The Queen and Canada: Residences, Governor General, etc...


If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
In case you are interested, please find a below a link to the recent royal proclamation dissolving the Parliament of Canada.


https://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p2/2021/2021-08-16-x6/html/si-tr60-eng.html

There are two things in particular that catch my attention in the document:


  1. The dissolution proclamation is technically a proclamation by the Queen, but it is issued and signed on her behalf by the Governor General.
  2. The proclamation explicitly mentions that the dissolution is "by and with the advice of Our Prime Minister of Canada".
The website of the Governor General actually has a detailed description of the procedure for dissolution, which can be read in the next link below.


https://www.gg.ca/en/procedures-dissolution-parliament-and-calling-election

As you can see, there are actually three royal proclamations involved in the process: the dissolution proclamation properly; a proclamation declaring that election writs are to be issued; and a proclamation summoning the new Parliament. They are all signed by the GG in the name of the Queen and also signed by the deputy attorney general and the deputy registrar general prior to being submitted to the GG. The actual polling day and the date of return of writs are set by the Governor General in Council.

I did some research and found out that the power of dissolution is mentioned only briefly in Art.50 of the Constitution Act, 1867, as follows


50. Every House of Commons shall continue for Five Years from the Day of the Return of the Writs for choosing the House (subject to be sooner dissolved by the Governor General), and no longer.
More significantly, King George VI's Letters Patent of 1947 constituting the office of Governor General of Canada spell out more clearly the powers of the GG in that respect. Specifically, Art. VI of the said LPs states that


VI. And We do further authorize and empower Our Governor General to exercise all powers lawfully belonging to Us in respect of summoning, proroguing or dissolving the Parliament of Canada.
EDIT: Another interesting point is that the Queen is referred to in the preamble to the dissolution proclamation by her Canadian royal titles and styles, underscoring that this is a proclamation by Elizabeth II as "Queen of Canada".
 
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To me the British system - that apparently is also applied in Canada - to just call general elections when you think you are most popular or might secure a larger share of parliament is really weird. I'd think there should be a better reason for such a costly operation that makes elections a toy of the prime minister instead of a crucial aspect of a good functioning democracy.

And the poor queen can do nothing but go along with these frivolous requests (that she by now surely is used to).
 
To me the British system - that apparently is also applied in Canada - to just call general elections when you think you are most popular or might secure a larger share of parliament is really weird. I'd think there should be a better reason for such a costly operation that makes elections a toy of the prime minister instead of a crucial aspect of a good functioning democracy.




In theory, the same system also applies in the Netherlands under Art.64 of the constitution.


Article 64 [Dissolution]
(1) Each of the Chambers may be dissolved by Royal Decree.
(2) A decree for dissolution also requires new elections to be held for the Chamber which has been dissolved and the newly elected Chamber to meet within three months.
[....]
Note that, unlike the constitution of Belgium or indeed the FTPA in the UK, the constitution of the Netherlands does not limit the possibility of dissolution to a situation where Parliament withdraws confidence from the government and simultaneously fails to appoint a new Prime Minister. In fact, votes of no confidence are not even explicitly mentioned in the (somewjat outdated) constitution of the Netherlands.

Therefore, the power to dissolve the Dutch parliament by royal decree appears to be as discretionary and unlimited as the power to do so in Canada by royal proclamation. The main difference perhaps is that Dutch politicians don't seem to use that power "frivilously", not least because, in my opinion, it would be ineffective as, under proportional representation, the outcome of elections and the future composition of the government are far more uncertain.

To be fair, Canadian PMs do not normally resort to early elections either when they have majority governments (it wouldn't be worth the risk), but, in this case, Trudeau has a minority government.
 
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In case you are interested, please find a below a link to the recent royal proclamation dissolving the Parliament of Canada.

https://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p2/2021/2021-08-16-x6/html/si-tr60-eng.html

Thank you for the link.

The language is very formal - the GG is "Our Right Trusty and Well-beloved" & senators are "Our beloved and faithful Senators".

Th Commons are clearly just the hoi polloi. :lol:

Without looking, it mirrors language used in the UK parliamentary system I would presume.
 
