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Knowledge base/CA-K1803
CA-K1803Citizenship Test

The three branches are not the three parts of Parliament

Centre Block on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, photographed in 2017; an institutional illustration, not a depiction of a vote, ceremony or constitutional text.
Centre Block on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, photographed in 2017; an institutional illustration, not a depiction of a vote, ceremony or constitutional text. Centre Block, Ottawa, Southeast view 20170422 1 · DXR / Daniel Vorndran · Source copyright notice: Daniel Vorndran CC-BY-SA 4.0 (2017) · Photo source · Photo licence: CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized for display; record previews may be cropped. The image remains under the licence shown.
Factual accuracy review: No recorded challenge

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Canada’s three branches of government are the executive, legislative and judicial branches. Parliament’s three components—the Crown, Senate and House of Commons—are a different constitutional distinction.

Scope & context

Independent citizenship-study support. Read the cited official sources; this is not an official question bank or a guarantee of a test result.

More context

The executive administers government and develops policy; at the federal level, the prime minister and Cabinet exercise its political leadership. The legislature considers and passes laws and scrutinizes government. The judiciary interprets and applies law and resolves cases independently.

The system involves both separation and connections: Cabinet ministers are accountable to Parliament, and the government must maintain the confidence of the House of Commons. Do not substitute Crown/Senate/Commons when a question asks for the three branches.

Sources behind this record

1
Discover Canada — How Canadians Govern Themselves ↗

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada

How Canadians Govern Themselves; sections and tables identified in the research record