HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE:

Before Canada ever became Canada, it was inhabited by Aboriginal peoples and British and French
settlers. Conflicts between the French and English resulted in the Seven Years War, in which General
Wolfe defeated the French at the Plains of Abraham and the colonies came under British rule. When
Canada became a nation in 1867, joining the four colonies of British North America (Ontario, Quebec,
Nova Scotia and New Brunswick), it needed to figure out a way to unify itself and bring all aspects of the
country under one general government. Because of the different cultures, customs and settlement
histories that existed in each region, each province needed to be able to address its unique issues. The
Fathers of Confederation decided on a federal system of government in order to provide for the different
needs of the provinces as well as the common needs of the nation as a whole.
Before 1867, the French arrived first, then the British. Each brought their own language, system of
government, laws and culture. In 1763, after a long war between the British and the French, all of Canada
came under British rule and was known as "British North America."
In the late 18th and into the 19th century, during and after the time of the American Revolution, many
African Americans and United Empire Loyalists fled the United States for Canada, where British ties
remained and slavery had been abolished.
During the mid- to late 19th and early 20th century, waves of immigrants arrived from Europe, attracted
by the opportunity of a new and better life in Canada. Some settled in towns and cities; others worked in
factories, mines and lumber camps. Many were farmers who turned the Prairie region into wheat fields.
Asian immigrants from China, Japan and India settled mainly in the western provinces during this time.
Many immigrants helped build Canada's national railways, which joined the east and west coasts and
opened up the interior for settlement. After both world wars, thousands of Europeans came to Canada as
immigrants and refugees and helped build Canada's post-war economy.
Canada's experience during and after the Second World War raised awareness of the needs of refugees
and the desire of families to be together. Over the last 50 years, people from all over the globe have
sought a better life or have sought refuge in Canada, fleeing civil wars, political unrest and natural
disasters. Today, Canada is home to immigrants from more than 240 countries.
Although Canada was a nation in 1867, our laws were still subject to review by Britain. From 1867 to 1982,
the British North America Act, 1867 (later renamed the Constitution Act, 1867) was the central document
of Canadas constitution. The BNA Act covered the structure of the three branches of government and the
sharing of powers between the federal and provincial governments. Up until 1982, civil liberties or
freedoms were not specifically set out in the constitution, but instead were unwritten and interpreted by
the courts.
In 1982, Canada achieved the ability to govern itself when the Canada Act, 1982 was passed (previously,
Britain had the power to legislate for Canada). The Canada Act, 1982 brought together the BNA Act and
the Constitution Act, 1982. The Constitution Act, 1982 is the part of our constitution that contains the
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
CONSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK:
The Constitution is Canadas premier political institution, representing the basic rulebook by which
Canadian politics operate. It is, however, also one of the nations more complex political concepts to
understand. The function of the Constitution as a governmental or national political code, the
Constitutions written and unwritten sources, and the key principles and values contained within the
constitutional framework.

BASIC NATURE AND FUNCTION OF THE CONSTITUTION:

CONSTITUTION AS A POLITICAL RULEBOOK:

Constitution is a system or code that establishes the rules and principles by which an organization is
governed. The Canadian Constitution is an example of a particular type of constitution, usually referred
to as a governmental or national constitution. The Canadian Constitution establishes the rules and
principles that govern the operation of government and political life in Canada. It represents, in essence,
the basic rulebook of Canadian politics, setting out the nations fundamental political principles, the
powers and duties of government, and the rights and privileges of citizens.

GOVERNING KEY POLITICAL RELATIONS:

As the basic rulebook for Canadian politics, the Constitution governs several key political relations in
Canadian society. First, it establishes basic principles and rules that govern the relationship between
citizens and the state. The state is understood as encompassing all branches (executive, legislative, and
judicial) and levels (federal, provincial, territorial, and local) of government. Secondly, the Constitution
provides the basic principles and rules that govern the relationship between different parts of the state.
It establishes the distribution of functions and powers between the different parts or branches of
government, such as between the political executive (Monarch and Cabinet), the legislatures (House of
Commons and Senate), and the judiciary (Canadas courts). The Constitution also provides the basic rules
governing the relationship between different levels of government, such as the federal (or national),
provincial and territorial (regional), and local governments.

