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| The head of the ] ] is the leader of the ] with the most seats in ]. As Prime Minister one has the right to the title of ''Right Honourable''. In the early years, it was tradition that the British Monarch bestow a ] on any Canadian Prime Minister. As such, several carry the prefix "Sir" before their name. It is now illegal for a Canadian citizen to accept any British title. | The head of the ] ] is the leader of the ] with the most seats in ]. As Prime Minister one has the right to the title of ''Right Honourable''. In the early years, it was tradition that the British Monarch bestow a ] on any Canadian Prime Minister. As such, several carry the prefix "Sir" before their name. It is now illegal for a Canadian citizen to accept any British title. | ||
| The Prime Minister may be any Canadian citizen of voting age (18). As for all party leaders, it is not legally required, but customary, for the prime minister to be a sitting member of the House of Commons. (If the Prime Minister should fail to win his or her seat, a junior MP in a safe riding would typically resign to permit a by-election to elect the Prime Minister to that seat.) | |||
| A Prime Minister's elected term is for a maximum of 5 years, however he has the power to call an election for every seat in the House (a ''general election'') at any time. By custom, elections are called 3.5 to 5 years after the previous election, when a ] is in power, or as a ''de facto'' referendum if a major issue is at hand (the last of these being the 1988 election, which revolved around free trade with the ]). | A Prime Minister's elected term is for a maximum of 5 years, however he has the power to call an election for every seat in the House (a ''general election'') at any time. By custom, elections are called 3.5 to 5 years after the previous election, when a ] is in power, or as a ''de facto'' referendum if a major issue is at hand (the last of these being the 1988 election, which revolved around free trade with the ]). | ||
Revision as of 08:17, 8 August 2002
The head of the Canadian government is the leader of the political party with the most seats in Canadian House of Commons. As Prime Minister one has the right to the title of Right Honourable. In the early years, it was tradition that the British Monarch bestow a knighthood on any Canadian Prime Minister. As such, several carry the prefix "Sir" before their name. It is now illegal for a Canadian citizen to accept any British title.
The Prime Minister may be any Canadian citizen of voting age (18). As for all party leaders, it is not legally required, but customary, for the prime minister to be a sitting member of the House of Commons. (If the Prime Minister should fail to win his or her seat, a junior MP in a safe riding would typically resign to permit a by-election to elect the Prime Minister to that seat.)
A Prime Minister's elected term is for a maximum of 5 years, however he has the power to call an election for every seat in the House (a general election) at any time. By custom, elections are called 3.5 to 5 years after the previous election, when a majority government is in power, or as a de facto referendum if a major issue is at hand (the last of these being the 1988 election, which revolved around free trade with the United States).
In recent years there has been a trend towards calling elections in even less than 3.5 years if the government in power believes the conditions are right for another win, but this is considered unfair play in some quarters. If a minority government is in power, a vote of non-confidence in the House of Commons may lead to a quick election (9 months in the case of the most recent Canadian minority government, the Clark government of 1979-1980).
The Prime Ministers of Canada