The Evolution Of Canadian Politics And Society

The shaping of present-day Canada by historical political developments

Societies are dynamic entities that change and evolve over time in response to domestic and global drivers. A political system's ability to address these challenges and meet the expectations of its citizens is crucial to maintain or improve social cohesion in a country.

In this two-part assignment, students will explore specific areas of concern and the needed reforms related to the Canadian government and politics in order to maintain, restore or improve Canada's democracy and governance in the 21" century.

This outline covers the first part of the essay. Students will be provided another outline for the second part of the essay later in the semester.

The first part of the essay will discuss the historical evolution of the political problems and political values that we have learned about in class and the possible reforms that could be made to maintain or improve Canadian democracy.

The following is a generic outline for the first part of the paper. It aims to provide a generic structure and a set of guidelines for students on some of the possible areas of concern to shaping Canada's future. Students may choose to improvise on these areas/ topics and/or add new ones that would best fit their imagined Canada.

How has Canada's historical evolution shaped contemporary Canadian politics?

What (if anything) can be changed in your envisioned Canada to improve Canadian politics and government?

What are the challenges that Canadian political community faces and what should be done (changed, revised or introduced) to address these challenges in order to improve Canadian politics and government?

Canadian Political landscape: Values, Cultures, Inclusion and Diversity

• Can we talk about "Canadian values" "Canadian culture"? If we can then, what is the role of those values, culture in the performance of Canadian democracy? What are the perceived threats (if any) against the core Canadian values and culture what should be done to protect and promote them?

• What is the influence of Quebec, Indigenous peoples and immigrant groups on contemporary politics in Canada? How has this changed over time and how do you think this will change and evolve in the future?

• Will old issues continue to dominate and shape Canadian politics and society?

• What new issues do you expect to dominate Canadian politics and society?

• Some of the issues/areas of concern that you may choose to consider include: Regionalism, bilingualism, Quebec politics, minorities and immigrants, Indigenous people, economic regions, multiculturalism, social justice, inequality/equality and equal opportunity, welfare policies.

Aiming to generate a fair and comprehensive view about the history of political events and their importance in shaping the present state of Canada, this essay will endeavor to emphasize upon the various aspects of political and societal changes. This essay will endeavor to argue for the fact that political and social changes mould the working of Canadian society. It will also argue for the fact that the Canadian government and society needs to inculcate various changes to concretize the vision of a better future. The following paragraphs will endeavor to throw light on the myriad aspects related to concepts such as the Canadian culture, politics and the role of Quebec and indigenous section on the prevalent political scenario.

It is seen that Canada’s evolution in terms of politics has shaped the prevalent and present state of Canada. Recent studies reveal that the political struggle of Canada is astride with racist ideologies. The contemporary Canadian politics is a result of the historical political developments. Studies reveal the idea that the independence of Canada has been achieved by the sheer evolution of political systems. This is reflected in the contemporary politics of Canada where the Prime Minister is the most powerful person (Elect.ca). In addition to this, it is also seen that the contemporary aspect of the Prime Minister choosing the Senators is the result of the gradual political developments and evolution.

In order to develop and implement changes as well as reforms to achieve better future prospects in Canada, it is essential to develop the existing policies and ideologies. In order to concretize the vision of a better and prosperous Canada, reforms are necessary in the government and politics. The improvement that needs to be inculcated is the aspect of empowered representatives. This refers to the shift in the concentration from vesting power upon the political parties to the Member of Parliaments. This can ensure the proper division of powers. Further, the improvement in the inculcation of the perspectives of the Canadians in the processes of the government and politics can assist in ensuring the democratic nature of Canada (Dubois and Heather). This can assist in the development of transparent politics and increase the participation of people. These reforms can be said to be intrinsic to the development of the Canadian politics and government for the purpose of future developments.

