Notes

How does Canada's democracy actually work?
With a solid understanding of what governments are, students will next turn to the complex ways in which they are determined in Canada, federal, provincially and municipally. Students will explore how officials are elected, what powers they hold, what they can civically engaged citizens can do to influence their government. Special attention will be played to the political parties and how their policies are reflective of various political ideologies.


1.1: Levels of Government
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Canada is the second largest country in the world. It is divided into 10 provinces and 3 territories and each of these provinces and territories have distinct needs. To make sure the needs and wants of the people are heard and dealt with properly there are three levels of government. To make sure the country runs in an effective manner, these levels of government break down problems and delegate them to their appropriate level. For instance a garbage pick-up issues in Ottawa is not a concern for all other Canadians, thus it is dealt with at a municipal level. However, there are large issues that are a concern to the whole country, for instance how Canada will approach the issue of global warming, thus those issues are discussed and dealt with at a federal level. Below is a more detail breakdown of the levels of government.