Canadian Prime Minister
Powers of the Office of the Prime Minister in Canada
Pratishtha Widhani
1002057793
2nd August, 2016
POL111
Powers of the Office of the Prime Minister in Canada
The Canadian Prime Minister is the head of the Government and has significant powers in deciding how the nation is supposed to work in their stipulated time frame. While he/she is not the head of the state, he/she leads the Canadian Armed Forces and appoints the cabinet ministers, Supreme Court judges, senators, ambassadors, and heads of crown corporations. However, the Canadian constitution does not explicitly state most of the powers currently exercised by the Prime Minister because it does not establish the post of Prime Minister. These powers arise from unwritten Constitutional …show more content…
He/She chairs cabinet meetings and has the powers to call consensus in such meetings. The lack of security of tenure among cabinet ministers means that any cabinet minister deemed hostile to the Prime Minister can be fired (Savoie, 2009). Therefore the cabinet ministers have no incentive to revolt or stand their ground against the Prime Minister especially when it is only a small number of cabinet ministers holding an opinion contrary to that of the Prime Minister. Therefore, Savoie, (2000) argues that ministerial powers do not flow from the ministers but from the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister also appoints many office bearers who are responsible for providing checks and balances to his government. This includes officers such as the Auditor General, and governor of the Bank of Canada.
Several factors make the Canadian Parliament less suited to provide institutional checks to the Office of the Prime Minister. First, the staffs in the Office of the Prime Minister are accountable to the office holder and not to Parliament. Therefore, parliament has no control over them and cannot hold them responsible for their actions. Political party leaders in Canada are elected through a rigorous process akin to the one used in the USA. The high rate of turnover after each election means fewer MPs consolidate power enough …show more content…
Globalization means that Canada is playing an increasingly important role in other countries through foreign policies. Therefore, foreign leaders are providing additional checks and holding the Prime Minister responsible for the decisions they make (Baker, 2014). The media provides important checks and balances to the office of the Prime Minister through dissemination and interpretation of public information besides questioning government decisions. Enshrining public service by the laws and constitution by establishing the office of the Prime Minister reducing the public officers appointed by the Prime Minister will help reduce the powers of the Prime Minister. In addition, the parliament should be empowered through transfer of former Crown powers currently vested in the office of the Prime Minister (Axworthy,
Pratishtha Widhani
1002057793
2nd August, 2016
POL111
Powers of the Office of the Prime Minister in Canada
The Canadian Prime Minister is the head of the Government and has significant powers in deciding how the nation is supposed to work in their stipulated time frame. While he/she is not the head of the state, he/she leads the Canadian Armed Forces and appoints the cabinet ministers, Supreme Court judges, senators, ambassadors, and heads of crown corporations. However, the Canadian constitution does not explicitly state most of the powers currently exercised by the Prime Minister because it does not establish the post of Prime Minister. These powers arise from unwritten Constitutional …show more content…
He/She chairs cabinet meetings and has the powers to call consensus in such meetings. The lack of security of tenure among cabinet ministers means that any cabinet minister deemed hostile to the Prime Minister can be fired (Savoie, 2009). Therefore the cabinet ministers have no incentive to revolt or stand their ground against the Prime Minister especially when it is only a small number of cabinet ministers holding an opinion contrary to that of the Prime Minister. Therefore, Savoie, (2000) argues that ministerial powers do not flow from the ministers but from the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister also appoints many office bearers who are responsible for providing checks and balances to his government. This includes officers such as the Auditor General, and governor of the Bank of Canada.
Several factors make the Canadian Parliament less suited to provide institutional checks to the Office of the Prime Minister. First, the staffs in the Office of the Prime Minister are accountable to the office holder and not to Parliament. Therefore, parliament has no control over them and cannot hold them responsible for their actions. Political party leaders in Canada are elected through a rigorous process akin to the one used in the USA. The high rate of turnover after each election means fewer MPs consolidate power enough …show more content…
Globalization means that Canada is playing an increasingly important role in other countries through foreign policies. Therefore, foreign leaders are providing additional checks and holding the Prime Minister responsible for the decisions they make (Baker, 2014). The media provides important checks and balances to the office of the Prime Minister through dissemination and interpretation of public information besides questioning government decisions. Enshrining public service by the laws and constitution by establishing the office of the Prime Minister reducing the public officers appointed by the Prime Minister will help reduce the powers of the Prime Minister. In addition, the parliament should be empowered through transfer of former Crown powers currently vested in the office of the Prime Minister (Axworthy,