Parliamentary System versus Republic

Similarities:

Canada and America are both democracies.  Both are federal states.  Both have two governing bodies (Senate and House of Commons in Canada, Senate and House of Representatives in America).

Differences:

Canada has its roots in a monarchy.  America has its roots in the Roman republic (res publica = public affairs).  

Head of Sate: in Can it is the Governor General, in America it is Bush (the president).

Head of Gov: in Can. It is the Prime Minister, in America it is Bush (the president).

The head of state in Canada acts as a watchdog over the behaviour of the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister (PM) must sit in the House of Commons.  The president sits in the White House, not in Congress.

Ministers in Canada must submit new bills.  The president cannot introduce Bills.  He gets others to do it for him.

Ministers must answer questions in the House of Commons.  The president and his ministers tend to hold news conferences to answer questions.

The president can belong to one party, while the Congress belongs to another.    It could happen that congress can outvote the president.  He would then be unable to do much without the support of Congress.  In Canada, the PM belongs to the majority party who tend to vote the way he wants them to.

The president cannot dissolve Congress.  The members are there for a fixed time: 4 years.  The PM can call an election anywhere between 3 and 5  years.  By calling an election, s/he can end parliament. 

Bills being presented before the House of Commons tend to be much the same after their readings.  They do not change much.  Bills in Congress can change dramatically, unrecognizably.  New demands can be put onto the Bills before they make their rounds.  If the Bills do not pass, the president might be able to say  “Don’t blame me.  The opposition added new ideas to the Bill and changed it to the point where people did not vote for it.” 

The president can veto Bills, but 2/3 of the Senate and the House of Representatives can veto the president.  The PM cannot veto anything in the House of Commons.

The House of Representatives can impeach the president.  The Senate would try the President.  This cannot happen in Canada to the PM.

The president and Congress can fight for years.  This can be stopped in Canada by the Governor General.

The president’s qualifications are included in the constitution in America.  The PM’s are not.

Canada’s government is based on custom and usage.  Ministers do not have to have a seat in Parliament, but it is customary.

All states are equally represented in the Senate.  Not all provinces are represented equally in the Senate.

American Senators are elected.  Canadian Senators are appointed by the PM.

In America, the people vote directly for the president.  In Canada, the PM’s party must win the majority of seats, while the PM must win her/his seat too.

The American president may serve no more than two terms; the Prime Minister may serve as many as s/he is elected.