Parliamentary democracy

As citizens of a Parliamentary democracy, the people of Canada have the right to elect members to the House of Commons in Ottawa, as well as electing representatives to the legislature of their province or territory. Elected representatives have responsibility for creating laws, deciding upon and checking expenditure, and holding the government to account. Cabinet ministers can be held responsible by these elected representatives; if they lose a no-confidence vote of the legislature, the government must resign.

There are three elements to the Canadian Parliament: the Sovereign (Queen/King), the Senate and the House of Commons. In the provincial legislatures there are elected assemblies and Lieutenant Governors.

The members of the Cabinet in the federal government are chosen by the Prime Minister; the Prime Minister and the Cabinet together are responsible for federal government policy and actions. The House of Commons is the elected portion of the legislature, with all members voted for by Canadian citizens, usually every four years. The Governor General appoints Senators with guidance from the Prime Minister; Senators serve until they reach the age of 75. Any proposals for new laws are put before the House of Commons and the Senate as bills; for a Bill to become a new law, it must be passed by a majority in the House of Commons and the Senate and then be given Royal assent, which the Governor General does as a proxy for the Sovereign.

Every Canadian citizen is allowed to vote in their democracy, and they are encouraged to do so. After the age of 18, every Canadian should ideally support the democratic institutions by voting in elections for federal, provincial/territorial and municipal legislatures.