Political Cartoon of the Day

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Political Cartoon of the Day
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Social 9 Curriculum Concept

• What is the relationship between the executive,
  legislative, and judicial branches of Canadas
  federal political system?

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Whats a Political Party?

• A political party is a group of ppl who have
  similar ideas about how govt should respond to
  issues facing society. They are formally
  recognized as organizations.
• They put forward candidates in elections and seek
  to form the govt. Each party develops policies,
  based on the shared values of its members, to
  respond to issues.
• Anyone, including a Grade 9 student, can join a
  political party.

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The Cell Phone Party

• The Cell Phone Party is one of the political
  parties available for you to join in Social 9.
• This political party believes every student
  should get a brand new cell phone first day of
  school and that they can use it anytime they want
  and teachers have no say.
• Students are free to call or text friends
  whenever they want for no charge, take pictures,
  play games, serf the internet, or do whatever
  else they want with their cell phone (like
  throwing it at teachers) anytime they want.

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The All Sports Party

• The All Sports Party is another political party
  you can join in Social 9.
• The All Sports Party believes that everyday of
  school is playing sports and games and that no
  other subjects in school should exist. They are
  also against homework and tests of any kind.
• The All Sports party advocates that students have
  full access to the gym and can order whatever
  sports equipment and jerseys for whatever sports
  they want to play free of charge. They also want
  the school to get a pool.

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1. Political Party Members

• In order to have our Social 9 Mock Election we
  first need to decide who will be registered
  members of each political party. Each political
  party is allowed 5 students (usually there is no
  limit on how many members a political party can
  have). If you are a registered party member you
  are allowed to vote for your partys leader as
  well as choose who is going to represent your
  party in your specific constituency. Yet the
  expectation is that you will vote for your party
  when the official election happens.

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1. Political Party Members
Cell Phone Party Members All Sports Party Members
1. 1.
2. 2.
3. 3.
4. 4.
5. 5.
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2. Our Constituencies

• In order to have our mock election we must divide
  our Social 9 class into 3 constituencies
  (regions) East Strathmore, Central Strathmore,
  and West Strathmore. Each constituency will have
  1 MP (Member of Parliament) elected into our
  House of Commons, giving it 3 members. You are a
  member of the constituency in which you LIVE and
  you cannot vote for any other members of any
  other constituency except your own.

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2. Our Constituencies
East Strathmore Residents Central Strathmore Residents West Strathmore Residents
1. 1. 1.
2. 2. 2.
3. 3. 3.
4. 4. 4.
5. 5. 5.
6. 6. 6.
7. 7. 7.
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3. Our Candidates

• Now we need to decide who our candidates are
  going to be in each constituency. In order to be
  a candidate you must live in the constituency you
  are running in and if you want to represent a
  political party you must be a member of that
  party.

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3. Our Candidates
East Strathmore Candidates Central Strathmore Candidates West Strathmore Candidates
1. 1. 1.
2. 2. 2.

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4. The Election

• Now we are ready to have our election. Yet
  remember to follow these rules
• Each person is allowed only one vote.
• You may only vote for those people who are
  running in your constituency.
• If you are a party member you are expected to
  vote for the representative of your party.
• Those of you who arent a party member can vote
  for whoever you want that is running in your
  constituency.

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5. Election Results
East Strathmore MP Central Strathmore MP West Strathmore MP
1. 1. 1.

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6. The Prime Minister

• The Prime Minister is the person who was
• Elected their partys leader
• Elected as an MP
• Leader of the party who won the most seats in the
  House of Commons
• Based on this criteria our Prime Minister is
• -

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7. Prime Minister Chooses Senate

• In our government our prime minister is allowed
  to appoint 3 senators (1 from each constituency).
  
• They should be members of the prime ministers
  political party but they dont have to be.

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7. Our Senators
East Strathmore Senator Central Strathmore Senator West Strathmore Senator
1. 1. 1.

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8. Prime Minister Chooses Supreme Court Judges

• In our government our prime minister is allowed
  to appoint 3 supreme court judges (1 from each
  constituency).
• Judges dont need to be members of the prime
  ministers political party.

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8. Our Supreme Court Judges
East Strathmore Supreme Court Judge Central Strathmore Supreme Court Judge West Strathmore Supreme Court Judge
1. 1. 1.

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9. Our Cabinet Ministers

• To be a member of cabinet you must be
• Elected as an MP or be a senator
• Belong to the leading political party in the
  House of Commons
• Cabinet members can be from any region. One of
  the cabinet ministers is always the prime
  minister. The rest will be appointed by our prime
  minister and in our government there will only be
  two appointed. Based on this criteria our cabinet
  ministers are
• 1.
• 2.
• 3.

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10. Our Social 9 Government

• Prime Minister (1)
• Members of Parliament (3)
• Senators (3)
• Supreme Court Judges (3)
• Cabinet Members (3)

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The Executive Branch

• The executive branch is the part of government
  responsible for putting laws into action.
• It includes the prime minister (PM) and the
  cabinet.

