How Canadians Govern Themselves

Senator Eugene Forsey has written this extremely helpful and detailed guide to the Canadian governmental system, entitled How Canadians Govern Themselves. The next time you update your iPods (more news on this very soon) you'll find this PDF loaded into your documents folder so that you can open it on your computer for further reference.

This section on the differences between Canadian and American government will be of particular interest to you.

Confederation and the Constitution

This online exhibit from Library and Archives Canada's amazingly rich website will give you some great background on the events that led up to Confederation.

This exhibit about the evolution of Canada's constitution is also really worth checking out. Lots of interesting information here including the full texts of the British North America act of 1867 and the Constitution Act of 1982. You can see the original documents and learn about how they came to be.

Some highlights of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (1982) include:

Fundamental Freedoms

2. Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms:

a) freedom of conscience and religion;
b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication;
c) freedom of peaceful assembly; and
d) freedom of association.

Democratic Rights

3. Every citizen of Canada has the right to vote in an election of members of the House of Commons or of a legislative assembly and to be qualified for membership therein.

4. (1) No House of Commons and no legislative assembly shall continue for longer than five years from the date fixed for the return of the writs of a general election of its members.

Equality Rights

15. (1) Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.

(2) Subsection (1) does not preclude any law, program or activity that has as its object the amelioration of conditions of disadvantaged individuals or groups including those that are disadvantaged because of race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.

The Prime Minister of Canada, past and present

This online exhibit details the role of the The Prime Minister in Canadian Life and Politics

The Governor General

Michaëlle Jean (otherwise known as Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean) became Canada's Governor General last year. Here's the official website of the Governor General.