Parliamentary Democracy in Canada

Background: Canada and the Westminster System

The Westminster system refers to the United Kingdom’s parliamentary system. It has undergone major changes over time. When political scientists discuss the Westminster system, they are typically referring to the system that exists in many of Britain’s former colonies as well. (See Commonwealth.)

The system has several main traits. Perhaps the most important is the principle of parliamentary supremacy. In other words, parliament is supreme, not any one individual. This is closely linked with the concept of responsible government. This principle dictates that the executive branch — the prime minister and the cabinet — is accountable to the rest of the House of Commons. Hence, if the ruling party loses the confidence of the House, it can no longer function and new elections must be held.

Another key trait is the integrated character of parliament. In the UK, parliament is comprised of the House of Commons, the House of Lords and the Crown. Likewise, in Canada, parliament is comprised of the House of Commons (the lower house), the Senate (the upper house) and the Crown (represented by the Governor General). All three bodies must approve legislation for it to become law.

The basic principles of parliamentary supremacy — bicameralism (having two chambers: the lower and upper houses), the integrated parliament (separate but co-operating branches), and the distinction between the executive and head of state (the Crown) — are all core features of the Westminster system. Others include single-member geographical constituencies and the importance of political parties, majority rule and regular elections.

The Westminster system uses foundational documents (collectively referred to as the Constitution) that define and limit the powers of government. But the system also relies on unwritten customs called constitutional conventions. These are so deeply embedded in the system that they effectively have the force of law. In both the UK and Canada, for instance, statutes explicitly define the jurisdiction of parliament and other levels of government. (See Distribution of Powers.) Yet no laws define the office of the prime minister. The existence of the prime minister is technically a matter of convention. The prime minister’s powers are limited by the power of parliament itself, as is true for any other Member of Parliament (MP). Nonetheless, convention holds that the prime minister be the leader of the party with the most seats in the House of Commons. It also holds that they be formally appointed by the Crown.

In light of these traits, Canada qualifies as a liberal democracy. It is a state in which the powers of the executive branch are constrained and individual rights and freedoms are protected.

Colonial History: Toward Responsible Government

British democracy evolved over the course of centuries. It progressed largely due to fiscal and political crises faced by the Crown. In the 13th century, English kings were embroiled in costly military conflicts in Europe. Their demand for increased tax revenues brought them into conflict with feudal barons. After multiple domestic conflicts, Parliament was gradually established as a forum in which barons could negotiate domestic policy with the monarch.

In the 17th century, the problem of taxation again led to violent conflict between the Crown and the aristocracy. This resulted in a devastating civil war, a brief experiment with republicanism, and the uneasy restoration of the monarchy. By the end of the century, England established itself as a constitutional monarchy. Parliament was granted control of taxation and the monarch’s domestic powers were greatly limited.

Canadian parliamentary democracy evolved through a complex and uneven process. Certain elements of the Westminster system were adopted in the colonies. Other elements were the result of political compromise. In the 17th and 18th centuries, New France was governed by viceroys of the French monarch. Nova Scotia, under British rule, was allowed by the Crown to form an elected assembly in 1758. (See Nova Scotia: The Cradle of Canadian Parliamentary Democracy.)

Following its conquest by the British in the Seven Years’ War, New France was ruled by a gouverneur and a legislative council. They were all appointed by the Crown. In 1791, following the influx of tens of thousands of English-speaking Loyalists to the region west of the Ottawa River, London passed the Constitution Act. It divided the Province of Quebec into Upper Canada and Lower Canada. Both regions had an elected assembly. But they were governed mainly by a Crown-appointed governor and legislative council. As in Westminster, laws required the approval of all three of the parties. This left the elected assemblies with little control over taxation and spending. Through the early decades of the 19th century, the politics of both colonies were dominated by cadres of elites: the Château Clique in Lower Canada and the Family Compact in Upper Canada.

Frustration in both regions erupted into armed rebellions in 1837–38. Although the rebellions failed, the governing elite was keen to prevent another revolt. In 1840, the British Parliament passed the Act of Union. It unified the two regions under a single government and adopted the reformist demand for responsible government. It also paved the way for the Reform Party’s Baldwin-Lafontaine government in 1848. In 1856, a statute was passed making both parliamentary houses elected by the male citizens of the colonies. These reforms finally enshrined the principle of responsible government. George Brown, a supporter of the Reform Party, described it as a system in which “the executive cannot take a step without the advice of his council — his council must be chosen from the representatives of the people and have their confidence.”

Canada’s Parliamentary Democracy in Practice

The core principle of responsible government — that the government is responsible to duly elected representatives, not to appointed elites — has influenced the development of federalism, partisanship, majority rule and the right to vote.

