Editing Parliament of Canada (section)

==Composition==
The body consists of the [[King of Canada]], represented by a [[viceroy]], the [[Governor General of Canada|governor general]]; an [[upper house]], the [[Senate of Canada|Senate]]; and a [[lower house]], the [[House of Commons of Canada|House of Commons]]. Each element has its own officers and organization. Each has a distinct role, but work in conjunction within the [[Parliamentary procedure|legislative process]]. This format was inherited from the [[United Kingdom]] and is a near-identical copy of the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|Parliament at Westminster]], the greatest differences stemming from situations unique to Canada, such as the impermanent nature of the monarch's residency in the country and the lack of a [[peerage]] to form the upper chamber.

Only those who sit in the House of Commons are usually called [[Members of Parliament#Canada|members of Parliament]] (MPs); the term is not usually applied to senators (except in legislation, such as the ''[[Parliament of Canada Act]]''), even though the Senate is a part of Parliament. Though legislatively less powerful, senators take higher positions in the [[Canadian order of precedence|national order of precedence]]. No individual may serve in more than one chamber at the same time.

===Monarch===
{{Main|Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament)}}
[[File:King Charles III (July 2023).jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Charles III]], [[Monarchy of Canada|King of Canada]] ]]
The sovereign's place in the legislature, formally known as the [[King-in-Parliament]],<ref>{{cite book |last=MacLeod |first=Kevin |author-link=Kevin S. MacLeod |title=A Crown of Maples |publisher=Department of Canadian Heritage |isbn=978-1-100-20079-8|page=16 |year=2015 |url = http://canada.pch.gc.ca/DAMAssetPub/DAM-PCH2-Identity-Monarchy/STAGING/texte-text/crnMpls_1445001297279_eng.pdf?WT.contentAuthority=4.4.10 |access-date=16 June 2017}}{{Dead link|date=April 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> is defined by the ''[[Constitution Act, 1867]]'', and various [[Convention (norm)#Government|conventions]].<ref name="CA1867-17">[https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/const/section-17.html ''Constitution Act, 1867'', s. 17.]</ref> Neither he nor his viceroy, however, participates in the legislative process save for signifying the King's approval to a bill passed by both houses of Parliament, known as the granting of [[Royal Assent]], which is necessary for a bill to be enacted as law. All federal bills thus begin with the phrase "Now, therefore, His Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows&nbsp;..."<ref>{{Citation |author=Public Works and Government Services Canada |author-link=Public Works and Government Services Canada |publication-date=13 December 2006 |title=Bill C-43 |series=Preamble |publication-place=Ottawa |publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada |url=http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?Docid=2604319&file=4 |access-date=19 May 2009 |archive-date=15 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090615043308/http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?Docid=2604319&file=4 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and, as such, [[the Crown]] is immune from acts of Parliament unless expressed otherwise in the act itself.<ref>{{Citation |author= Queen Elizabeth II |author-link=Elizabeth II |publication-date=1985 |title=Interpretation Act |series=§17 |publication-place=Ottawa |publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada |url = http://www.canlii.org/en/ca/laws/stat/rsc-1985-c-i-21/latest/rsc-1985-c-i-21.html |access-date=1 June 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090705082900/http://www.canlii.org/en/ca/laws/stat/rsc-1985-c-i-21/latest/rsc-1985-c-i-21.html |archive-date=5 July 2009 }}</ref> The governor general will normally perform the task of granting Royal Assent, though the monarch may also do so, at the request of either the [[Cabinet of Canada|Cabinet]] or the viceroy, who may defer assent to the sovereign as per the constitution.<ref>[https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/Const//section-55.html#docCont ''Constitution Act, 1867'', s. 55.]</ref>

