The
Parliament of Canada is the
federalCanada is a federation with two distinct jurisdictions of political authority: the country-wide federal government and the ten regionally-based provincial governments. It also has three territorial governments in the far north, though these are subject to the federal government...
legislative branchA legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...
of
CanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, seated at
Parliament HillParliament Hill , colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern banks of the Ottawa River in downtown Ottawa, Ontario. Its Gothic revival suite of buildingsthe parliament buildings serves as the home of the Parliament of Canada and contains a number of architectural...
in the national capital,
OttawaOttawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
. Formally, the body consists of the Canadian monarch—represented by her
governor generalThe Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II...
—the Senate, and the
House of CommonsThe House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
, each element having its own officers and organization. The governor general summons and appoints each of the 105 members of the
upper houseAn upper house, often called a senate, is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house; a legislature composed of only one house is described as unicameral.- Possible specific characteristics :...
on the
adviceAdvice, in constitutional law, is formal, usually binding, instruction given by one constitutional officer of state to another. Especially in parliamentary systems of government, Heads of state often act on the basis of advice issued by prime ministers or other government ministers...
of the
Prime Minister of CanadaThe Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
, while the 308 members of the
lower houseA lower house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house.Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide the lower house has come to wield more power...
are directly elected by eligible voters in the Canadian populace, with each
Member of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
representing a single
electoral districtAn electoral district in Canada, also known as a constituency or a riding, is a geographical constituency upon which Canada's representative democracy is based...
.
By constitutional convention, the House of Commons is the dominant branch of parliament, the Senate and Crown rarely opposing its will. The Senate, thus, reviews legislation from a less partisan standpoint, and the monarch and
viceroyA viceroy is a royal official who runs a country, colony, or province in the name of and as representative of the monarch. The term derives from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning "in the place of" and the French word roi, meaning king. A viceroy's province or larger territory is called a viceroyalty...
provide the necessary
Royal AssentThe granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...
to make bills into law and summon,
prorogueProrogation is the end of a parliamentary session in the Parliament of Canada and the parliaments of its provinces and territories. It differs from a recess or adjournment, which do not end a session, and from a complete dissolution of parliament, which ends both the session and the entire...
, and dissolve parliament in order to
call an electionDropping the writ is the informal term for a procedure in some parliamentary government systems, where the head of government goes to the head of state and formally advises him or her to dissolve parliament...
, as well as reading the
Throne SpeechA speech from the throne is an event in certain monarchies in which the reigning sovereign reads a prepared speech to a complete session of parliament, outlining the government's agenda for the coming session...
. The
current parliamentThe 41st Canadian Parliament is the current Parliament of Canada, with the membership of its House of Commons having been determined by the results of the 2011 federal election held on May 2, 2011...
, summoned by Governor General
David JohnstonDavid Lloyd Johnston is a Canadian academic, author and statesman who is the current Governor General of Canada, the 28th since Canadian Confederation....
on 2 June 2011, is the 41st since
ConfederationCanadian Confederation was the process by which the federal Dominion of Canada was formed on July 1, 1867. On that day, three British colonies were formed into four Canadian provinces...
.
Composition
The Parliament of Canada is composed of three parts: the monarch, the Senate, and the
House of CommonsThe House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
. Each has a distinct role, but work in conjunction within the
legislative processParliamentary procedure is the body of rules, ethics, and customs governing meetings and other operations of clubs, organizations, legislative bodies, and other deliberative assemblies...
. This format was inherited from the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, and thus is a near identical copy of the
parliament at WestminsterThe Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
, the greatest differences stemming from situations unique to Canada, such as the impermanent nature of the monarch's residency in the country and the lack of a
peerageThe Peerage is a legal system of largely hereditary titles in the United Kingdom, which constitute the ranks of British nobility and is part of the British honours system...
to form the upper chamber.
Only those who sit in the House of Commons are called
members of parliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MPs); the term is never applied to senators, even though the Senate is a part of parliament. Though legislatively less powerful, senators take higher positions in the
national order of precedenceThe Canadian order of precedence is a nominal and symbolic hierarchy of important positions within the Government of Canada. It has no legal standing but is used to dictate ceremonial protocol....
. No individual may serve in more than one chamber of parliament at the same time.
Queen-in-Parliament
The sovereign's place in the legislature, formally called the
Queen-in-ParliamentThe Queen-in-Parliament , sometimes referred to as the Crown-in-Parliament or, more fully, as the King in Parliament under God, is a technical term of constitutional law in the Commonwealth realms that refers to the Crown in its legislative role, acting with the advice and consent of the lower...
, is defined by the
Constitution Act, 1867The Constitution Act, 1867 , is a major part of Canada's Constitution. The Act created a federal dominion and defines much of the operation of the Government of Canada, including its federal structure, the House of Commons, the Senate, the justice system, and the taxation system...
, and various conventions. Neither she nor her viceroy, however, participates in the legislative process, save for signifying the Queen's approval to a bill passed by both houses of parliament, known as the granting of
Royal AssentThe granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...
