2021 년 1 월 20 일 새 미합중국 대통령 조셉 R. 바이든과 카말라 D. 해리스 부통령이 선서했습니다. 그들은 2020 년 11 월 3 일 대통령 선거에서 도널드 J. 트럼프를 물리 치고 승리했습니다.

캐나다에서는 2019 년부터 트뤼도 총리 아래 소수 정부가있었습니다. 이번 봄에 또 다른 연방 선거가 소란스러워집니다.

2021 년 1 월 6 일 국회 의사당에서 일어난 폭력적인 반란을 포함하여 최근 미국의 권력 이양을 보면서 캐나다가 국가로서 거의 헤어질 뻔했던 때가 떠 올랐습니다.

저는 1995 년에 퀘벡이 캐나다에 머무르기로  (50.8 %) 투표했을 때 로스쿨 2 학년이었습니다. 무려 93.52 %의 퀘벡 유권자들이 국민 투표에 투표했습니다. 내 친구들과 나는 T.V. chyron이 "예"와 "아니오"사이를 오가는 것을 보았습니다. 밤늦게까지 절대 실망 스러웠습니다. 아마도 우리가 벼랑과 뒤로 있었기 때문에 캐나다의 퀘벡 분리에 대한 이야기는 그 이후로 후퇴했습니다.

캐나다 행사는 폭력을 포함하지 않았지만 민주주의의 취약성과 민족성 개념을 보여주었습니다. 이제 미국이 테스트 중입니다.

미국과 캐나다는 공통 조상을 가진 가까운 동맹국이자 이웃입니다. 그러나 우리의 정치 체제는 서로 다릅니다.

한 가지 눈에 띄는 차이점은 캐나다는 미국처럼 선거와 취임 사이에 긴 전환 기간이 없다는 것입니다. 선거일 밤 또는 거의 다음날 투표가 집계 되 자마자 우리는 다음 정부가 누구인지 압니다. 승리 한 당과 그 지도자는 캐나다에서 즉시 새로운 정부의 역할을 시작합니다.

미국에서는 헌법에 선거 및 취임 날짜가 명시되어 있습니다. 대통령 선거는 매 4 년마다 11 월 첫 번째 화요일에 치러 져야합니다. 취임식은 다음 해 1 월 20 일에 있어야합니다. 이는 선거와 새 정부가 제정 될 때까지 약 72 일이 더 걸린다는 의미입니다. 이 날짜는 통신 및 운송 네트워크가 훨씬 덜 발전했을 때 헌법에 기록되었습니다.

미국인들은 선거일 밤에 대통령에게 투표하지만, 대중의 투표로 누가 대통령직을 이길지는 결정되지 않습니다. 2016 년에 Hillary Clinton은 큰 차이로 대중 투표를 얻었지만 대통령직을 얻는 데 필요한 최소 270 명의 대학 대의원은 아니 었습니다.

각주는 투표, 선거인단 대의원 및 이들의 비준에 대한 선거 규칙을 설정합니다. 이 모든 작업은 전환 기간 동안 수행됩니다. 의회는 취임 2 주 전에 각주의 선거인단 대의원을 확인합니다. 올해는 봉기 일인 2021 년 1 월 6 일이었습니다.

캐나다인도 총리를 직접 선택하지 않습니다. 그들은 연방 선거에서 의회 의원에게 투표합니다. 각 연방 선거에서 가장 많은 표를 얻은 지역 후보가 의석을 차지합니다. 선거의 밤에 대부분의 의원과 함께 당 지도자가 정부를 구성합니다.

어떤 주 또는 준주 입법부가 캐나다 선거 결과를 비준 할 필요가 없습니다.

선거 캐나다는 정부, 정당 또는 입법부와 관계없이 처음부터 끝까지 연방 선거를 관리합니다. 그들은 선거 노동자를 고용하고 훈련시킵니다. 그들은 투표를 세고 결과를 공개하고 결과에 대한 법적 문제에 대응합니다. 그들은 정부가 아닌 의회에 직접보고합니다. 캐나다 선거를 담당하는 최고 선거 책임자는 총리가 임명합니다.