The challenges that are faced by the Canadian government are myriad. The Canadian political community faces challenges that need to be overcome by the adoption of necessary reforms and policies. The challenges faced by the Canadian government point towards the idea that Canada undergoes and faces the challenge of entrenched poverty as well as unemployment (Raphael). In addition to this, the Canadian political system as well as the government faces the constitutional challenge that points towards the idea that Canadian citizens are gradually losing their belief in the Canadian government’s ability to maintain a proper social and safe political environment (Nunkoo). Needless to say, these issues need to be addressed and erased to ensure the greater future prospects of Canada.

The need to develop existing policies and ideologies

It has to be accepted that Canada needs to adopt relevant reforms to improve the existing situation related to the politics and governance. The concept of ‘values’ and ‘culture’ are intrinsic to the politics and governance in Canada (Webster, Cheryl and Anthony). Studies are emblematic of the fact that the amalgamation of ‘culture’ and ‘values’ plays an important role in the Canadian democracy. The Canadian values believe in egalitarian society with every person being treated as equal in society (Chagnon and Francois). In addition to this, the Canadian culture and value also believes in the perpetration of diversity as well as multiculturalism through the inculcation of immigrants (Bevelander and Pendakur). Thirdly, the Canadian culture also focusses on the idea of political correctness. Canadians hardly indulge in uttering statements that can hurt the sentiments of any community. Fourthly, Canadians also believe in and exhibit the values of regionalism. This refers to the manner in which the citizens and the various regions observe the integrity by specializing in various activities. It can also be said that these constitute the core values of Canadian democracy. Governmental insights reveal that the Canadian democracy permits various cultural, ethnic and indigenous groups to participate in the democratic processes and to voice their opinions (Lop.parl.ca).  It has to be accepted that there are certain threats that can disrupt the functioning of the Canadian democracy, values and culture. Governmental data unearths the idea that Canadian democracy, values and culture faces the external cyber threat (Canadian Centre for Cyber Security). It reveals that the cyber espionage upon Canada can disrupt the democratic stance of the country. Cyber espionage is chiefly directed at political leaders and parties to barge into the various sensitive information. In order to stop this, the Canadian government needs to adopt strict measures to delete the cases of any kind of surreptitious attacks on the confidential Canadian culture and values. Further, multiculturalism and immigration act as a threat for Canadian culture and values because various cases of infiltration and Islamist terrorism threatens the prevalent cultural values. In order to stop this, the Canadian government needs to adopt strict laws.

The influence of Quebec, ethnic and indigenous and immigrant population upon the contemporary politics is concrete and tangible. The influence of Quebec nationalism can be felt on the Canadian politics (McGregor and Spicer). Quebec nationalism has influenced Canadian politics in a manner that Quebec has been given a special status amidst the confederation. Most importantly, the bilingualism in Canada is the result of the inherent political structure in Quebec. The Aboriginal Political Organizations serve to exert influence upon the local and national bodies in Canada. This political organization is emblematic of the historical development that has been influencing the current trends in Canadian politics. It is also seen that the aboriginal population affects Canadian politics in a comprehensive manner. The contemporary Canadian politics is based on the factor of concrete negotiation with the aboriginal community (Alcantara and Spicer). Negotiations regarding Land Claims is reflected upon the contemporary politics and governance of Canada. The historical practice of the participation of the Aboriginals in the political processes of Canada has trickled to the present day. In addition to this, it is also seen that the population of immigrants also influence the Canadian politics and governance. History is evident of the fact that the Irish immigrants were seen to steal the jobs of others. However, the situation has changed in the present scenario. The immigrant children in Canada are seen to perform in a better manner. Likewise, the immigrants influence the contemporary political culture of Canada. The aspect of voting is intrinsic to the economic prosperity of the immigrants. Over the passage of years, the influence of these external factors have shaped the development of Canadian politics. It can be said that the future influence of these external factors will continue shaping the picture of Canadian political scenario. The future might witness Canada successfully collating the various factors to achieve the ideal future prospects.

