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The British North America Acts 1867–1975 are a series of
Acts of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of parliament be ...
that were at the core of the
constitution of Canada The Constitution of Canada (french: Constitution du 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 a ...
. Most were enacted by the
Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative supremacy ...
and some by the
Parliament of Canada The Parliament of Canada (french: Parlement du Canada) is the federal legislature of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and is composed of three parts: the King, the Senate, and the House of Commons. By constitutional convention, th ...
. In Canada, some of the acts were repealed in Canada by the
Constitution Act, 1982 The ''Constitution Act, 1982'' (french: link=no, Loi constitutionnelle de 1982) is a part of the Constitution of Canada.Formally enacted as Schedule B of the ''Canada Act 1982'', enacted by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Section 60 of t ...
. The rest were renamed the Constitution Acts and amended, with those changes only having effect in Canada. The Canadian versions of the Constitution Acts make up the Constitution of Canada, and can only be amended in Canada. The British versions of the acts which remain in force in Britain are ordinary British statutes. They can be amended by the British Parliament, but those amendments would not have any effect in Canada. They retain their original names and do not include any amendments made in Canada since 1982. The term "
British North America British North America comprised the colonial territories of the British Empire in North America from 1783 onwards. English colonisation of North America began in the 16th century in Newfoundland, then further south at Roanoke and Jamestown, ...
" (BNA) refers to the
British colonies A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony administered by The Crown within the British Empire. There was usually a Governor, appointed by the British monarch on the advice of the UK Government, with or without the assistance of a local Council ...
in North America, after 1783.


Constitutional changes

Canada dates its history as a country to the
British North America Act, 1867 The ''Constitution Act, 1867'' (french: Loi constitutionnelle de 1867),''The Constitution Act, 1867'', 30 & 31 Victoria (U.K.), c. 3, http://canlii.ca/t/ldsw retrieved on 2019-03-14. originally enacted as the ''British North America Act, 186 ...
, which came into effect on July 1, 1867. However, Canada was not established as fully independent, since the United Kingdom retained legislative control over Canada and full control over Canadian foreign policy. Canada did not have any foreign embassies until its first one was established in
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...
, in 1926. Until 1949, changes to the British North America Acts could be made only by the British Parliament. The British North America (No. 2) Act, 1949, gave the Parliament of Canada the power to make limited
constitutional amendment A constitutional amendment is a modification of the constitution of a polity, organization or other type of entity. Amendments are often interwoven into the relevant sections of an existing constitution, directly altering the text. Conversely, t ...
s, but full Canadian control over the constitution was not achieved until the passage of the
Canada Act 1982 The Canada Act 1982 (1982 c. 11; french: Loi de 1982 sur le Canada) 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 ...
. This long delay was in large part due to the inability to agree upon a procedure for making constitutional amendments that was acceptable to all of the provinces, in particular the Province of
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirteen ...
. Because of this, all British North America Acts dated before 1949 were passed by the British Parliament, while some of those dated after 1949 were passed by the Canadian Parliament. When Canada patriated its constitution with the passage of the ''Canada Act 1982'', most of the ''British North America Acts'' were renamed as "Constitution Acts" in Canada, while a few of the acts were repealed as no longer having any relevance. The acts are collectively called the ''Constitution Acts 1867 to 1982''.


French-language versions

The fifteen BNA Acts enacted by the United Kingdom Parliament do not have official French-language versions. Only the English version is official. The five BNA Acts enacted by the Canadian Parliament do have official French-language versions, and the English-language and French-language versions are equally authoritative (as with all legislation enacted by the Canadian Parliament). The French Constitutional Drafting Committee produced translations of all the British North America Acts, pursuant to section 55 of the Constitution Act, 1982, but these were never enacted by the federal and provincial governments through the constitutional amending process to make them official.


