n.
Political subdivision of Switzerland, France, and some other European countries.
Each of Switzerland's 26 cantons and half-cantons has its own constitution, legislature, executive, and judiciary. Five preserve the ancient democratic assembly, in which all citizens meet; the remaining 21 have a cantonal legislature with elective representatives and usually proportional representation. In France, the canton is a territorial and administrative subdivision of an arrondissement but not an actual unit of local government.