A Comparison of the Australian and Canadian Political Systems

John Kilcullen
Copyright (c) 2000, R.J. Kilcullen.

Australians are no longer conscious of any particular relation to Canada, but during in its polical and constitutional development during the 19th century Australia followed in the footsteps of the Canadian colonies. It was in Canada that the British government learnt how to manage relations with British colonists successfully. The conflict that had led to the American War of Independence seemed likely to be repeated with the same result in the remaining British North American colonies, but it was averted by the grant to the Canadian colonies of "responsible government" in 1848. (See Dawson, The Government of Canada, chapter 1. See also documents on Canada, in particular the Durham Report). A similar grant of reponsible government was made to New South Wales in 1856 and to the other Australian colonies at various dates. The Canadian colonies federated in 1867, the Australian colonies federated in 1900. Many provisions of the Australian federal constitution were borrowed from the Canadian constitution, the British North America Act.

Some differences:

1. The British North America Act, sections 91 and 92, gave specific powers to the Provinces (equivalent to our States) and gave the residue of government power to the Dominion (equivalent to our Commonwealth), whereas the Australian Constitution (Sections 51, 52) lists the powers of the Commonwealth and tacitly leaves the residue with the States. (The framers of the Australian Constitution thought that the Canadian constitution's grant of the residue of power to the centre meant that the Dominion government would over time gain too much in power in comparison with the Provinces; see Helen Irving, To Constitute a Nation, pp. 64-6. This did not happen in Canada, but in Australia the federal government has been able to extend its powers considerably, especially by use of Sections 51(xxix) and 96.)

2. The British North America Act, an act of the British Parliament, did not originally provide any method of amendment. It had to be amended in the way it was made, by the British Parliament. The Australian Constitution (also enacted by the British Parliament, after the draft had been accepted in a referendum in Australia) provided that future amendments would be made in Australia by referendum and act of the Australian Parliament (Section 128), without further British intervention.

In the Canada Act of 1982 (also an Act of the British Parliament) provision was made for amendment in Canada, without recourse to Britain. See Schedule B, Part V. The provisions are complex and restrictive. For an explanation see the relevant section of Forsey (search to "legal formulas"). Amendment requires concurrence of Federal and Provincial Parliaments. In some cases all the Provinces must agree (e.g. to abolish the monarchy -- like Australia, Canada still has the British monarch as head of state). In some other cases there must be agreement of two-thirds of the Provinces including Provinces containing at least 50% of the population. There is no requirement for a referendum. (However, a referendum may be held, and some Provinces have legislated to require the Provincial government to hold a Provincial referendum before supporting or rejecting a proposed amendment to the Canadian constitution.)

3. Members of the Canadian Senate are appointed, when vacancies occur, by the federal Government of the day, and they hold office until age 75 -- i.e. they are never elected and do not come up for re-appointment. Normally the Canadian Senate does not persist in rejecting legislation approved by the Canadian House of Commons, but it has done so on some important occasions. The Australian Senate is an elected body which has often been in conflict with the House of Representatives.

4. When conflict occurs between Senate and lower house, the only provision for breaking the deadlock in Canada is for the Government to appoint up to eight additional Senators. It seems that this has never been done. The Australian Constitution (Section 57) provides for double dissolution and a joint sitting.

Canada has always been bi-cultural (English and French) and has more recently developed policies of multiculturalism (see "Canadian multiculturalism"), which have been imitated in Australia (see "Multiculturalism in Australia").