Autonomy In Canada Essay

Canada was settled by France and Britain, starting from the late 15th century. Then, the former had to cede nearly all of its colonies to Britain in 1763 following the Seven Years’ War. Yet, Canada gradually became independent from Britain, and is now a fully independent state in terms of domestic and foreign policy. Actually, the process of increasing autonomy started in the late 19th century and ended with the Canada Act of 1982 which served as the nation’s legal independence from the British Parliament. However, even with the attainment of nationhood, Canada has not cut ties with its colonial past and its system of government still depends on the British government and holds striking similarities with it.
In fact, Canada is a constitutional monarchy, and its executive authority is still vested in the monarch of Great Britain, currently Queen Elizabeth II. Every act of government is therefore carried out in the name of the crown. The monarch appoints a Canadian Governor General to oversee the executive
The Canadian constitution states that Canada should have a “Constitution similar in principle to that of the United Kingdom” (Constitution act, 1867). Therefore, the Canadian Parliament is similar to the one of Britain. Both consist of the crown and two chambers. The lower house holds the same name in both countries: House of Commons. The upper house however is named the Senate in Canada and the House of Lords in Britain. As in the case of Britain, legislation in Canada must be assented by each of the Parliament’s constituents: the lower house, the upper house and the monarch respectively. Also in both countries the house of commons not only have to be elected but also elections are based on a first-past-the post system which means that the candidate receiving more votes than any other candidate is elected whether he has a majority or