, which is necessary for a bill to be enacted as law. All federal bills thus begin with the phrase "Now, therefore, Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows..." and, as such, the Crown is immune from acts of parliament unless expressed otherwise in the act itself. The governor general will normally perform the task of granting Royal Assent, though the monarch may also do so, at the request of either the
CabinetThe Cabinet of Canada is a body of ministers of the Crown that, along with the Canadian monarch, and within the tenets of the Westminster system, forms the government of Canada...
or the viceroy, who may defer assent to the sovereign as per the constitution.
As both the monarch and his or her representatives are traditionally barred from the House of Commons, any parliamentary ceremonies in which they are involved take place in the Senate chamber. The lower and upper houses do, however, each contain a mace, which indicate the authority of the Queen-in-Parliament, and the privilege granted to that body by her, both bearing a crown at their apex. The original mace for the Senate was that used in the
Legislative Council of the Province of CanadaThe Legislative Council of the Province of Canada was the upper house for the Province of Canada, which consisted of the former provinces of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East and later the province of Quebec, and Upper Canada, then known as Canada West and later the province of Ontario...
after 1849, while that of the House of Commons was inherited from the
Legislative Assembly of Upper CanadaThe Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada was created by the Constitutional Act of 1791. It was the elected legislature for the province of Upper Canada and functioned as the province's lower house in the Parliament of Upper Canada...
, first used in 1845. Following the burning of the Centre Block on 3 February 1916, the City of
LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
,
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, donated a replacement, which is still used today. The temporary mace, made of wood, and used until the new one arrived from the United Kingdom in 1917, is still carried into the Senate each 3 February.
Members of the two houses of parliament must also express their loyalty to the sovereign and defer to her authority, as the
Oath of AllegianceThe Canadian Oath of Allegiance is a promise or declaration of fealty to the Canadian monarch, taken, along with other specific oaths of office, by new occupants of various government positions, including federal and provincial viceroys, appointees to the Queen's Privy Council, Supreme Court...
must be recited by all new parliamentarians before they may take their seats, and the
official oppositionIn Canada, Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition , commonly known as the Official Opposition, is usually the largest parliamentary opposition party in the House of Commons or a provincial legislative assembly that is not in government, either on its own or as part of a governing coalition...
is formally called as
Her Majesty's Loyal OppositionIn parliamentary systems of government, the term loyal opposition is applied to the opposition parties in the legislature to indicate that the non-governing parties may oppose the actions of the sitting cabinet typically comprising parliamentarians from the party with the most seats in the elected...
, to demonstrate that though they may be opposed to the incumbent Cabinet's policies, these MPs remain dedicated to the apolitical Crown.
Senate
The
upper houseAn upper house, often called a senate, is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house; a legislature composed of only one house is described as unicameral.- Possible specific characteristics :...
of the Parliament of Canada, the Senate, is a group of 105 individuals appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister; all those summoned to the Senate by the viceroy must, per the constitution, be a minimum of 30 years old, be a subject of the monarch, and own property with a net worth of at least $4,000, in addition to owning land worth no less than $4,000 within the province he or she is to represent. Senators served for life until 1965, when a constitutional amendment imposed a mandatory retirement age of 75. Senators may, however, resign their seats prior to that mark, and can lose their position should they fail to attend two consecutive sessions of parliament.
The Senate is divided equally amongst four geographic regions: 24 for
OntarioOntario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, 24 for
QuebecQuebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, 24 for the
MaritimesThe Maritime provinces, also called the Maritimes or the Canadian Maritimes, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. On the Atlantic coast, the Maritimes are a subregion of Atlantic Canada, which also includes the...
(10 for
Nova ScotiaNova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
, 10 for
New BrunswickNew Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
, and four for
Prince Edward IslandPrince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...
), and 24 for the
Western provincesWestern Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces and commonly as the West, is a region of Canada that includes the four provinces west of the province of Ontario.- Provinces :...
(six each for
ManitobaManitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
,
British ColumbiaBritish Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
,
SaskatchewanSaskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
, and
AlbertaAlberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
).
Newfoundland and LabradorNewfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
, which became a Canadian province in 1949, is represented by six senators, though the province is not part of a senatorial division. Further, Canada's three territories—the
Northwest TerritoriesThe Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada.Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, and Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south...
, the
YukonYukon is the westernmost and smallest of Canada's three federal territories. It was named after the Yukon River. The word Yukon means "Great River" in Gwich’in....
, and
NunavutNunavut is the largest and newest federal territory of Canada; it was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, though the actual boundaries had been established in 1993...
—are allocated one senator each. An additional four or eight senators may be temporarily appointed by the governor general, provided the approval of the Queen is secured, and the four divisions are equally represented, thus putting the maximum possible number of senators at 113. This power has been employed only once since 1867: to ensure the passage of the bill establishing the
Goods and Services TaxThe Goods and Services Tax is a multi-level value added tax introduced in Canada on January 1, 1991, by then Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and his finance minister Michael Wilson. The GST replaced a hidden 13.5% Manufacturers' Sales Tax ; Mulroney claimed the GST was implemented because the MST...
, Prime Minister
Brian MulroneyMartin Brian Mulroney, was the 18th Prime Minister of Canada from September 17, 1984, to June 25, 1993 and was leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1983 to 1993. His tenure as Prime Minister was marked by the introduction of major economic reforms, such as the Canada-U.S...
in 1990 advised Queen Elizabeth II to appoint extra senators.
