C ommo nwe a l t h memb e r c o u n t r i e s Commonwealth Governance Handbook 2013/14 154 courts, and also deals with constitutional issues. In the next tier are the appeals courts. The third tier comprises the Federal Court, the Tax Court of Canada, and the provincial and territorial superior courts of general jurisdiction. The fourth tier is of provincial courts, including the Traffic Division, the Small Claims Division, the Family Division and the Criminal Division. Judges in the federal courts and the superior provincial courts are appointed by the federal government. Government and politics Last elections: May 2011 Next elections: 2015 Head of State: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by Governor-General, David Johnston (2010–) Head of Government: Prime Minister Stephen Harper Ruling party: Conservative Party In a surprise early general election in November 2000, the Liberal Party gained a decisive 173 seats, including 100 of 103 seats in the largest province of Ontario and 37 of 73 in Québec and increasing its majority by 18. Jean Chrétien continued as Prime Minister. The opposition Canadian Alliance increased its share of the popular vote – largely at the expense of the Progressive Conservative Party (PCP) – but failed to challenge the Liberal Party in the east of the country. In December 2003, Chrétien retired and was succeeded by former Finance Minister Paul Martin, and an early general election followed in June 2004, in which the ruling Liberal Party, taking 135 seats, was ahead of the Conservatives (99 seats, the Conservative Party was formed by a merger of PCP and Canadian Alliance), but did not achieve an overall majority in the House of Commons and depended on the support of the smaller parties. Only 17 months into its new term, in December 2005 opposition parties challenged the government on the payment by the previous Liberal government in the late 1990s of large sums of public money to advertising agencies, and, for the first time ever, carried a vote of no confidence in the government. Martin then had to call a new general election for January 2006. In this election, on a platform of tax cuts and measures to combat corruption, the Conservative Party won 124 seats, the Liberal Party 103, Bloc Québécois 51 and the New Democratic Party (NDP) 29. Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper became Prime Minister but, short of an outright majority, he was only able to introduce new legislation with support from members of other parties. In a bid to strengthen his minority government, Harper called an election in October 2008. In the contest when turnout was 59 per cent, his Conservatives won 143 seats with 37.6 per cent of votes. Their gain was largely at the expense of the Liberals who took 77 seats; while Bloc Québécois was also down at 49 seats, NDP won 37 and independents two. Harper was returned as Prime Minister, once again in a minority government. At an early general election, held in May 2011 after the government lost a parliamentary vote of no confidence on 25 March 2011, the ruling Conservatives secured a majority in the House of Commons with 167 of the 308 seats (39.6 per cent of votes). The NDP (102 seats and 30.6 per cent) overtook both the Liberal Party (34 seats and 18.9 per cent) and Bloc Québécois (four seats and 6.1 per cent); the remaining seat was won by the Green Party (3.9 per cent). The new legislature included 76 women, more than ever before. Local government Association: Federation of Canadian Municipalities There are ten provincial governments. The three northern territories are controlled and administered by the federal government, although elected territorial councils have increasing jurisdiction in local matters. Local government in each province and territory is provided for by legislation that is unique to that province or territory and there is a wide variety of local government structures. All but three provinces and all three territories have a single tier of local government; the others multitiered structures. There are in Canada some 3,600 local authorities. In the three provinces with multitiered local government there is also a superior tier totalling 143 regional authorities, and, in Québec, a further tier of two supra-regional authorities. Governance institutions Elections Canada: www.elections.ca Parliament of Canada: www.parl.gc.ca Supreme Court of Canada: www.scc-csc.gc.ca Office of the Federal Ombudsman for Victims of Crime: www.victimsfirst.gc.ca Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner: www.psic-ispc.gc.ca Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner: ciec-ccie.gc.ca Office of the Prime Minister: pm.gc.ca Department of Justice: www.justice.gc.ca Intergovernmental Affairs: www.pco-bcp.gc.ca/aia Department of Finance: www.fin.gc.ca Federation of Canadian Municipalities: www.fcm.ca Bank of Canada: www.bankofcanada.ca Standards Council of Canada: www.standardsstore.ca Competition Bureau: www.competitionbureau.gc.ca Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions: www.osfi-bsif.gc.ca
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