EXECUTIVE BRANCH OF GOVERNMENT COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES

Abstract

In the global world of today, the parliamentary and presidential systems appear to be quite similar but also different as they are both accepted as democracies. The prime minister is the executive whereas the president also shares the same but the difference is the president has all executive power. It is believed that the prime minister may appear more powerful which isn’t the case as the Governor General is still in charge despite having minimal votes in the country. It is the queen who is overall but represented by the Governor General. In this paper a comparative analysis is done trying to differentiate the United States of America and Canada executive powers who are the president and prime minister to be precise. Breaking it down to their roles, strengths, weaknesses, an analysis of the two and finally a conclusion to summarize.

Introduction

The United States is considered by size the second largest democracy and the most powerful nation in its political, economic and military might. The constitution is different to other nations as it has been the same beyond two centuries. It was the founding fathers who drafted the constitution. The United States won the war of independence from Britain whereby the constitution spread power between the three arms of the government; the executive, legislature and judiciary ensuring the ability to exercise power of each arm by the other arms. The election of the president was in the hands of an electoral college with thirteen individual states created with a federal government limited in its powers in comparison to the central government. The Declaration of Independence of 1776 and the 1789 Constitution are the foundations of the U.S. Federal government. It established the U.S. as an independent political entity with the constitution creating the structure for the Federal government.

The U.S. constitution is the shortest with seven articles and twenty-seven amendments. The constitution comprises various principles which are; separation of powers, checks and balances as well as originalism. Whereas in Canada, is distinct as it is described as history of the political parties. Political parties existed since 1608. There was a division in instituting French or British laws and institutions. The Representative institution was established that organized political parties. The old colonial institution concentrated its power on the governing class thus the ascension of an opposition party to that of the government. These are two progressive liberal democracies as both are explicitly federal, being among the world’s longest-lived federations, though the character of that federalism remains contested in both nations sharing continent and border (Simeon & Radiny, 2010). They are both liberal democracies with one being a federal republic while the other a federal parliamentary democracy sharing the Anglo-American political tradition.

They are each other’s greatest trading partners, bound together in the North American Free Trade Agreement. Their borders are open to the flow of ideas and to both high and popular culture, though the flows are unequal hence subject to tension (Simeon & Radiny, 2010). Federalism in the two countries has different origins entrenched in different values and articulated through different discourses retorting to different societal needs as played out through very different institutions and developments with different consequences (Simeon & Radiny, 2010). L

PARLIAMENTARY SYTEM

Parliamentary system was formed in England and thus became an association in process. Prime Ministry was also developed during this process because of some technical reasons and effects. It is regularly admitted that the minister, who embodied the first Hannover dynasty of King George as the king did not know English and could not participate in the cabinet meetings and as a result became the Prime Minister (Kahraman, 2016). This system was formed under England’s detailed conditions and was adopted by other countries comprising different manners of application being affected by different conditions of those countries as a pure parliamentary system thus not functional in each country that adopted this system (Kahraman, 2016).

The governor-general holds the largely formal position appointed by the current monarch of the Commonwealth on the advice of the Canadian government. He formally commands, prorogues and dissolves Parliament, assents to bills and exercises other executive functions. He calls on the leader of the winning party with the most seats in the House of Commons to become the prime minister and form government after the general election (Kahraman, 2016). The prime minister then goes ahead to choose his cabinet generally from members from the House of Commons from the same party. Th cabinet ministers head executive departments and the prime minister leads the cabinet who develop policies and secure way of legislation.

Ministers of the crown who are members of the cabinet are chosen to represent different regions of the country together with its principal cultural, social and religious interests. However, they exercise executive power, cabinet ministers are jointly responsible to the House of Commons and continue in office as long as they maintain their confidence (Kahraman, 2016). The Canadian electorate determines who shall govern Canada but also decides the party receiving the second largest number of seats in the house which officially becomes the opposition party. The opposition offers intelligence and useful criticism with regards to the existing government (Simeon & Radiny, 2010).

The Canadian Act divides executive and legislative authority between the federal government and provinces. Th chief responsibilities of the national government is to ensure defense, commerce and trade, credit, banking, criminal law, currency and bankruptcy, postal services, taxation, transportation, telecommunications and fisheries. The federal government is abled with a residential authority in matters beyond those assigned to the provisional legislatures inclusive of making laws, order and a good government (Kahraman, 2016).

