Parliament of Canada
The Parliament of Canada is the federal national legislature of Canada.
Contents
Senate
The Senate (Sénat) is the upper house of the Parliament. Senators are appointed by the royal governor general on recommendation from the prime minister. They mandatorily retire at age 75, and can resign, but otherwise serve for life.
They are chaired by a speaker.
The government is represented in the Senate by a representative of the Government in the Senate. This position was created in 2016; previously the government was required to appoint a senator to the cabinet as the leader of the Government in the Senate. This reform was made necessary by Trudeau ejecting all senators from the Liberal Party, as the government technically had no members in the body.
Since 1999, there have been 105 seats in the Senate. These are apportioned as follows:
- 24 seats for Ontario
24 seats for Quebec, with districts to ensure representation for both English and French constituents
24 seats for the Maritime Provinces
- 10 for Nova Scotia and New Brunswick each; 4 for Prince Edward Island
- Previously, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick held 12 each.
This arrangement was established in 1867 by the Prince Edward Island Terms of Union.
- 10 for Nova Scotia and New Brunswick each; 4 for Prince Edward Island
24 seats for the Western Provinces
- 6 each for Manitoba, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Alberta
Manitoba had 2 seats as early as 1870 and gradually received greater representation as the population increased, owing to the Manitoba Act of 1870
British Columbia had 3 seats as early as 1871, owing to the British Columbia Terms of Union
The Alberta Act and Saskatchewan Act of 1905 granted each 4 seats
This arrangement was established by the Constitution Act, 1915.
- 6 each for Manitoba, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Alberta
- 6 seats for Newfoundland
This arrangement was established by the Newfoundland Act of 1949.
- 1 seat each for the Territories
The Northwest Territory and Yukon Territory were granted their seats in the Constitution Act, 1975.
The Nunavut Territory was granted its seat in the Constitution Act, 1999.
Starting in 2010, Harper declined to recommend any appointees, and a large number of vacancies accrued. There is no constitutional requirement for vacancies to be filled, except (arguably) if they cause the body to be non-functional. Trudeau established a non-partisan and merit-based recommendation system that saw all vacancies filled by 2018.
House of Commons
The House of Commons (Chambre des communes) is the lower house of the Parliament. Members (abbreviated MPs) are elected by first-past-the-post rules in single-member districts (ridings).
The Commons is elected for a term of 5 years. Since 2007, per the Act to Amend the Canada Elections Act, elections must be scheduled for the third Monday in October four years after the last election, effectively setting the term limit to 4 years. In any case, it is more common for the Commons to be dissolved and early elections called.
There have been 343 seats since the April 28th, 2025 election. Districts are roughly proportionally before the special clauses are applied. Per Elections Canada: the Senatorial Clause requires that "no province has fewer seats in the House of Commons than it has in the Senate"; the Grandfather Clause requires that no province have "fewer seats than it had in the 43rd Parliament elected in 2019". The net effect is that regions experiencing depopulation are over-represented. The Territories are handled separately, each receiving only 1 seat each.