Discover How Democratic Processes Help You Make Fair Decisions

A democratic process is a fair way for people to work together and make decisions that affect everyone. You use democratic processes in your classroom, your community, and across Canada. When you vote on a class activity or elect a class representative, you are practising democracy.

You can learn more about how communities solve problems together by exploring Community Problem Solving and how people share their ideas in Sharing Ideas.

Voting is one of the most important parts of a democratic process. In a fair vote, every person gets exactly one vote so that everyone has equal power. The choice that gets the most votes wins this is called majority rules.

In Canada, citizens vote in elections to choose their leaders. For example, Canadians vote to choose their Members of Parliament, who then make laws for the whole country. A ballot is the paper or form you use to record your vote secretly, so you can vote honestly without pressure.

Making a democratic decision means everyone shares their ideas and the group chooses together. Listening to others is very important because their ideas might help the group find a better solution. You should always respect the group's decision even if you did not vote for it, because respecting outcomes helps everyone work together.

Sometimes a group reaches a consensus, which means everyone agrees on a choice that works for all members. Many Indigenous communities in Canada have long traditions of gathering in circles or councils where every voice is heard before a decision is made. You can explore these traditions further in Indigenous Communities.

A representative is a person elected to make decisions on behalf of others. In Canada, Members of Parliament represent citizens and make national laws. The Prime Minister leads Canada's government and makes national decisions. A mayor leads the local government of a city or town and helps make community decisions.

In your school, a class representative listens to classmates and shares their ideas with school leaders, just like elected officials represent citizens in Canadian government. You can learn more about leaders in your community by visiting Community Leaders and Community Leadership: Mayors, Councillors, Chiefs and Meeting Places.

Communities make rules together to keep everyone safe and treated fairly. A community rule is a guideline that helps people live together respectfully. In Canada, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects the basic rights and freedoms of every person. You can explore these ideas further in Basic Rights and Freedoms and Rights and Responsibilities.

A petition is a document signed by many people to ask for a change. It is a democratic tool you can use to have your voice heard between elections.

Vote: A vote is a way for you to show your choice on a decision. In a fair vote, every person gets exactly one vote so that everyone has equal power.

Candidate: A candidate is the person who is trying to be elected to a position in government or another group.

Ballot: A ballot is the paper or form you use to record your vote secretly during an election. Secret ballots help you vote honestly without pressure from others.

Majority: Majority means more than half of the people voted for the same choice. In a majority rules vote, the option with the most votes wins.

Citizen: A citizen is any member of the community who has rights and responsibilities. In Canada, citizens have the right to vote in elections.

Representative: A representative is a person who is elected to make decisions and speak on behalf of others. Members of Parliament are representatives who speak for Canadians in government.

Election: An election is the formal process used to choose leaders by voting. In Canada, federal elections must be held at least every five years.

Consensus: Consensus means the whole group has found an agreement that everyone can accept or support. Reaching consensus is a respectful way of making decisions used in many Canadian Indigenous communities and in schools.

Fairness: Fairness in a democratic process means every person gets an equal chance to share their ideas and vote, regardless of popularity or grades.

Petition: A petition is a document signed by many people to ask decision makers to make a change. It is a democratic tool Canadians use to have their voices heard between elections.

Rule: A rule is an agreement about how people in a group should behave together. Rules help keep everyone safe and treated with respect.

Majority Rules: Majority rules means the choice that gets the most votes is the one selected by the group. This is a basic democratic principle used in Canadian classrooms and government.

You can practise democratic decision making by joining a student council that votes on school issues. When your class holds a vote, make sure you listen to all the options before casting your ballot. You can also practise reaching consensus by discussing ideas with your group until everyone finds a solution they can accept.

Before you vote on any decision, you should learn about each option by listening to others and gathering information. This is called making an informed decision, and it is something all good citizens in Canada try to do. Learn more about how you can make change in your community at Making Change and Standing Up for Rights.

You have already learned about Making Decisions and Regional Decision Making Processes, which help you understand how groups choose what to do. You also explored Municipal Public Services: Transportation, Policing, and Firefighting to see how community decisions affect everyday life.

These topics prepared you to understand democratic processes. Next, you will go deeper into Democratic Decision Making in Local Government, explore Forms of Government, and discover your Civic Duties as a Canadian citizen.

Democratic processes connect to many other important topics you will explore. You can learn how different communities make decisions by visiting Consensus vs Traditional Leadership in Decision Making and Native American Confederacies and Elder Governance Systems. You can also discover how Indigenous governance works today at Modern Indigenous Governance: Reservations and Band Councils.

Understanding democratic processes also connects to how countries work together in International Cooperation and how communities share information in Sharing Information. All of these topics show you how people use fair processes to make decisions that affect everyone around them.