American & Canadian Government Differences

American & Canadian Government Differences By Ayisatu J. Taylor, eHow Contributor

Although Canada and the United States share a border and enjoy fairly easy cultural exchanges, the North American nations have several distinct differences. From the outside it may seem that Canada and the U.S. are similar in terms of governmental systems. Upon further examination, it is clear that both nations possess different structures and ideas about politics and power. Head of State The president is officially the head of state in the U.S. In Canada, as in all Commonwealth countries, the Queen of England is officially the head of state. That relationship, though, is largely symbolic. The Queen is officially represented in Canada by the Governor General who is nominated by the Prime Minister and approved by the Queen. The Governor General and the Queen officially have veto power over laws passed by the Parliament of Canada but this power is never used. The Crown hasn't vetoed an act of parliament since it officially became a country in 1867, although a governor general did refuse to call an election in 1926. Parliament vs. Congress The United States and Canada each have two legislative houses. In the United States these are the House of Representatives and the Senate; in Canada it is the House of Commons and the Senate. In the U.S. the Senate is elected. In Canada, while there have been many calls for reform, as of 2011 the Senate is still appointed by the Prime Minister. In the United States the leader of the House of Representatives is the Speaker of the House. In Canada the leader of the House of Commons is the Prime Minister, the official head of government. Constitutional Rights Canadians enjoy most of the same rights as Americans, though there are some differences. The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to bear arms. There is no such right in Canada. Neither country allows a person to be tried twice for the same offense, though in Canada, the prosecution (which is known as "the Crown") has the right to appeal an acquittal or "not guilty" verdict. Both countries recognize freedom of speech and the press. However, Canada has laws against "hate speech," considered speech which advocates genocide or violence against any racial, ethnic, religious or other minority group. Both countries prohibit discrimination, but in Canada this is expanded to sexual orientation. Multiple Parties The U.S. government is made up of members of the Republican and Democratic parties. At the federal level there are currently five parties represented in the Canadian Parliament. This includes the Conservative Party of Canada, the Liberal Party of Canada, the New Democratic Party, the Bloc Quebecois and the Green Party. Elections In the United States there are elections every two years and Presidential elections every four years. In Canada, in theory, there could be an election at any point. If a vote of Parliament demonstrates a lack of confidence in the current government it results in an election. A Prime Minister can also approach the Governor General at any point and ask for an election. Canadian elections also tend to be much shorter than U.S. elections. A typical Canadian election takes just six weeks from the day it is announced until the voters go to the polls.

Read more: http://www.ehow.com/info_8387517_difference-between-canadian-governments.html#ixzz2cjAV4r4c