The Differences Between Parliamentary and Presidential Systems of Government in Canada and the United States Comparison Essay by Top Papers

Canada and the United States are both democracies and federal states. A federal state is one which brings together a number of different political communities "with a common government for common purposes, and separate 'state' or 'provincial' or 'cantonal' governments for the particular purposes of each community" ("Canadian," 2008). Both the Canadian and American system of government stemmed from that of the British Parliamentary System. While the United States' system was reformed into one that solely revolves around serving the president rather than any other part of the government, the Canadian system still cleaves onto the parliamentary system, even retaining the parliamentary name for its Cabinet members, "Ministers".