Levels of Government & Responsibilities

The following briefly outlines the responsibilities of each level of government. All Canadian citizenship exam questions are taken from the most recent ‘Discover Canada’ book:

Responsibilities	Federal	Provincial & Territorial	Municipal (local)
National Defence
Foreign Policy
Citizenship
Policing		(Ontario/Quebec)
Criminal Justice
International Trade
Aboriginal Affairs
Immigration
Agriculture
Environment
Education
Health Care
Natural Resources
Highways
Property and Civil Rights
Social and Community Health
Recycling Programs
Transportation and Utilities
Snow Removal
Firefighting
Emergency Services
Garbage Removal
Urban or Regional Planning
Streets and Roads
Recreation Facilities
Public Transit

The Federal Government oversees issues of national importance such as the military, treasury, currency, national healthcare, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and external affairs. The Government of Canada has the right to collect tax from citizens’ income and other sources, such as the Goods and Services Tax (GST) to fund its operations. It operates under two official languages, English and French. Provincial governments oversee the laws concerning health services delivery, education, social and community services, provincial police forces, and other regional concerns. Like the federal government, provincial governments have the power to collect income taxes and provincial sales taxes (PST). Unlike the senior levels of government, local governments have no powers to levy income or sales taxes, but rather collect revenues from property taxes and depend upon federal and provincial cash transfers to operate their programs. Try our free Canadian citizenship exam questions. Our test quiz and flashcards are designed to help you prepare for and pass your Canadian Citizenship Test. Use this online tool to prepare for ‘Government & Responsibilities’ portion of the Discover Canada book.