Characteristics Of The Form Of Government In Canada

 The form of government in Canada has four main characteristics:  It is a “parliamentary democracy” – the Parliament (with three branches: the Governor General, the House of Commons, and the Senate) debates before voting and its members are elected to represent Canadians (in fact, only the members of the House of Commons are elected, the Senators and the Governor General are appointed)  It is a “constitutional monarchy” – the monarch’s powers are bounded by the provisions of the Constitution; the “monarch” role in Canada rests with the Governor General who has only a ceremonial role (except for some special situations)  It is based on “responsible government” – the actual government, i.e., the cabinet of ministers, “responds” before the Parliament  It is a “federation” – the federal and, respectively, the provincial governments have separate areas of responsibility as provided by the Constitution.