POLI 1111 - The Government and Politics of Canada

Course Description

Students are first introduced to the main processes, structures, and institutions of the Canadian government including the Constitution, the Prime Minister and cabinet, Parliament, federalism, and the party system. Students are then introduced to key political issues in Canada including social cleavages, policy debates, differing political ideologies, and Indigenous-settler relations. Students gain an understanding of how Canadian politics and government change over time and gain the tools for engaging in ongoing learning as political issues continue to affect their personal and professional lives.

Learning outcomes

Upon successful completion of POLI 1111, you will be able to:

• Demonstrate basic knowledge of Canadian government structures and processes while also acknowledging the limits of their knowledge due to the complexity of these systems.
• Identify how Canadian politics and government are shaped by histories and ideologies that influence decisions, interpretations, and actions in our political sphere.
• Practice seeking out new or novel information about the changing political ideologies, cleavages, and issues in Canada including, for example, recent elections and policies.
• Articulate personal and professional reasons as to why understanding Canadian government and politics is important and relevant to their private and public lives.
• Consider changes and explore alternatives to our current structures of power and the specific roles they play, personally and professionally, in adapting to our changing political climate in Canada.

Course topics

• Unit 1: The Canadian State and Structures of Governance
• Unit 2: Democratic Participation
• Unit 3: Politics and Canadian Society

Required text and materials

Students are responsible for purchasing the required materials on their own:

• Brooks, S. (2020). Canadian democracy (updated 9th ed.). Oxford University Press
  Type: Textbook ISBN: 9780199032501 / 9780190161125

Note: A print or fixed-layout version is strongly recommended to ensure alignment with the course materials.

Assessments

In order to successfully complete this course, you must obtain at least 50% on the mandatory final examination and 50% overall. The following chart shows how the final grade is determined for this course.

Prerequisites

• None

Exclusions

• SFU’s POLI 2219: Introduction to Canadian Government
• POLI 1110: The Government and Politics of Canada