Parliament of Canada
Parliament of Canada Parlament du Canada (fr) | |
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45th Parliament of Canada | |
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Type | |
Type |
Bicameral |
Houses |
Senate House of Deputies |
Leadership | |
Wilson Tyrell, IB Since October 14, 2015 | |
Elaine MacDunnough, FDP Since October 12, 2011 | |
Daniel Boudreau, FDP Since October 12, 2011 | |
Structure | |
Seats | 555 |
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Senate political groups |
IB: 43 seats PB: 35 seats CB: 20 seats Const.: 7 seats |
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House of Deputies political groups |
FDP: 192 seats PP: 79 seats ULC: 146 seats Socreds: 25 seats Greens: 8 seats |
Senate committees | 6 committees |
House of Deputies committees | 38 committees |
Joint committees | 2 joint committees |
Elections | |
House of Deputies voting system | First-past-the-post |
House of Deputies last election | October 11, 2019 |
Meeting place | |
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Parliament Hill, Ottawa, Manitana | |
Website | |
parliament.gov.ca |
Parliament (French: Parlement) is the national sovereign legislature of the Federal Republic of Canada. Parliament is bicameral, with the Senate being its upper house and the House of Deputies being its lower house. As a sovereign political organ, only Parliament can vote to dissolve itself and call for fresh elections, being Constitutionally-bound to do so every four years. The House of Deputies is elected directly by geographic constituencies across the country, while Senators are de jure chosen by provincial appointment and de facto elected in most provinces. Having emerged from the Hull Parliament of the Canadian War of Independence in 1837, Parliament is one of the oldest continuously operating national legislatures in the Americas. This earlier form of Parliament was replaced by its modern incarnation in October of 1841, with the promulgation of the Constitution of Canada and the nation's first general elections.
In creating Parliament as bicameral, the original authors of the Constitution hoped to preserve a balance between popular and provincial influence in the Federal government, so as to prevent a tyranny of the majority while also giving provincial governments a significant voice in the national legislature. For this reason, only the upper house would be directly elected while the Senate was to be appointed. Over time, however, a series of liberalizing reforms were spearheaded in the 3rd Amendment of 1894, which permitted provinces to hold elections for its Senate seats given the Senators continued to pledge independence from any particular political party. Since the 3rd Amendment, there have been no additional significant changes to the operations of Parliament as a whole.
Since 1927, Parliament has met in the Center Block of Parliament Hill in Ottawa, the capital city of Canada and the second largest city in the Province of Manitana. The Senate meets in the east wing of the building, while the House of Deputies assembles in the west wing.
Composition
According to Article II of Canada's Constitution, Parliament is divided into two parts: the lower House of Deputies and the upper Senate. This system was co-opted from a fusion of the British Westminster system and the American Congress. As in Britain, the primary functions of Parliament are vested in the House of Deputies, where the Prime Minister is elected from and all legislation must originate. The Senate serves as a republican replacement for the British House of Lords, with its original service-by-appointment composition and powers of confirmation modeled after the now-defunct Senate of the United States. Unlike in the Westminster system, the second co-executive of the Canadian Federal Government, the President, does not play a direct role in the legislative process apart from the signing of bills into laws, a feature which more closely resembles the function of the President of the United States.
All Deputies and Senators are referred to collectively as MPs, although individuals serving in Parliament are more often referred to specifically in connection with their house of Parliament. Deputy is often shortened to "Dep.", while Senator is often shortened to "Sen." Although Deputies serve a more active role in the legislative process and are generally considered to wield significantly more power than Senators, in the national order of precedence, Senators rank higher than Deputies. No Member of Parliament can serve in both houses at the same time.
Senate
- Main article: Senate of Canada
The Senate (French: Sénat) officially serves as the upper house of Parliament. It is composed of 105 members nominally appointed by the provincial governments. In the earliest days of Parliament, the Senate was both nominally and actually appointed by the provinces, with each province receiving an equal number of Senators. The 3rd Amendment to the Constitution, however, instituted a major reform which opened Senate seats to elections inside provinces and revised the apportionment method to reflect the proportional differences in populations between the provinces. The reform also removed the long-standing property requirements on Senators, as previously members of the upper house needed to own property with a net worth of at least $5,000. The 3rd Amendment did not remove the independence requirement of Senators, however, which would prevent a province from appointing any Senator that has held membership in a particular political party in the last six years. Most modern Senators are typically long-past Deputies or provincial government figures who served in non-partisan roles. Although Senators de jure do not face Constitutionally-bound terms like their colleagues in the House of Deputies, most provinces choose to cycle a portion of their Senators every two general elections to ensure Senators remain dedicated to the interests of their residents.