As both the monarch and his or her representatives are traditionally barred from the House of Commons, any parliamentary ceremonies in which they are involved take place in the Senate chamber. The upper and lower houses do, however, each contain a [[Ceremonial mace#Canada|mace]], which indicates the authority of the King-in-Parliament and the privilege granted to that body by him,<ref>{{cite web| url=https://lop.parl.ca/About/Parliament/Education/SearchingForSymbols/SymbolsGallery-e.asp| publisher=[[Library of Parliament]]| title=Symbols Gallery| access-date=15 June 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal| last=McDonough| first=John| title=The Maces of the Canadian Provincial and Territorial Legislatures (I)| journal=Canadian Regional Review |volume=2| issue=4|page= 36| publisher=Commonwealth Parliamentary Association |location= Ottawa |year= 1979 |url= http://www.revparl.ca/2/4/02n4_79e.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.revparl.ca/2/4/02n4_79e.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |issn= 0707-0837 |access-date=19 October 2009}}</ref> both bearing a crown at their apex. The original mace for the Senate was that used in the [[Legislative Council of the Province of Canada]] after 1849, while that of the House of Commons was inherited from the [[Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada]], first used in 1845. Following the [[Centre Block#Great fire|burning of the Centre Block]] on 3 February 1916, the [[City of London]], England, donated a replacement, which is still used today. The temporary mace, made of wood, and used until the new one arrived from the United Kingdom in 1917, is still carried into the Senate each 3 February.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Sites/LOP/Education/CanSymbols/galleries/parliament/hoc_mace-e.asp |last=Library of Parliament |author-link=Library of Parliament |title=About Parliament > Education > Classroom Resources > Canadian Symbols at Parliament > Parliament Hill Symbols > Mace (House of Commons) |publisher=Queen's Printer for Parliament |access-date=19 October 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120919124424/http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Sites/LOP/Education/CanSymbols/galleries/parliament/hoc_mace-e.asp |archive-date=19 September 2012 }}</ref> The Senate's 1.6-metre-long mace comprises brass and gold. The Senate may not sit if its mace is not in the chamber; it typically sits on the table with the crown facing the throne,<ref name=SenatePP>{{Citation
 | author = Senate of Canada
 | author-link = Senate of Canada
 | title = Senate Procedure in Practice
 | publication-place = Ottawa
 | publisher = Queen's Printer for Canada
 | date = June 2015
 | url = https://sencanada.ca/media/93509/spip-psep-full-complet-e.pdf
 | access-date = 2020-03-10
 | postscript = .
 }}</ref>{{rp|55}} though it may, during certain ceremonies, be held by the mace bearer, standing adjacent to the governor general or monarch in the Senate.{{r|SenatePP|p=51}}

Members of the two houses of Parliament must also express their loyalty to the sovereign and defer to his authority, as the [[Oath of Allegiance (Canada)|Oath of Allegiance]] must be sworn by all new parliamentarians before they may take their seats. Further, the [[Official Opposition (Canada)|official opposition]] is formally called [[Loyal opposition|His Majesty's Loyal Opposition]], to signify that, though they may be opposed to the incumbent Cabinet's policies, they remain dedicated to the apolitical Crown.<ref>{{cite book| last=Marleau| first=Robert| author2=Montpetit, Camille| title=House of Commons Procedure and Practice| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| year=2000| location=Ottawa| id=1. Parliamentary Institutions > Institutional Framework > The Opposition| url=http://www2.parl.gc.ca/MarleauMontpetit/DocumentViewer.aspx?DocId=1001&Sec=Ch01&Seq=3&Lang=E| isbn=2-89461-378-4| access-date=19 October 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121008170948/http://www.parl.gc.ca/MarleauMontpetit/DocumentViewer.aspx?DocId=1001&Lang=E&Sec=Ch01&Seq=3| archive-date=8 October 2012| url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|first=Gerald |last=Schmitz |title=The Opposition in a Parliamentary System |date=December 1988 |place=Ottawa |publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada |url=http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/library/PRBpubs/bp47-e.htm |access-date=21 May 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090425171259/http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/library/PRBpubs/bp47-e.htm |archive-date=25 April 2009 }}</ref>

