The Prime Minister's Power in Canada
Introduction
The Canadian prime minister is the head of federal government, and therefore the position is considered to have very significant powers. The prime minister position has the second highest position in the country, second only to the Governor General of Canada. It is the highest position of power that a public servant can hold. In a democratic state, although the prime minister has power that he or she uses in running the state of affairs of the country, the opposition political parties, and media have kept these powers in check (Jarvis and Turnbull 1).
However, in Canada, the prime minister’s powers have not been clearly stated in the constitution. The powers exist as a form of the constitutional conventions. In this paper, it presents arguments that support the notion that the Canadian prime minister is too powerful. Powers of the Prime MinisterAs has been stated before, in Canada, the constitution does not provide specific laws that the prime minister has to follow. Instead, the prime minister’s powers are supported by various constitutional conventions. The powers of the prime minister are as highlighted. The prime minister has the reserved right to call for a general election in the country. This is an important power in the country. In accordance with section 56 of the Canadian Election Act, the Governor General can dissolve the parliament, and this will lead to a federal election (Justice Laws 1). However, it is customary for the Governor General to consult with the prime minister before he or she dissolves parliament (University of Alberta 1). However, under specific anomalies in parliament, the prime minister can exercise the power of calling up the federal elections, and this will result in the dissolution of parliament.
In the UK under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011, UK must hold parliamentary elections after every five years. The provisions of the Act were to be in effect as of 2015. In this case, the parliaments have fixed terms and the general elections will take place in accordance to a schedule that was set in advance. Before this Act was passed, parliament could only be dissolved, when the prime minister called for general elections. However, in Canada, the prime minister controls the duration period of parliament. Therefore, the prime minister dictates the bills that will be passed into law in the country. The prime minister will determine this by letting the parliament to be open and consider the bills before they are passed into law. On the other hand, he or she can dissolve the parliament and call for federal elections, if he or she feels that the bills that parliament wants to pass are in disagreement with his or her ideals.
In this set up the prime minister will only call for elections at a suitable time that will be a favor to him, and his party. In addition, he can make the campaign period to be short or long …