Individual Acts

The different Acts of this series are distinguished by appending the year of their enactment. BNA Acts were passed in 1867, 1871, 1886, 1907, 1915, 1916*, 1930, 1940, 1943*, 1946*, 1949, 1949 (No. 2)*, 1951*, 1952*, 1960, 1964, 1965, 1974, 1975 and 1975 (No. 2). Those marked with (*) were repealed in Canada in 1982, but are still in force in Britain. Five of the British North America Acts were enacted by the Parliament of Canada; namely those of 1952, 1965, 1974, 1975, and 1975 (No. 2). The other fifteen were enacted by the Imperial Parliament in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...
. The first Act, the ''British North America Act, 1867'', created the self-governing (internally)
Dominion of Canada While a variety of theories have been postulated for the name of Canada, its origin is now accepted as coming from the St. Lawrence Iroquoian word , meaning 'village' or 'settlement'. In 1535, indigenous inhabitants of the present-day Quebec C ...
. The remaining acts dealt with a variety of topics, though the majority were concerned with modifying the representation in Parliament or in the
Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The Senate is modelled after the B ...
as the country enlarged and changed (1886, 1915, 1943, 1946, 1952, 1974, 1975, 1975 (No. 2)), adding the newer Provinces of
Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...
, British Columbia,
Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...
,
Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Terri ...
, and
Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
. Other topics include modifying the country's boundaries (1871, 1949), transfer payments (1907), temporary changes due to two world wars (1916, 1943), federal-provincial powers (1930, 1964), power over changes in the constitution (1949 (No. 2)), the creation of new social programs (1951, 1964), and mandatory retirement ages in the Canadian government (1960, 1965)


British North America Act, 1867

The British North America Act, 1867, also known as the BNA Act, comprises a major part of the
Constitution of Canada The Constitution of Canada (french: Constitution du 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 a ...
. The act entails the original creation of a federal dominion and sets the framework for much of the operation of the
Government of Canada The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown-in- ...
, including its federal structure, the
House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Commons i ...
, the Senate, the
justice system The contemporary national legal systems are generally based on one of four basic systems: civil law, common law, statutory law, religious law or combinations of these. However, the legal system of each country is shaped by its unique history and ...
, and the
taxation A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or ...
system. In 1982, this Act was renamed the ''Constitution Act, 1867'', with the
patriation Patriation is the political process that led to full Canadian sovereignty, culminating with the Constitution Act, 1982. The process was necessary because under the Statute of Westminster 1931, with Canada's agreement at the time, the Parliament o ...
of the constitution (having originally been enacted by the
Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative supremacy ...
). Amendments were also made at this time: section 92A was added, giving the
provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...
greater control over non-renewable natural resources.


British North America Act, 1871

This Act gave Canada the power to establish new provinces and territories and to change provincial boundaries with the affected province's consent. The act recognized the creation of the province of Manitoba, and also the incorporation of
Rupert's Land Rupert's Land (french: Terre de Rupert), or Prince Rupert's Land (french: Terre du Prince Rupert, link=no), was a territory in British North America which comprised the Hudson Bay drainage basin; this was further extended from Rupert's Land t ...
and the
Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...
into Canada. This Act also allowed the Canadian parliament and the legislatures of Ontario and Quebec to redraw the boundaries of the province of
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
and the province of Quebec in order to include parts of these land acquisitions, specifically around
Hudson Bay Hudson Bay ( crj, text=ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, translit=Wînipekw; crl, text=ᐐᓂᐹᒄ, translit=Wînipâkw; iu, text=ᑲᖏᖅᓱᐊᓗᒃ ᐃᓗᐊ, translit=Kangiqsualuk ilua or iu, text=ᑕᓯᐅᔭᕐᔪᐊᖅ, translit=Tasiujarjuaq; french: b ...
and
James Bay James Bay (french: Baie James; cr, ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, Wînipekw, dirty water) is a large body of water located on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. Both bodies of water extend from the Arctic Ocean, of which James Bay is the southernmost pa ...
. In 1982, this Act was renamed the ''Constitution Act, 1871''.


British North America Act, 1886

This Act gave parliament the authority to allow the
Territories of Canada Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British Nort ...
to have representation in the Canadian Senate and Canadian House of Commons. In 1982, this Act was renamed the ''Constitution Act, 1886''.


British North America Act, 1907

This Act regulated
transfer payment In macroeconomics and finance, a transfer payment (also called a government transfer or simply transfer) is a redistribution of income and wealth by means of the government making a payment, without goods or services being received in return. T ...
s by the Federal government to the smaller provinces to support their legislatures and governments. The funds transferred were set at between $100,000 and $250,000 depending on the province's population with an extra $100,000 a year for ten years to British Columbia. In 1982, this Act was renamed the ''Constitution Act, 1907''.