=== Senate ===
{{Main|Senate of Canada}}
[[File:Cansenate.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Senate of Canada|Senate]]]]
The [[upper house]] of the Parliament of Canada, the Senate ({{langx|fr|Sénat|italic=unset}}), is a group of 105 individuals appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister;<ref>[https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/Const//section-24.html#h-5 ''Constitution Act, 1867'', s. 24.]</ref> all those appointed must, per the constitution, be a minimum of 30 years old, be a subject of the monarch, and own property with a net worth of at least $4,000, in addition to owning land worth no less than $4,000 within the province the candidate seeks to represent.<ref>[https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/Const//section-23.html#h-5 ''Constitution Act, 1867'', s. 23.]</ref> Senators served for life until 1965, when a constitutional amendment imposed a mandatory retirement age of 75. Senators may, however, resign their seats prior to that mark, and can lose their position should they fail to attend two consecutive sessions of Parliament.

The principle underlying the Senate's composition is equality amongst Canada's geographic regions (called Divisions in the Constitution): 24 for [[Ontario]], 24 for [[Quebec]], 24 for the [[Maritimes]] (10 for [[Nova Scotia]], 10 for [[New Brunswick]], and four for [[Prince Edward Island]]), and 24 for the [[Western Canada|Western provinces]] (six each for [[Manitoba]], [[British Columbia]], [[Saskatchewan]], and [[Alberta]]).<ref>[https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/Const//section-22.html#h-5 ''Constitution Act, 1867'', s. 22.]</ref> Additionally, senators are appointed from two geographic areas not part of any senatorial division. [[Newfoundland and Labrador]] (since 1949 the "newest" province, although [[St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador#The oldest European settlement in North America controversy|"oldest" English settlement]]), is represented by six senators. Since 1975 each of Canada's territories is represented by 1 senator—the [[Northwest Territories]], [[Yukon]], and (since its formation in 1999) [[Nunavut]]. An additional 4 or 8 senators may be appointed by the governor general, provided the approval of the King is secured and the four divisions are equally represented. This power has been employed once since 1867: to ensure the passage of the bill establishing the [[Goods and Services Tax (Canada)|Goods and Services Tax]], Prime Minister [[Brian Mulroney]] advised Queen Elizabeth II to appoint extra senators in 1990. This results in a temporary maximum number of senators of 113, which must through attrition return to its normal number of 105.

===House of Commons===
{{Main|House of Commons of Canada}}
[[File:Ottawa - Parliament Hill - Commons.jpg|thumb|left|The [[House of Commons of Canada|House of Commons]]]]
The elected component of the Canadian Parliament is the House of Commons ({{langx|fr|Chambre des communes|italic=unset}}), with each member chosen by a plurality of voters in each of the country's federal [[Electoral district (Canada)|electoral districts]], or ridings. To run for one of the 343<ref name="seats">[https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/18bf3ea7-1940-46ec-af52-9ba3f77ed708 Canada, Open Government, "Federal Electoral Districts – Canada 2023", 2024.]</ref> seats in the House of Commons, an individual must be a Canadian citizen and at least 18 years old. Each member holds office until Parliament is dissolved, after which they may seek re-election. The ridings are regularly reorganized according to the results of each decennial national [[census]];<ref name=ElizabethIII.2>{{Citation |author = Queen Elizabeth II |author-link=Elizabeth II |publication-date=4 March 1986| title=Constitution Act, 1985 (Representation) |at=I.2 |publication-place=Ottawa |publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada |url=http://www.solon.org/Constitutions/Canada/English/ca_1985.html |access-date=19 October 2009 }}</ref> however, the "senatorial clause" of the ''Constitution Act, 1867'' guarantees each province at least as many MPs as it has senators,<ref>[https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/const/section-51A.html#docCont ''Constitution Act, 1867'', s. 51A.]</ref> and the "grandfather clause" permits each province as many MPs as it had in either 1976 or 1985.<ref name=ElizabethIII.2/> The existence of this legislation has pushed the size of the House of Commons above the required minimum of 282 seats.