Th executive authority belongs to the crown that is the King or Queen carried out by the governor general on his or her behalf, the prime minister and the cabinet. The governor general is chosen by the monarch on the prime minister’s recommendation and acts on the advice of the prime minister and cabinet. Th governor general receives the Royal Assent in order for legislation to pass and become law (Kahraman, 2016). Th Crown comprises exercised executive powers as opposed to an elected head of government. Such powers evolve from the rights and privileges referred to as prerogative powers. In 1947, all sovereign power in Canada was delegated federally to the governor general and provincially to lieutenant-governors (Kahraman, 2016).

ROLE OF THE PRIME MINISTER

The prime minister is the leader of the federal government and usually the head of the largest party in the House of Commons that maintains the confidence and support of Parliament. The prime minister’s main parliamentary duties include, but are not limited to, naming senators, guiding the Cabinet and referring to the governor general. The Cabinet comprises the committee of ministers that holds executive power.  The Cabinet is presided by the prime minister and its ministers are most frequently elected politicians drawn from the party holding the most seats in the House of Commons nonetheless unelected persons and senators could also be appointed to the Cabinet. The capacity of the Cabinet to employ influence on party members promises that the government’s business will be secured from opposition votes. However, this power is often disapproved and is alleged to challenge Parliament’s duty to clutch government responsible by way of the confidence resolution, which holds the executive to justification.

FACTORS FACILITATING THE PRIME MINISTER

The prime minister chooses his ministers enhancing policies as he is the most powerful person in the government. He is dominant in his position over parliament due to his majority party for a specified period thus controlling parliamentary activities (Kahraman, 2016). He decides on cabinet members, change their duty stations and remove them from their seats as the cabinet is reliant on him. He has the authority to dissolve the parliament with overall authority on him thus supervising and decide on government policies by taking cooperation measures with various ministries. He appoints high ranking officials in his government (Kahraman, 2016).

PRIME MINISTER LIMITATIONS

He cannot always appoint some high-ranking officials as rules and regulations have to be adhered to during these appointments. A balance has to be created when choosing ministers and public officials with another factor being a limit in term of office. The demands of his party need to be satisfied not allowing opponents. He has to be careful when appointing officials as his decision making should not be biased but favorable. A successful opposition party limits his powers as thy will be critical about his regime especially through mass media (Kahraman, 2016).

PRESIDENTIAL SYSTEM

Presidency of the United States of America is the chief executive office of the United States. In disparity to many countries with parliamentary forms of government, where the office of president, or head of state, is mainly formal, in the United States the president is vested with great authority and is perhaps the most powerful elected official in the world. The nation’s founders originally projected the presidency to be a scarcely constrained institution (Simeon & Radiny, 2010). They doubted executive authority because their practice with colonial governors had taught them that executive power was unfriendly to liberty thus felt betrayed by the actions of George III, the king of Great Britain and Ireland because they considered a strong executive unsuited with the republicanism incorporated in the Declaration of Independence (1776). Consequently, the revolutionary state constitutions provided only minimal branches of the executive as the Articles of Confederation established no executive branch as it was regarded as the first constitution (Kahraman, 2016).

A system that was created through constitution was accepted after long negotiations in Convention which gathered in Philadelphia in May of 1787. The system which was created in the USA became a model for other countries preferring it and for especially Latin American countries. This system is based on the principals of “emergence of democracy, “personal power” and “separation of powers” (Kahraman, 2016). In the presidential system which is grounded on strict separation of powers, legislative and executive bodies can control each other but the executive body is dominant. It is a system where presidents are elected by public, where he cannot be dismissed before pre-decided term of office by the parliament, where he rules the government he appointed (Simeon & Radiny, 2010).

As legislative and executive powers are strictly separated in the presidential system, legislative power makes legislation and the president governs the country within the setting of those laws. Harmonization between the bodies is provided via the principle of “checks and balances” (Kahraman, 2016). According to checks and balances system as power is a wonder to give courage to a person, powers of the state can only be kept within constitutional boundaries by review tools of opponent figures. This system aims to halt abuse of power with the support of another power. The elected president’s not having political obligation is the most vital characteristic of the system. The president uses all power of executive body. Ministers ideal to the president are advisors at his service. Powers that the president can use contrary to the congress such as giving reports, sending messages, using his right to veto the congress acts and calling the parliament to sessions in case of emergency (Kahraman, 2016).