Since the passage of the 3rd Amendment, the Census of Canada has played a central role in the official apportionment of Senate seats. The number of seats a province controls in the Senate is determined by the Census, but the results of a Census are not implemented officially until the first election cycle held after the Census. For example, the results of the 2025 Census would not be reflected in the apportionment of Senate seats until the 2027 elections, even as those elections are a full two years after the tabulation of Census results. As of the 2019 elections, the current standing of Senate seats is as follows: Ontario controls 23, Quebec 20, Manitana 17, Columbia 12, Alberta 10, Algonquin 7, Migmaqui 4, Saskatchewan and Manitoba 3, Alaska 2, and the territories of Denenda, Nunavut, and Yukon one each. Although Senators are prevented from membership in any federally recognized parties, they are permitted to align themselves internally in loose coalitions known as Blocs. These Blocs have some vague ideological tendencies, but they are not permitted to operate under a specific, party-like platform. Although the Independent Bloc remains the largest with 43 Senators, in recent years there has been a clear shift of many Senators into other, more nominally ideological Blocs with the Progressives, Conservatives, and Constitutionalists.
House of Deputies
- Main article: House of Deputies of Canada
The House of Deputies (French: Chambre des députés) is the official lower house of Parliament. Often referred to just as the House, it's number of seats is more directly correlated to the results of the Census. When Parliament was first established, the House had a total of 100 seats, and over time, with the release of official Census results, that number has grown relative to the growth of the national population. As originally conceived in Article II and later more literally explained in the 3rd Amendment, the number of seats should remain fifty more than there are millions of people in Canada to the last multiple of five. The 2015 Census officially tabulated more than 42 million citizens and permanent residents in Canada, and so there are a total of 450 seats in the current House. These seats are then apportioned to the provinces proportional to the population of each province, in the same manner of the Senate seats. Unlike the Senate, Deputies do not have any special requirements placed against running for a seat, only that they be a citizen of the federal voting age. As Deputies are elected on a first-past-the-post basis within individual, geographically defined constituencies, all seats are up for reelection every four years, as stipulated by the Constitution. Deputies are permitted to hold membership in political parties, and only very rarely do independent Deputies manage to secure any seats in a general election. The current 450 Deputies are distributed as follows: Ontario controls 105, Quebec 85, Manitana 75, Columbia 51, Alberta 44, Algonquin 30, Migmaqui 19, Manitoba 14, Saskatchewan 12, Alaska 7, Newfoundland 5, and the three territories of Denenda, Nunavut, and Yukon control one each.
Jurisdiction
According to Article II, the powers of governance which are not specifically granted to the provinces are reserved for legislation by Parliament. As such, the only matters of state over which the Parliament does not have full administrative control are education, public welfare, municipal administration, charitable institutions, and matters of "merely local or private concern." Even as the broad scope of Parliament is negatively defined, the Constitution still allows for "oversight and regulatory action of Parliament" on such matters nominally reserved for the individual provinces. Parliament is thus able to effectively enforce standards of provincial administration on these matters as stated in the 1st Amendment to the Constitution. Of the many areas over which Parliament has authority, some of the most significant include the census, postal service, military, navigation and shipping, currency, banking, weights and measures, bankruptcy, copyrights, commerce, patents, indigenous affairs, naturalization, customs, immigration, infrastructure, and environment. In such areas, Parliament is restricted only by Article I of the Constitution, which recognizes the inalienable rights of Canadian citizens, and as of the 6th Amendment, of all persons with legal status in Canada as well. Restrictions on Parliamentary and provincial proceedings as imposed by Article I of the Constitution are considered inviolable, thereby rejecting the British Westminster principle of parliamentary supremacy in favor of the more Franco-American approach to human rights.
Officers
Each chamber of Parliament is presided over by a President. Both the Senate President and the Deputies President are members of that chamber who are internally elected. Both Parliamentary Presidents are elected at the beginning of each legislative term, and both have the power to set the agenda of their respective chambers. Aside from setting their chamber's agenda, each Parliamentary President wields a significant amount of power in calling forward motions of debate and voting, moderating active debates, and deciding the outcome of evenly tied votes. In order of Parliamentary honors precedence, the highest honor is given to the President and any special guest of that figure, followed by the Parliamentary Presidents, the Prime Minister, members of the Federal Government, the leaders of the Official Opposition, Senators, and lastly, regular Deputies.
The Usher of Parliament is considered the most senior protocol position of the legislature, preceding the President in terms of procedure and serving as Parliament's master of ceremonies during special sessions of Parliament. The Usher is further a floor officer of the Senate and serves as the head of protocol in that chamber during its regular business. Additionally, the Usher is responsible for the administrative and logistical oversight of any special events taking place on Parliament Hill, as well as for the security of both the Senate and the House of Deputies during regular and special sessions.
Other officers of Parliament are the designated Agents of Parliament who serve in the positions which make up the collective ombudsman of the Federal Government. These Agents are the heads of the Ethics and Integrity Commission, the Federal Audit Commission, the General Elections Commission, the Federal Languages Commission, the Public Access Commission, the Privacy Commission, and the Parliamentary Library Commission. The Agents of Parliament are appointed by the Senate and serve roles which are considered necessary to be kept outside the realm of partisan politics.