Political Definitions

¨Seat : a reserved position

¨Riding/Constituency: A riding is an administrative jurisdiction or electoral district

¨Constituent: an individual voter within a riding

¨Member of Parliament: a representative of the voters to a parliament.

¨MLA: Member of the Legislative Assembly; a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to the legislature or legislative assembly.

¨Cabinet:A body of persons appointed by a head of state or a prime minister to head the executive departments of the government and to act as official advisers.

 

¨The Official Opposition: is usually the largest parliamentary opposition party in the House of Commons or a provincial legislative assembly that is not in government, either on its own or as part of a governing coalition.

¨Senate: consists of 105 members appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister.

¨Parliament: A democratic government’s legislature with three functions: representation, legislation and parliamentary control

 

¨Cabinet Shuffle:In the parliamentary system a cabinet reshuffle or shuffle is an informal term for an event that occurs when a head of government rotates or changes the composition of ministers in their cabinet.

¨Referendum: (also known as a plebiscite or a vote on a ballot question) is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal.

¨Governor General: Representative to the Queen (sovereign); powers/authority have been delegated to the Governor General. (Current: David Johnson)

¨Prime Minister:  the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system

¨House of Commons:a democratically elected body, whose members are known as Members of Parliament (MPs)

 

¨Political Party: a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating candidates with aligned political views and trying to seat them in political office

¨Speaker: official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the powers to discipline members who break the procedures of the house.

¨Legislature:deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws