Countries around the world depend on their political leaders to make policies that guarantee their social, political, and economic wellbeing. The possibility of achieving these objectives align with the kind of government the country has. Countries with democratically elected leaders are more likely to witness the delivery of promises made to the electorate considering that the three arms of government offer checks and balances. Canada’s Constitution provides for the election of parliamentary representatives making it a parliamentary democracy. This nation has a unique form of government, which is comprised of the Senate, the Crown, and the House of Representatives. The Prime Minister (PM) heads the Canadian government, the Crown’s primary minister as well as heads the Cabinet. These combined responsibilities appear to suggest that the PM exercises so much power especially by overseeing operations at the House of Commons. Despite this thinking, the Canadian Prime Minister does not yield as much power since his or her actions are regulated by the constitution as an elected government official. In this paper, I focus on arguments supporting that the PM has too much power, then the contrary arguments and sum up with my critical comments on the issue.
The Prime Minister Has too much Power
The Canadian PM appears to have so much power considering that he is the head of the government. In essence, the Prime Minister is the appointee of the Queen or her representative who is the Governor General. The PM who is supported by the PM’s office has a duty to choose individuals who will make up the cabinet. The PM then liaises with the Cabinet to appoint Supreme Court and federal court judges, parliamentary committee members, boards, and leaders for Crown Corporations as well as Canada’s Governor General (Malcomson et al., 2016, p. 107). The Canadian Constitution establishes that these duties are to be carried out by the Governor General who is the monarch’s representative. In as much as this ought to be the case, the Governor General acts as a ceremonial leader considering he must consult the Prime Minister. The association between the PM and Governor General is awkward since the PM reports to the Governor General who is the PM’s appointee. Dutil (2017, p. 38) suggests that these responsibilities give too much power to the Prime Minister considering that he heads all the three arms of government. When the Prime Minister chooses individuals who will head the legislature and the judiciary it means that he will have full control over the two branches of government. The legislature, executive, and the judiciary are likely to align with the PM’s directives considering that these members have been selected by the PM. In such a case, one would establish that the Prime Minister seems to be wielding so much power, which could undermine democracy.
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The Canadian government has a Prime Minister’s office, which is associated with a parliamentary democracy system and constitutional monarchies. This aspect of the government relates to the origin of the position of Prime Minister, as it is not highlighted by any constitutional document. Instead, the Prime Ministers position is only mentioned in the 1947 Letters Patent and the Constitution Act of 1982 (Malcolmson et al., 2016, p. 114). The lack of constitutional clarification means that the Prime Minister's term of office is not fixed since he or she serves at the pleasure of Her Majesty. Once the Prime Minister has been appointed and sworn in he could remain in office up until the time he resigns, dismissed, or dies. The system in charge of the government allows for the resignation of the Prime Minister in case he loses the confidence of the House of Commons (House of Commons, 2017). In as much as this provision appears to be putting a limit onto the powers that the Prime Minister yields, a loss of confidence is rare. The reason for this rarity is that the Canadian Prime Minister has the support of a majority of Members of Parliament and thrives in formalized coalition agreements. In this case, then, the Prime Minister is shielded from being dismissed or being forced to resign meaning that he can hold onto power as long as he likes. The lack of time limit governing how long the Prime Minister occupies the position makes him the most powerful political leader in Canada.
The Canadian Prime Minister has considerable control in the running of day-to-day operations. This kind of control allows the government to not only set its agenda but also follow it up with ease without much resistance. Malcolmson et al. (2016, p. 114) note that the Prime Minister appears to command steadfast loyalty from the MPs considering that his power is based on a constitutional convention. Cooperative MPs are awarded positions in the cabinet or lucrative committees while disloyal MPs are removed from the caucus or barred from running for office through the party. MPs who would wish to counterbalance the premier’s power leveraging on the caucus would find it impossible since it is the party and not the caucus that chooses party leaders. In such a case, then MPs do not have an effective mechanism to challenge the Prime Minister or to represent one's constituents.
The Constitution, which is supposed to empower the MPs to offer checks and balances to the PM, does not establish who between the PM and the Governor General has real powers. The complicated relationship and the failure of the constitution to highlight who between the two yields more power creates a governance vacuum. The Prime Minister appears to fill this vacuum by assuming power considering that he has the support of the majority party’s MPs. Malcolm et al. (2016, p. 116) claim that “the Canadian government is moving away from the cabinet government and toward a ‘prime ministerial’ government.” The PM seems to dwarf the cabinet considering that he is the chief spokesperson something that provides him with a public profile. More so, a lack of clarification paves the way for a powerful Prime Minister who can only be likened to historical monarchs with absolute power. Dutil (2017, p. 112) asserts that Canadian Prime Ministers have managed to rid the Crown of its symbolic power, which they have shifted to the House of Commons. While the House of Commons ought to check on prime ministerial power, it does not seem to be doing so as the Prime Ministers have power over the MPs. This outcome means that the Prime Ministers have the power to make partisan decisions that negate or limit the Parliaments’ role as the guardian for accountability in a democratic governance system.
