Canada Government

Who is the president of Canada?

Executive Branch:

chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Julie PAYETTE (since 2 October 2017)

head of government: Prime Minister Justin Pierre James TRUDEAU (Liberal Party) (since 4 November 2015)

cabinet: Federal Ministry chosen by the prime minister usually from among members of his/her own party sitting in Parliament

elections/appointments: the monarchy is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister for a 5-year term; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition in the House of Commons generally designated prime minister by the governor general

note: the governor general position is largely ceremonial; Julie PAYETTE, a former space shuttle astronaut, is Canada's fourth female governor general but the first to have flown in space

Citizenship Criteria:

citizenship by birth: yes

citizenship by descent: yes

dual citizenship recognized: yes

residency requirement for naturalization: minimum of 3 of last 5 years resident in Canada

Legal System:

common law system except in Quebec, where civil law based on the French civil code prevails

Suffrage:

18 years of age; universal

Legislative Branch:

description: bicameral Parliament or Parlement consists of:

Senate or Senat (105 seats; members appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister and can serve until age 75)

House of Commons or Chambre des Communes (338 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote with terms up to 4 years)

elections: Senate - appointed; latest appointments in December 2018

House of Commons - last held on 21 October 2019 (next to be held in October 2023)

election results:

Senate - composition as of December 2018 - men 51, women 54, percent of women 51.4%

House of Commons - percent of vote by party - CPC 34.4%, Liberal Party 33.1%, NDP 15.9%, Bloc Quebecois 7.7%, Greens 6.5%, other 2.4%; seats by party - Liberal Party 157, CPC 121, NDP 24, Bloc Quebecois 32, Greens 4; composition - men 240, women 98, percent of women 29%; note - total Parliament percent of women 34.3%

Judicial Branch:

highest court(s): Supreme Court of Canada (consists of the chief justice and 8 judges); note - in 1949, Canada abolished all appeals beyond its Supreme Court, which prior to that time, were heard by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (in London)

judge selection and term of office: chief justice and judges appointed by the prime minister in council; all judges appointed for life with mandatory retirement at age 75

subordinate courts: federal level: Federal Court of Appeal; Federal Court; Tax Court; federal administrative tribunals; Courts Martial; provincial/territorial level: provincial superior, appeals, first instance, and specialized courts; in 1999, the Nunavut Court - a circuit court with the power of a provincial superior court, as well as a territorial court - was established to serve isolated settlements

Regions or States:

10 provinces and 3 territories*; Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories*, Nova Scotia, Nunavut*, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Yukon*

Political Parties and Leaders:

Bloc Quebecois [Martine OUELLET]

Conservative Party of Canada or CPC [Andrew SCHEER]

Green Party [Elizabeth MAY]

Liberal Party [Justin TRUDEAU]

New Democratic Party or NDP [Jagmeet SINGH]

International Law Organization Participation:

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

International Organization Participation:

ADB (nonregional member), AfDB (nonregional member), APEC, Arctic Council, ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, C, CD, CDB, CE (observer), EAPC, EBRD, EITI (implementing country), FAO, FATF, G-7, G-8, G-10, G-20, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD (partners), IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUSCO, NAFTA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS, OECD, OIF, OPCW, OSCE, Pacific Alliance (observer), Paris Club, PCA, PIF (partner), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNMISS, UNRWA, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Diplomatic Representation in the US:

chief of mission: Ambassador David Brookes MACNAUGHTON (since 2 March 2016)

chancery: 501 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20001

telephone: [1] (202) 682-1740

FAX: [1] (202) 682-7726

consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, San Francisco/Silicon Valley, Seattle

trade office(s): Houston, Palo Alto (CA), San Diego; note - there are trade offices in the Consulates General

Diplomatic Representation from US:

chief of mission: Ambassador Kelly CRAFT (since 23 October 2017)

embassy: 490 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 1G8

mailing address: P. O. Box 5000, Ogdensburg, NY 13669-0430; P.O. Box 866, Station B, Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5T1

telephone: [1] (613) 688-5335

FAX: [1] (613) 688-3082

consulate(s) general: Calgary, Halifax, Montreal, Quebec City, Toronto, Vancouver

consulate(s): Winnipeg