To me the British system - that apparently is also applied in Canada - to just call general elections when you think you are most popular or might secure a larger share of parliament is really weird. I'd think there should be a better reason for such a costly operation that makes elections a toy of the prime minister instead of a crucial aspect of a good functioning democracy.

And the poor queen can do nothing but go along with these frivolous requests (that she by now surely is used to).

Not all PM's get it right of course - Teresa May misjudged things very badly in 2017 & lost her majority.

A two thirds commons majority was needed to call that election but it looks like the 2011 Fixed-term Parliaments Act will be repealed by this government.
 
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In Australia we have a Federal system. Our Federal (Australian) Government has three year terms which are not fixed, see below, thanks to our Founding Fathers.

‘The Constitution provides that terms for the House of Representatives continue for a maximum of three years from the first meeting of the House subsequent to an election. The House may also be dissolved sooner than the three-year term by the Governor General. 1 This means that a Federal Election for the House of Representatives may be called at any time in the three-year period following the first sitting of the House.’

On the other hand all our States and Territories within the Commonwealth of Australia have four year terms which are fixed, a more recent move. Work that one out!
The Governor General dissolves our Parliament and our State Governors do the same for the State assemblies when asked by the Premiers of the States involved.
 
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Interesting news. Although he can do it under the constitution, is Trudeau abusing the royal prerogative to ask for an election when he thinks the polls will favor him and his party? And especially with a newly sworn-in Governor General whom he himself has nominated and who has ties to previous Liberal governments?

Considering that a new Covid wave is also probably around the corner with the delta variant, I also wonder if the time is right for a national election. I wonder what the Canadian posters think.

To answer the question (as a Canadian), there's a window in which elections can be called. Parliaments can last up to 5 yrs although with a minority government, the government can fall at any time, if enough members of the opposition parties vote for a nonconfidence motion. The present govt is a minority govt, typically they last about 3 yrs. They were elected in 2019, so it's lifespan is typical of minority government. Our governments always try to do it when the polls are favourable.

Mbruno is correct about the fixed election date not being a requirement, one Prime Minister Harper himself chose to ignore even though he introduced the legislation. When it was taken to court, the court found that the fixed election dates were not binding on the prime minister or legally enforceable by the courts.

No Governor General in my lifetime (I'm 65) has ever refused a request. It has only happened once in our 154 years in 1926, the King-Byng affair in 1926 and led to an Imperial conference and the Statue of Westminister. It is highly unlikely a Governor General would refuse this request for fear of causing a constitutional crisis. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King–Byng_affair

So no, he's not abusing a royal prerogative, just trying to time the elections when the polls are favourable like all governments here do.

For your second question, yes there have been some comments/concerns about the timing during a Pandemic. However, the pandemic is not going away any time soon and various provinces have had elections since the pandemic. Elections Canada is allowing mail in voting and telling us results make take some time to get since they expect record numbers to vote by mail. I'm higher risk myself so I've registered to vote by mail. (I've worked for Elections Canada in past elections, but I'm choosing not to do so this time.)
 
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To me the British system - that apparently is also applied in Canada - to just call general elections when you think you are most popular or might secure a larger share of parliament is really weird. I'd think there should be a better reason for such a costly operation that makes elections a toy of the prime minister instead of a crucial aspect of a good functioning democracy.

And the poor queen can do nothing but go along with these frivolous requests (that she by now surely is used to).

Actually it works both ways. Not just the ruling party can call an election. With a minority government, the members of the opposition parties can propose a nonconfidence motion at any time and if enough of them vote in favour, the government falls. (Typically they time this when the government is very unpopular and they think it will succeed.) Without the confidence of parliament, the Prime Minister is required to resign, Parliament is dissolved and an election is called. Some of our Prime Ministers have been defeated by non confidence motions. Governments fell due to non confidence motions in 1926, 1963, 1974, 1979, 2005, and 2011. Typically our minority governments last 3 years because they fall either due to a nonconfidence motion or more often (as in this case) the government calls an election. Majority governments run longer usually 4-5 years. (Parliament cannot go longer than 5 years.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_of_no_confidence#Canada

IMHO, the Canadian elections are much cheaper than the US because our elections are much shorter. This present one is only 36 days from the day it was called. The American election process lasts well over a year, beginning with primaries. Our transitions to power are also short (although not as short as the UK). Our last transitoon when the government changed to a new party took 16 days whereas American ones take 72 to 78 days. This is because most of civil servants in Canada like the UK are career civil service and only the incoming ministers are chosen by the new government. In the USA, there are a massive level of political appointments.
 