캐나다에서는 총리가 선거 소집시기를 결정합니다. 선거일은 정해져 있지 않습니다. 정부는 의회의 신뢰를받는 한 통치 할 수 있습니다. 소수에 속하지 않는 한 보통 4 ~ 5 년 동안 지속됩니다.

총리는 캠페인 기간을 선택합니다. 보통 4 ~ 6 주 동안 진행되지만 더 길거나 짧을 수 있습니다. 2015 년 스티븐 하퍼 총리는 8 월 4 일 선거를 11 주 후인 10 월 19 일 선거를 소집하여 가장 긴 선거 기간 중 하나가되었습니다.

대통령 선거는 미국에서 몇 달 동안 지속됩니다. 어느 한 정당의 대선 후보가 되고자하는 후보자들은 총선 2 년 전에 선거를 시작합니다. 후보자들은 푸에르토 리코와 괌의 미국 영토를 포함하여 연방의 모든 주에서 예비 선거와 전당 대회에서 충분히 경쟁하고 승리해야합니다.

캐나다에서 정당은 한 번의 전국 지도력 선거에서 지도자를 선택합니다. 지도자들이 전국적으로 캠페인을 벌이는 동안,이 과정은 일반 대중이 거의 눈치 채지 못합니다.

캐나다에서는 승리 한 정당의 지도자가 차기 총리가됩니다. 어느 한 정당이 정부를 구성하기에 충분한 의석을 확보하지 못한 상황에서, 가장 많은 의석을 가진 당은 다른 정당과 연합하여 연합 정부를 구성 할 수 있습니다. 승리 한 연합의 당 지도자는 정부를 구성하기 위해 총독의 동의를 얻어야합니다.

마지막으로 미국에서는 대통령과 부통령이 티켓으로 출마합니다. 사람들은 대통령과 부통령을 모두 선출합니다. 이런 이유로 대통령은 부통령을 해고 할 수 없습니다. 부통령의 지위는 헌법 적으로 보호됩니다. 그의 주된 임무는 대통령에게 무슨 일이 생기는 경우에 대비하는 것입니다. 대통령이 사망, 질병 또는 탄핵과 같은 사유로 직무를 수행 할 수없는 경우 부통령이 자동으로 대통령직에 들어갑니다.

캐나다는 비슷한 입장이 아닙니다. 국무 총리는 실질적인 목적을 위해 부총리를 임명하지만 그 직위에 헌법 적 권한이 없습니다. 임무의 깊이와 범위는 전적으로 총리가 결정합니다.

지난 11 월 선거 이후 많은 캐나다인들은 미국 대통령 취임 기간을 면밀히 검토하면서 그러한 격변이 캐나다에서 일어날 수 있는지에 대해 생각하게되었습니다. 민주주의는 섬세하며 모든 일이 일어날 수 있습니다. 우리는 그것을 당연한 것으로 받아 들일 수 없습니다.

우리가 알고있는 것은 캐나다와 미국이 서로 다른 정치 체제로 진화했다는 것입니다. 각자를 존중하고, 양육하고, 보호해야합니다. 이를위한 한 가지 방법은 우리 정부가 어떻게 작동하는지 아는 것입니다. 리더가 선출되는 방식과 전환 과정.

Canada vs the U.S. in Elections

The new President of the United States of America, Joseph R. Biden and Vice President Kamala D. Harris were sworn in on January 20, 2021.  They won the Presidential election on November 3, 2020, defeating Donald J. Trump.   

In Canada, we have had a minority government under Prime Minister Trudeau since 2019. We hear a rumbling of another federal election this Spring. 

Watching the recent transfer of power in the U.S., including the violent insurrection on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, reminded me of the time when Canada almost broke up as a country.  

I was in the second year of law school in 1995 when Quebec voted narrowly (50.8%) to stay in Canada. A whopping 93.52% of Quebec voters turned out to vote in the Referendum.   My friends and I watched the T.V. chyron flip back and forth between "yes" and "no," late into the night to absolute dismay.  Maybe because we were at the precipice and back, the talk of Quebec separation in Canada retreated ever since.  

