SS 11 – Choosing a Government
Citizenship
• Citizenship is the status of being a citizen of a country with all the rights and responsibilities associated with it.
Discuss: In what ways can citizens influence their government?
Step 1: Nomination
• Each political party selects one candidate to run in each electoral district* in the election.
• Who chooses the candidates?
*Also called a riding.
Voting
Step 2: Campaigning• the process of trying to gain the support of
Canadian voters:– Conferences– Rallies– television debates– TV and radio commercials– Meetings– Going “door to door” to meet citizens
* There are rules about how much money each party can spend campaigning
Former Liberal leader Stephane Dion campaigning.
Step 3: Voting• the process of choosing your representative in
government.• This is called “casting your ballot”.
– The Ballot is the piece of paper with your choice on it.
Vote (Franchise)
• Voting is done by ‘secret ballot’.
To Vote in Canada• You must be at least 18 years old
• You must be a Canadian citizen
• You must register to vote in the district where you live
– You cannot vote if you are in prison, or you have lived outside of Canada for 5 or more years in a row. WHY?
A Voting Dilemma
• Should I vote for the best candidate in my electoral district or …
• Should I vote for the party with the leader I like the best or…
• Should I vote the “lesser of two evils”, the party that has the best chance to win, but is not my first choice?
Discuss: What would you do?
Public Opinion Polls- During elections, the media constantly surveys
the results and reports it to the public.- Political parties usually spend 15% of their
election budget on polls.- Polling companies are hired to do research on
the public.- Polls sometimes influence the public during an
election. For example, someone might not go out to vote if it looks like there is already a winner.
- BC votes last in Canada because of the Pacific Time Zone (3 hours behind Ontario)
Step 4: Tabulation
• Tabulation is the process of counting all the votes after the ballots have been cast.
• The winner in each electoral district is the candidate with the most votes
– “first past the post”
If
Group Project
• Make groups of 4 people
• Follow directions to complete all the tasks
• This project is out of 60 marks. – Read the instructions carefully!
• Projects due Thursday!!
* The group that wins the election will receive a bonus mark as well as receive
a free lunch with Mr. Austen at the Western Restaurant!
*** I hope you like pizza! ***