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In the British tradition, if the government loses a vote on a major measure, or on any motion of non-confidence, its leaders are expected to resign or to ask the Governor General to call a general election. The duties of the prime minister of Canada are many, including presiding over Cabinet meetings, meeting with official foreign delegations and answering questions in the House of Commons. How Vacancies in the US Congress are Filled, Major Parliamentary Governments and How They Work, The 'Big Six' Organizers of the Civil Rights Movement, The House of Commons in Canada's Parliament, B.A., Political Science, Carleton University. Like the prime minister, the speaker is a sitting MP, but unlike the prime minister, the speaker is elected by a majority vote of the assembled House, and serves as long as that particular session of Parliament lasts, usually four or five years. 2033. The Constitution dictates that the Senate has 105 members. By the voters. In other words, a Prime Minister who believes in a particular vision of how government should function can use the powers of the Prime Minister’s Office to appoint persons of like-political philosophy to key government positions.

Every MP aspires to be a member of the front bench someday, whereas being a backbencher is synonymous with obscurity, and a sign your political career is going nowhere. Since the Prime Minister is usually a member of the Parliament, he/she also spends time helping the constituents who put him/her in office. The House’s largest party gets to appoint the most members of every committee, as well as the committee chairman. Senators must also hold a minimum of $4,000 of property, and live in the area in which they are appointed to represent, a Canadian policy known as Regional Representation.

The Speaker of the House of Commons sits at the back of the House chamber in a large, throne-like chair surrounded by aides known as pages. It is even customary for the Prime Minister to recommend and ultimately choose the person who will serve as the governor-general—the Monarch’s representative in Canada. A key hallmark of the Cabinet is collective responsibility, meaning that all Ministers share responsibility for the administration of the Canadian government and for the policies that govern it. 14339. The most recent election for the House of Commons was held on October 21, 2019. As you said the cabinet is chosen by the PM and can be from either house of Parliament.

To this day, when a speaker is elected in Canada, he or she still goes through a little mock protest and has to be "dragged" to the chair by the prime minister and opposition leader. The latter are sometimes referred to as “section 96 judges,” named after Act 96 of the Constitution which allowed the federal government to appoint them. For example, the Prime Minister can decide when to dissolve Parliament and when to call for general elections. Senators are also responsible for studying major social, legal and economic issues through their work on committees. Choosing a Cabinet in Canada requires considerable artfulness on the part of the Prime Minister, who must try to ensure that it represents the country's regional, linguistic and ethnic diversity. Those on the front bench are the ones picked to be members of the prime minister’s cabinet or the opposition parties’ shadow cabinets, while those in the back are the ones that didn’t make the cut. In addition, the 1982 amendment provided an outline of the political rights and freedoms reserved for Canadian citizens, an outline similar to the Bill of Rights that begins the Constitution of the United States. These judges typically sit in their respective provincial Supreme Court or Court of Appeal or in equivalent courts such as the Court of the Queen’s Bench, the Superior Court (in Quebec) or the General Division of the Court of Justice (in Ontario).

Each cabinet minister heads a department of the Canadian federal government. The governor-general appoints the prime minister in Canada, currently Steven Harper, who serves as the head of the Canadian federal government and wields most of the executive power in the country.

In theory, this is supposed to demonstrate to voters the official opposition is just as qualified to rule as the government, and helps provide a running contrast of ideas and priorities.

The official representation formula is a bit complicated, but broadly speaking every MP represents a riding of about 100,000 people or so.