“Compare and Contrast Essay Sample on Canada Vs the USA “

Samples
Posted on January 16, 2009

Both Canada and the USA have governments that seem to work quite well, amidst their differences. While the USA is a republic, Canada is a constitutional monarchy, and both are based on the ideas of democracy. However, they are different in many ways, and each government has it’s share of better methods than the other. For example, the USA has a definite term of office set for the president, 4 years, so that the president will know when he is done, and elections do not come as a surprise to the citizens. In Canada, the Prime Minister may sit for up to 5 years, calling an election any time he/she wants, from his/her first day in office, until the day before their last day in office. This can come as a surprise to the public, leaving them unprepared for an election. This is one of the ways that makes the USA system seem better than the Canadian. However, with the exact date known well in advance, campaigns in the USA start over a year ahead of the election, which can be quite annoying to many people. Canadian campaigns last for only 50 days.

The Canadian system does have it’s strong points, as well. In the USA, presidents may only be in office for a maximum of 10 years with the rare possibility that their predecessor is no longer able to run the country, during a term. In most cases, the maximum is 8 years per president, in 2 terms. This is not a very good system, if a president that is liked by all and makes decisions well is kept in office for 8 years, he is no longer allowed to be the president, no matter how much he’s liked. In Canada, there is no limit on how much a leader may be Prime Minister. If the Prime Minister proves himself to be a very good leader, he will be kept in office for as long as needed. If the Prime minister proves to be a bad leader, they will not be re-elected. The parties keep or replace leaders as they see fit, and the voters have the final word.

The Americans have the better model for choosing government representatives, however. In an American election, the voters will vote on both the president and vice president, to ensure that they are who the people want. In Canada, we only indirectly vote for our prime minister, who then chooses his own staff all by himself, most likely all will be members of his own party.

Canadians also have a better separation system between the highest levels of government, as well. When the voters in America elect a head of government, they are also electing the head of state. This one person is the president, who occupies both titles. In Canada, the head of state is the Queen and the Governor General, who are above the differences between the parties. They are there just to be the monarch, not to get involved with all the different ideologies of the political parties. In the USA, the president will be either republican or democratic, which does not bode well for the patriotic symbol of head of state.

If there’s blame to be had, the American’s don’t know who did what, there are different parties in the different branches, and each branch blames the other. In Canada, it will always be the government party, so that the voters know for certain who did it.

I can’t say for certain which government system I believe is better. Each country has different strengths and weaknesses, which balance each other out quite nicely. Canadian voters are more involved in government decisions, but lack the involvement in who is running the government, the Prime Minister appoints his staff. America lets their voters get more involved in choosing their leaders, but they cannot determine who to blame when something goes wrong. If I had to choose between them for sure, I believe I would choose Canada as the better government. Canada has a few poor qualities, such as the prime minister having immense power, but they can be made up for simply, such as choosing a prime minister that everyone can trust.

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Here is a list of the most popular essay writing topics on Canada:

  1. French Immigration in Canada with special view to the 17th century
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  5. The place of Quebec in Canada is at the heart of the debate on constitutional reform but is not the only source of discontent within the Canadian federal system
  6. Should Canada strengthen its ties with America
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