Challenges faced by Canadian government

A closer look at the Canadian politics will project that the old practices of political advocacy as well as litigation continues to be present and to shape the political scenario in Canada (Guo and Gregory). The idea of political advocacy refers to the manner in which the governmental policies and ideas are communicated with the public. The Canadian Advocacy Network serves to propagate the ideas and policies of the government (Can-rcp.ca). In addition to this, the old practice of litigation has also trickled down to the present situation. Studies reveal that the Attorney General is responsible for the maintenance of the litigation practices that refers to the innumerable law suits as well as proceedings (Justice.gc.ca). It can be said that these old influences serve to shape the social as well as the political nature of the country.

It can be said that the Canadian government and society will try to inculcate new issues such as regular participation of the citizens in the political affairs of Canada. This will help in the development of the existing issues and policies. Participation of citizens on a regular basis will help in the accentuation of the transparency in the various political processes. The new issue that can be introduced is the aspect of transparent democratic proceedings that inculcates the aspect of the citizens’ views on the measures to prevent cyber espionage.

Conclusion

After analyzing the above-discussed ideas, it can be concluded that the prevalent political as well as the social situation in Canada is a result of the historical evolution. It can also be concluded that the Canadian democracy and cultural values suffers from external threats that need to be curbed. In conclusion, it can also be said that Canada is influenced by the external forces such as Quebec politics bilingualism and needs to incorporate concrete measures to meet the future needs.

References

Alcantara, Christopher, and Zachary Spicer. "A new model for making Aboriginal policy? Evaluating the Kelowna Accord and the promise of multilevel governance in Canada." Canadian Public Administration 59.2 (2016): 183-203.

Bevelander, Pieter, and Ravi Pendakur. "The labour market integration of refugee and family reunion immigrants: A comparison of outcomes in Canada and Sweden." Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 40.5 (2014): 689-709.

Canadian Centre for Cyber Security. "Canadian Centre For Cyber Security". Canadian Centre For Cyber Security, 2019, https://cyber.gc.ca/en/guidance/cyber-threats-canadas-democratic-process.

Can-rcp.ca. "Canadian Advocacy Network". Can-Rcp.Ca, 2019, https://can-rcp.ca/.

Chagnon, Rachel, and Francois Gauthier. "From Implicitly Christian to Neoliberal: The Moral Foundations of Canadian Law Exposed by the Case of Prostitution." Religion in the Neoliberal Age. Routledge, 2016. 189-204.

Dubois, Elizabeth, and Heather Ford. "Qualitative political communication| trace interviews: An actor-centered approach." International Journal of Communication 9 (2015): 25.

Elect.ca. "Political History And Evolution - Elect.Ca - Canadian Election And Government Information". Elect.Ca, 2019, https://www.elect.ca/evolution.php.

Guo, Chao, and Gregory D. Saxton. "Tweeting social change: How social media are changing nonprofit advocacy." Nonprofit and voluntary sector quarterly 43.1 (2014): 57-79.

Justice.gc.ca. "Canada's Department Of Justice". Justice.Gc.Ca, 2019, https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/cp-pm/about-aprop/index.html.

Lop.parl.ca. "Democracy Defined | Our Country, Our Parliament". Lop.Parl.Ca, 2019, https://lop.parl.ca/About/Parliament/Education/ourcountryourparliament/html_booklet/democracy-defined-e.html.

McGregor, Michael, and Zachary Spicer. "The Canadian homevoter: Property values and municipal politics in Canada." Journal of Urban Affairs 38.1 (2016): 123-139.

Nunkoo, Robin. "Tourism development and trust in local government." Tourism Management 46 (2015): 623-634.

Raphael, Dennis. "Social determinants of children’s health in Canada: Analysis and implications." International Journal of Child, Youth and Family Studies 5.2 (2014): 220-239.

Webster, Cheryl Marie, and Anthony N. Doob. "US punitiveness ‘Canadian style’? Cultural Values and Canadian punishment policy." Punishment & Society 17.3 (2015): 299-321.