History of North America

What are the levels of government in Canada?

Canada has three levels of government: federal (Canada-wide), provincial or territorial, and local (municipal).

1) Federal Government:

- Responsible for matters affecting the whole country, such as foreign policy, defence, currency, criminal law, and international trade.

- Headed by the Prime Minister and the cabinet and located in Ottawa, the nation's capital.

- Parliament is the legislative body, consisting of the House of Commons and the Senate.

2) Provincial/Territorial Governments:

- Responsible for matters within each province or territory, including education, health care, natural resource management, and transportation.

- Each province has a Premier as the head of government and a Lieutenant Governor as the representative of the Crown.

- The legislative assembly is the provincial or territorial law-making body.

- There are 10 provinces: Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia.

- There are three territories: Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut.

3) Local/Municipal Governments:

- Responsible for local services and infrastructure, including zoning regulations, parks, local roads, public transportation, and water supply.

- Can take the form of cities, towns, villages, townships, counties, regional municipalities, etc.

- Have their own elected officials and municipal councils.

- They are responsible for enforcing local bylaws and delivering services to their communities.