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The Prime Minister (PM)

• The prime minister is the head of Canadas govt.
  
• To become prime minister you must be
• 1. Elected as the leader of a political party
• 2. Elected as a member of parliament
• 3. The political party you lead must win the
  most seats in the House of Commons

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Our Prime Minister Is

• Appointed the 22nd Prime Minister of Canada on
  February 6, 2006.
• He is leader of the Conservative Party of Canada.

Stephen Harper
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The Cabinet

• The cabinet includes the people with
  responsibility for different government
  departments and agencies (portfolios) such as
  health, finance and environment.
• To become a member of cabinet (cabinet minister)
  you must
• 1. Belong to the political party with the most
  seats in the House of Commons
• 2. Be a member of parliament (MP) or senator
• 3. Chosen by the PM to be a cabinet minister

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The Cabinet Contd

• The PM decides what portfolios to include in the
  cabinet.
• The cabinet proposes most of the ideas that
  become laws.
• The PM and the cabinet run the day-to-day
  business of govt. Example, the Minister of
  Environment runs the department of the
  environment.

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The Legislative Branch

• The legislative branch includes the House of
  Commons, the Senate, and the governor general.
  The legislative branch is also called Canadas
  parliament.
• The legislative branch is the part of government
  that makes laws.

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The House of Commons

• The House of Commons is the major law-making body
  in Canadas federal political system.
• The members debate, study, and vote on laws
  proposed for Canada, called bills.
• All proceedings of the House of Commons are in
  Canadas two official languages French and
  English.

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MPs (Members of Parliament)

• Members of Parliament (MPs), are members of the
  House of Commons. Voters elect them.
• Each MP represents the voters of 1 constituency,
  (riding).
• Most MPs belong to political parties. The party
  with the most MPs usually forms the govt. The
  other parties form the opposition.

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• Who Forms the Government? pg. 28
• If you were prime minister, to what extent would
  you work with the opposition? Would it matter if
  you were prime minister of a majority or minority
  government?

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MPs Responsibilities

• MPs have 2 key responsibilities
• To represent their constituents (someone who
  lives in the constituency that the MP was elected
  from.)
• To create legislation (make laws) for the peace,
  order, and good government of all Canadians.

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How are MPs Elected?

• To become elected a MP, a candidate must win the
  most votes, but not necessarily more than 50 of
  the votes.
• Results Calgary East pg. 29

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Elections Popular Vote

• Popular vote means the total votes political
  parties win during an election, regardless of
  whether they win ridings.
• What if the votes in the 2006 federal election
  had been counted by popular vote instead of
  constituency? How would the way Albertans are
  represented in the House of Commons be different?

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Popular Vote vs. Constituencies

• Alberta has 28 constituencies (MPs that are
  elected) into the House of Commons
• In the 2006 federal election 28 out of 28
  constituencies in Alberta were won by the
  Conservatives. That means all 28 MPs from Alberta
  were part of the Conservative Party of Canada.
• Conservatives 28
• See map pg. 30.

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Popular Vote vs. Constituencies Contd

• However, in that same election 65 of Albertans
  voted Conservative, 16 voted Liberal, 12 NDP,
  6 Green, and 1 other.
• If we took those 28 constituencies Alberta gets
  and decided them by popular vote, how many of
  those 28 seats would each party get?
• Conservatives 18
• Liberal 5
• New Democratic 3
• Green 2

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Where do the MPs sit in the House of Commons?
Members 308
                                                                           
Political groups       Conservatives (143)     Liberals (77)     Bloc Québécois (48)     New Democrats (36)     Independent (1)     Vacant (3)
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How much do MPs make???

• Currently a Canadian MP earns a base salary of
  155,400.00. The Prime Minister earns an
  additional 155,400 (total of 310,800.00), a
  cabinet Minister earns an additional 74,400 as
  does the Leader of the Opposition and the Speaker
  of the House (total of 229,800.00). There are
  other allowances such as car and rent that are
  given as well.

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The Senate

• Members of the senate are called senators.
• Senators are NOT elected. They are usually
  appointed by the prime minister and they can stay
  in office until theyre 75.
• The PM usually only appoints senators who support
  his/her political party but because Senate seats
  only become vacant at certain times, the Senate
  includes people from a variety of political
  parties.

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The Senate Continued

• Senators represent the interests and rights of
  Canadas regions, and especially Canadas
  minorities.
• Like the House of Commons, all proceedings of the
  Senate are in French AND English.

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The Senates Second Thought

• The Senate can reject bills from the House of
  Commons as well as propose laws (except if it
  deals with taxes) but they rarely do.
• Instead, they primarily give second thought to
  all legislation (bills) proposed for Canada. This
  means all bills receive a 2nd round of study,
  debate, and voting.
• Because the senate provides a voice for regions
  in Canada, it brings a different perspective to
  issues that concern everyone.

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Making Laws

• A bill cannot become a law until BOTH the House
  of Commons and Senate pass it.
• Examine graph on pg. 33.