Canada is a federation, which means that powers are divided between a central government and 10 provinces (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador). The political system is based on the Westminster system of the United Kingdom.

Canada is a constitutional monarchy in which the monarch, Elisabeth II, is the head of state. The monarch is represented by a Governor General, David Johnston, which is appointed by the Queen but acts on the advice of the Prime Minister of Canada and by 10 lieutenant governors, one per province.

The Prime Minister is Justin Trudeau, he is the chief of executive, therefore the chief of the Cabinet, or Council of Ministers, which holds the executive power. According to the parliamentary traditon, he is the leader of the party with the largest number of seats in the House of Commons. The Prime Minister appoints ministers, senators, lieutenant governors of provinces and judges of the Supreme Court of Canada. He also chooses the time of the dissolution of Parliament, so the election, and the election date.

Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada

Canadian politics occurs in the framework of a parliamentary democracy and a federal system with a parliamentary government with strong democratic traditions.

The two political parties that are historically dominant in Canada are the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party of Canada. However, since the 2011 election, the New Democratic Party has gained in importance.

The federal parliament has two chambers: the House of Commons (lower house), which holds the legislative power, brings together 308 elected members and the Senate (upper house) brings together 105 members appointed by the Prime Minister and representing all regions of the country.

The parliamentary tradition demands that party with the largest number of deputies forms the Government and the party that ranked second in number of deputies becomes the official opposition and its leader become the Leader of the Opposition.