SUPREME LAW AND CONSTITUTIONALISM

The Constitution is recognized as the supreme law in Canada. This means the principles and rules
contained within it have a special legal status. In the first place, the Constitution takes priority over all
other Canadian laws. When inconsistency occurs with another law, the Constitution is always recognized
as being preeminent (it is often the case that the other law will be declared unconstitutional because of
this inconsistency and, as a result, will have no legal force). Furthermore, this notion of supremacy carries
with it the principle of Constitutionalism. Under this principle, no political actor or institution is above the
principles and norms as defined by the Constitution whether one is the Monarch, the Prime Minister of
Canada, a provincial Premier, or an elected representative in a legislature, all are legally obligated to act
in accordance with the constitutional rulebook.
SOURCES OF THE CANADIAN CONSTITUTION:
The Canadian Constitution is based upon a diverse collection of written statutes, orders, judicial decisions,
and unwritten conventions and traditions. The following section provides an introduction to these
different constitutional sources.

CONSTITUTIONAL ACTS AND AMENDMENTS:

Canadian Constitution has been established in the form of written constitutional acts and amendments.
These are formal constitutional documents have been enacted by British or Canadian legislatures for the
purpose of setting out the nations constitutional framework. The most important of these is the British
North America Act, 1867 (which, in 1982, was re-named the Constitution Act, 1867). This piece of
legislation, originally passed by the British Parliament in 1867, is Canadas founding document, providing
for the joining of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario, and Quebec into the Dominion of Canada.
Moreover, this document established many of the basic institutions of government in Canada, such as the
Monarchy, the Parliamentary system, and federalism.

BRITISH STATUTES AND ORDERS-IN-COUNCIL:

Another important foundation for the Canadian Constitution is a collection of British statutes and Orders-
in-Council.
British statutes refer to legislation originally passed by the British Parliament, which, although not formal
constitutional acts, nevertheless still have significant constitutional consequences for Canada today. Chief
amongst these is the Statute of Westminster, 1931, which recognized Canada (as well as many other
dominions of the British Empire) as being completely independent of Britain.
British Orders-in-Council, by contrast, are executive decisions made by the British Cabinet (Prime Minister
and cabinet ministers). Constitutionally important orders in Canadian constitutional history include
the Ruperts Land and North-Western Territory Order, 1870 (which transferred Hudson Bay Company
lands to Canada), the British Columbia Terms of Union, 1871 (joined British Columbia to Canada and etc.

JUDICIAL DECISIONS:
Judicial decisions that clarify or alter provisions of Canadas written constitutional documents, statutes,
and Orders-in-Council.
In particular, this would include the judgments of the British Judicial Committee of the Privy
Council (which acted as Canadas last court of appeal in constitutional matters until 1949) and
the Supreme Court of Canada (which later replaced the British Judicial Committee as the nations highest
court). While judicial decisions have impacted all aspects of the Constitution, they have been especially
significant in the areas of federalism and citizen rights and freedoms.

UNWRITTEN CONVENTIONS:
Canadas Constitution is also based upon numerous unwritten conventions. These are rules and norms
that have never been formally written in a constitutional document, but are regularly observed
nevertheless. Many of these unwritten rules have been inherited from Britain (with some modification),
while others are unique to the Canadian constitutional context.
Important examples include the predominant role and influence played by the Prime Minister of
Canada (in Cabinet and in the executive branch in general), the subordinate position of the Governor
General of Canada, and the practice of responsible government (with Cabinet required to resign if it
cannot hold a majority of support in the House of Commons).
BUREAUCRATIC STRUCTURE:

Canada has a parliamentary system within the context of a constitutional monarchy, which means that
we recognize the Queen or King as the Head of State, while the Prime Minister is the Head of Government
and the monarchy of Canada being the foundation of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches.

Three branches work together to govern Canada.

1. The executive branch (also called the Government) is the decision making branch, made up of the
Monarch represented by the Governor General, the Prime Minister, and the Cabinet.
2. The legislative branch is the law-making branch, made up of the appointed Senate and the elected
House of Commons.
3. The judicial branch is a series of independent courts that interpret the laws passed by the other
two branches.
LEGISLATURE:

The legislative arm of Canadas Parliament is bicameral. Each house has equal status as regards to its
immunities, privileges and powers, but each is far from being a duplicate of the other. Parliament itself is
made up of the following three parts:
The Monarch
The Senate
The House of Common

THE MONARCH:

Canada is a constitutional monarchy, in which the monarch agrees to delegate her powers to the nations
elected politicians, rather than use them herself.
The Crown is often used as a synonym for the entire Canadian government itself, such as Crown-
owned land or the Crowns lawyers.
Under the terms of the Canadian Constitution, the king or queen of the United Kingdom will always
be recognized as the king or queen of Canada,
The Canadian Constitution grants sweeping political powers to the Queen, declaring that the
executive government and authority of and over Canada is vested in her. Among other things, she is
said to be the head of Canadas parliament and the commander-in-chief of the Canadian armed forces.

