Sam Steele Thesis

“The past is to be respected and acknowledged but not to be worshipped. It is our future in which we find our greatness.” These words were written by Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, who paved the way for the great Canadian future present today. Pierre Elliott Trudeau was an indispensable leader who guided Canada to greatness, he brought biculturalism and bilingualism to Canada, believed in equality and protecting human rights. Pierre Elliott Trudeau’s accomplishments paved the way for a greater Canadian future because he became the leader Canada needed for protecting human rights, evolving Canada's language and by giving Canada the confidence it needed to succeed.

Tommy C. Douglas, a politician, Baptist minister, premier of Saskatchewan and first leader of the NDP party was the greatest Canadian. His family had provided a strong background for politics. When he had moved to Canada in 1919, he witnessed the Winnipeg General Strike. From there on, he became a Baptist Minister and the Premier of Saskatchewan in 1944.

"We have something special here, something we don 't want to lose. We have a way of life, a way of looking at ourselves, a way of reacting to the world. Mr. Mulroney 's trade deal will change all that. It will make us a little more then a junior partner of the United States. I believe in a strong, sovereign independent Canada. I believed that we are now talented enough and competent enough and tough enough to make our own choices, for our own future, in our own way. I need your support on November 21st. You and I must not allow Mr. Mulroney to sell us out, to reverse 120 years of Canadian history, to destroy the Canadian dream."(6-7)

What most surprised me this week was just how similar, by the 1980s, the Progressive-Conservatives and the Liberals when it came to government policy. It is also an interesting commentary on the historical narrative when comparing how Pierre Trudeau and Brian Mulroney in contemporary historiography.

idea of turning Canada back to its original roots. He compares Harper's government system with Pierre Trudeau’s. Arguing about the struggles and failures of

Being a Baptist preacher, Tommy Douglas was a religious man. His religion ruled many choices in his early life. Douglas would spend every Sunday in the Weyburn church preaching the gospel, and on the weekdays, he would do what he could to help the suffering of poor. As at the time, the great economic depression had it’s grip on Saskatchewan. Furthermore, Tommy Douglas was also a pragmatist. Instead of thinking on the ideals, he thought practically. He was a calculating man. Many people despised his views, not his religious views, but his political ones. As a member of the Cooperative Commonwealth Foundation and later the New Democratic Party, he was a social-democrat or “socialist”. A lot of citizens thought the government would fall under

Canada has had many prime ministers that have contributed and held back Canada in shaping Canada’s identity over the past century however nobody has came close to helping as Mackenzie king who protected Canada during world war 2, brought Canada through the great depression with industrialization, and he helped create national unity and independence. Canada would not be the same country it is today without the fine leading of mackenzie king.

Canada has a long history of policing and keeping up with the changing times; starting with the Dominion of Canada in 1867 to present time. As Canada evolved as a Nation so did the Police forces of Canada. The first Police force in Canada was 1868 the “Dominion Police Force”; it was federal in nature and its main responsibility was to take care of the federal buildings in Ottawa. With increasing guidance and control needed their jurisdiction extended to policing of central and eastern parts of Canada. As Canada expanded to the west and Northwest Territories, Prime Minister Macdonald created North West Mounted Police (NWMP) in May of 1873 due to the Mets uprising and to control the whisky trade. The Metis uprising was due to the push of settlers

Opposing the belief that a dominating leader is running Canada, Barker brings up several key realities of the Canadian government. He gives examples of several “… instances of other ministers taking action that reveal the limits prime-ministerial power,” (Barker 178). Barker conveys the fact that Canada is not bound by a dictatorial government, “…it seems that the prime minister cannot really control his individual ministers. At times, they will pursue agendas that are inconsistent with the prime minister’s actions,” (Barker 181). Both inside and outside government are a part of Canada and they can remind the prime minister that “…politics is a game of survival for all players,” (Barker 188). Barker refutes the misinterpretation of the Canadian government by acknowledging that a prime-ministerial government existing in Canada is an overstatement.

As time goes on, some countries become more relevant in the global sphere while others start to fade away. Canada is a country that only becomes more relevant as time goes on. Since being granted full sovereignty, Canada has had a growing role as a major world player. Much of their international growth has to do with its close ties to the United States and the United Kingdom. However, the country has also undergone huge change and refocusing on a domestic level. With influence from both Europe and the United States, Canada has a very unique system of governing. This paper will focus on a few major areas of Canada. It will look into the history of Canada, the structure of its government, its politics, and many of the major issues it faces today.

success. He will forever be known as one of the greatest Prime Ministers in Canadian

In this essay, I will demonstrate that the Prime Minister is powerful and can cause many potential dangers by analyzing different elements inside and outside of our government over the period of different Prime Ministers throughout the Canadian political history.

There is a fundamental problem with the democratic process in Canada. This problem is rooted within our electoral system. However, there is a promising solution to this issue. Canada should adopt the mixed-member proportional representation electoral system (MMP) at the federal level if we wish to see the progression of modern democracy. The failure to do so will result in a stagnant political system that is caught in the past and unable to rise to the contemporary challenges that representative democracies face. If Canada chooses to embrace the MMP electoral system it will reap the benefits of greater proportionality, prevent the centralization of power that is occurring in Parliament and among political parties through an increased

Stan Eales’ sarcastic tone emphasizes the acquisitive side of people by displaying a businessman referring to the smokestack emissions of factories as “the sweet fragrance of prosperity.” The cartoon specifically focuses on pollution caused by factories rather than cars. More importantly, it focuses on the ignorance of people allowing pollution to occur. Eales expresses his purpose by implementing a sense of irony with the text below the illustration that makes pollution appear favorable. The satirical aspect of the comic conveys how people selfishly disregard the harmful effects of something in order to gain money. The man in the cartoon could care less about how his factories affect the environment, as long as it’s beneficial towards him.

Harper used the weak liberal leaders to ensure he stayed in power and he was able to ensure that a coalition did not happen between the Liberals, New Democrats and the Bloc Quebecois. He remained strong when the possibility of his government being replaced by a coalition almost happened, he was successful by saying that the deal the liberals made was “‘a betrayal of the voters of this country… a betrayal of the best interests of our economy… a betrayal of the best interests of our country. And we will fight it with every means that we have’” (223). Harper kept his opponents divided and he showed Canadians that he was not going anywhere. Finally, he showed leadership after winning a majority by promising “‘major reforms’ in ‘a whole range of areas’ to ‘secure the sustainability of our key programs… for a generation to come’” (364). This showed that he was just getting started. Stephen Harper’s leadership style was to remain a strong leader while making as few headlines as possible. Harper did not like making headlines, “This helps explain why he has lasted. He lies low because he wants to last” (291). Harper was an effective leader because he knew how to keep a low profile which limited the amount of bad