The British regime is known to be the first political ideology implanted in Canada. This goes all the way back to 1748 when Canada was known as Upper-Canada (Ontario) and Lower-Canada (Quebec) (Malcolmsom & Myers 38). In this regime, the political ideology adopted mainly seemed like a monarchy since both the executive and legislative power were in the hands of the Crown making them decide on everything (Malcolmsom & Myers 38). After some time, this regime gradually changed and became more democratic by giving the legislative power to the Parliament, which is known as the separation of powers. This idea, developed my Montesquieu, was aimed to disperse the power in order to avoid tyrannical situations. The problem is that instead of using it for "liberal reasons ", Canada uses it for "imperial reasons " to keep "British control " (Malcolmson & Myers 39). This is where the problem of the Tyranny of the Majority originates. Later on, Lord Durham decided to replace the separation of powers by the responsible government. The responsible government is not beneficial when it comes to the problem of the Tyranny of the Majority.
A responsible government consists of ministries "who had been democratically elected to the Legislative Assembly " (Malcolmson & Myers 39). It is responsible for executive power but in order to exercise that power over the population, it must "obtain the approval of the House of Commons ", which is also known as having the "confidence " of the House of Commons (Malcolmson & Myers 40). This is one of the most, if not, the most important aspect of the function of the responsible government. In fact, if "the ministry loses the confidence of the House, the prime minister has to resign or request new elections " (Malcolmson & Myers 41).