THE HOUSE OF COMMONS:

The House of Commons has two basic jobs, proposing and passing laws, and deciding who gets to be prime
minister. It is the lower house.
The House of Commons consists of 338 elected Members of Parliament, better known as simply
MPs each of whom represents a different electoral district, also known as
a riding or constituency, which is a specific geographic region of the country.
The different provinces of Canada are divided into ridings according to the principle of representation
by population (or rep-by-pop) which means the larger provinces elect more MPs than the smaller
ones.
Once elected, MPs become divided into two camps: frontbenchers and backbenchers, terms that
literally reflect where in the chamber of the House of Commons they sit.
Those on the front bench are the ones picked to be members of the prime ministers cabinet or the
opposition parties shadow cabinets, while those in the back are the ones that didnt make the cut.
Each cabinet minister heads a department of the Canadian federal government.
Below the cabinet are the House committees, which are special groups of MPs that gather to discuss
and modify the bills that are introduced into the House before they go to the floor of the chamber for
a final vote of all members.
The political party with the second-most seats in the House is known as the Official Opposition, and
its leader is given the grandiose title of Leader of Her Majestys Loyal Opposition. The opposition
organizes itself more or less the same way as the government, complete with a shadow cabinet of
MPs called critics who offer targeted criticisms of their ministerial counterparts.
THE SENATE:

The Senate is the appointed upper house of the Parliament of Canada. It exercises all the powers of the
House of Commons with the exception of the right to initiate financial legislation.

Canadas Senate consists of 105 politicians, known as senators.

Senators are summoned or appointed by the Governor General on the recommendation of the
Prime Minister.
The Senates official purpose is to approve all bills that pass the House of Commons before they
become law, the original purpose of the Senate was to provide an elite veto on potentially harmful
legislation passed by the democratically-elected House of Commons.
Senate seats are said to be allocated on the basis of regional equality.
A Senator may resign by advising the Governor General in writing to this effect. A Senators place
becomes vacant if the Senator is absent for two consecutive sessions; becomes bankrupt or insolvent
or a public defaulter; becomes a citizen or subject of any foreign power; is attainted of treason or
convicted of any infamous crime; or ceases to be qualified in respect of property or residence.
Unless they die, resign, are disqualified or their seat is declared vacant, Senators hold office until they
retire at age 75.

THE EXECUTIVE:
The Constitution declares that executive authority is vested in the Queen.
While the Prime Minister exercises the powers of the Head of Government, the official functions of
the Head of State are carried out by a the Governor General who is appointed by the Queen as her
personal representative on the advice of the Prime Minister.
The Governor General governs through a Cabinet, headed by a Prime Minister or Premier. The
Governor General, who is always a Canadian, is appointed by the Queen on the advice of the Canadian
Prime Minister and, except in very extraordinary circumstances, exercises all powers of the office on
the advice of the Cabinet (a council of Ministers), which has the support of a majority of the members
of the popularly elected House of Commons.
The Governor General governs through a Cabinet, headed by a Prime Minister. The Prime Minister
chooses the other Ministers, who are then formally appointed by the Governor General.
Formally, this is the Governor General acting by and with the advice and consent of the Queens Privy
Council for Canada, however, the Privy Councilconsisting mostly of former members of parliament, chief
justices of the supreme court, and other elder statesmenrarely meets in full; in practice, it is the
Governor General acting with the advice and consent of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
Privy Councilors are given the title Honorable, which they retain for life. They serve at pleasure but
their term is effectively for life. Prime Ministers are designated Right Honorable for life from the moment
they assume office.