The House of Commons
The elected component of the Canadian parliament is the House of Commons, with each member chosen by a majority of eligible voters in each of the country's federal
electoral districtsAn electoral district in Canada, also known as a constituency or a riding, is a geographical constituency upon which Canada's representative democracy is based...
, or ridings, via a
plurality voting systemThe plurality voting system is a single-winner voting system often used to elect executive officers or to elect members of a legislative assembly which is based on single-member constituencies...
. To run for one of the 308 seats in the House of Commons, an individual must be at least 18 years old, and each winner holds office until parliament is dissolved, after which they may seek re-election indefinitely. The ridings are regularly reorganised according to the results of each decennial national
censusA census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
; however, the "senatorial clause" of the Constitution Act, 1867, guarantees each province at least as many MPs as it has senators, and the "grandfather clause" permits each province as many MPs as it had in either 1976 or 1985. The existence of this legislation has pushed the size of the House of Commons above the required minimum of 282 seats.
Jurisdiction
The powers of the Parliament of Canada are limited by the constitution, which divides legislative abilities between the federal and provincial governments; in general, provincial
legislaturesLegislative Assembly is the name given in some countries to either a legislature, or to one of its branch.The name is used by a number of member-states of the Commonwealth of Nations, as well as a number of Latin American countries....
may only pass laws relating to topics explicitly reserved for them by the constitution, such as education, provincial officers, municipal government, charitable institutions, and "matters of a merely local or private nature," while any matter not under the exclusive authority of the provincial Legislatures is within the scope of the federal parliament's power. Thus, parliament alone can pass laws relating to, amongst other things, the
postal serviceMail, or post, is a system for transporting letters and other tangible objects: written documents, typically enclosed in envelopes, and also small packages are delivered to destinations around the world. Anything sent through the postal system is called mail or post.In principle, a postal service...
, the
censusA census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
,
the militaryThe Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."...
, navigation and shipping,
fishingFishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
,
currencyIn economics, currency refers to a generally accepted medium of exchange. These are usually the coins and banknotes of a particular government, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...
,
bankA bank is a financial institution that serves as a financial intermediary. The term "bank" may refer to one of several related types of entities:...
ing, weights and measures,
bankruptcyBankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
,
copyrightCopyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
s,
patentA patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
s, First Nations, and
naturalizationNaturalization is the acquisition of citizenship and nationality by somebody who was not a citizen of that country at the time of birth....
. In some cases, however, the jurisdictions of the federal and provincial parliaments may be more vague. For instance, the parliament in Ottawa regulates
marriageMarriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
and
divorceDivorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
in general, but the solemnization of marriage is regulated only by the provincial legislatures. Other examples include the powers of both the federal and provincial parliaments to impose taxes, borrow money, punish crimes, and regulate
agricultureAgriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
.
The powers of the Canadian parliament are also limited by the
Canadian Charter of Rights and FreedomsThe Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada. It forms the first part of the Constitution Act, 1982...
, though most provisions in that document can be overridden by an act that includes a
notwithstanding clauseSection Thirty-three of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is part of the Constitution of Canada. It is commonly known as the notwithstanding clause , or as the override power, and it allows Parliament or provincial legislatures to override certain portions of the Charter...
. Such a claim, however, has never been used by the federal parliament, though it has been employed by some provincial legislatures. Laws violating any part of the constitution are invalid and may be ruled unconstitutional by the courts.
Officers
Each of the parliament's two chambers is presided over by a
speakerThe term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...
;
that for the SenateThe Speaker of the Senate of Canada is the presiding officer of the Senate of Canada. The speaker represents the Senate at official functions, rules on questions of parliamentary procedure and parliamentary privilege, and oversee debates and voting in the red chamber. This position is often...
is a member of that house appointed by the governor general, as advised by the prime minister, while the
equivalent for the House of CommonsThe Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada is the presiding officer of the lower house of the Parliament of Canada and is elected at the beginning of each new parliament by fellow Members of Parliament...
is a member of parliament elected by the other members of that body. In general, the powers of the latter are greater than those of the former; following the British model, the upper chamber is essentially self-regulating, whereas the lower chamber is controlled from the chair. In 1991, however, the powers of the Speaker of the Senate were expanded, moving the position closer to that in the Commons.
The
Usher of the Black Rod of the Senate of CanadaThe Usher of the Black Rod of the Senate of Canada is the most senior protocol position in the Parliament of Canada....
is the most senior protocol position in parliament, being the personal messenger to the legislature of the sovereign and/or governor general. He or she is also a floor officer of the Senate responsible for security in that chamber, as well as for protocol, administrative, and logistical details of important events taking place on Parliament Hill, such as the Speech from the Throne, Royal Assent ceremonies,
state funeralA state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honor heads of state or other important people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements of military tradition...
s, or the investiture of a new governor general.
Other officers of parliament include the
Auditor GeneralThe role of the Auditor General of Canada is to aid accountability by conducting independent audits of federal government operations. The Auditor General reports to the House of Commons, not to the government...
