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The North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) was the forerunner of Canada's iconic Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Created after Confederation to police the frontier territories of the Canadian West, the NWMP ended the whiskey trade on the southern prairies and the violence that came with it. They helped the federal government suppress the North-West Resistance and brought order to the Klondike Gold Rush. The NWMP pioneered the enforcement of federal law in the West, and the Arctic, from 1873 until 1920.

Between 1725 and 1779, Britain signed a series of treaties with various Mi’kmaq, Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet), Abenaki, Penobscot and Passamaquoddy peoples living in parts of what are now the Maritimes and Gaspé region in Canada and the northeastern United States. Commonly known as the Peace and Friendship Treaties, these agreements were chiefly designed to prevent war between enemies and to facilitate trade. While these treaties contained no monetary or land transfer provisions, they guaranteed hunting, fishing and land-use rights for the descendants of the Indigenous signatories. The Peace and Friendship Treaties remain in effect today.

Under Canada’s constitutional monarchy, the sovereign is head of state, the legal foundation of the executive branch of government and one part of Parliament — along with the Senate and House of Commons. The current sovereign of Canada is King Charles III. The sovereign is represented in Canada by the governor general, lieutenant-governors and territorial commissioners and acts on the advice of the prime minister, the head of government.

The term Parliament refers to the Crown, the House of Commons and the Senate. Together, these institutions create Canadian laws. Parliament has two branches: the executive (the Crown, prime minister and cabinet) and the legislative (the House of Commons and the Senate). This system is a blend of parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy. It is based on the Westminster tradition in Britain. Each of the Crown, Senate and Commons must agree with (assent to) a law before it is enacted. The government of the day derives its authority from the people who elected it. It is therefore a representative government, even though it acts in the name of the Crown — a largely symbolic institution. In formal terms, Parliament includes all three bodies. But in common usage, the legislative branch is often equated with Parliament.

The 1215 agreement between King John of England and his barons provided the foundation for English common law, which spread throughout the English-speaking world. Magna Carta is the first example of a king of England consenting to written limits on his power drafted by his subjects. The Magna Carta (or Great Charter) informs the legal system in English Canada, and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

A member of Parliament (MP) is a person who is elected to represent a single federal electoral district (or “riding”) in the House of Commons. As elected representatives, MPs have three main duties: legislating in Parliament, representing their riding and political party, and serving their constituents. MPs occupy different roles and levels of influence. They hold office until Parliament is dissolved — typically four-year terms — and can be re-elected any number of times. Any Canadian citizen who is at least 18 years old on election day can run for office. Most MPs are elected as a member of a political party. Some campaign and sit as independents. There are currently 338 seats for MPs in the House of Commons.

Québec solidaire is a progressive, left-wing provincial political party officially formed on 4 February 2006 in Montreal. Its key principles and values are the environment, social justice, feminism, alter-globalization, democracy, pluralism, sovereignty and solidarity. Québec solidaire has ten members in the National Assembly of Quebec, as a result of the 2018 elections, being the third-largest party. Since May 2017, its parliamentary spokespersons are Manon Massé and Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois.

The North-West Resistance (or North-West Rebellion) was a violent, five-month insurgency against the Canadian government, fought mainly by Métis and their First Nations allies in what is now Saskatchewan and Alberta. It was caused by rising fear and insecurity among the Métis and First Nations peoples as well as the white settlers of the rapidly changing West. A series of battles and other outbreaks of violence in 1885 left hundreds of people dead, but the resisters were eventually defeated by federal troops. The result was the permanent enforcement of Canadian law in the West, the subjugation of Plains Indigenous Peoples in Canada, and the conviction and hanging of Louis Riel.

A member of Parliament (MP) is elected to represent a single district, or “riding,” in the House of Commons. MPs have three main duties: passing laws and crafting policies in Parliament, representing their riding and political party, and serving the people in their riding. MPs have different roles and levels of influence. They can be backbenchers, Cabinet ministers, opposition critics or the prime minister. They typically serve four-year terms. They hold office until Parliament is dissolved. They have no term limits and can be re-elected any number of times. The number of MPs changes every 10 years. There are currently 338 MPs.

This article is a plain-language summary of member of Parliament (MP). If you are interested in reading about this topic in more depth, please see our full-length entry: Member of Parliament (MP).

The province of Alberta has a majority United Conservative Party government, formed on 16 April 2019. The premier of the province is Danielle Smith and the lieutenant-governor is Salma Lakhani. Its first premier, Alexander C. Rutherford, was elected in 1905, after the province joined Confederation. Historically, Alberta provincial politics have been characterized by governing parties commanding huge majorities in the legislature, remaining in power for lengthy periods and then being decisively beaten by a new political force.

In the 1985 Singh case (Singh v. Minister of Employment and Immigration), the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the legal guarantees of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms apply to “everyone” physically present in Canada, including foreign asylum seekers. The court also found that refugees have the right to a full oral hearing of their claims before being either admitted into the country or deported. The decision drastically changed the way refugees are dealt with in Canada. (See also Canadian Refugee Policy.)