SST1772 Representative Democracy
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Representative Democracy in Canada, an introduction Social Studies, high school
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SST1772 Representative Democracy
- 1. Representative Democracy Citizen Influence
- 2. I want I want I want I want I want I want I want I want I want I want I want I want I want I want I want I want I want I want I want I want I want I want I want I want I want I want I want I want I want I want I want I want I want I want I want I want I want I want I want I want I want I want I want I want I want I want I want I want I want I want I want I want I want I want I want I want I want I want
- 4. ?
- 5. MP
- 6. Population Canada – 34.4 (million) BC – 4.5 AB – 3.7 SK – 1.0 MN – 1.2 ON – 13.3 1 1 QC – 7.9 1 NL – 0.5 PE – 0.1 308 7 NS – 0.9 NB – 0.7 36 28 14 14 75 4 NT – 0.04 10 NV – 0.03 106 11 YK – 0.03 Seats
- 7. Population Canada – 34.4 (million) BC – 4.5 AB – 3.7 SK – 1.0 MN – 1.2 ON – 13.3 1 1 QC – 7.9 1 NL – 0.5 PE – 0.1 308 7 NS – 0.9 NB – 0.7 36 28 14 14 75 4 NT – 0.04 10 NV – 0.03 106 11 YK – 0.03 Seats
- 8. Representational Democracy 1 1 1 308 7 36 28 14 14 75 4 10 106 11
- 9. Ridings in Alberta 28
- 10. Ridings in Calgary 8 Google Maps
- 11. YOU Get educated
- 12. YOU Get educated Go vote
- 13. YOU Get educated Go vote Become a candidate
Editor's Notes
- Canada is a “representative democracy”. This is a system of government where all the people are able to influence the ways in which they are governed.
- The citizens of a nation all have their own ideas and opinions about how their country should be run.
- But for these opinions and ideas to be heard and acted upon by their government one voice is far more practical than many. For this reason, citizens chose individuals to “represent” and speak for them in their government.Reps chosen to act as spokesman for the group
- How do the citizens of Canada choose the representatives who will speak and act for them within their government?
- Vote by population groupThis is done through elections during which Canadians choose the individual that they feel best speaks for their personal values, shows the most experience in acting as a responsible representative for them, and carries with him or her their beliefs in how a country can best be managed now and in the future.This representative is called a Member of Parliament or an MP.
- How many representatives are there? How is this decided?In order for representatives to be chosen in a way that actually works, Canada is broken into sections according to how many people live within certain regions of the country. Each representative holds what is called a “seat”. This simply means that each MP chosen to speak and act for those that have chosen him or her actually has a chair within the Canadian lawmaking body called “The House of Commons”. There are 308 representatives. 308 “seats”.Population statistics are for 2011 (in the millions), taken from statistics Canada: http://www40.statcan.gc.ca/l01/cst01/demo02a-eng.htm
- Notice the numbers in each of the ten provinces and three territories that make up the Canadian nation. Because there are more people living in different areas of the country, some areas have more representatives that other areas. There are 106 representatives chosen in Ontario and only one representative chosen for each of the northern territories. This is called “Proportional Representation”
- This is called “Representational Democracy”This means that the greater the population in an area, the more MPs are chosen to represent them in government.
- What does this mean here in Alberta?With a population of 3.8 million (2011), citizens in Alberta vote representatives into 28 of the 308 seats in the House of Commons. This means that each MP represents the interest of about 135 000 Albertans.
- What does this mean here in Calgary?With a population of 1.3 million (2011), citizens in Calgary vote representatives into 8 of the 308 seats in the House of Commons.Use the Google Maps link to explore the boundaries of each federal riding
- How can you, as a Canadian citizen, get involved?Educate yourself on the issues – become a critically thinking citizen, ask questions that impact youVote – choose someone who shares your values and who you believe will be honest and dedicated to representing your needs – you can’t do that without first educating yourself on the issuesJoin a political party and become a candidate that Canadians can vote for in an electionGetting involved politically involves understanding the issues – not only the issues that are important to you as an individual, but also understanding the issues with the system itself, such as problems with representation and electoral inequalities. Making sure citizens across the country have an equal voice in the House of Commons gets even more complicated.For details on these issues, see the next PowerPoint in this series: “Issues with Representational Democracy.” (not developed, as of March 2012)