,
Chief Electoral OfficerThe Chief Electoral Officer is the person responsible for overseeing elections in Canada.The position of Chief Electoral Officer was created in 1920 by the Dominion Elections Act. The Chief Electoral Officer is appointed by a resolution of the Canadian House of Commons...
, Official Languages Commissioner, Privacy Commissioner, Access to Information Commissioner, Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner,
Public Sector Integrity CommissionerThe office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner was one of the Independent Oversight Offices created as part of the Canadian Federal Accountability Act. The purpose of this office is to investigate mismanagement in the public sector...
, and Commissioner of Lobbying. These individuals are appointed by either one or both houses, to which they report through the
speakerThe term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...
of that house. They are sometimes referred to as
Agents of Parliament.
Another key official is the
Parliamentary Librarian of CanadaThe Parliamentary Librarian of Canada is one of the key officials of the Parliament of Canada.While the Library of Parliament was created shortly after 1867, the role of librarian was not created until 1871 to be in charge of management and control of the library of Parliament...
, a position established in 1871 under the Library of Parliament Act, and is charged with the running of the
Library of ParliamentThe Library of Parliament is the main information repository and research resource for the Parliament of Canada...
.
Term
The Constitution Act, 1867, outlines that the governor general alone is responsible for summoning parliament, though it remains the monarch's prerogative to
prorogueProrogation is the end of a parliamentary session in the Parliament of Canada and the parliaments of its provinces and territories. It differs from a recess or adjournment, which do not end a session, and from a complete dissolution of parliament, which ends both the session and the entire...
and
dissolveIn parliamentary systems, a dissolution of parliament is the dispersal of a legislature at the call of an election.Usually there is a maximum length of a legislature, and a dissolution must happen before the maximum time...
the legislature, after which the
writsA writ of election is a writ issued by the government ordering the holding of a special election for a political office.In the United Kingdom and in Canada, this is the only way of holding an election for the House of Commons...
for a general federal election are usually
dropped by the governor generalDropping the writ is the informal term for a procedure in some parliamentary government systems, where the head of government goes to the head of state and formally advises him or her to dissolve parliament...
at
Rideau HallRideau Hall is, since 1867, the official residence in Ottawa of both the Canadian monarch and the Governor General of Canada. It stands in Canada's capital on a 0.36 km2 estate at 1 Sussex Drive, with the main building consisting of 170 rooms across 9,500 m2 , and 24 outbuildings around the...
. Upon completion of the election, the viceroy, on the advice of his or her prime minister, then issues a royal
proclamationA proclamation is an official declaration.-England and Wales:In English law, a proclamation is a formal announcement , made under the great seal, of some matter which the King in Council or Queen in Council desires to make known to his or her subjects: e.g., the declaration of war, or state of...
summoning Parliament to assemble. On the date given, new MPs are sworn-in and then are, along with returning MPs, called to the Senate, where they are instructed to elect their speaker, and return to the House of Commons to do so before adjourning.
The new parliamentary session is marked by the
State Opening of ParliamentIn the United Kingdom, the State Opening of Parliament is an annual event that marks the commencement of a session of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is held in the House of Lords Chamber, usually in November or December or, in a general election year, when the new Parliament first assembles...
, during which either the monarch, the governor general, or a royal delegate, reads the
Speech from the ThroneA speech from the throne is an event in certain monarchies in which the reigning sovereign reads a prepared speech to a complete session of parliament, outlining the government's agenda for the coming session...
. MPs receive the Royal Summons to these events from the Usher of the Black Rod, after he knocks on the doors of the lower house that have been slammed closed on him (to symbolise the forbidding of the monarch from that room). Once MPs are gathered behind the Bar of the Senate—save for the prime minister, the only MP permitted into the Senate proper to sit near the throne dais—the speaker of the lower house presents him or herself to the monarch or governor general, and formally claims the rights and privileges of the House of Commons, to which the Speaker of the Senate, on behalf of the Crown, replies in acknowledgement after the sovereign or viceroy takes their seat on the throne. The speech is then read, outlining the programme of the
CabinetThe Cabinet of Canada is a body of ministers of the Crown that, along with the Canadian monarch, and within the tenets of the Westminster system, forms the government of Canada...
for the upcoming legislative session.
A parliamentary session lasts until a prorogation, after which, without ceremony, both chambers of the legislature cease all legislative business until the governor general issues another proclamation calling for a new session to begin; except for the election of a speaker for the House of Commons and his or her claiming of that house's privileges, the same procedures for the opening of parliament are again followed. After a number of such sessions, each parliament comes to an end via
dissolutionIn parliamentary systems, a dissolution of parliament is the dispersal of a legislature at the call of an election.Usually there is a maximum length of a legislature, and a dissolution must happen before the maximum time...
, which is effected by the governor general. As a general election typically follows, the timing of a dissolution is usually politically motivated, with the prime minister selecting a moment most advantageous to his or her political party. The end of a parliament may also be necessary, however, if the majority of MPs revoke their
confidenceIn a parliamentary democracy confidence and supply are required for a government to hold power. A confidence and supply agreement is an agreement that a minor party or independent member of parliament will support the government in motions of confidence and appropriation votes by voting in favour...
in the prime minister's ability to govern, or the legally mandated four year maximum is reached; no parliament has been allowed to expire in such a fashion.