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Early Canada election call backfires on Trudeau, who now trails in polls

Reuters

The latest polls by Nanos, Ekos and others show Liberal fortunes have faded as voters have grown fatigued with Trudeau, 49, who has been in power since 2015. One Liberal strategist said on Friday the early-vote call had backfired as it was seen as "wrong" and "greedy" by electors.

The Nanos Research survey for CTV put the Conservatives on 35.7% public support, with the Liberals on 30.7% and the smaller left-leaning New Democrats on 18.3%. An Ekos poll published late Thursday puts the Conservatives at 35.5% versus 30.7% for the Liberals.
 
Early Canada election call backfires on Trudeau, who now trails in polls

Reuters


There are still a little over two weeks of campaign left, so let us not jump into conclusions yet.


If the Conservatives win, they will still probably form a minority government, so it is not guaranteed to last long either.
 
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The Coat of Arms of Canada


The Royal Coat of Arms of Canada, formally the Arms of Her Majesty The Queen in Right of Canada, includes two supporters: a Lion, normally associated with England, holding the union flag of the United Kingdom, and a Unicorn, normally associated with Scotland, holding the royal banner of the Bourbons, which represents the now defunct Kingdom of France and the former colony of New France. The central shield is divided into four quadrants displaying the arms respectively of England, Scotland, royal France, and Ireland, on top of a sprig of three red maple leaves representing Canada. The shield is encircled by a red and gold ribbon with the Latin inscription DESIDERANTES MELIOREM PATRIAM, which is taken from Hebrews 11:16 and is the motto of the Order of Canada. On top of the shield, there is a royal helmet with mantling of white and red, stylized to look like maple leaves, and a crest that consists of a crowned gold lion standing on a twisted wreath of red and white silk and holding a maple leaf in its right paw; the crest is based on the Royal Crest of the United Kingdom, but differentiated by the addition of the maple leaf. Finally, below the central shield, there is another blue and gold ribbon with the Latin inscription A MARI USQUE AD[FONT=&quot] MARE [/FONT](taken from Psalm 72:8), which is the motto of Canada.

The entire Coat of Arms is topped by a heraldic representation of St. Edward’s Crown and rests on a compartment made of floral emblems including the Tudor rose (combining the red Lancaster rose and the white York rose) that represents England, the thistle representing Scotland, the shamrock symbolizing Ireland, and the white fleur-de-lis as a reference to ancient France. Elements representing the aboriginal peoples are, however, notably absent from the Royal Coat of Arms of Canada, which has been an object of growing criticism in recent years, including by some members of Parliament of Canada.

220px-Coat_of_arms_of_Canada.svg.png
 
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'Waste of money': Canadians lament C$612 million election that changed little

Reuters

Canadians woke up to a virtually unchanged political landscape on Tuesday after an expensive pandemic election they did not want, with many venting their fury at the C$612 million ($477.60 million) cost.

“C$600 million and all I got was this lousy pencil,” one Calgary man tweeted, referring to the stubby pencil used to mark ballots.
 
Yup.

But that has nothing to do with HM or the G-G.
 
Message from HM The Queen on the occasion of the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

OTTAWA, Ontario—The Governor General of Canada wishes to share a message addressed to all Canadians from Her Majesty The Queen on the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation:

“I join with all Canadians on this first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation to reflect on the painful history that Indigenous peoples endured in residential schools in Canada, and on the work that remains to heal and to continue to build an inclusive society.”

Elizabeth R.
 
Today until end of Oct., a contingent of Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery soldiers & officers take up their duties as Her Majesty The Queen's Guard at #BuckinghamPalace, #StJamesPalace, #WindsorCastle & #TowerOfLondon to mark the 150th anniversary of the regiment's formation.

