Some of you may have read that the Canada's governor general, His Excellency The Right Honourable David Johnston, will be in Prince George over the next few days.
Over the many years that I have taught political science, I have found myself explaining the role of the governor general both inside and outside of the classroom. So, I thought I would take this week's column to give a quick overview of the way that the Governor General fits into our system of "responsible government."
It is easy to think that the term responsible government simply means that the government is responsible and accountable. Of course, it is true that the government must be held accountable but the term responsible government also includes the understanding of a procedure or process that ensures the line of accountability. In short, responsible government means that the government or Cabinet "depends on the support from the elected assembly" and when they fail to maintain support the government is dissolved and we have a new election.
If I were to "walk through" this idea with my students, I would ask: "How is the Prime Minister elected?" The answer would be that he/ she is not elected directly. The person who becomes prime minister runs in an election in a riding like all of the other potential MPs.
There will be 338 ridings in Canada in the upcoming election (this is changed from the current 308). On the night of the election we count the number of ridings won by the different political parties and the party that won the most ridings will (generally) become the governing party.
The leader of the governing party becomes the prime minister. If the party with the most seats wins more than 50 per cent of the ridings (seats in the House of Commons) they will constitute a majority government. If they receive less than 50 per cent then they are a minority government.
The leader of the party then chooses from among the elected MPs a cabinet. Cabinet members are assigned ministries to oversee. Thus, there are, at least, two important outcomes of an election: the appointment of a prime minister and the selection of a cabinet that will become the political executive.
By this description of an election, you should see that the prime minister is one of the MPs who won a seat in the House. The Westminster model of government allows for the prime minister to be part of the elected assembly and to participate directly in votes in the lower house (the House of Commons). It should now be obvious that the government's "survival" should "depend on the support from the elected assembly" as the prime minister and the cabinet are members of the assembly.
In a majority government, the MPs, cabinet and prime minister are members of the same party so should easily gain support for their own legislation. In a minority government, the opposition parties need to vote along with the government in order to maintain responsible government.
So, what does all of this have to do with the governor general? On election night, the media usually "call" the election but their announcement is always premature. While it has become convention that the prime minister is the leader of the party who won the most seats, the governor general is actually responsible for asking the party leader who can "command a majority of votes in the legislature," in other words, the individual who can ensure responsible government.
The governor general is Canada's viceroy representing the head of state who is the Queen. In a constitutional monarchy, the role of head of state is critical in order to ensure stability particularly when there is a dissolution of government.
Our electoral system tends toward majority governments and thus it seems like the issue of "forming government" is moot but the question of the Governor General's role came front and centre in 2008 when Stephen Harper asked Michalle Jean to prorogue Parliament in order to avoid a dissolution and a new election.
Thus, despite the fact that some argue that the governor general's role is largely ceremonial there is an important and critical place for this position in our parliamentary system.
