Parliament Constitutional Conventions in Canada

Canadian Parliament Constitutional Conventions

The Canadian constitution provides important guidelines for the operation of Parliament, but it does not address all key issues about how it functions. Many of the rules governing how Parliament works are the result of long-standing political practices known as unwritten constitutional conventions. These conventions ensure that the Canadian government is accountable to the voters. For example, the Constitution Act of 1867 grants great power to the governor-general as the British sovereign’s representative, but because the governor-general is appointed and not elected, constitutional conventions have made the governor-general’s role largely symbolic. The governor-general almost always acts on the advice of the prime minister and the Cabinet. Another constitutional convention is that the House of Commons, as an elected body, plays a much more significant role than the Senate, whose members are appointed.

Members of Parliament are aligned with political parties, voluntary associations of people who share similar opinions on public questions. Parties are barely mentioned in the constitution, but they play a crucial role in Parliament. The prime minister and cabinet ministers are members of the political party that wins the most votes in an election, often called the government party. The party that wins the second-most votes is designated the official opposition and is expected to challenge the government’s policies and proposals. Other parties are free to vote with the government party or with the opposition at any time. Competitive, disciplined parties provide most of the ideas and direction for Parliament. Since 1921 there have always been at least three and sometimes as many as five parties represented in the House of Commons. (1)

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• Canadian Parliament
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Resources

Notes and References

1. Encarta Online Encyclopedia

See Also

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This entry was last updated: March 23, 2014