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The following brief account was originally excerpted from the CIA Factbook in 2013. It has since been updated using more recent official sources (see bibliography) by our Contributing Editor for Canada, Philip V. Allingham, Professor Emeritus, Lakehead University, Canada.
Government type: federation with Westminster System parliamentary democracy
Motto: A Mari usque as Mare [Latin: From Ocean and thus to Ocean]
National capital: Ottawa, Ontario
Administrative divisions:
Ten provinces and two territories*; Alberta (1905), British Columbia (1871), Manitoba (1870), New Brunswick (1867), Newfoundland (1949), Northwest Territories (1870)*, Nova Scotia (1867), Ontario (1867), Prince Edward Island (1873), Quebec (1867), Saskatchewan (1905), Yukon Territory (1898)*
On 1 July 1867 four Crown colonies entered into a Confederation under the terms of the British North America Act: Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the Province of Canada (created by the Act of Union of Quebec and Ontario in 1841) became the Dominion of Canada. British North American territories initially outside Confederation now include Prince Edward Island (joined 1873), British Columbia (a union of the colonies of New Caledonia and Vancouver's Island; joined in 1871), the vast territories of Rupert's Land and the North-West Territories (from which were created the Western Provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba), and Newfoundland-Labrador (joined in 1949). Queen Victoria signed the enabling legislation on 29 March 1867.
Note: the Northwest Territories was divided into two separate administrative regions as of April 1999; each territory has one sitting Member of Parliament; the eastern section, which has been self-governing since October 2014, has been renamed "Nunavut" (meaning "Our Land" in Inuktitut), whereas the western sections remain the North-West Territories, partly administered by the national government and with an elected legislature based on consensus rather than parties, and the Territory of Yukon, which has an elected legislature with political parties.
Independence: Proclaimed as Dominion Day, 1 July 1867 (from UK)
National holiday: Proclaimed as Dominion Day, 20 June 1868. As of 27 October 1982: Canada Day
Constitution: 17 April 1982 (Constitution Act); originally, the machinery of the government was set up in the British North America Act of 1867; charter of rights and unwritten customs.
Legal system: based on English common law, except in Quebec, where civil law system based on French law prevails; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations.
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal.
Executive branch
- Chief of state: From 6 February 1952 to 8 September 2022, Queen ELIZABETH II of the UK; since 2022, King CHARLES III, represented by the Governor-General, Her Excellency the Rt. Hon. Mary Simon (since 6 July 2021)
- Head of government: Prime Minister Justin Pierre James Trudeau (since 2015)
- Cabinet: Federal Ministry chosen by the Prime Minister from among the members of his or her own party sitting in Parliament.
- Elections: none; the queen is a hereditary monarch; the Governor-General appointed by monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister for a five-year term; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party in the House of Commons is automatically designated by the Governor-General to become Prime Minister. Federal elections are scheduled every four years. The House of Commons, currently with 338 seats (instituted as of the 2013 redistribution), will have five new ridings by the end of 2023.
Legislative branch
Bicameral Parliament or Parlement consists of the Senate or Senat (a body whose members are appointed to serve until reaching 75 years of age by the governor general and selected on the advice of the Prime Minister; presently 89 Senators; the normal limit is 105) and the House of Commons or Chambre des Communes (Members of Parliament or MPPs are elected by direct popular vote in 338 ridings to serve terms of up to five years).
- Elections: House of Commons — 44th General Election held 20 September 2021.
- Election results: percentage of votes by party — Green Party 2.33%; Liberal Party 32.62%; Progressive Conservative Party 33.74%; Le Bloc Quebeçois 7.643%; New Democratic Party 17.82%; People's Party 4.94%; seats by party — Liberals 160; Progressive Conservatives 119; Bloc Quebeçois 32; New Democrats 25; Greens 2.
Judicial branch
Supreme Court, 12 Justices (as of 1949) are appointed by the Prime Minister and Cabinet through the Governor-General; established as a body of six through the Supreme and Exchequer Court Act of 1875.
Federal Political Parties and Leaders, as of the
- Green Party [led by Elizabeth May from 19 November 2022]
- Liberal Party [led by Justin Trudeau from 15 April 2013]
- Le Bloc Quebeçois [led by Yves-Francois Blanchet from 21 Oct. 2019]
- New Democratic Party [led by Jagmeet Singh from 27 Feb. 2019]
- Progressive Conservative Party [led by Pierre Poilievre from 10 Sept. 2022]: Official Opposition.
- People's Party [led by Maxime Bernier from 14 September 2018].
International organization participation
ACCT, AfDB, AG (observer), APEC, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, C, CCC, CDB (non-regional), CE (observer), CP, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECLAC, ESA (cooperating state), FAO, G- 7, G- 8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIPONUH, MTCR, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS, OECD, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMOP, UNPREDEP, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC
Bibliography
Government of Canada. History of Canada Day. Last updated 2 December 2022. Web. 20 April 2023.
Parliament of Canada: House of Commons — Party Leaders and House Officers. Web. 20 April 2023.
Waite, P. B. [Updated by Richard Foot, Michelle Filice, and Andrew McIntosh. Confederation. Published online 22 September 2013; last updated, 29 October 2019. Web. 20 April 2023.
Created 26 July 2013 Updated 20 April 2023