 
The monarchy of Canada - Part 1

I thought it would be interesting, especially for the US readers, to give a brief description of the constitution of Canada, which serves an alternative in North America to the republican constitution of the United States.


Canada is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of government. The executive power is vested in the Queen of Canada, who is the same person that is also the Queen of the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and 11 other independent countries known collectively as the Commonwealth realms. However, since the Queen normally resides in the United Kingdom, most of her powers in and over Canada are officially delegated to a resident Governor General appointed by the Queen under a royal commission. King George VI’s Letters Patent of 1947 constituting the office of Governor General of Canada determine that, In the event of “the death, incapacity, removal, or absence” of the Governor General, he shall be replaced by the Chief Justice of Canada as interim Administrator of the government of Canada until a new Governor General receives his commission from the Queen and is properly sworn in as prescribed in the said Letters Patent.


The Governor General, nevertheless, normally exercises his executive authority only by and with the advice and consent of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada, whose active arm is a cabinet of ministers chaired by the Prime Minister. The Governor General acting on the advice of the cabinet ministers in their capacity as privy councilors is then referred to in Canadian law or the Canadian constitution as the Governor General in Council.



The legislative power at the national level lies in turn with the Parliament of Canada, which includes the popularly elected House of Commons and a second chamber styled the Senate, which is similar to the House of Lords in the United Kingdom and consists of senators appointed by the Governor General for life or until age 75 on the advice of the Prime Minister. The Senate proposes amendments to House bills and may occasionally delay or, more rarely, even block legislation, but it does not have much influence in practice and, under normal circumstances, usually yields to the will of the elected chamber. Bills that are passed both by the House of Commons and the Senate need the Queen’s royal assent given by the Governor General to become law; that is however, mostly a formality, as the Governor General is not expected to veto any bill and, in fact, never does so under normal circumstances. Following an ancient British custom, bills that appropriate money from the Treasury for public use or impose taxes must originate in the House of Commons and sums in any appropriation bill must be first recommended to the House by a message of the Governor General, normally acting on the advice of the Minister of Finance.


Under the conventions of parliamentary government, the Prime Minister is normally the leader of the largest political party in the House of Commons (and a member of Parliament himself), and he can stay in office only as long as he retains the confidence of the House. The other cabinet ministers, who serve as the heads of the different departments of the government of Canada, are also chosen personally by the Prime Minister among members of the House of Commons, or, more rarely, the Senate, and are appointed and removed by the Governor General on the Prime Minister’s advice. If the House of Commons loses confidence in the Prime Minister, he must resign or ask the Governor General to dissolve Parliament and call a snap election to renew the entire membership of the House of Commons. Otherwise, if no early elections are called, Parliament is dissolved and a general election is held under present electoral law on a fixed date in the fourth calendar year following the last election.


Under the Letters Patent of 1947, the Governor General in Council, usually acting on the advice of the MInister of Foreign Affairs, appoints all diplomatic and consular oficers of Canada. International treaties are negotiated by the government of Canada and/or its diplomatic officers and signed by select ministers under authority granted to them by order of the Governor General in Council. In principle, treaties do not require prior parliamentary approval in Canada. However, treaty provisions are not automatically incorporated into domestic law, so, whenever the implementation of a treaty requires changes to Canadian law , the government must introduce legislation to that end, which then requires parliamentary approval. As members of Parliament, ministers can sit and vote in the House of Commons and introduce legislation as any other private member.


Under the constitution of Canada, the supreme command of the Canadian armed forces is also vested in the Queen, but is delegated under the Letters Patent of 1947 to the Governor General as “Commander in Chief in and over Canada”. In practice, however, Canadian law passed by Parliament vests “the management and direction” of the Canadian Forces in the Minister of National Defence (Canadian spelling), who, like all cabinet minister, is appointed by the Governor General on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. Broadly speaking, defense policy is agreed by the cabinet under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister and then executed by civil servants and professional military officers under the direction of the MInister of National Defence.
 
Monarchy of Canada - Part 2



Below the national government, Canada is also a federation of subnational units called provinces. The constitution of Canada assigns certain matters to the exclusive jurisdiction of the provinces such as, for example: education, healthcare, municipal government, public works, natural resources within the province, civil and property law, and court procedure in civil cases, among others. All matters not explicitly assigned to the provinces, including criminal law and court procedure in criminal cases, money and banking, the armed forces, Indian land, copyright law, weights and measures, trade, and national debt, lie then by default under the jurisdiction of the federal Parliament.


