Politics of Manitoba

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A large concrete building with Classical-style columns and a green dome topped by a golden statue
Manitoba Legislature, meeting place of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba

Like all Canadian provinces, Manitoba is governed by a unicameral legislature, the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba.[1] The executive branch is formed by the majority party; the party leader is the Premier of Manitoba, the head of the executive branch. The head of state, Queen Elizabeth II, is represented by the Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba, who is appointed by the Governor General of Canada on advice of the Prime Minister.[2] The head of state is primarily a ceremonial role, although the Lieutenant Governor has the official responsibility of ensuring that Manitoba always has a duly constituted government.[2] Manitoba is represented in federal politics by fourteen Members of Parliament and six Senators.[3][4]

The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba was established on July 14, 1870. After the control of Rupert's Land was passed from Great Britain to the Government of Canada in 1869, Manitoba attained full-fledged rights and responsibilities of self-government as the first Canadian province carved out of the Northwest Territories.[5] The Legislative Assembly consists of the fifty-seven Members elected to represent the people of Manitoba.[6] Manitoba's primary political parties are the New Democratic Party of Manitoba (NDP), the Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba and the Manitoba Liberal Party.

The current premier of Manitoba is Greg Selinger of the NDP, who replaced Gary Doer to lead the NDP majority government of 37 seats.[7] The Progressive Conservative Party holds 19 seats, and the Liberal Party has one seat but does not have official party status in the Manitoba Legislature.[7] The last general election was held October 4, 2011.[7] Historically, political parties first appeared between 1878 and 1883, with a two-party system (Liberals and Conservatives).[8] The United Farmers of Manitoba appeared in 1922, and later merged with the Liberals in 1932 to form the dominant political party.[8] Other parties, including the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF), appeared during the Great Depression; in the 1950s, Manitoban politics became a three-party system, and the Liberal party gradually declined in power.[8] The CCF became the NDP, which came to power in 1969.[8] Since then, the Conservatives and the NDP have been the dominant parties.[8]

Manitoba's judiciary consists of three courts: the Court of Appeal, the Court of Queen's Bench, and the Provincial Court. The Provincial Court is primarily a criminal court; 95% of criminal cases in Manitoba are heard in this court.[9] The Court of Queen's Bench is the highest trial court in Manitoba. It has four jurisdictions: family law (child and family services cases), civil law, criminal law (for indictable offences), and appeals for Provincial Court decisions. The Court of Appeal hears appeals from both the Court of Queen's Bench and the Provincial Court; decisions of this court can only be appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada.[10]

Electoral history

Before World War I

Elections to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba (1879-1914) - seats won by party
Government Conservative Liberal Conservative
Party 1879 1883 1886 1888 1892 1896 1899 1903 1907 1910 1914
    Liberal-Conservative 7 2 3
    Conservative 6 20 20 4 9 5 18 32 28 28 28
    Liberal 2 10 15 33 26 32 78 13 13 20
    National Party 1
    Patrons of Industry 2
    Independent Conservative 2 2
    Independent Liberal 1 2
    Independent 5 1 1 1 1
Total 24 30 35 38 40 40 40 40 4141 49

Farmers, Labour, CCF and Duff Roblin (1915-1969)

Elections to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba (1915-1966) - seats won by party
Government Liberal UFM Progressive L-P Coalition L-P Progressive Conservative
Party 1915 1920 1922 1927 1932 1936 1941 1945 1949 1953 1958 1959 1962 1966
    Liberal 40 21 8 7 1314
    Liberal-Progressive 38 23 27 25 31 32 19 33
    Independent Liberal-Progressive 3
    Conservative 5 8 7 15 10 16 12
    Anti-Coalition Conservative 3
    Progressive Conservative 13 9 12 26 36 3631
    Farmer 12
    United Farmers of Manitoba 28
    Progressive 29
    Labour 9
    Independent Labour 6 1 5
    ILP-CCF 7
    Co-operative Commonwealth Federation 3 9 7 5 11 10
    New Democratic Party 711
    Social Democratic 1 1
    Socialist 1
    Social Credit 5 3 2 2 11
    Communist 1
    Labour Progressive 1 1 1
    Independent 1 3 6 1 2 3 7 5 9 2 1
Total 47 55 55 55 55 55 57 57 57 57 57 57 5757

Recent history (1969 to present)

Elections to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba (1969-2011) - seats won by party
Government NDP PC NDP PC NDP
Party 1969 1973 1977 1981 1986 1988 1990 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011
    New Democratic Party 28 31 23 34 30 12 20 23 32 35 3637
    Progressive Conservative 22 21 33 23 26 25 30 31 24 20 1919
    Liberal 5 5 1 1 20 7 3 1 2 2 1
    Social Credit 1
    Independent 1
Total 57 57 57 57 57 57 57 57 57 57 5757

See also

References

  1. ↑ Summers, Harrison Boyd. Unicameral Legislatures. Vol. 11. Wilson; 1936. OCLC 1036784. p. 9.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lieutenant-Governor of Manitoba. Roles and Responsibilities [Retrieved 2009-10-29].
  3. ↑ Government of Canada. Members of Parliament [Retrieved 2009-11-12].
  4. ↑ Government of Canada. Senators [Retrieved 2009-11-12].
  5. ↑ Dupont, Jerry. The Common Law Abroad: Constitutional and Legal Legacy of the British Empire. Fred B Rothman & Co; 2000. ISBN 0-8377-3125-9. p. 139–142.
  6. ↑ Hogg, Peter W. Necessity in Manitoba: The Role of Courts in Formative or Crisis Periods. In: Shimon Shetreet. The Role of Courts in Society. Aspen Publishing; 1988. ISBN 90-247-3670-6. p. 9.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Elections Manitoba. 39th General Election [Retrieved 2009-10-29].
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Adams, Chris. Manitoba’s Political Party Systems: An Historical Overview. Annual Meeting of the Canadian Political Science Association. 2006-09-17:2–23.
  9. ↑ Manitoba Courts. Provincial Court – Description of the Court’s Work; 2006-09-21 [Retrieved 2009-11-09].
  10. ↑ Brawn, Dale. The Court of Queen's Bench of Manitoba, 1870–1950: A Biographical History. Toronto: University of Toronto Press; 2006. ISBN 0-8020-9225-X. p. 16–20.
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