British North America Act, 1915

This Act expanded the Senate of Canada by giving the Western Canadian provinces 24 senators, the same number that had been guaranteed to Ontario, Quebec, and the
Maritime Provinces The Maritimes, also called the Maritime provinces, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. The Maritimes had a population of 1,899,324 in 2021, which makes up 5.1% of C ...
. This Act also guaranteed
Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
six senators should that British domain ever join the Confederation – which it did in 1949. Finally, this act amended section 51 of the British North America Act of 1867 to guarantee that no province would have fewer members of the House of Commons than of the senate. In 1982, this Act was renamed the ''Constitution Act, 1915''.


British North America Act, 1916

This Act extended the duration of the 12th Canadian Parliament through October 1917, beyond the normal maximum of five years. The extension was carried out due to World War I. This Act was repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act, 1927.


British North America Act, 1930

This Act gave the newer provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan rights over certain natural resources found in federally controlled lands. In 1982, this Act was renamed the ''Constitution Act, 1930''.


British North America Act, 1940

This Act gave the Federal government jurisdiction over
unemployment insurance Unemployment benefits, also called unemployment insurance, unemployment payment, unemployment compensation, or simply unemployment, are payments made by authorized bodies to unemployed people. In the United States, benefits are funded by a compu ...
, thus allowing such a program to be established on a national level. An earlier attempt to create an Employment and Social Insurance Act during the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagion ...
had been ruled to be
unconstitutional Constitutionality is said to be the condition of acting in accordance with an applicable constitution; "Webster On Line" the status of a law, a procedure, or an act's accordance with the laws or set forth in the applicable constitution. When l ...
, since unemployment assistance was judged by the courts to be a provincial responsibility. In 1982, this Act was renamed the ''Constitution Act, 1940''.


British North America Act, 1943

This Act delayed redistribution of seats in the Canadian House of Commons until the end of World War II. This Act was repealed in 1982, as being completely outdated and obsolete.


British North America Act, 1946

This Act adjusted the formula for distributing seats in the Canadian House of Commons among the provinces and territories. This Act was repealed in 1982, as having been superseded.


British North America Act, 1949

This Act allowed for the entry of Newfoundland as Canada's tenth province. This Act was renamed the ''
Newfoundland Act The Newfoundland Act was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that confirmed and gave effect to the Terms of Union agreed to between the then-separate Dominions of Canada and Newfoundland on March 23, 1949. It was originally titled th ...
'' when the Canadian Constitution was patriated from the United Kingdom in 1982. This Act should not be confused with the ''British North America (No. 2) Act 1949'' (see below).


British North America (No. 2) Act, 1949

This ''Act'' granted Canada limited powers to amend its own constitution. The Parliament of Canada was thereafter allowed to amend the Canadian constitution ''in many areas of its own jurisdiction'' without first obtaining the consent of the British Parliament. However, the approval of the British Parliament was still needed for wider constitutional changes, such as those involving areas of provincial and federal responsibilities. Therefore, this Act can at best be considered a "partial patriation" of the Canadian Constitution. This Act was repealed in 1982 with the full patriation of the Canadian Constitution from the United Kingdom, and with the incorporation of a new, comprehensive procedure for amending the Constitution. This Act is not to be confused with the ''British North America Act, 1949'' (see above).


British North America Act, 1951

This Act gave the Federal government the power to pass legislation concerning
old age pension A pension (, from Latin ''pensiō'', "payment") is a fund into which a sum of money is added during an employee's employment years and from which payments are drawn to support the person's retirement from work in the form of periodic payments ...
s, while also recognizing the rights of provincial legislatures to do so. While the Canadian Parliament had established an old age pension program in 1927, this was administered by the provinces and jointly funded by them. This Act of the British Parliament allowed the Federal government of Canada to administer and operate its own pension plan and allowed it to pass the '' Old Age Security Act''. This Act was repealed in 1982, since it had been superseded.


British North America Act, 1952

This was the first of the British North America Acts to be enacted by the Canadian Parliament (rather than by the British Parliament). That had been made possible under the provisions of the ''British North America (No. 2) Act, 1949''. This Act changed the number of seats in the House of Commons and it also limited the number of seats that a province could lose due to redistribution based on the national census to 15% of its previous number of seats. This Act also gave the
Yukon Territory Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...
its own Member of Parliament. This Act was repealed in 1982 as having become obsolete and superseded.


