The prime minister is elected by who?

Answer 1

The Prime Minister of Canada is appointed by the Governor General, who usually chooses the leader of whichever political party has the most seats in Parliament. The Parliamentary system is not quite the same as what you may be used to in the US.

Answer 2

It is important to understand that, in a parliamentary system, voters do not elect a government, nor do they elect a prime minister; voters elect a parliament.

Before an election is called, one of the members of parliament is the current prime minister. That person is also the leader of the political party that holds the largest number of seats in the House of Commons.

Each political party has a leader who has been chosen by the members of his or her political party, usually at a party convention. Candidates seeking election to parliament are chosen by the local members of their respective parties. The voters in each electoral district elect someone who represents one of the political parties as their member of parliament.

In an election, if the prime minister's party elects half or more of its members to parliament, the prime minister remains in office as head of a majority government. If the prime minister's party elects the largest number of members, but less than half, the prime minister remains in office as head of a minority government. If another party elects the largest number of members, the prime minister will, according to tradition, tender his or her resignation to the Governor General. *

The Governor General will then, again according to tradition, ask the leader of the party with the largest number of elected members to form a government. That leader will become the new prime minister when he or she is sworn in along with his or her new cabinet ministers.

* In rare cases, the prime minister will not tender his or her resignation if he or she has reason to believe that an arrangement can be made for the support of one or more of the minority parties that would allow him or her to remain in office as prime minister.

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No, the Prime Minister of Canada is appointed by the Governor General of Canada. However, the Prime Minister is chosen by the Governor General based on the stated support of the political parties and their respective representation in the House of Commons. Usually, this means that the leader of the party with the most seats becomes Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister is appointed by the Governor General of Canada. However, the Prime Minister must maintain the confidence of the House of Commons. If confidence is lost, then either a general election is called by the Governor General, or the Prime Minister must resign. As a result of this, a Prime Minister who doesn't believe they will be able to get the confidence of the House after an election will resign, and the Governor General will appoint someone with the stated support of the largest grouping of Members of Parliament, conventionally the leader of the party or coalition with the most seats. This procedure, in effect, produces similar results to if the Prime Minister were elected by the House of Commons, assuming MPs vote along party lines, even though no formal vote is ever held.

Answer 3

In Canada, the prime minister is not elected directly. Members of Parliament are elected, and whichever party holds the most seats in parliament generally forms the government. The leader of that party then becomes prime minister.

Answer 4

Steven Harper