If any passer-by on the forehead is asked: "Who is the president of Canada," the majority will not be able to answer anything intelligible, many will be confused by their ignorance. But the question of ignorance itself is no less than in an honest answer: "I do not know." Why?
A bit of history
There are knowledge about the state under consideration, which are possessed by all without exception, but they do not concern the answer to the question of who is the president of Canada. Hockey and maple leaf - this is well known, but what about politics is a more difficult task. Diligent students who studied history at school will remember that the first settlers in the lands of North America now occupied by the state of Canada were the French. But soon there the British rushed in, and eventually England tidied up this part of the New World to its hands. In the nineteenth century, Canada received the status of a dominion within the United Kingdom. After the fall of the colonial system, Canadians chose to remain in the British Commonwealth of Nations and, having in fact an independent government, nominally recognize the power of the English monarchs. Hence the conclusion that the political system of Canada should be like the English one, so the president of Canada is an extra part in the management system.
Political structure
By form of government, Canada is a constitutional monarchy. The right to say this comes from the recognition of the nominal, but still supreme authority in the country of the Queen of England, which claims its representative in the territory, and it is by no means the name of the President of Canada. This is the Governor-General. His mission is to symbolically and ceremonially emphasize the supremacy of the monarchy and its presence in government. Nevertheless, he has the right to approve high-ranking officials and accept their resignation, as well as the right to decide whether to dissolve or not the lower house of parliament. The executive branch is represented by the cabinet headed by the prime minister, whom many also consider head of state, as if he is the president of Canada. This understanding is incorrect, since in its hands only executive power, and remains an essential and important element of subordination to the governor-general.
Prime Minister of Canada
Still, the figure of the Prime Minister is key in the political life of Canada. Gradually, its functions expanded, reaching a level at which they can be compared to the nonexistent, but hypothetically represented status of "President of Canada." Now some deputies initiate judicial consideration of the possibility to reduce the power of the head of government. In the meantime, the Prime Minister of Canada heads the government, but also is the leader of the party of the parliamentary majority and most often is in the House of Commons. Here is a combination of possession of both legislative and executive power. Officially obeying the British queen, Canada is in the wake of her international policy.
Territorial and administrative device
There is no separate document on the "Constitution of Canada". In the 80 years of the last century a very clear list of documents and legislative acts that can be included in the content of the constitution was formed. Canada is a federal state, consisting of three territories and ten provinces. Each constituent entity of the federation has its own parliaments, headed by prime ministers. In Ottawa, there is a federal bicameral parliament. Since the territory of the state was inhabited by settlers from two main countries: France and England - at the federal level in Canada two languages are recognized as state languages. The province, where mainly speak only French - Quebec. The rest are mostly English-speaking.
The problem of Quebec
"Separatism" has become a word-a curse, a word-anathema for contemporary politicians. This title is quite deserved by the people of Quebec, many of whom favor the sovereignty of the province until its secession from Canada. At the heart of such views are cultural and historical contradictions. Quebec as a French-speaking area resists the English-speaking part of the country, although it is much larger. To the credit of the Quebec bloc, which supports separation, it is possible to promote exclusively peaceful and democratic methods of struggle, such as referendums. While this issue is not resolved. Of course, the Government of Canada is against the precedents of violating the integrity of other states in the world, as it is interested in preserving its own unity.
Canada's place in the international arena
After the Second World War, Canada began to play an active role in peacekeeping and humanitarian actions within the UN. At the moment, it is one of the members of the Group of Eight, along with the most developed and powerful countries in the world. At the G8 summits, we will not hear the name of the President of Canada, because the Prime Minister represents the country. In general, Canada supports the policy of the US and Britain, speaking every time on the side of their proposals. Stephen Harper, the current prime minister, takes a tough stance towards the Russian government, criticizing the assessment of events in Syria, Ukraine and other issues where the views of Russian representatives differ from those of the "Western democracies".
So, in fact, the answer to the question: "Who is the president in Canada" - is very easy and sounds short: "Nobody!" In a country that is a parliamentary monarchy, such a position simply does not exist. But it is very useful to know a little history of this state and its place in international politics.