Civics in the Classroom: Citizenship Challenge Elementary Education Guide

1. Within your class, divide into seven equal groups. Create a Student Parliament with seven seats. Each of these groups represents a riding in your classroom. Each riding will be given a number from 1 through 7. 2. Have the teacher distribute four different-coloured cards to the members of each group so that every student has a colour (two or three people may have the same colour). Each colour represents a political party. 3. Find the other students with the same colour as you, and form a group. This is your political party. In your group, decide on the following: • A party name • The leader of the party • Three new proposed policies for the classroom (This will be your party’s platform). Example: Red Party’s proposed policies: 1) Try to reduce the amount of paper used in class 2) Declare “litterless lunches” for specific days 3) Hold 20-minute discussions about the environment on Fridays 4. Introduce your party to the rest of the class in a group presentation. Share your name, leader, and the three new rules (your party platform) with your classmates. EXTENSION ACTIVITY: Political parties in Canada run campaigns to get elected. Create a campaign for your political party. Your campaign can include memes, videos, posters, and other materials to educate the rest of the class about your party. INDIGENOUS SELF-GOVERNMENT Indigenous self-governance allows Indigenous communities to manage their people, land, resources, and related policies. This happens through treaties — formal agreements — with provincial/territorial and federal governments. The Indian Act is a federal law passed in 1876 that gave the Canadian government control over the lives of First Nations peoples and their traditional systems of government. Since then, Indigenous communities have fought to regain the rights they lost under the Act . In 1982, Section 35 of the Constitution Act recognized Indigenous peoples’ right to self-government. Today, some communities have the authority to manage their lands, assets, and resources, and can create laws about citizenship, language, and culture. Others continue to struggle to have their rights upheld or recognized. The map in the Treaties with Indigenous Peoples in Canada article on The Canadian Encyclopedia shows the current treaties and self- government agreements in Canada. TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENTS The governments of both Nunavut and the Northwest Territories operate by consensus. Instead of a party system, Members of the Legislative Assembly are elected as independents to represent their constituencies. Older students can read the article Territorial Government in Canada on The Canadian Encyclopedia to learn more. It is important to understand that Canadians elect Parliaments , not governments. Canadians do this by electing representatives to the House of Commons , which makes the laws in Canada. These representatives are called Members of Parliament (MPs) and they usually belong to a political party. MPs represent the needs and interests of the people living in their constituency (the region in which they run for office). The political party with the largest number of elected MPs forms the government. The leader of that party becomes prime minister . The provinces and the Yukon territory follow similar electoral processes. In this activity, you will form political parties and stage a classroom election. KE TEACHER TIP: Before beginning the activity, consider reviewing the following key terms and definitions as a class, as a word wall, or on a handout. Constitutional Monarchy: Canada’s system of government. In a constitutional monarchy, the monarch’s power is limited by the laws of the Constitution, and the monarch (king or queen) does not rule directly. Although the monarch is technically the head of state, their duties are mainly ceremonial, and the prime minister is the elected head of the government. Parliament: The legislative branch of government in Canada, which at the federal level is the House of Commons and the Senate. This is the part of government that makes the laws in Canada. Governor General: The British Crown’s representative in Canada. They are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. They perform the tasks of the monarch in Canada. The governor general has an important role in making sure that the traditions of Parliament and other democratic institutions are upheld. Lieutenant-Governor: The Crown’s representative in each province, appointed by the governor general on the prime minister’s advice. House of Commons: During elections, Canadians elect representatives to hold seats in the House of Commons. These are known as Members of Parliament (MPs). The House of Commons is the centre of political power in Canada and where MPs meet to debate policy, hold the government to account, and vote on legislation. Parties with the most seats in the House of Commons tend to win votes in the House more easily. Majority Government: After an election, if the winning party that forms government has at least 50% + 1 of the seats in the House of Commons, it has a majority. This means that the party has the potential to win every vote in Parliament because it has more seats than the other parties combined. Minority Government: After an election, if a party has less than half of the seats in the House of Commons, but still has more seats than the next largest party, it can form a minority government. In such cases, it might be difficult to win votes in the House of Commons because the largest party doesn’t outnumber the combined number of MPs in the other parties. In a minority government, the other parties can unite to defeat the government. ACTIVITY 2A: FORMING POLITICAL PARTIES Canadian Snowbirds performing at the Canadian International Air Show in Toronto, Ontario (Dreamstime/Ian Whitworth/15927854). 3