Each province has an officer called the Lieutenant Governor, who is appointed by the Governor General in Council on the advice of the Prime Minister, and represents the Queen in the province. In addition, each province also has a popularly elected unicameral legislative assembly and an executive council, whose active members are the provincial ministers, drawn from the assembly on the recommendation of the provincial premier, who is normally the leader of the largest party in the assembly and the de facto head of the provincial government. Similarly to the Prime Minister at the federal level, the premier of a province depends on the confidence of the respective provincial legislative assembly to stay in office. In other words, each province also has a parliamentary system of government under the Crown that mimics the federal goverment (minus the Senate).


Like members of the federal House of Commons, members of the provincial legislative assemblies are subject under the constitution of Canada to a maximum (renewable) term of five years, but elections to most provincial legislative assemblies are now held under provincial law on a fixed date in the fourth calendar year following the last election unless the assembly is sooner dissolved by the respective Lieutenant Governor on the advice of the premier, in which case an early snap election must be held.


The federal territories. of which there are currently 3 in Canada, differ constitutionally from the provinces in the sense that the Parliament of Canada may legislate directly for them and can overrule territorial law in any subject matter. Each territory has a Commissioner appointed by the Governor General in Council , usually on the advice of the Minister for Indigenous and Northern Affairs. In the past, the Territorial Commissioners exercised alone the executive authority in the territories, but nowadays the territories also have a popularly elected legislature and a premier responsible to the legislature who serves in practice as the head of the territorial government.


Members of the House of Commons are elected by plurality vote in single-member districts with roughly an equal number of voters per district, meaning that the number of members elected per province is roughly proportional to the province’s population. One member is also additionally elected from each of the 3 territories. On the other hand, an equal number of 24 senators are appointed from each of four regional divisions, which currently may consist of one, three, or four provinces depending on the division. In addition, six senators are appointed from the province of Newfoundland and Labrador and one senator is appointed from each of the 3 federal territories. In exceptional circumstances, the constitution of Canada allows the Queen to summon 4 or 8 additional senators beyond the normal number of 105 provided that they are equally drawn from each of the four regional divisions. That is actually one of the few royal powers under the constitution of Canada that are not delegated to the Governor General and can be exercised only by the Queen personally. Another such exclusive power is the power to appoint and remove the Governor General himself, which the Queen normally exercises, however, only on the advice of the Prime Minister of Canada.



In recent times, independent Senate and vice-regal appointments commitees/ boards have been used to propose to the Prime Minister nonbinding shortlists of candidates for vacant seats in the Senate and for the offices of Governor General of Canada or Lieutenant Governor of a province. Similarly to members of the House of Commons, members of the unicameral legislative assemblies are also elected in all provinces using the plurality voting system in single-member districts.


Finally, the judicial power in Canada is similar to the judicial power in the United States. As in the United States, Canada also has a Supreme Court that has the power to review the constitutionality of laws although, in Canada, the federal Parliament or the provincial legislative assemblies can temporarily shield laws that they pass from a judicial ruling of conflict with certain select constititutional provisions in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms by invoking a special mechanism known as the “notwithstanding clause”. Justices of the Supreme Court, federal judges and judges of the superior courts of the provinces are appointed by the Governor General in Council, usually on the advice of the Prime Minister or the federal Minister of Justice; they are subject to a compulsory retirement age of 75 years old, but, barring that, cannot be removed from office during their tenure except by the Governor General on an address by the House of Commons and the Senate on grounds of misbehavior.


Despite the independence of the courts of law from the executive branch, the Queen of Canada, again like the President of the United States, can grant pardons to people convicted of criminal offfenses. Pardons are granted under the royal prerogative of mercy, which is delegated to the Governor General in the Queen’s name by the Letters Patent of 1947. Under federal law, however, the prerogative of mercy is exercised only by the Governor General in Council, rather than the Governor General personally, with pardon requests processed through the National Parole Board of Canada.
 
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