Procedure
Both houses determine
motionsIn parliamentary procedure, a motion is a formal proposal by a member of a deliberative assembly that the assembly take certain action. In a parliament, this is also called a parliamentary motion and includes legislative motions, budgetary motions, supplementary budgetary motions, and petitionary...
by
voice voteA voice vote is a voting method used by deliberative assemblies in which a vote is taken on a topic or motion by responding verbally....
; the presiding officer puts the question and, after listening to shouts of "yea" and "nay" from the members, announces which side is victorious. This decision by the Speaker is final, unless a recorded vote is demanded by members—at least two in the Senate and five in the House of Commons. Members of both houses vote by rising in their places to be counted; the Speaker of the Senate is permitted to vote on a motion or bill—though does so irregularly, in the interest of impartiality—and, if there is no majority, the motion is defeated. In the Commons, however, the Speaker cannot vote, unless to break a tie, at which time he or she will customarily vote in favour of the
status quoStatu quo, a commonly used form of the original Latin "statu quo" – literally "the state in which" – is a Latin term meaning the current or existing state of affairs. To maintain the status quo is to keep the things the way they presently are...
. The constitution establishes the
quorumA quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly necessary to conduct the business of that group...
s to be 15 senators in the upper house and 20 members in the lower house, the Speaker of each body being counted within the tally.
Voting can thus take three possible forms: whenever possible, leaving the matter open for future consideration and allowing for further discussion by the house; when no further discussion is possible, taking into account that the matter could somehow be brought back in future and be decided by a majority in the house; or, leaving a bill in its existing form rather than having it amended. For example, during the vote on the
2005 budgetThe 2005 Canadian federal budget was the budget of the Government of Canada for the 2005-2006 fiscal year. It was presented on February 23, 2005, by Finance Minister Ralph Goodale. It was the first federal budget presented by a minority government in Canada since the budget presented by the...
, which was considered a
vote of confidenceA motion of no confidence is a parliamentary motion whose passing would demonstrate to the head of state that the elected parliament no longer has confidence in the appointed government.-Overview:Typically, when a parliament passes a vote of no...
, the Speaker of the House of Commons cast the tie-breaking vote during the second reading, moving in favour of the budget and allowing its passage. If the vote on the third reading had again been tied, the speaker would have been expected to vote against the bill, bringing down the government.
Simultaneous interpretation for both official languages,
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and
FrenchFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, is provided at all times during sessions of both houses.
Legislative functions
Laws, known in their draft form as
billA bill is a proposed law under consideration by a legislature. A bill does not become law until it is passed by the legislature and, in most cases, approved by the executive. Once a bill has been enacted into law, it is called an act or a statute....
s, may be introduced by any member of either house. However, most bills originate in the House of Commons, of which most are put forward by
ministers of the CrownMinister of the Crown is the formal constitutional term used in the Commonwealth realms to describe a minister to the reigning sovereign. The term indicates that the minister serves at His/Her Majesty's pleasure, and advises the monarch, or viceroy, on how to exercise the Crown prerogatives...
, making them government bills, as opposed to private members' bills or private senators' bills, which are launched by MPs and senators, respectively, who are not in cabinet. Draft legislation may also be categorised as public bills, if they apply to the general public, or private bills, if they concern a particular person or limited group of people. Each bill then goes through a series of stages in each chamber, beginning with the first reading. It is not, however, until the bill's second reading that the general principles of the proposed law are debated; though rejection is a possibility, such is not common for government bills.
Next, the bill is sent by the house where it is being debated to one of several different committees. The Standing Orders outline the general
mandateMandate can refer to:*Mandate , an obligation handed down by an inter-governmental body*Mandate , an official or authoritative command; an order or injunction*Mandate , the power granted by an electorate...
for all committees, allowing them to review: bills as they pertain to relevant departments; the program and policy plans, as well as the projected expenditures, and the effectiveness of the implementation thereof, for the same departments; and the analysis of the performance of those departments. Most often, bills end up before a standing committee, which is a body of members or senators who specialise in a particular subject (such as
foreign affairsForeign Affairs is an American magazine and website on international relations and U.S. foreign policy published since 1922 by the Council on Foreign Relations six times annually...
), and who may hear testimony from ministers and experts, debate the bill, and recommend amendments.
The bill may also be committed to the
Committee of the WholeA Committee of the Whole is a device in which a legislative body or other deliberative assembly is considered one large committee. All members of the legislative body are members of such a committee...
, a body consists of, as the name suggests, all the members of the chamber in question. Finally, the bill could be referred to an
ad hoc committee established solely to review the piece of legislation in question. Each chamber has their own procedure for dealing with this, with the Senate establishing special committees that function like most other committees, and the House of Commons establishing legislative committees, the chair of the latter being appointed by the speaker of the House of Commons, and is normally one of his deputies. Whichever committee is used, any amendments proposed by the committee are considered by the whole house in the report stage. Furthermore, additional amendments not proposed by the committee may also be made.
