MMP Essay (Mixed Member Proportional Government) In Canada

Mixed Member Proportional Government for Canada

Overview of the government system in Canada

Canada 's government system was drafted at the Quebec conference by the so-called Fathers of Confederation ' In this system , the Queen of Great Britain has the formal executive power . This in effect made the Canadian government system loosely based on the system being used by the United Kingdom (One Stop Canada , n .d

Up to now , the Queen is still the head of the state , but just like any other parliamentary democracy , her powers are extremely limited . It is

br still the Parliament that drafts and approves the country 's laws , and then the Queen would give the final approval , so to speak , known as the Royal Assent ' Whenever the Queen is not in Canada , the Governor General acts as her representative and performs all her ceremonial and administrative duties . The Governor General is always chosen by the Queen by virtue of the Prime Minister 's recommendation . The Governor General normally stays in office for 5 years (One Stop Canada , n .d

The seat of power lies in the House of Parliament , but specifically , in the House of Commons . It is them who make laws for make laws for the peace , and good government of Canada , and this includes defence international policies , criminal law , immigration , b control and customs . They are being elected every 5 years . The present system in the Canada is the single member representation , commonly known also as first past the post or plurality system , wherein the whole country is divided into constituencies (the most number of votes in any particular constituency represents the constituency , and take a single seat in the Parliament (One Stop Canada n .d

This system is now being challenged by many because of the presumed lack of real representation ' of this system

Challenges on the current system and call for a change

Statistics from last year 's election show that in British Columbia , the Liberal Party gained 77 of the 79 seats for that province with only 58 of the votes , compared to the former ruling Democratic Party who only gained 2 seats despite getting 22 of the vote (The Democratic Party held 52 seats during the elections before last year , with only 39 .5 of the vote ) The Green Party , although they have won 12 .5 of the votes , got no seats at all . This recent election has proven to many that there is a need for a change in their electoral system . Adriane Carr the British Columbia Green Party leader , leads the initiative to change the existing first-past-the-post system of Canada . Carr launched this initiative to encourage the government to consider her drafted legislation on the mixed member proportional government (Caron , 1999 Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand , 2002

In this proposed system , the benefits both electoral schemes will be combined . A voter will choose a candidate that he or she likes , and at the same time , vote for a party also . In this way , all constituencies...