How is the Canadian government different from the U.S. government?
A. In Canada, the head of government is not elected directly by the people.
B. In Canada, the legislative branch is elected by the people.
C. In Canada, there are not separate branches of government.
D. In Canada, the legislative body passes laws
B. In Canada, the legislative branch is elected by the people.
The Canadian government is different from the U.S. government in the following ways:
A. In Canada, the head of government is not elected directly by the people. This is true because in Canada, the Prime Minister is appointed by the Governor General, who represents the British monarch. The Prime Minister is the leader of the political party that has the most seats in the House of Commons.
B. In Canada, the legislative branch is elected by the people. This is true because Canada has a parliamentary system, where members of Parliament are elected by the Canadian citizens in their respective districts. The legislative branch in Canada is called the Parliament, which consists of two houses - the House of Commons, whose members are elected, and the Senate, whose members are appointed.
C. In Canada, there are separate branches of government. This statement is false. Like the United States, Canada also has separate branches of government. The legislative branch is responsible for making laws, the executive branch is responsible for implementing laws, and the judicial branch is responsible for interpreting laws.
D. In Canada, the legislative body passes laws. This statement is true. The legislative body in Canada is the Parliament, which includes the House of Commons and the Senate. Members of Parliament propose, debate, and vote on bills, which then become law if they are approved by both houses and receive royal assent from the Governor General.
The correct answer is B. In Canada, the legislative branch is elected by the people.
To arrive at this answer, let's break down each option:
A. In Canada, the head of government is not elected directly by the people.
This statement is incorrect. In Canada, the head of government, known as the Prime Minister, is elected by the members of the House of Commons, who are themselves elected by the people. So, the Prime Minister is indirectly elected by the people through their elected representatives.
B. In Canada, the legislative branch is elected by the people.
This statement is correct. In Canada, the members of the legislative branch, which consists of the House of Commons and the Senate, are elected by the people. The House of Commons members are elected directly by the citizens in their respective electoral districts, and senators are appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister.
C. In Canada, there are not separate branches of government.
This statement is incorrect. Like the United States, Canada has a system of separate branches of government. The Canadian government consists of three branches: the executive branch (headed by the Prime Minister and the Cabinet), the legislative branch (consisting of the House of Commons and the Senate), and the judicial branch (led by the Supreme Court of Canada).
D. In Canada, the legislative body passes laws.
This statement is partially correct. In Canada, it is the legislative branch (comprised of both the House of Commons and the Senate) that passes laws. However, the statement is too general because legislation requires both houses of Parliament (House of Commons and Senate) to approve a bill before it becomes law.
Ultimately, option B is the correct answer because the Canadian legislative branch is elected by the people.