Parliamentary democracy in Canada

Canada is at a crossroads in its democratic development. While the structure of its democratic institutions may be strong, public acceptance of them is decreasing. While this is hardly unique to Canada, there has been a tendency among Canadian politicians to ignore calls for democratic reform. This has been driven, at least in part, by the failure of attempts at major constitutional reform in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and the political cost to leaders who undertook such initiatives. Recently, politicians have begun to understand that not only is some change necessary to sustain a more participatory democracy, but also that there may well be political rewards for such responsiveness. Half of Canada's provinces are either currently reviewing or have recently. examined democratic reform. The federal government is opening up the legislative process for greater participation by legislators. It is too soon to tell if changes to Canadian political institutions will take place, and if they do, how they might affect citizen participation. While at the crossroads, the debate on which path to follow has at least begun.