Canadian Constitutional Documents

Quota pars operis tanti nobis committur? - Seneca

Preface

The Documents

Below you will find a list of some of these constitutional documents as well as a comprehensive table culled from Appendix II of the Revised Statutes of Canada, 1985, and updated to include the most recent constitutional enactments.

Also note that within these documents, at nearly the top of each of these, you will find a date in perentheses. This is the date when the document was given Royal Assent (i.e., proclaimed into law).

N. B. These documents are the English versions. A committee was struck years ago to have them translated into an official French version, but to the best of my knowledge, it just handed in its report in 1993 and there has been nothing produced yet that is 'authorative.'

For more details on this, refer to section 55 of the Constitution Act, 1982.

Also note that these documents are provided as a service to Canadians and others interested in Canada, who regularly travel the net and who are curious in regards to, "what the fuss is all about." This "collection" is merely for reference only. If you have a legal question regarding the consitutional validity of a law, consult a lawyer.

Contributions to this project are welcomed. I have some more plans for this, so stay tuned! See the Acknowledgements for a list of contributors and those people who have helped along the way. Those who wish to mirror this archive please read this document.

If you wish, you may also initiate a search on this archive.

• Constitution Act, 1867 (Consolidated) (Formerly known as the British North America Act, 1867 [Consolidated])
  • The base document of the Canadian Constitution
  • United Upper Canada (Ontario), Lower Canada (Québec), Nova Scotia and New Brunswick into the Dominion of Canada.
  • Created a U.K. style parliament: a House of Commons and a Senate
  • Section 91 provided for federal powers, while section 92 laid out the powers for the provinces.
  • Neither a domestic amending formula nor a 'bill of rights' included.

• Rupert's Land Act, 1868
  • All lands belonging to the Hudson's bay company and the North-Western Territory (as it was then called) become part of the Dominion of Canada.

• Temporary Government of Rupert's Land Act, 1869
  • Allowed the government of Canada to have a transitional government set up for Rupert's Land upon admittance, until it could change it to suit Canada's needs.

• Manitoba Act, 1870
  • Created the Province of Manitoba and established its government.

• Constitution Act, 1871 (Formerly British North America Act, 1871)
  • Gave Parliament the power to create new provinces out of the Northwest Territories (then recently acquired from the Hudson's Bay Company and the Queen).

• Parliament of Canada Act, 1875
  • Clarified the power of the Canadian Parliament to legislate over, "privileges, immunities, and powers of," its members.

• Adjacent Territories Order
  • Admitted all remaining territories of British North America surrounding Canada into Canada.

• Constitution Act, 1886 (Formerly British North America Act, 1886)
  • Allowed parliamentary representation for citizens residing in the Territories.

• Canada (Ontario Boundary) Act, 1889
  • Boundary extensions to Ontario.

• Statute Law Revision Act, 1893
  • An omnibus bill repealing certain 'spent' enactments, including 10 affected sections in the Constitution Act, 1867.

• Canadian Speaker (Appointment of Deputy) Act, 1895, Session 2 (Repealed by Constitution Act, 1982)
  • A technical act which confirmed the validity of another act regarding the Deputy Speaker of the Senate.

• Constitution Act, 1907 (Formerly British North America Act, 1907)
  • Amends the federal-provincial transfer payment schedule.

• Constitution Act, 1915 (Formerly British North America Act, 1915)
  • Readjusts Senate seat allocation.

• British North America Act, 1916 (Repealed by Statute Law Revision Act, 1927)
  • Extended the term of the Twelfth Parliament during World War I

• Statute Law Revision Act, 1927
  • An omnibus bill that repealed a number of Acts, including the British North America Act, 1916.

• Statute of Westminster, 1931
  • Removed legislative authority of Parliament in the United Kingdom over the Dominions (Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Newfoundland), with the following caveat:
  • As the Canadian delegation had been unable to settle on an amending formula, the existing scheme (ie. a simple British law, subject to amendment) was retained.

• Constitution Act, 1940 (Formerly British North America Act, 1940)
  • Gave the Federal Government under Parliament the power to legislate laws repecting unemployment insurance.

• British North America Act, 1943 (Repealed by the Constitution Act, 1982)
  • Delayed the decennial re-adjustment of the seats in the House of Commons until World War II was over.

• British North America Act, 1946 (Repealed by the Constitution Act, 1982)
  • Changed section 51 of the Constitution Act, 1867, to bring the number of members in the House of Commons to 255.

• Letters Patent Constituting the Office of Governor General of Canada
  • Describes the office of Governor General of Canada
  • Defines the role of the Governor General in relation to the monarchy and government.
  • Succession to the office in case of death or incapacity.
  • Defines his powers.

• Constitution Act, 1960 (Formerly British North America Act, 1960)
  • Changed the length of term of office for superior court judges (including those of the Supreme Court) to 75 years of age instead of for-life.

• Constitution Act, 1964 (Formerly British North America Act, 1964)
  • Gave Parliament the power to legislate laws regarding old age pensions.

• Constitution Act, 1965 (Formerly British North America Act, 1965)
  • Changed the length of term of office for Senators to 75 years of age instead of for-life.

• Constitution Act, 1974 (Formerly British North America Act, 1974)
  • Changed the rules for calculating the number of MPs to sit in the next Parliament.

• Constitution Act, 1982 (Part of the Canada Act, 1982)
  • Part of an act which 'patriated' Canada's constitution, due to Pierre Trudeau
  • Included a domestic amending formula (7 provinces/50% of population)
  • Includes the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
  • Includes the "Notwithstanding clause" allowing governments to suspend the certain parts of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms for renewable 5-year periods.
  • Includes a comprehensive schedule affecting many constitutional documents, including repeals and re-enactments.
  • Never signed by the separatist Quebec government of the day, or even since then, but nevertheless is legally binding throughout Canada.
  • The last act to amend the Canadian constitution to be enacted by the United Kingdom Parliament.

• Constitution Amendment Proclamation, 1983
  • Entrenched the recognition of rights obtained under aboriginal land claims agreements.
  • Commitment of all governments to invite aboriginal and territotorial government representatives to conferences on issues related to them.

• Constitution Act, 1985 (Representation)
  • Replaced section 51 of the Constitution Act, 1867.
  • It did away with the old, complex formula that the Mulroney government claimed would have created too many House of Commons seats, therefore costing more money.

• Constitution Amendment, 1987 (Newfoundland Act)
  • Amended Term 17 of the Terms of Union of Newfoundland with Canada to include rights and privileges of more denominational schools.

• Constitution Amendment Proclamation, 1993 (New Brunswick Act)
  • Amends the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to include the equality of the French and English linguistic communities in New Brunswick.
  • Includes a provision for the New Brunswich legislature and government to "preserve and promote the status, rights and privileges," of those communities.

• Constitution Amendment Proclamation, 1993 (Prince Edward Island)
  • Amends the Prince Edward Island Terms of Union to recognize that the province can levy tolls for the use of a, "fixed crossing joining the Island to the mainland."

Eppur, si muove... - Galileo