THE ROLE OF THE PRESIDENT

The president heads the executive branch who must be a natural-born citizen of the United States, at least 35 years old and a resident of the country for at least 14 years. A president is selected indirectly by the people through an electoral college system to a four-year term and is limited to two elected terms of office by the 22^nd amendment of 1951 (Simeon & Radiny, 2010). The formalized constitutional responsibilities vested in the presidency of the United States include serving as commander in chief of the armed force, negotiating treaties, appointing federal judges, ambassadors and cabinet officials and acting as head of state. In practice, presidential powers have extended to include drafting legislation, articulating foreign policy, leading the political party and ensuring personal diplomacy (Kahraman, 2016).

The president’s cabinet comprises the secretary of states, attorney general, defense, treasury, homeland security, energy, and housing among others. All these are appointed by the president with Senate approval described as the principal officers of departments in the executive with non-cabinet presidential aides enjoying some sort of power such as the Council of Economic Advisors, the Office of Management and Budget as well as the Office of the White House Chief of Staff. The presidential aides and cabinet members serve at the president’s pleasure as they may be dismissed without notice (Kahraman, 2016).

The executive branch contains comprises regulatory agencies that are independent such as Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Reserve System. Commissioners may not be dismissed by the president as the mentioned agencies are governed by them and play an important role in protecting the public interest through enforced rules and dispute resolution. Government corporations also from part of the executive as thy supply customers with services such as the U.S. Postal Services which would have been given by private entities but thus a part of the federal government (Kahraman, 2016).

The power of the president is clearly outlined in the constitution as well as his responsibilities as he is the chief in ensuring laws are executed faithfully and his duties performed through an elaborate system inclusive of cabinet-level departments. He appoints all cabinet leaders and the most high-ranking members of the executive of the federal government. He nominates all the judges of the federal judiciary as well as members of the Supreme Court. The majority of the Senate approve executive and judicial posts appointments. The appointments are confirmed by the senate though a nominee may be rejected if majority have strong objections. The commander in chief of the military is the president and his authority to direct movements on the sea, land and air force are unlimited. He has the authority to make treaties with foreign nations but the Senate must approve with a two thirds majority. The president also has power to approve or veto a bill passed by Congress although Congress can prevail the veto by calling a two-thirds majority kindness of the measure.

FACTORS FACILITATING PRESIDENCY

The first factor strengthening performance consequently as the president’s executive powers belong just to him. Furthermore, his legitimacy comes directly from public as he is elected for a certain period of time and cannot be discharged until the end of this time. The president power almost resembles that of the monarch as his power is limited to execution. He is directly elected by the people thus no criminal or political responsibility towards the congress (Bruff, 2014). He must be accused by majority of House of Representatives in order for his impeachment to occur as well as judgment from the senate led by the Federal Supreme Court Chairman. He also has the power to regulate administrative acts such as passing statues, ruling laws and regulations. He is able to pardon prisoners who have committed a crime within the country. The two-party system is favorable as discipled is instilled from both sides (Bruff, 2014).

PRESIDENTIAL POWER LIMITATION

The president’s power of appointment is limited by the constitution with the consent of the Senate. While it is seen that the Senate regularly tends to approve appointments of the president in practice resulting from political reasons rather than legal ones. One of the factors limiting power of the president is making international agreements as approval by the senate is required investigation committees review executive activities indirectly as it is not possible to unseat the president (Kahraman, 2016). The budget is drawn up by the Congress as the U.S. constitution has not affirmed such power to the president. Undisciplined parties can limit the power of the president as the senate is untrustworthy in decision making. The criticism made against the president is at times unbearable specially those against him (Simeon & Radiny, 2010).

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

The president is more prominent but the parliamentary system is either two-party or multi-party as it can change depending on the party system. The prime minister is of importance with a strong position in a two party parliamentary system as the government shows it is strong. However, a weak prime minister and government face multi party parliamentary systems due to minority and coalition governments. In the presidential system the government is divided unlike parliamentary whereby the government is united because of party discipline (Juliet, 2018). Divided governments are critical in the presidential system because the president is only central in execution and thus has no freedom of action like the prime minister since he is not always sure if he will receive majority support from the legislative body.

The prime minister is able to overcome constitutional slow down and balance mechanism which the president can’t. A divided government in the presidential system dwindles execution and thus the president prevents nonconformities in operations of the system (Thomas & Biette, 2014). Without the support of the legislation majority the presidency is weakened with the possibility of a deadlock. The prime minister has the ability to control both the parliament and executive which the president cannot due to the two-party parliamentary system as he can only control the executive body.

