power, and the real authority lies in the hands of whoever is Prime Minister. As we have a parliamentary system of government our Prime Minister is the leader of whichever political party elects the most members to sit in parliament during an election.
The country is divided up into electoral districts based on what is supposedly the fairest means of proportional representation possible - but as certain parts of the country have a higher population density than others it doesn't really work out - with each district representing one seat in parliament. If a party wins a clear majority of the seats they are said to have a majority government and can pretty much do as they please for the next four and half to five years when they'll have to call another election.
When no one winds an outright majority, as what happened in the last election, the leader of the party with the most seats in the house forms the government. Under normal circumstances they will try and negotiate a deal with another party with seats that together they form a majority. However after the last election the Liberal party of Canada, who finished second to the Conservatives, were too busy stabbing each other in the back and electing a new leader to risk an election being called, so the Conservatives didn't have to worry about making nice with anyone.
In fact the Conservatives could probably have gone on ruling for quite some time without having to call an election, but they thought they could win a majority government if they called an election now. So claiming that parliament was unworkable, Steven Harper asked the Governor General's permission to dissolve the current parliament and call an election. As I said before, the Governor General is only a figure head and no matter what he or she might think they have to go along with the Prime Minister, so he was allowed to call an election.
Article comments
1 - RJ Elliott
So I guess I should emigrate to Calgary in a few months? (Kidding. Kinda.)
2 - Silas Kain
I wonder if having Canadian grandparents would qualify me for citizenship? I'm so done with this political season. I honestly hope that we find a way to shorten our Presidential election cycle down to 6 - 8 weeks. This race has been too drawn out, too cumbersome, and too lacking any substance. It's the same bull year in and year out and nothing gets accomplished.
3 - Silas Kain
Back to the Canadians. Sorry I digressed. So if the Far Right takes control of Canadian government should we worry about nuclear weapons down here?
4 - Joanne Huspek
Since I live so close to the border, I actually prefer Canadian news over the US variety, so I am aware of your election. My friends over there (for the most part) are like me, independent and tired of the nonsense.
It's nice to see that other countries are having contentious political races, and it's not just us.
I'm hoping my friend in Calgary will adopt me. Sounds like there is a strong economy there.
5 - RJ Elliott
So I understand the Conservatives gained some seats, but are still a Minority Government, correct?
I looked up the election results and studied them briefly. I also did some quick research on the parties up there. It seems there are five main parties in Canuckistan. They are:
The Conservative Party - In the USA, we would call them moderate Republicans.
The Liberals - Pretty much liberal Democrats, if they were in the USA.
The NDP - Far-left characters who win a lot of seats...think Ralph Nader.
The Greens (aka Watermelons - "Green" on the outside but "Red" at heart) - Get a lot of votes, but aren't very successful at actually winning seats.
The Bloc Québécois - French-speaking separatists who are also socialists.
The Conservatives didn't get close to 50% of the total national vote, so although they "won" this election, the Canadian electorate still leans rather heavily to the left.
Would you consider than a reasonable analysis, Richard?