THE JUDICARY:
The organization of Canadas judicial system is a function of Canadas Constitution, and particularly of
the Constitution Act, 1867. By virtue of that Act, authority for the judicial system in Canada is divided
between the federal government and the ten provincial governments.
Only the federal government can appoint and pay judges of the superior, or upper-level, courts in the
provinces. Parliament can also establish a general court of appeal and other courts.
 The courts in Canada are organized in a four-tiered structure.
It has created the Supreme Court of Canada, the Federal Court and the Federal Court of Appeal, as
well as the Tax Court.
The Supreme Court of Canada is Canada's final court of appeal. Its nine judges represent the four
major regions of the country.
The Supreme Court has two main functions.
It hears appeals from decisions of the appeal courts in all the provinces and territories, as well
as from the Federal Court of Appeal. Supreme Court judgments are final.
It decides important questions about the Constitution and controversial or complicated areas
of private and public law. The government can also ask the Supreme Court for its opinion on
important legal questions.
The federal government also established the Federal Court, the Tax Court and the Federal Court of
Appeal.
The Federal Court specializes in areas such as intellectual property, maritime law, federal
provincial disputes, and civil cases related to terrorism.
The Tax Court specializes in hearing appeals from tax assessments.
The Federal Court of Appeal reviews the decisions of both these courts. In fact, it is the highest
court of the land for about 95 percent of all cases.
Provincial courts try most criminal offences, money matters and family matters. Provincial courts may
also include specialized courts, such as youth courts, family courts, and small claims courts. Each
provincial government appoints the judges for its own courts.
Superior courts are the highest level of courts in a province or territory. They deal with the most
serious criminal and civil cases and have the power to review the decisions of the provincial and
territorial courts.
Superior courts are divided into two levels: trial level and appeal level.
Administrative boards and tribunals are other kinds of disputes that do not need to be dealt with in
the courts. Different kinds of administrative tribunals and boards deal with disputes over the
interpretation and application of laws and regulations, such as entitlement to employment insurance
or disability benefits, refugee claims, and human rights.
DIVISION OF POWERS:
Canada is one of the worlds most decentralized federations. Canada is a federation with legislative
powers distributed between the federal government and the 10 provincial and 3 territorial governments.
Canadian federalism is intimately linked with;
The practice of democracy in Canada;
The recognition and accommodation of linguistic, regional and cultural differences
The development and implementation of public policy.

Canada has three levels of government:

1. Federal
2. Provincial
3. Municipal (cities and towns).

These governments are elected by the citizens of Canada. Both governments have equal status in the
sense that the federal government cannot make laws dealing with subjects that the provincial government
has jurisdiction over. Sometimes, provincial governments delegate some of their powers to local
governments (both municipalities and regional districts).

THE FEDERAL OR NATIONAL GOVERNMENT:

It which includes institutions such as the Prime Minister and Parliament, is responsible for areas of jurisdiction
affecting all Canadians, such as national defense, foreign policy, criminal law, and citizenship. The federal
government (also known as the Government of Canada) also has the authority and responsibility of governing
the Territories (though it usually delegates this role to elected territorial governments).

THE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENTS:

Such as the governments of Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, British Columbia, and so forth. This level of
government has its own political institutions and leaders, such as provincial premiers and legislatures. the
national, or federal government was given control over larger, more complicated national issues. This system
of shared powers between multiple levels of government is known as federalism. Moreover, provincial
governments have their own jurisdictions (which are provided for under the Canadian Constitution), such as
health care, education, transportation (highways), and property and civil rights.

TYPES OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN CANADA:

THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT:

This level usually has responsibility over policy fields directly related to local communities (see below for more
on the jurisdictions of local government). Moreover, like the other levels of government, local governments
have their own political leaders and institutions, such as mayors/reeves, councillors/aldermen, directors,
agencies, boards, and commissions.

MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENTS:
The most common types of local government are municipalities, which include such entities as cities, towns,
villages, and parishes. The particular classification of a municipality is usually based on its population size. All
municipalities have a local council, which has responsibility for overseeing the day-to-day operation of the
municipality. This council is usually comprised of elected members, known as councillors or aldermen, and is
headed by a mayor or reeve. In most cases, the council is charged with a wide range of powers and
responsibilities, such as taxation, budgeting, municipal planning and development, parks, and the provision of
local public services.

AGENCIES, BOARDS & COMMISSIONS:

In some cases, certain powers and responsibilities in local government are delegated to specialized
agencies, boards, or commissions. Common examples of such entities include police commissions (which
oversee municipal police forces), school boards (which oversee the local public schools), health boards (which
oversee hospital, home care, and ambulance services), parks and recreation boards, and transit authorities
(which manage local bus and light-rail services).

REGIONAL LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

Another common type of local government is regional government. These are entities created by provinces in
which several municipalities are grouped under a single regional administrative and political structure. The
purpose of these regional governments is usually to provide area-wide municipal functions more efficiently,
and, in that they encompass several municipalities, to provide a tax base sufficient enough to undertake
expensive services or capital projects.