The United States of America, the head of state and government are the same person which is the president whereas in Canada the queen is represented by the Governor General who is head of state and Prime Minister Head of government (Forsey, 2016). In Canada, the head of the state in cer5tain circumstances can protect Parliament and the people from a prime minister and ministers who try to make themselves masters such as the head of the state can refuse a cabinet from dissolving a newly elected House of Commons before meeting but in America the head of state cannot prevent the head of government as it is the same person (Thomas & Biette, 2014).

The presidential-congressional government is about separation of powers as in the United States the president cannot be a part with either House Congress and also none of his members of cabinet. Neither of the two can appear in Congress to present a bill or defend one or answer questions on policies thus no member of cabinet of either house can be a member of cabinet or president. In parliamentary system, it is based on concentration of powers (Juliet, 2018). The Prime Minister and other ministers by custom not by law be a member of the house or the other. All government bills are introduced by the minister on his or her behalf as they appear in parliament to show government bills and policies.

In the United States of America, the president and every member of the two houses are elected on fixed terms, the president for four years and the only way to rid of him before the end of his tenure is impeachment by Congress which is very unlikely (Kahraman, 2016). The president in the United States may be a member to one party while the opposition has a majority in either the Senate or the House of Representatives or both. This brings about the president having his policies and legislation blocked by majority in one or both houses. He can also not appeal to these dissolving either house as he has no power and the two houses their terms are fixed until the constitutionally fixed hours end (Thomas & Biette, 2014).

In the United States, during election both parties may reflect in the Houses such as a Republican is president, a Democratic Senate and a Republican House of Representatives. The president relies on the senators and representatives to introduce bills on his behalf that they may want passed as each house can contribute to the bill or remove unnecessary information or reject it (Forsey, 2016). The president remains in office despite the elections for the House and Senate as he cannot call for new elections at this time. The president can veto bills as passed by the two houses as congress can prevail it by two thirds majority as the House of Representatives can impeach the president with the Senate trying him with two thirds majority removing him from office (Simeon & Radiny, 2010). No president in the history of United States has been impeached as there have been four attempts to do it. In the first, the senate majority was minimal, the second the president resigned before any vote took place, the third although he was impeached he was acquitted by the senate and recently (Kahraman, 2016), President Donald Trump was almost impeached but was acquitted by the Senate in early 2020.

In Canada, terms of office are not fixed as legislation by government and bills are introduced by the government and no house can raise the amount of money involved. The government if have the ability to pass any legislation if the government can support majority in the House of Commons unless majority of the Senate declines to pass the bill. If it loses majority support it ends up by enhancing government of another party or call for new elections (Thomas & Biette, 2014). An American president can be sealed by one or both houses for years but the Canadian prime minister blocked by the House of Commons must give way for a new prime minister or allow the people to elect a new House of Commons within two or three months. The United States of America president is included in written constitution together with the qualifications of the position, election method and removal method which is not the case in Canada as the prime minster was not included in the constitution until 1982 without include the qualifications, elections or removal or has powers (Forsey, 2016).

The differences in the federalism embodied as in America it was highly decentralized at the beginning as the Congress had a short list of specific powers with these unmentioned belonged to the states or the people as states’ rights were necessary (Kahraman, 2016). The president and prime minister must be voted into office unless the former leader of the ruling government in Canada resigns. The Prime Minister in Canada chosen by the Governor General has no term limit until a change in the majority party occurs whereas in America, the president serves only two terms which are four years each and is in office despite the governing political party in congress (Dutil, 2017). In Canada, it is constitutional monarchy headed by the prime minister and a parliament while in the U.S. it’s a republic that is governed by the president and congress (Forsey, 2016).

Conclusion

In summary, the Prime Minister was originally the advisor of the King was made a chief minister in the 18^th century thus became leader of the ruling party. His power is important as he appoints ministers, dissolves parliament, watch the running of policy and defining general policy of the government. He also controls the legislative body whereas the president is elected to power and no political responsibility accorded to him or her. He or she is reliant on the constitution for executive power. The difference of the president and the prime minister is that the president has executive power alone being head of his party and representative of the country. The United States of America and Canada are both federal systems as both countries are large in size with several states that require a system of government. The difference is one is a president while the other is a prime minister. To conclude, the president seems to hold the upper hand in terms of position as he has more power in contrary to the prime minister due to execution.

References

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