Quote:
Originally Posted by Delgar
The Prime Minister of Canada has substantially more power (relatively speaking) than the President of the USA. The PM controls the executive and legislative branches, the President only controls the executive branch. That's why its so hard to get significant legislation passed in the USA.
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Yes and no. The PM can make appointments that do not require approval of the House of Commons (which of course is really a bad thing), whereas the President always needs approval for appointments. But the President is the only one of the two who can personally stop things from happening, or can personally make things happen. There is no veto or executive order for the PM. He must have enough votes in house to make it happen, unlike the President who can defeat bills with up to 65-35 votes against what the President wants. And of course the President is commander in chief of the military whereas in Canada it's....the Governor General (or the Queen, if you'd prefer). I'd say the PM has more influence than the President, not more than power.