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! ***