Assign Roles

Once the background lessons have been taught and evaluated, assign students to groups and roles for the simulation. Role descriptions are prepared for certain key positions.

Sections

Senate Groups

Group S1 Government
Consists of the Leader of the Government in the Senate and Senators belonging to the governing party.
Group S2 Opposition
Consists of the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate and Senators from his or her party.
Group S3 Independents
Senators who do not belong to a political party.
Group S4 Third Party
This group is a Third Party with its leader and Senators.
Group S5 Parliamentary officials and ceremonial roles
Parliamentary officials and roles for ceremonial purposes.

House of Commons Groups

Group H1 Cabinet
Consists of the Prime Minister and Ministers.
Group H2 Government Backbench
Consists of Government MPs who are not Ministers.
Group H3 Official Opposition
Consists of the Leader of the Opposition and the MPs from his or her party.
Group H4 Third Party
This group is a Third Party with its leader and MPs.
Group H5 Parliamentary officials and ceremonial roles
Parliamentary officials and roles for ceremonial purposes.

Senate Seat Distribution

Review the distribution of Senate seats with your students, and assign each one to a region, province or territory. You may choose to assign two or more Senators to the larger provinces, provided you have enough students. Each Senator should focus on issues that are of importance to his or her region, province or territory.

House of Commons Seat Distribution

There are 30 MP roles in the simulation. These are divided by province and territory in order to reflect the actual ratio of seats in the House of Commons.

  • British Columbia: 4
  • Alberta: 3
  • Saskatchewan: 1
  • Manitoba: 1
  • Ontario: 8
  • Quebec: 6
  • New Brunswick: 1
  • Nova Scotia: 1
  • Prince Edward Island: 1
  • Newfoundland and Labrador: 1
  • Yukon: 1
  • Nunavut: 1
  • Northwest Territories: 1

Depending on the class size, you may wish to add more MPs, while maintaining regional representation. You can assign specific ridings to your students or let them choose which ones they want to represent. To facilitate the choice, refer to the full listing of electoral ridings by province and territory.

Cabinet and Shadow Cabinet

Note: When assigning Cabinet positions, keep in mind that the bill you have chosen will determine which Minister has the greatest share of the work.

  • If you choose the Youth Electors Bill, the Minister of Justice will be in charge of the bill.
  • If you choose the Classroom Harmony Bill (Social Media Bill), the Minister of Canadian Heritage will be in charge of the bill.
  • If you choose the National Essential Services Bill, the Minister of Labour will be in charge of the bill.
  • If you have chosen to create a bill, you will have to determine which ministry has jurisdiction. You may wish to choose other Cabinet positions, depending on the topic to be discussed.

Similarly, the Shadow Ministers for your Official Opposition and Third Party will have the largest roles in those parties, as it will be their role to criticize the Minister.

The Speaker and Parliamentary Officials

The role of the Speaker is very important and should be chosen carefully. You may wish to take on this role yourself or give a student the opportunity. Another option could be to invite a fellow teacher, your principal or vice-principal, or even a parent to take on the role, depending on the length of the simulation.

In the scripts, certain roles have been included for ceremonial purposes. You may want to arrange for some students (perhaps from another class) or other guests (parents, teachers, your principal) to act as Clerk, Sergeant-at-Arms, Usher of the Black Rod, Mace Bearer and Pages. These roles are not essential for the simulation, but having them adds to the authenticity of the experience.

Group and Role Assignment Charts

Once roles are assigned, record your students’ names on the Group and Role Assignment Charts. There is one chart each for the Senate and House of Commons.