4. Ridings
Canada is divided into
308 federal Ridings
(or Electoral Districts)
Riding (Constituency)
– a clearly defined
geographic area for
political purposes
A riding contains
approximately 100,000
people
5. Ridings
Because ridings are based on population, some are
geographically large while others are small
7. Kitchener-Conestoga
District
number Region Area Population**
Polling
divisions
Number of
electors
on lists
35038
Ontario
Region
996 km2 96,708 190 71,522
8. Kitchener-Waterloo
District
number Region Area Population**
Polling
divisions
Number of
electors
on lists
35039
Ontario
Region
91 km2 113,826 232 87,444
9. Elections
During an election, voting
citizens elect one candidate
to represent each riding
Candidates usually
represent a political party,
but may also run
independently
The candidate with the most
votes (plurality) wins
10. Voter turnout in the 40th and 41st general
elections, 2008 and 2011
15. Elections
The winning candidate becomes the Member of
Parliament for their riding
Each Member of Parliament (MP) has a seat in the
House of Commons (until the next election) and will
represent the interests of their constituency
Most MPs also sit as a member of a particular political
party
When voting in Parliament, each MP has one (1) vote
20. The Government
Members of Parliament sit together
with other members of the same
political party
The political party with the most
Members of Parliament forms the
government
The leader of this party becomes the
Prime Minister
The Prime Minister chooses
Cabinet Ministers
Cabinet Ministers - have the responsibility
of running major federal departments
21. The Opposition
All other parties become
opposition parties, but the
party with the second most
seats becomes the Official
Opposition
Some members of the Official
Opposition also form a Shadow
Cabinet headed by the Leader
of the Official Opposition
This group is responsible for
criticizing and challenging the
Cabinet
After Jack Layton lost his
battle with Cancer, Thomas
Mulcair won the NDP
leadership bid.
22. The Government
There can only be three types of government in
Canada
1. Majority Government
2. Minority Government
3. Coalition Government
23. Majority Government
When a political party wins more than half (155)
of the ridings in the election
The leader of this party becomes the prime
minister
The party in power will have little difficulty
passing legislation
25. Minority Government
When a political party wins more ridings than any
other party, but does not win more than half (155)
The leader of this party becomes the prime minister
The party in power depends on support from other
parties to pass legislation
27. Coalition Government
Occurs when there is a minority government
Two parties join together to form a minority or
majority government
The Leader of one of these parties becomes the prime
minister