The Canadian event didn't involve violence, but it showed the fragility of democracy and the notion of nationhood.   Now the U.S. is being tested.  

The U.S. and Canada are close allies and neighbours with common ancestry.  But our political systems are distinct from one another. 

One glaring difference is that Canada does not have a long transition period between the election and the inauguration like the U.S. does.  As soon as the votes are tallied on the election night, or pretty much the very next day, we know who the next Government will be.  The winning Party and its Leader start functioning as the new Government immediately in Canada.

In the U.S., the Constitution lays out the election and inauguration dates.  Their presidential elections have to be held on the first Tuesday of November every four years.  The inauguration has to be on January 20, the following year. It means there are some 72 days plus between the election and when the new Government is in place.   These dates were written in the Constitution when the communication and transportation networks were far less advanced.   

Americans vote for their President on election night, but the popular vote does not determine who wins the Presidency.   In 2016, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by a large margin, but not the minimum 270 electoral college delegates needed to win the Presidency.  

Each State sets the elections rules on voting, electoral college delegates and ratifications of them.  All this work is done during the transition period.  The Congress confirms each State's electoral college delegates two weeks before the inauguration.  This year, it was on January 6, 2021, the day of the insurrection.

Canadians do not choose their Prime Minister directly either.  They vote for their Member of Parliament in the federal election.   The local candidate who wins the most votes in each federal electoral riding wins the seat. The Party Leader with most Members of Parliament on the election night gets to form the Government.   

No provincial or territorial legislature has to ratify the election results in Canada.  

Elections Canada manages the federal elections from start to finish, independent of any Government, Party or Legislature.  They hire and train the election workers. They count the votes and publicize the results and respond to any legal challenge to the outcome. They report directly to the Parliament, not to the Government. The Chief Electoral Officer, in charge of Elections Canada, is appointed by the Prime Minister.  

In Canada, the Prime Minister decides when to call the election.  There are no set dates for elections.   Governments can govern as long as they have the confidence of the Parliament.  They usually last four to five years -- unless they are in the minority. 

The Prime Minister chooses how long the campaign period will be.  It usually goes for four to six weeks, but it could be longer or shorter.  In 2015, Prime Minister Stephen Harper called the election on August 4 for October 19th election, eleven weeks later, making it one of the most extended election periods.

Presidential campaigns last for months in the U.S.  Candidates who want to be the presidential nominee of either Party begin their campaign at least two years before the general election.   The Candidates have to compete and win enough of the primaries and caucuses in every State of the Union, including the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico and Guam.  

In Canada, political parties choose their Leaders in one national leadership election. While the Leaders campaign across the country, this process goes on largely unnoticed by the general public.  

In Canada, the Leader of the winning Party becomes the next Prime Minister. In situations where no one Party has won enough seats to form the Government, the Party with the most seats is allowed to create a coalition Government by allying with other parties.  The Party Leader of the winning coalition has to get the Governor-General's consent to form the Government.

Finally, in the U.S., Presidents and Vice Presidents run on a ticket.  People elect both the President and the Vice President.   For this reason, President cannot fire the Vice President.  The Vice President's position is constitutionally protected.  His or her main job is to be on stand by in case anything happens to the President.  If the President cannot fulfill his duties for any reason, such as death, illness or impeachment, the Vice President automatically steps into the Office of President.  

Canada does not have a similar position.  Prime Ministers appoint Deputy Prime Ministers for a practical purpose, but no constitutional authority is attached to the post.  The depth and scope of their duties are determined solely by the Prime Minister. 

Since the last November election, the scrutiny of the U.S. Presidential transition period made many Canadians think about whether such upheaval could happen in Canada.   Democracy is delicate, and anything could happen.  We cannot take it for granted.  

What we know is that Canada and the U.S. have evolved into different political systems.   Each needs to be respected, nurtured and protected.  One way to do that is to get to know how our Government works.  How our leaders are elected and how the transition happens.