Governance in Canada (Essay Sample)

Governance in Canada
Student:
Professor:
Course title:
Date:
Governance in Canada
In Canada, governance has remained the same since its creation in the year 1867. The basic institutions including the executive, the courts, and the parliament, and processes including appointment of officials and elections still work for Canada. Their durability is attributed to a number of reasons. Canada, the world’s 2nd biggest country in terms of geographical size, is essentially a constitutional monarchy.
Since confederation in the year 1867, the head of state for Canada has been a monarch and not an elected head of state. This country also has a parliamentary system of governance. The government’s executive powers including the powers to carry out government programs and policies are formally vested in the Crown though effectively exercised by the Cabinet and the Prime Ministers. A legislative body has been responsible for law making since confederation, with the head of government being an elected prime minister, and they both vow loyalty to the Crown.
A lot of Canadian citizens are not aware of the responsibilities and importance that a monarch represents to their nation. For instance, The Crown is essential to defining Canadian identity and purpose by allowing its people to be culturally varied, yet united under one ruler who has the power to put out any political activity which may hinder the constitutionally-embedded freedoms and rights of the people of Canada. Constitutional monarchy in this sense exemplifies a lot more than just having a member of the royal family as the head of state of Canada; instead, the Crown-in-Canada is of major importance owing to what it actually represents. It is worth mentioning that constitutional monarchy is the main element of Canadian heritage and is indispensable given that it represents years of tradition, multiculturalism, as well as national unity. In addition, it places a non-partisan, permanent monarch as the country’s head of state and ensures the stability of the parliamentary system of Canada.
The fathers of the Canadian confederation effectively took some elements of the United States’ federalist system and Britain’s Westminster parliamentary system and then changed the two of them into a new Canadian parliamentary system of governance. The head of state of Canada was and still remains the monarch, but the head of government would be an elected prime minister. The monarchy’s representatives were appointed at both the provincial and federal levels. In 1926, the Statute of Westminster made Canada a truly self-governing country in managing its external affairs and vested civil power in the ruling party and civil authority in the reigning monarch. In essence, the statute allowed Canada to evolve politically and possessed significant authorities of the Crown for instance safeguarding the constitution of Canada. By placing an objective monarch as Canada’s head of state, apart from every government structure and above every sectarian and partisan fray, the government of Canada remains stable given that it does not adhere to the personal ambitions of politicians, who include the prime minister.
Safeguarding the constitution of Canada implies that the Crown has the critical authority of implementing the rule of law and thus protects the Canadian parliamentary system of government. The governor general carries out obligations in the capacity of the monarch since he is a representative of the same, while ensuring the continuity as well as stability of the Canadian form of government. It is of note that this political role as the head of state is indispensable to the government of Canada given that it allows the rule of...