Happiness Tuesdays

I believe in judging people and governments by results, not myths.

Do you know the differences between the American congress and the Canadian parliament? Despite what you might think, Canada and America’s political systems are very different from one another. They both share a history over the fact that the two countries used to be under British rule but apart from that, it’s very different. The Americans have a president to govern them with a congress to pass laws, whereas the Canadian political system is governed with a parliament like the UK and have a prime minister.

Governments and State Heads

Canada has a constitutional monarchy government, with the Queen (or the British reigning monarch) being their head of state. Canadians also have a prime minister in which governs the country and they have elections every few years to see who is to be the head of government in Canada. However, the Americans are technically democrats. The US is classed as a democracy also known as a republic. The Americans have a president which is elected as head of state usually for a four year term. There are subtle differences between the Canadian head of state and the American head of state. It might seem very minor but they can make a huge impact on how North America is run.

How Laws Are Passed

The political systems for Canada and the US are similar although they run in very different manners. Congress in America has two different levels, the Senate and the House of Representatives. Laws or bills, in which the head of state (the President) want pass, usually have to go through congress so that the members of these houses vote to pass them. In parliament, there are also two levels of government, the Senate and House of Commons. The politicians of the House of Commons are the ones which are elected publicly. Senate members in Canada will be selected by the Prime Minister.

How the State Heads Are Elected

As heads of government, the President and Prime Minister must be elected into office, unless the former leader of the reigning government in Canada resigns. In most cases, there are national elections every four years to see which politician becomes new head of state. There isn’t any term limits in terms of being a member of the House of Commons but in the US, presidents are not able to serve more than two terms. Democrats in the US, are not the only party, there are also liberals.

Understanding Politics

While America and Canada are border countries, they are quite different from one another in terms of how they operate, trade as well as everything else. There may be similarities between one another but that doesn’t make them the same in any way. It is sometimes difficult to grasp the fact that these are two very different powers and that Canada and America are truly world powers. These are some of the most influential countries in the world today. Congress in the US might seem to be the only power but the Canadian parliament is too very powerful.

Politics & Governance

What do you think is the biggest difference between Canada and the US?