The Constitution of Canada is the supreme law in Canada. It outlines Canada's system of government and the civil and human rights of those who are citizens of Canada and non-citizens in Canada. Its contents are an amalgamation of various codified acts, treaties between the Crown and Indigenous Peoples, uncodified traditions and conventions. Canada is one of the oldest constitutional monarchies in the world.
Canadian Confederation was the process by which three British North American provinces—the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick—were united into one federation, called the Dominion of Canada, on July 1, 1867. This process occurred in accordance with the rising tide of Canadian nationalism that was then beginning to swell within these provinces and others. Upon Confederation, Canada consisted of four provinces: Ontario and Quebec, which had been split out from the Province of Canada, and the provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. The province of Prince Edward Island, which had hosted the first meeting to consider Confederation, the Charlottetown Conference, did not join Confederation until 1873. Over the years since Confederation, Canada has seen numerous territorial changes and expansions, resulting in the current number of ten provinces and three territories.
The Canada Act 1982 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and one of the enactments which make up the Constitution of Canada. It was enacted at the request of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada to patriate Canada's constitution, ending the power of the British Parliament to amend the constitution. The act also formally ended the "request and consent" provisions of the Statute of Westminster 1931 in relation to Canada, whereby the British parliament had a general power to pass laws extending to Canada at its own request.
The Constitution Act, 1982 is a part of the Constitution of Canada. The Act was introduced as part of Canada's process of patriating the constitution, introducing several amendments to the British North America Act, 1867, including re-naming it the Constitution Act, 1867. In addition to patriating the Constitution, the Constitution Act, 1982 enacted the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms; guaranteed rights of the Aboriginal peoples of Canada; entrenched provincial jurisdiction over natural resources; provided for future constitutional conferences; and set out the procedures for amending the Constitution in the future.
Patriation is the political process that led to full Canadian sovereignty, culminating with the Constitution Act, 1982. The process was necessary because, at the time, under the Statute of Westminster, 1931, and with Canada's agreement, the British Parliament retained the power to amend Canada's British North America Acts and to enact, more generally, for Canada at the request and with the consent of the Dominion. That authority was removed from the UK by the enactment of the Canada Act, 1982, on March 29, 1982, by the Parliament of the United Kingdom, as requested by the Parliament of Canada.
The Constitution Act, 1867, originally enacted as the British North America Act, 1867, is a major part of the Constitution of Canada. 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. In 1982, with the patriation of the Constitution, the British North America Acts which were originally enacted by the British Parliament, including this Act, were renamed. However, the acts are still known by their original names in records of the United Kingdom. Amendments were also made at this time: section 92A was added, giving provinces greater control over non-renewable natural resources.
Section 121 of the Constitution Act, 1867 is a provision of the Constitution of Canada relating to the entry of goods from one province into another.
The Preamble to the Constitution Act, 1867 is a provision of the Constitution of Canada, setting out some of the general goals and principles of the Act. Although the Preamble is not a substantive provision, the courts have used it as a guide to the interpretation of the Constitution of Canada, particularly unwritten constitutional principles which inform the history and meaning of the Constitution.
Section 94 of the Constitution Act, 1867 is a provision of the Constitution of Canada allowing the federal Parliament to implement uniform laws relating to property and civil rights, and procedure in the civil courts, in three of the original provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Ontario. The power under section 94 cannot be used without the consent of those provinces, as those subject matters are normally within exclusive provincial jurisdiction. The power has never been used.
Section 3 of the Constitution Act, 1867 is a provision of the Constitution of Canada relating to the union of the original three provinces into Canada. Under the authority of this section, Queen Victoria issued the Proclamation of the Constitution Act, 1867, which brought the Act into force on July 1, 1867, creating Canada.
Section 58 of the Constitution Act, 1867 is a provision of the Constitution of Canada creating the office of provincial lieutenant governors, and providing for appointment by the Governor General of Canada.
Section 25 of the Constitution Act, 1867 is a repealed provision of the Constitution of Canada relating to the appointment of the first members of the Senate of Canada in 1867.
Section 127 of the Constitution Act, 1867 was a provision of the Constitution of Canada relating to the appointment of the first senators in the Senate of Canada. It outlined how members of the existing provincial Legislative Councils could be appointed to the Senate.
Section 145 of the Constitution Act, 1867 is a repealed provision of the Constitution of Canada which required the federal government to build a railway connecting the River St. Lawrence with Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Section 146 of the Constitution Act, 1867 is a provision of the Constitution of Canada authorising the expansion of Canada by admitting British Columbia, Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, Rupert's Land, and the North-Western Territory into Canada.
Section 147 of the Constitution Act, 1867 is a provision of the Constitution of Canada dealing with the representation of Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland in the Senate of Canada, in the event either of those two colonies joined Canada after 1867.
Section 89 of the Constitution Act, 1867 is a provision of the Constitution of Canada relating to the first elections after Confederation in the provinces of Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia.
Section 68 of the Constitution Act, 1867 is a provision of the Constitution of Canada relating to the seats of government of the four original provinces, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec.
Section 56 of the Constitution Act, 1867 is a provision of the Constitution of Canada which previously set out the power of the British government to disallow laws passed by the Parliament of Canada. This power was only used once and no longer exists. The British government gave up the power as a result of the Balfour Declaration of 1926, which recognised Canada and the other British Dominions as equals of the United Kingdom.
Section 57 of the Constitution Act, 1867 is a provision of the Constitution of Canada relating to the former power of the Governor General of Canada to reserve a bill passed by the two houses of the Parliament of Canada for consideration by the British government. The provision no longer has any effect, as a result of the growth of Canadian autonomy and constitutional conventions in the 20th century.