After the report stage (or, if the committee made no amendments to the bill, immediately after the committee stage), the final phase of the bill—the third reading—occurs, at which time further amendments are not permitted in the House of Commons, but are allowed in the Senate. If one house passes amendments that the other will not agree to, and the two houses cannot resolve their disagreements, the bill fails. If, however, it passes the third reading, the bill is sent to the other house of parliament, where it passes through the same stages; amendments made by the second chamber require the assent of the original house in order to stand part of the final bill. Once the bill is passed in identical form by both houses, it is presented for
Royal AssentThe granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...
; in theory, the governor general has three options: he or she may grant Royal Assent, thereby making the bill into law; withhold Royal Assent, thereby vetoing the bill; or reserve the bill for the signification of the Queen's pleasure, which allows the sovereign to personally grant or withhold assent. If the governor general does grant Royal Assent, the monarch may, within two years, disallow the bill, thus annulling the law in question. In the federal sphere, no bill has ever been denied royal approval.
In conformity with the British model, only the House of Commons may originate bills for the imposition of taxes or for the appropriation of Crown funds. Otherwise, the theoretical power of both houses over bills is equal, with the assent of each being required for passage. In practice, however, the House of Commons is the dominant chamber of parliament, with the Senate rarely exercising its powers in a way that opposes the will of the democratically elected house.
Relationship with the executive
The
Canadian governmentThe Government of Canada, formally Her Majesty's Government, is the system whereby the federation of Canada is administered by a common authority; in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council...
consists of the monarch, predominantly represented by his or her governor general,
in CouncilThe Queen-in-Council is, in each of the Commonwealth realms, the technical term of constitutional law that refers to the exercise of executive authority, denoting the monarch acting by and with the advice and consent of his or her privy council or executive council The Queen-in-Council (during...
, which is a collection of ministers of the Crown appointed by the governor general to direct the use of the
executive powersExecutive branch of Government is the part of government that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the idea of the separation of powers.In many countries, the term...
. Per the tenets of
responsible governmentResponsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability which is the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy...
, these individuals are almost always drawn from the parliament, and then are predominantly from the House of Commons, the only body to which the ministers are held accountable, typically during
Question PeriodQuestion Period, known officially as Oral Questions occurs each sitting day in the Canadian House of Commons. According to the House of Commons Compendium, “The primary purpose of Question Period is to seek information from the Government and to call it to account for its actions.”-History:The...
, wherein the ministers are obliged to answer questions posed by members of the loyal opposition. Hence, the person who can command the confidence of the lower chamber—usually the leader of the party with the most seats therein—is the one who is typically appointed as prime minister. Should that person not actually hold a seat in the House of Commons, he or she will, by convention, seek election to one at the earliest possible opportunity; frequently, in such situations, a junior Member of Parliament who holds a
safe seatA safe seat is a seat in a legislative body which is regarded as fully secured, either by a certain political party, the incumbent representative personally or a combination of both...
will resign to allow the prime minister to run for that riding in a
by-electionA by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
. If no party holds a majority, it is customary for the governor general to summon a
minority governmentDuring the history of Canadian politics, eleven minority governments have been elected at the federal level. There have also been two minority governments resulting from governments being replaced between elections, for a total of thirteen federal minority governments in twelve separate minority...
or
coalition governmentA coalition government is a cabinet of a parliamentary government in which several political parties cooperate. The usual reason given for this arrangement is that no party on its own can achieve a majority in the parliament...
, depending on which the Commons will support.
The lower house may attempt to bring down the government by either rejecting a motion of
confidenceIn a parliamentary democracy confidence and supply are required for a government to hold power. A confidence and supply agreement is an agreement that a minor party or independent member of parliament will support the government in motions of confidence and appropriation votes by voting in favour...
—generally initiated by a minister to reinforce the Cabinet's support in the Commons—or by passing a motion of no confidence—introduced by the opposition to display its distrust of the Cabinet. Important bills that form part of the government's agenda will usually be considered matters of confidence, as are budgets. Where a government has lost the confidence of the House of Commons, the prime minister is obliged to either resign (allowing the governor general to appoint the
Leader of the OppositionThe Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition , or simply the Leader of the Opposition is the leader of Canada's Official Opposition, the party with the most seats in the House of Commons that is not a member of the government...
to the office), or seek the dissolution of parliament and call a new general election. A precedent, however, was set in 1968, when the government of
Lester B. PearsonLester Bowles "Mike" Pearson, PC, OM, CC, OBE was a Canadian professor, historian, civil servant, statesman, diplomat, and politician, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957 for organizing the United Nations Emergency Force to resolve the Suez Canal Crisis...
unexpectedly lost a confidence vote but was allowed to remain in power with the mutual consent of the leaders of the other parties.
In practice, the House of Commons' scrutiny of the government is very weak. With the
plurality voting systemThe plurality voting system is a single-winner voting system often used to elect executive officers or to elect members of a legislative assembly which is based on single-member constituencies...
used in parliamentary elections tending to provide the governing party with a large majority, and a party system that gives leaders strict control over their caucus (to the point that MPs may be expelled from their parties for voting against the instructions of party leaders), there is often limited need to compromise with other parties. Thus, defeats of majority governments on issues of confidence are very rare. In contrast, a minority government is more volatile, and is more likely to fall due to loss of confidence. The last prime minister to lose a confidence vote was
Stephen HarperStephen Joseph Harper is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election...
in 2011, prior to which was
Paul MartinPaul Edgar Philippe Martin, PC , also known as Paul Martin, Jr. is a Canadian politician who was the 21st Prime Minister of Canada, as well as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....
in 2005 and
Joe ClarkCharles Joseph "Joe" Clark, is a Canadian statesman, businessman, and university professor, and former journalist and politician...
in 1979. All these occurrences involved minority governments.
