Canada

Canada is a Westminster-derived parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarchy. At its founding in 1867, three British colonies were united: the Province of Canada, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia (Ajzenstat et al. 1999). Canada’s constitutional structure is a combination of British and American elements. Like the United States, for example, Canada is a federation. Over time, Canada’s political ties to Westminster have diminished, despite having the preamble of the British North America Act saying Canada has a ‘Constitution similar in Principle to that of the United Kingdom’. Canada and the United Kingdom share a head of state, the British monarch, who is represented by the governor-general, and at the provincial level by lieutenant governors. Canada's bicameral legislative structure is overtly British: the lower house, the House of Commons, contains 338 seats, filled by members of parliament (MPs) who are elected by a single-member plurality electoral system. The upper house, the Senate, contains 105 appointed members who represent the four original regions of Canada: Ontario, Quebec, the maritime provinces and the western provinces. Six additional seats were granted to Newfoundland and Labrador in 1949 when they joined confederation and one seat each for the three territories: Yukon, North West Territories and Nunavut. The governor-general, on the advice and consent of the prime minister, appoints senators, who may serve until the age of seventy-five. This chapter unfolds in two parts. First, I outline some of the constitutional conventions that operate in Canada with regard to formation of parliament and executive function, and I examine the role that the Supreme Court of Canada has played in codifying and/or clarifying these conventions.