Canadians--the Election--what are you doing?

[Alana in Canada]

I don't know if this is the time to do anything about it. (Afterall, I expect we'll be here again in four years or less!) but I feel I would be derelict if I didn't consider it.

My kids are 10 and 8. What could I possibly teach them about this crazy electoral process of ours?

[Cadam]

Would you mind telling us Yankees how your election process works?

What are the major differences in your political parties and when power shifts from one to the other are their major changes in the country, policies and programs, taxes or whatever?

I am very interested in how other countries handle all of this.

[Alana in Canada]

Our system will seem quite alien, I would imagine.

There's a thoeretical structure and then the practical one. For example, we have two chambers of government, the Senate and the House of Commons. The senate is composed of appointees. The House of Commons is elected.

The Head of the country is the Governor General (the Queen's representative.) However, he or she is appointed by the Prime Minister, so, in actual fact, it is the Prime Minister, who head the country, only, really, he's merely the head of the party which forms the government. The Prime Minister also appoints individuals to the Senate--and I believe they are life appointments. The Western provinces pushed for electoral representation in this house too, but they didn't get very far. The Province can elect a representative--but it is up to the PM to appoint him--and it's usually an opportunity for him (or her) to "reward" old cronies. (He/She also appoints folks to the Supreme Court). The Senate, though, it seems, has little power to stop legislation. They can only delay it. I don't actually understand why this is so as both houses must pass any particular bill before it becomes law.

We have more than two political parties in the House of Commons. Theoretically thre's no limit to the number, but we had four in the last legislature.

Our electoral process: each party runs a candidate. Any party can run a candidate. The party with the most candidates elected wins the right to form the government. It's called "first past the post" and it means that you can have a government which received less than 50% of the popular vote. As I mentioned, the leader of the party which forms the government becoms Prime Minister--no one votes for him or her except the folks in his particular riding, just like any other candidate.

So, as for taxes: conservatives tend to impose the least, and are touted as the Party for small government and Big business friendly. Liberals less so, and New Democrats (who have never had the numbers to become even the opposition). There's another part called the Bloc Quebecois. They only run candidates in one province--Quebec.

It's bizarre.

As for your question--that's politics and it is fractious. The British, in their wisdom, divided powers between the provinces and the Federal government in such a way that the two need to cooperate with each other extensively in order for change to take place. So, there are things called "First Minister's Conferences" where a great deal of jockeying and negotiating take place.

From where I sit, there doesn't seem to be a lot of difference between the two leading parties--the Conservatives and the Liberals.

[Alana in Canada]

Has anyone used this book? "How Canada Votes"

http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/1553370090/qid=1134991444/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_2_1/701-9705418-4092347

Is it suitable for Grades 3 and 5?

Oh--and I forgot to mention, we vote on Oct 14. Not a lot of time!