Lesson 7 · Discover Canada p.54–59

How Canadians Govern Themselves

The chapter that decides most tests. The Citizenship Regulations name "the Canadian system of government as a constitutional monarchy" as an examinable subject in its own right. Do this lesson twice.

The three key facts — memorise this sentence

Canada is a federal state, a parliamentary democracy, and a constitutional monarchy.

p.54

1. Federal state — who does what

Level	Responsible for
Federal	Defence, foreign policy, interprovincial trade and communications, currency, navigation, criminal law, citizenship
Provincial	Municipal government, education, health, natural resources, property and civil rights, highways
Shared	Agriculture and immigration
Municipal	Urban planning, streets, sanitation, snow removal, firefighting, ambulance, recreation, public transit

The two that catch people. Citizenship is federal, not provincial. Education and health are provincial, not federal. And agriculture and immigration are shared — that pair is a stock question.

2. Parliamentary democracy — the three parts of Parliament

The Sovereign · the Senate · the House of Commons

Provincial legislatures comprise the Lieutenant Governor and the elected Assembly.

MPs are elected by the people, traditionally every four years
Senators are appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister, and serve until age 75
No bill becomes law until passed by both chambers and given royal assent by the Governor General on behalf of the Sovereign
Cabinet ministers must retain the confidence of the House and resign if defeated in a non-confidence vote

How a bill becomes law — seven steps

1	First Reading — the bill is read and printed
2	Second Reading — members debate the bill's principle
3	Committee Stage — studied clause by clause
4	Report Stage — further amendments
5	Third Reading — debate and vote
6	Senate — a similar process
7	Royal Assent

3. Constitutional monarchy — who is who

Role	Who	Chosen how
Head of State	The Sovereign	Hereditary
Head of Government	The Prime Minister	Leader of the party with most seats
Represents the Sovereign federally	Governor General	Appointed by the Sovereign on the PM's advice, usually 5 years
Represents the Sovereign in a province	Lieutenant Governor	Appointed by the Governor General on the PM's advice, usually 5 years
Represents the federal government in a territory	Commissioner	Ceremonial role
Provincial head of government	Premier	As the PM is federally

The distinction the test loves: the Sovereign is Head of State; the Prime Minister is Head of Government and actually directs the governing of the country. The Governor General is not the Head of State — they represent the Head of State.

Your guide is out of date here. It says the Sovereign is Queen Elizabeth II. Canada's Head of State today is King Charles III. The role is unchanged — only the person. See Lesson 13 for who currently holds each office.

The three branches

Executive · Legislative · Judicial. They work together, and sometimes in creative tension. p.58

What legislators are called

MPP	Member of Provincial Parliament — Ontario
MNA	Member of the National Assembly — Quebec
MHA	Member of the House of Assembly — Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia
MLA	Member of the Legislative Assembly — most others

As an Ontario resident, your representative is an MPP. Know that one cold.

Drill

Primary source: Discover Canada, pages 54–59. Also worth reading: the Citizenship Regulations s.15, reproduced at p.122–123 of the guide — it is the legal list of what you can be asked about.

If one thing in this workspace deserves a second pass, it is this chapter. Ask your agent to re-drill it the day before the test.

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