Voting: First Past-the-Post
In a riding with four candidates, the candidate with 36% of the vote wins. What voting system is this, and what does the winner need?
First Past the Post- The winner needs more votes than any other candidate, but not necessarily more than 50%.
What leadership style involves a leader asking the group for ideas and letting members help choose the plan?
Democratic
Residents want a new stop sign on a local street. Which level of government should they contact first?
Municipal
City councillors debate a bylaw about noise in local parks. Which branch of government are they using when they debate and make the bylaw?
The legislative branch.
Who is the current MP for the federal riding of Oakville West?
Sima Acan
Candidate A gets 42% of the vote, Candidate B gets 35%, and Candidate C gets 23%. Who wins the riding?
Candidate A: They received more votes than any other candidate.
What leadership style involves a leader giving orders during an urgent safety situation and expecting everyone to follow them quickly?
Authoritarian
A family has a question about the rules for getting a Canadian passport. Which level of government handles this?
Federal
After a law is passed, government departments put it into practice. Which branch is carrying out the law?
The executive branch.
No party wins more than half the seats in the House of Commons. The party with the most seats forms government but needs support from other parties to pass important votes. What kind of government is this?
Minority
A party wins many ridings by a small margin, while another party wins fewer ridings by large margins. Which party might receive more seats?
The party that wins more ridings. Seats are awarded riding by riding.
What leadership style involves giving a capable team a goal and deadline, then letting them decide how to do the work with very little direction?
Laissez-Faire
A student wants to ask about Ontario’s high school curriculum. Which level of government is mainly responsible?
Provincial
Someone argues that a law violates their Charter rights, and a court considers the case. Which branch interprets the law?
The judicial branch
Who is the current MPP for the provincial riding of Oakville North—Burlington?
Effie Triantafilopoulos
In one riding, Candidate A gets 38% of the votes, more than any other candidate. Do they win even though most voters chose someone else?
Yes. Under First Past the Post, the candidate with the most votes wins the riding.
A leader asks for everyone’s input but makes the final decision alone. Which leadership style fits best?
Democratic leadership. The leader invited input before deciding.
A town manages local waste collection but must follow broader provincial rules. What does this show about government responsibilities?
More than one level of government can be involved in the same area.
A school board follows provincial education rules, while the province sets the curriculum. Which level is mainly responsible for education policy?
Provincial government.
Who are Oakville Ward 4’s current Town Councillor and Town and Regional Councillor?
Peter Longo is the Town Councillor, and Allan Elgar is the Town and Regional Councillor.
Party A wins 7 ridings, while Party B wins 5 ridings. Which party earns more seats from those ridings?
Party A, because each riding won gives the party one seat.
An experienced group has a clear goal and works well independently. Which leadership style would give them the most freedom to decide how to work?
Laissez-faire leadership
A resident wants help with a broken local sidewalk and a problem with their passport. Which representatives should they contact?
A municipal representative for the sidewalk and their federal MP for the passport.
A town approves a new community centre. Staff organize the construction, and later a court hears a dispute about the project. Which branches are involved in those last two actions?
The executive branch carries out the project, and the judicial branch hears the dispute.
Oakville normally sets rules for its parks. In this scenario, Ontario passes a law requiring municipal parks to stay open until 10 p.m., but an Oakville bylaw says they close at 8 p.m. Which rule should be followed, and why?
The Ontario law should be followed. Oakville can make local park rules, but its bylaws must not conflict with provincial law.