Canada’s colonial government technically became more accountable after 1858. But the unification of the two Canadas and the bicameral structure of its government led to political deadlock. For George Brown and other politicians, ending the deadlock would require the division of powers between regional governments and the central government. They sketched out plans for a federal system that would grant the Dominion of Canada powers in areas of shared interest between the provinces. These included criminal law, immigration, banking and defence. The provinces, meanwhile, were to control laws relating to local business, local infrastructure and public services (such as health care and education). In theory, this would mean that no province could stymie another province’s attempts to pass its own legislation.

The principle of responsible government is thus closely linked to the system of Canadian federalism. It was laid out in the Quebec Resolutions of 1864 and entrenched in the Constitution Act, 1867. The division of powers has remained firmly in place. It established the terms for any negotiations between Ottawa and the provinces. (See also Federal-Provincial Relations; First Ministers Conferences.)

Canadian Party System and Cabinet

The principle of responsible government is also linked to the strength of political parties. To remain in power, the executive branch relies upon a stable majority of members in the House of Commons. This can only be reliably held in place through blocs of members that vote in unison. (A study found that between 2015 and 2019, MPs voted in line with their party 99.6 per cent of the time.)

In contrast, other democratic systems put the executive outside of the legislature. In the United States, for instance, cabinet members are not current members of the elected legislative branch. They are typically career civil servants, former elected officials, lawyers, party insiders, former military leaders or prominent members of the private sector. They are appointed by the president (who chairs the cabinet but is not officially a member), with the approval of the Senate. In the Westminster system, by contrast, the cabinet consists exclusively of elected Members of Parliament. Cabinet members are not technically required to be MPs, but it goes against convention if they are not and is only considered acceptable in certain circumstances.

Furthermore, in the American system, members of the executive branch (the president and vice-president) and the legislative branch (Congress and the Senate) hold office independently of one another. In Canada, there is no vote for prime minister; instead, the leader of the party that wins the most seats in the House of Commons becomes prime minister. But in the US system, the president and vice-president are elected in a separate vote from members of Congress or the Senate. For political theorist Philip Pettit, “This separation means that the fate of the administration does not depend on how the members vote. And so those members are free to vote as they wish, with party constraints serving only as a relatively light discipline, at least under normal conditions. This marks the crucial difference between the Washington and the Westminster regimes.”

Canadian Electoral System

Another defining feature of Canada’s democracy is its single-member electoral districts or constituencies, commonly called ridings. Following Confederation, Canada had 180 ridings, each represented by one Member of Parliament (MP). Today, it has 338. These districts are redrawn every decade to reflect changes in Canada’s population distribution. (See Redistribution of Federal Electoral Districts.)

To do this, Elections Canada uses a formula to achieve a fair demographic distribution. The formula first allocates seats to provinces, which then divide their seats internally. This is because there are large differences between urban ridings in highly populated provinces and rural ridings in lowly populated ones. (Following the 2013 update, for instance, the riding for Labrador had about 27,000 residents while that of downtown Edmonton–Wetaskiwin had about 209,000. However, more than 90 per cent of all ridings have a population between 75,000 and 150,000.)

Within ridings, elections are determined by the “first past the post” system. This means that the candidate with the most votes wins the seat outright. This system tends to favour parties whose support is regionally concentrated. (In the 2021 election, for instance, the NDP won 25 seats with 17.8 per cent of the vote. Meanwhile, the Bloc Québécois won 32 seats with 7.6 per cent of the vote.)

The timing and organization of Canada’s elections is also embedded in constitutional law. The Constitution Acts of 1867 and 1982 state that elections must be held at least once every five years.

Right to Vote in Canada

The right to vote in Canada has gradually expanded over time. When it first emerged in the mid-18th century, it was restricted to males who owned property. Between 1791 and 1849, Lower Canada allowed some property-owing women to vote. But female citizens did not begin to gain the right to vote federally until 1918. In 1916, Manitoba became the first province to grant women the right to vote. The last was Quebec, in 1940. At various points in Canada’s history, people belonging to certain ethnic or religious groups — such as Catholics and Chinese Canadians — were prohibited from voting. Status Indians did not gain the franchise until 1960.

The right to vote is one of the most fundamental rights of citizenship. The expansion of voting rights over time reflects the evolution of Canada’s social values and its maturation as a liberal democracy. The right to vote was formalized in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It states, “Every citizen of Canada has the right to vote in an election of members of the House of Commons or of a legislative assembly and to be qualified for membership therein.”

(See also Parliament; Parliamentary Procedure; Constitutional Monarchy; Constitution of Canada; Canadian Party System; Canadian Electoral System; Right to Vote in Canada.)