British North America Act, 1960

This Act instituted a mandatory retirement age of 75 for all
superior court In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general jurisdiction over civil and criminal legal cases. A superior court is "superior" in relation to a court with limited jurisdiction (see small claims court), which is restricted to civil ...
judges. In 1982, this Act was renamed the ''Constitution Act, 1960''.


British North America Act, 1964

This Act extended the federal government's jurisdiction over pensions to include those of survivor's benefits and disability benefits while continuing to allow the provinces to have their own pension programs. This amendment to the BNA Act made the
Canada Pension Plan The Canada Pension Plan (CPP; french: Régime de pensions du Canada) is a contributory, earnings-related social insurance program. It forms one of the two major components of Canada's public retirement income system, the other component being Old ...
possible. In 1982, this Act was renamed the ''Constitution Act, 1964''. This was the last time that the British Parliament enacted legislation on Canada's behalf before the patriation of the Canadian constitution in 1982. The inability of Canada to amend its own constitution already seemed antiquated in 1964. In the debate, a British MP called it an "astonishing and absurd historical anomaly" that "the Canadian Parliament is the only Parliament in the Commonwealth that has to come to us to ask permission to legislate about domestic matters."


British North America Act, 1965

This was the second of the British North America Acts to be enacted by the
Parliament of Canada The Parliament of Canada (french: Parlement du Canada) is the federal legislature of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and is composed of three parts: the King, the Senate, and the House of Commons. By constitutional convention, th ...
. This was made possible by the provisions of the ''British North America (No. 2) Act, 1949''. This Act established a
mandatory retirement Mandatory retirement also known as forced retirement, enforced retirement or compulsory retirement, is the set age at which people who hold certain jobs or offices are required by industry custom or by law to leave their employment, or retire. As ...
age of 75 for all members who were appointed to the Canadian Senate in future. Those who had been appointed before the passage of this Act were exempted. In 1982, this Act was renamed the ''Constitution Act, 1965''.


British North America Act, 1974

This was the third of the British North America Acts to be enacted by the Parliament of Canada. This had been made possible by the provisions of the ''British North America (No. 2) Act, 1949''. This Act changed the rules for the redistribution of seats in the House of Commons of Canada so that Quebec was allocated the fixed number of 75 seats, while the number of seats allocated to each of the other provinces would always be determined based upon the sizes of their populations in comparison with that of Quebec. However, the Provinces continued to be guaranteed to have at least as many members of the House of Commons as they had Senators. In 1982, this Act was renamed the ''Constitution Act, 1974''.


British North America Act, 1975

This was the fourth of the British North America Acts to be enacted by the Parliament of Canada. This had been made possible by the provisions of the ''British North America (No. 2) Act, 1949''. This Act increased the number of representatives from the Northwest Territories in the Canadian House of Commons, from one to two members. In 1982, this Act was renamed the ''Constitution Act (No. 1), 1975''.


British North America Act (No. 2), 1975

This was the fifth of the British North America Acts to be enacted by the Parliament of Canada. This Act increased the number of seats in the Canadian Senate from 102 to 104, and it allocated one seat to the
Yukon Territory Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...
and one to the Northwest Territories. In 1982, this Act was renamed the ''Constitution Act (No. 2), 1975''.


Canada Act 1982

This final Act of the British Parliament regarding Canada had a different name, since it renamed all of the unrepealed earlier British North America Acts, amended some of them, and repealed all others, patriated all remaining legislative and constitutional powers to Canada, and included the ''
Constitution Act, 1982 The ''Constitution Act, 1982'' (french: link=no, Loi constitutionnelle de 1982) is a part of the Constitution of Canada.Formally enacted as Schedule B of the ''Canada Act 1982'', enacted by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Section 60 of t ...
'' as its schedule. It is the only UK legislation to be enacted in both English and French, although the French version only has equal authority in Canada.


See also

*
Canadian Confederation Canadian Confederation (french: Confédération canadienne, link=no) 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 ...
*
List of Canadian constitutional documents The Constitution of Canada is a large number of documents that have been entrenched in the constitution by various means. Regardless of how documents became entrenched, together those documents form the supreme law of Canada; no non-constitution ...


References


External links

** The original acts cited below are held by the
Parliamentary Archives A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...
. {{UK legislation British North America Constitution of Canada * Canada and the Commonwealth of Nations United Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Nations