Privileges
The institution of parliament possesses a number of privileges, collectively and accordingly known as
parliamentary privilegeParliamentary privilege is a legal immunity enjoyed by members of certain legislatures, in which legislators are granted protection against civil or criminal liability for actions done or statements made related to one's duties as a legislator. It is common in countries whose constitutions are...
, each house being the guardian and administrator of its own set of rights. Parliament itself determines the extent of parliamentary privilege, each house overseeing its own affairs, but the constitution bars it from conferring any "exceeding those at the passing of such an Act held, enjoyed, and exercised by the [British House of] Commons... and by the Members thereof."
The foremost dispensation held by both houses of the legislature is that of
freedom of speechFreedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used...
in debate; nothing said within the chambers may be questioned by any court or other institution outside of Parliament. In particular, a member of either house cannot be sued for
slanderDefamation—also called calumny, vilification, traducement, slander , and libel —is the communication of a statement that makes a claim, expressly stated or implied to be factual, that may give an individual, business, product, group, government, or nation a negative image...
based on words uttered in the course of parliamentary proceedings, the only restraint on debate being set by the standing orders of each house. Further, MPs and senators are immune to arrest in civil cases (but not for allegedly criminal actions), and from jury service and attendance in courts as witnesses. They may, however, be disciplined by their own colleagues for breach of the rules, including
contempt of parliamentIn some countries, contempt of parliament is the offence of obstructing the legislature in the carrying out of its functions, or of hindering any legislator in the performance of his or her duties. The offence is known by various other names in jurisdictions in which the legislature is not called...
—disobedience of its authority; for example, giving false testimony before a parliamentary committee—and breaches of its own privileges.
The
Canadian Heraldic AuthorityThe Canadian Heraldic Authority is part of the Canadian honours system under the Queen of Canada, whose authority is exercised by the Governor General. The Authority is responsible for the creation and granting of new coats of arms , flags and badges for Canadian citizens, permanent residents and...
, on 15 April 2008, granted the Parliament of Canada, as an institution, a
heraldic achievementA coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
composed of symbols of the three elements of parliament: the escutcheon of the Royal Arms of Canada (representing the Queen) with the maces of the House of Commons and Senate crossed behind (representing each of those chambers).
The budget for the Parliament of Canada for the 2010 fiscal year was
$The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. As of 2007, the Canadian dollar is the 7th most traded currency in the world. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
583,567,000.
History
Following the surrender of
New FranceNew France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...
to the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in the
1763 Treaty of ParisThe Treaty of Paris, often called the Peace of Paris, or the Treaty of 1763, was signed on 10 February 1763, by the kingdoms of Great Britain, France and Spain, with Portugal in agreement. It ended the French and Indian War/Seven Years' War...
, Canada was governed according to the
Royal ProclamationThe Royal Proclamation of 1763 was issued October 7, 1763, by King George III following Great Britain's acquisition of French territory in North America after the end of the French and Indian War/Seven Years' War...
issued by
King George IIIGeorge III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
in that same year. To this law was added the
Quebec ActThe Quebec Act of 1774 was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain setting procedures of governance in the Province of Quebec...
, by which the power to make ordinances was granted to a
Governor-in-CouncilThe Queen-in-Council is, in each of the Commonwealth realms, the technical term of constitutional law that refers to the exercise of executive authority, denoting the monarch acting by and with the advice and consent of his or her privy council or executive council The Queen-in-Council (during...
, both bodies appointed by the British monarch in
LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. In 1791, the Province of Quebec was divided into
UpperThe Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...
and
Lower CanadaThe Province of Lower Canada was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...
, each with an elected
legislative assemblyLegislative Assembly is the name given in some countries to either a legislature, or to one of its branch.The name is used by a number of member-states of the Commonwealth of Nations, as well as a number of Latin American countries....
, an appointed
legislative councilA Legislative Council is the name given to the legislatures, or one of the chambers of the legislature of many nations and colonies.A Member of the Legislative Council is commonly referred to as an MLC.- Unicameral legislatures :...
, and the relevant governor, mirroring the parliamentary structure at
WestminsterWestminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...
. During the
War of 1812The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
,
American troopsThe United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
set fire to the buildings of the
Legislative Assembly of Upper CanadaThe Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada was created by the Constitutional Act of 1791. It was the elected legislature for the province of Upper Canada and functioned as the province's lower house in the Parliament of Upper Canada...
in
YorkYork was the name of Old Toronto between 1793 and 1834. It was the second capital of Upper Canada.- History :The town was established in 1793 by Governor John Graves Simcoe, with a new 'Fort York' on the site of the last French 'Fort Toronto'...
, now
TorontoToronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
. In 1841 the British government united the two Canadas into the
Province of CanadaThe Province of Canada, United Province of Canada, or the United Canadas was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham in the Report on the Affairs of British North America following the Rebellions of...
