= Parliament of Canada = The '''Parliament of Canada''' is the federal national legislature of Canada. <> ---- == Senate == The '''Senate''' (''Sénat'') is the upper house of the Parliament. Senators are appointed by the royal '''governor general''' on recommendation from the [[Canada/PrimeMinister|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 [[Canada/JustinTrudeau|Trudeau]] ejecting all senators from the [[Canada/LiberalParty|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 [[Canada/Quebec|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'''. * 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 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, [[Canada/StephenHarper|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 [[https://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=res&dir=cir/red/form&document=index&lang=e|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. ---- CategoryRicottone