Canada follows a federal system of Parliament and is a democratic nation in which the political system comprises of many political parties. Some of the political parties which make up the government or the political system in Canada include Green party of Canada, Liberal party of Canada, Conservative party of Canada and the New Democratic Party.
As of now, the Conservative party of Canada is the leader in the country. Apart from the political parties, the political system of Canada is governed by many departments like The Revenue Department, The Finance Department and the HR department among others. Let’s look at the political hierarchy of Canada in a detailed manner.
A) The Federal Government
This is that part of the government in which the responsibilities are carried out by the various branches of the government and the Monarchy. The following are the various branches of Federal government
1. Head of State-The head of state is the head of the executive and legislative branches and also the leader of Commonwealth.
2. The Governor General-Governor general represents the head of state and
3. Executive Branch-This is that branch which enforces and implements the policies and laws which are formed by the legislative branch. It is composed of the head of state, cabinet, governor general.
ü The Cabinet-The cabinet is a body of high ranking officials including administration, prime minister, armed forces, Crown Corporation, government department.
4. Legislative Branch-This is the branch which consists of the Parliament, House of Commons, Senate and the head of state.
5. Judicial Branch-This is the branch which consists of Supreme Court along with all the judges and lawyers
B) The Provincial Government
This is the second level of the Canada political hierarchy and consists of its own set of levels, which are given as follows:
1. At this level, the Head of state (queen) is represented by Lieutenant governor.
2. Legislative Assembly-This is the branch which designs and develops all the laws. The representatives which are elected are known as members of Provincial parliament.
C) The Municipal or Local Government
This is the last level of the political system of Canada. To understand the hierarchy of this level, you can read the following given information
1. Mayor
2. Council members
3. Committee of councilors
Canada is a federal government because of its large size. The government of Canada can be described in 4 ways-A federal system, a party system, a representative democracy and a constitutional monarchy. A democracy like Canada is ultimately run by its people.