Comparing Canadian and United StatesGovernment Systems
...law is the protector of tyranny in both forms of government as well. Each citizen is given individual rights and freedoms; both Canadian and United States have their rights guaranteed in a written constitution. One aspect that differs between the two fundamentally is the official language. The United States has chosen to have one official language. Canada had decided that it would have two, French and English, being the dominant languages were chosen. The executive branch of government that enforces the laws is another topic of comparison between American and Canadian government. Most importantly the United States is a republic while Canada is a constitutional monarchy. The United States decided to have an elected president as the chief executive authority, whereas Canada has a Prime Minister. Canada’s constitution is “similar in principal” to that of the United Kingdom where Canada was to be parliamentary monarchy with the Queen represent by the Governor General at the head. The United States disliked the idea of having excessive power in any one person or institution; they looked to create “a separation of powers” or a “system of checks and Balences” in the constitution. The people of the United States have something called the Electoral College. This College is elected by the people based on which president they support; the College is a body of people that elects the president. After being elected the president will remain in office for 4 years, although the party controlling the congress does not necessarily stay the same. The Congress is made up of two houses: House of Representatives and Senate. Every two years the House of Representatives is re-elected, the Senate undergoes the same elections but the newly elected Senators stay in Congress for six years. The Congress is able to disregard the wishes of the president, also the president may turn down a bill passed by Congress; this may be overridden by a two-third vote in both House of Representatives and Senate. Another difference between the American and Canadian government is that Canada’s Prime Minister can sit in the legislature and direct it’s operation. As stated “ United States government has no responsibility of the executive to the legislature, no single chain of authority, but a decision of power and a system of checks and balances.” The lack of this chain has proven to create some problems, for example there has been a time when the Congress has simply refused to grant the president money needed to put towards a defense program. In both Canada and the United States there is a legislative chamber, the difference is partly in the name of the chamber. Canada’s Legislative chamber is called House of Commons and in United States it is called House of Representatives. Another more important difference is that the House of Representatives are not the supreme body. The Senate has dominated a more powerful section in the congress. Also as mentioned before the Senate is elected in the United States whereas in Canada it is appointed. The Senate represents the people of United States and “ is looked upon as the historic guardian of the rights of the states”. Unlike the Canadian Senators, their counterparts in...