Government and Economy

The form of the government of Canada is a constitutional monarchy.

Canada is ruled by a parliamentary system with the head of state officially remaining the monarch of Britain. Within Canada the appointed governor general is the monarch's representative. The upper house, or Senate, is made up of appointees. Mostly it acts as a rubber stamp for the wishes of the elected lower house, or House of Commons. Senate reform, or its abolition, is an ongoing debate within the country.

The head of the political party with the most elected representatives in the House of Commons becomes the prime minister, the leader of the country. From the members of parliament within the governing party, the prime minister selects a cabinet which runs the country and initiates legislation.

The 10 provinces are largely self-governing and are presided over by premiers, elected provincially. Each province has a lieutenant governor appointed by the federal government. The two northern territories are for the most part the domain of the federal government.

The constitution consists of both written proclamations under the Constitution Acts (1867 and 1932) and unwritten conventions.

Canadians enjoy the high standard of living that major Western countries are accustomed to and tend to take for granted.

The Canadian economy is based on abundant natural resources. These natural renewable and nonrenewable riches include fish, timber and wood products, minerals, natural gas, oil and hydroelectricity. Although only 5% of the land is arable, the agricultural sector, primarily in wheat and barley, accounts for much of the Canadian export total.

Manufacturing has long been a weak component of the economy and today employs just 14% of the country's workers. The most important manufactured product is motor vehicles. Hi-tech industries and developers in the space and computer fields are recent additions to this area but remain small.

The largest part of the economy includes an enormous civil service. Banking, insurance, education, communication and consulting bring in foreign exchange. The rest of the service sector does not.

The country's major trading partner is the USA although business people are increasingly strengthening ties to Japan and China.

The high degree of foreign ownership of Canadian business has also been problematic, drawing profits away from the country. Overall, about 40% of the country's industry is owned by non-Canadians, led by US interests.

On top of this there is a cross-border shopping done in the USA with goods brought back hidden in the trunk or under the sleeping baby with no duty paid. And then there is the lucrative smuggling of US liquor and cigarettes. Obviously, the government has a bit of a problem but solutions are difficult to find.

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Ex. 9. Insert a suitable word from the box.	\|	Ex. 3. Complete the following sentences using information from the texts “Canada” and “Government and Economy”.

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