The Prime Minister does not have too much Power
The powers bestowed to the Canadian Prime Minister are not too much since he assumes office on the successful election by the majority of voters. The constitution provides for general elections every four years meaning that the electorate yields the real power. The people can decide to vote out the PM if they feel that he is not acting within the limitations of the constitutional provisions. More so, the electorate is the only faction that could approve changes to the constitution thus denying the PM a chance to exert too much power. The Prime Minister has a legitimate source of power first as the Governor General’s appointee and the person most likely to control the House of Commons majority (Cornell, 2015, p. 194). The PM’s legitimacy is enforced through elections that are held every four years to allow the electorate to decide who will head the government. In case, the electorate is not satisfied with the incumbent PM they have the option to remove him from office through referendum or vote of no confidence.
These sources of support mean that the Prime Minister will be in a position to drive government agendas without much resistance. The members of the majority party, which the PM heads, are more likely to approve the nominees for the Judiciary, House Committees, Crown Corporations, and the cabinet. In case the PM’s party fails to win more than half of the seats during the general election, he could form a coalition with other parties. This constitutional provision then negates that the PM has so much power considering that this would be a power-sharing deal. The coalition members would put a check to the PM’s power since they too have a stake in the running of the government (Malcomson et al., 2016, p. 46). In 1985 Ontario’s election there was the formation of a coalition government and the opposition parties played the decisive roles instead of the PM. One would conclude that the Prime Minister’s power is dependent on his ability to garner the majority of seats in the general election to stay in office. A failure to achieve this objective means that he can be easily dismissed and his position taken by the person whose party has majority parliamentary seats.
Various approaches to governance around the world allow for the promotion of the citizens' wellbeing. In as much as these forms of governments have different approaches to governance, they have a common feature in that there is a powerful leader at the top. This leader either heads the government by consulting with the cabinet, legislature, and judiciary or rules through an iron fist. Canada with a parliamentary democracy and headed by a Prime Minister is a model government as it embraces checks and balances (Shore et al., 2018, p. 398). Claiming that the Prime Minister possesses execessive power does a disservice to the Canadians especially if one considers how totalitarian and autocratic governments operate. The Prime Minister operates in the same way as other Prime Ministers and Presidents in democracies. Moreover, the Canadian Prime Minister works within universal laws governing democracies since other presidents and prime ministers too are bound by their respective constitutions. Eidenfalk et al. (2018, p. 230) gives the example of Australian ministers who head the government, appoint and approve cabinet, judiciary, and parliamentary or senate committee appointees to help in achieving the government's agenda. The Canadian Prime Minister liaises with the MPs from his political party to undertake these tasks on behalf of the electorate. In such a case, then it would mean that the Prime Minister’s powers are within the confines of the law as an elected leader. As long as the Prime Minister operates within the existing ethical, constitutional, and ethical guidelines then he does not have excess power.
Conclusion
Canada’s Prime Ministers head the government, appoints, and approves public service nominees, a position that makes them appear as they have so much power. The critics of the Prime Minister establish that the position does not exist in the constitution as it is only mentioned in the Constitution Act of 1982. In as much as the constitution remains silent on the position of the Prime Minister, I feel that the position is legitimate since the PM is elected to the office by the majority of voters. This statutory provision means that the Prime Minister cannot possibly yield overwhelming power since the real power lies with the electorate. In this case, the Prime Minister owes his position to the people and all the actions he takes are directed towards achieving the government's manifesto. More so, the Canadian Prime Minister works within universal laws governing democracies since other presidents and prime ministers too are bound by their respective constitutions. To this end, one would conclude that the Prime Minister does not possess excessive power but enough to drive the government's agenda.
References
Cornell, C. (2015). Succession to the throne and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Law and Business Review of the Americas , 21 (2), 193-206.
Dutil, P. (2017). Prime ministerial power in Canada: Its origins under Macdonald, Laurier, and Borden. UBC Press.
Eidenfalk, J., Forner, V. W., Jones, M. & Parrish, D. Rene. (2018). Prime ministers as leaders: Applying self-determination theory on Australian Prime Ministers. Journal of Social and Political Psychology , 6 (1), 224-241.
House of Commons. (2017). Our Procedure: The Canadian Parliamentary System. https://www.ourcommons.ca/About/OurProcedure/ParliamentaryFramework/c_g_parliamentaryframework-e.htm
Malcolmson, P., Myers, R., & Baier, G. (2016). The Canadian regime: An introduction to parliamentary government in Canada (6th edition). University of Toronto Press.
Shore, C., Raudon, S., & Williams, D. V. (2018). The Crown and constitutional reform. The Round Table , 107 (4), 397-400. doi: 10.1080/00358533.2018.1494689