, with a single legislature composed of, again, an assembly, council, and governor general; the 84 members of the lower chamber were equally divided amongst the two former provinces, though Lower Canada had a higher population. The governor still held significant personal influence over Canadian affairs until 1848, when
responsible governmentResponsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability which is the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy...
was implemented in Canada. The actual site of the parliament shifted on a regular basis: From 1841 to 1844, it sat in
KingstonKingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...
, where the present
Kingston General HospitalThe Kingston General Hospital is a teaching hospital affiliated with Queen's University located in Kingston, Ontario. The hospital is a partner within Kingston's university hospitals, delivering health care, conducting research and training health care professionals.As the oldest public hospital...
now stands; between 1844 and the
1849 fire that destroyed the buildingThe burning of the Parliament Buildings in Montreal occurred on the night of April 25, 1849. Inaugurated on June 24, 1845, St. Anne's Market building lodging the Parliament of the Province of Canada was burned down by rioters while the members of the Legislative Assembly were sitting in session.-...
, the legislature was in
MontrealMontreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
; and, after a few years of alternating between Toronto and
Quebec CityQuebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
. In 1866, the legislature was finally moved to
OttawaOttawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
,
Queen VictoriaVictoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
having in 1857 chosen that city as Canada's capital.
The modern-day parliament of Canada came into existence in 1867, in which year the legislatures of the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the United Kingdom all passed the
British North America Act, 1867The Constitution Act, 1867 , is a major part of Canada's Constitution. The Act created a federal dominion and defines much of the operation of the Government of Canada, including its federal structure, the House of Commons, the Senate, the justice system, and the taxation system...
, uniting the aforementioned provinces—with the Province of Canada split into
QuebecQuebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
and
OntarioOntario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
—into a single federation, called the Dominion of Canada. Though the form of the new federal legislature was again nearly identical to the parliament of the United Kingdom, the decision to retain this model was made with heavy influence from the just-concluded
American Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, which indicated to many Canadians the faults of the
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
federal system, with its relatively powerful states and a less powerful federal government. The British North America Act limited the powers of the provinces, providing that all subjects not explicitly delegated to them by that document remain within the authority of the federal parliament, while simultaneously giving the provinces unique powers in certain agreed-upon areas of funding.
Full legislative autonomy was granted by the
Statute of Westminster, 1931The Statute of Westminster 1931 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Passed on 11 December 1931, the Act established legislative equality for the self-governing dominions of the British Empire with the United Kingdom...
, passed by the United Kingdom and ratified by the Canadian parliament. Though the statute allowed the Parliament of Canada to repeal or amend previously British laws as they applied to Canada, it did not permit the abrogation of Canada's constitution, including the British North America Acts. Hence, whenever a constitutional amendment was sought by the Canadian parliament, the enactment of a British law became necessary, though Canada's consent was required. The Parliament of Canada was granted limited power to amend the constitution by a British Act of Parliament in 1949, but it was not permitted to affect the powers of provincial governments, the official positions of the English and French languages, or the maximum five-year term of the legislature.
The Canadian Cabinet last requested the Parliament of the United Kingdom to enact a constitutional amendment in 1982, in the form of the
Canada ActThe Canada Act 1982 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that was passed at the request of the Canadian federal government to "patriate" Canada's constitution, ending the necessity for the country to request certain types of amendment to the Constitution of Canada to be made by the...
. This legislation terminated the power of the British parliament's ability to legislate for Canada, and the authority to amend the constitution was transferred to Canadian legislative authorities. Most amendments require the consent of the Senate, the House of Commons, and the
legislative assembliesLegislative Assembly is the name given in some countries to either a legislature, or to one of its branch.The name is used by a number of member-states of the Commonwealth of Nations, as well as a number of Latin American countries....
of two-thirds of the provinces representing a majority of the population; the unanimous consent of provincial legislative assemblies is required for certain amendments, including those affecting the sovereign, the governor general, the
provincial lieutenant governorsIn Canada, a lieutenant governor is the viceregal representative in a provincial jurisdiction of the Canadian monarch and head of state, Queen Elizabeth II, who resides predominantly in her oldest realm, the United Kingdom...
, the official status of the English and French languages, the
Supreme Court of CanadaThe Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeals in the Canadian justice system. The court grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants each year to appeal decisions rendered by provincial, territorial and federal appellate courts, and its decisions...
, and the amending formulas themselves.
See also
- Hansard
Hansard is the name of the printed transcripts of parliamentary debates in the Westminster system of government. It is named after Thomas Curson Hansard, an early printer and publisher of these transcripts.-Origins:...
- Joint address
- List of Canadian Parliaments
- Procedural officers and senior officials of the parliament of Canada
The procedural officers and senior officials of the parliament of Canada are responsible for the administration of the Senate and the House of Commons:-Senate:* Clerk of the Senate of Canada* Deputy Clerk of the Senate of Canada...
- Records of members of parliament of Canada
-Youngest:The youngest ever MP is currently Pierre-Luc Dusseault, elected in the general election of 2011 at the age of 19 years and 11 months for the riding of Sherbrooke. He succeeded former Liberal Party MP, Claude-André Lachance, who was elected in the federal election of 1974...
External links