If you ask any passerby right in the forehead:"Who is the president of Canada", the majority will not be able to answer anything intelligible, many will be embarrassed by their ignorance. But in the very question of ignorance no less than in the honest answer: "I do not know." Why?
A bit of history
There is knowledge about the state in question,without exception, but they do not concern the answer to the question of who the president of Canada is. Ice hockey and the maple leaf is well known, and what about politics is more difficult. Diligent students who have studied school history will recall that the first settlers in the lands of North America that now occupy the state of Canada were the French. But soon the British poured in there, and in the end, England tidied up this part of the New World with its hands. In the nineteenth century, Canada gained dominion status in the UK. After the fall of the colonial system, Canadians chose to remain in the British Commonwealth of Nations and, having a de facto independent government, nominally recognize the authority of the English monarchs. Hence the conclusion that the political system of Canada should resemble the English one, therefore the President of Canada is an extra link in the system of governance.
Political structure
By form of government Canada isconstitutional monarchy. The right to assert this comes from the recognition, although nominal, but still the supreme authority in the country of the Queen of England, which claims to be its representative in the given territory, and it is not called the President of Canada. This is the governor-general. His mission is rather symbolically and ceremonially emphasizing the supremacy of the monarchy and its presence in government. Nevertheless, he has the right to approve senior officials and accept their resignation, as well as the right to decide whether or not to dissolve the lower house of parliament. The executive branch is represented by a cabinet headed by the prime minister, who is also considered by many to be the head of state, as if he were the president of Canada. This understanding is wrong, because in his hands only the executive power, and remains an essential and important element of subordination to the governor-general.
Canadian Prime Minister
And yet the figure of the Prime Minister iskey in the political life of Canada. Gradually, its functions expanded, reaching a level at which they can be compared with the non-existent, but hypothetically represented, status of "President of Canada." Now some deputies are initiating judicial review of the possibility of reducing the power of the head of government. In the meantime, the Prime Minister of Canada heads the government, but is also the leader of the parliamentary majority party and most often is in the House of Commons. Here is a combination of possession of both legislative and executive powers. Officially submitting to the Queen of England, Canada is in the wake of her international policy.
Territorial and administrative unit
The Canadian Constitution is not a separate document.exists. In the 1980s, a quite clear list of documents and legislative acts that may be included in the content of the constitution was formed. Canada is a federal state consisting of three territories and ten provinces. Each subject of the federation has its own parliaments headed by prime ministers. Ottawa has a federal bicameral parliament. Since the territory of the state was settled by immigrants from two main countries: France and England, then at the federal level in Canada two languages are recognized as state languages. The province, where mostly speak only in French - Quebec. The rest are mostly English.
Quebec problem
"Separatism" became a curse word,word anathema to modern politicians. This title is fully deserved by the people of Quebec, many of whom stand for the sovereignty of the province until its separation from Canada. At the heart of such views are cultural and historical contradictions. Quebec as a French-speaking territory is opposed to the English-speaking part of the country, although it is much more. The merit of the Quebec bloc, which advocates secession, can be made by promoting exclusively peaceful and democratic methods of struggle, such as referendums. While this issue is not resolved. Of course, the Government of Canada opposes the precedents of violating the integrity of other states in the world, as it is interested in maintaining its own unity.
Canada's place in the international arena
After World War II, Canada began to play.active role in peacekeeping and humanitarian actions within the UN. At the moment, she is one of the members of the G8, along with the most developed and powerful nations of the world. At the G8 summits we will not hear the name of the President of Canada, because the Prime Minister represents the country. In general, Canada supports the policy of the United States and England, speaking every time on the side of their proposals. Stephen Harper, the current Prime Minister, takes a tough stance against the Russian government, criticizing both for assessing the events in Syria, and in Ukraine, and in other issues where the views of Russian representatives differ from those of the "Western democracies".
So, in fact, the answer to the question:“Who is the president in Canada?” Is very easy and sounds short: “Nobody!” In a country that is a parliamentary monarchy, such a position simply does not exist. But knowing a little about the history of a given state and its place in international politics is very useful.
