Editing Politics of Canada (section)

===Legislative power===
The [[Bicameralism|bicameral]] [[Parliament of Canada]] consists of three parts: the [[Monarchy of Canada|monarch]], the [[Senate of Canada|Senate]], and the [[House of Commons of Canada|House of Commons]].

Currently, the Senate, which is frequently described as providing regional representation, has 105 members appointed by the Governor-General on the advice of the Prime Minister to serve until age 75. It was created with equal representation from the three regions of Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritimes (originally New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, expanded in 1873 to include Prince Edward Island). In 1915, a new Western division was created, with six senators from each of the four western provinces, so that each of the four regions had 24 seats in the Senate. When Newfoundland and Labrador joined Confederation in 1949, it was not included in an existing region and was assigned six seats. Each of the three territories has one seat. It is not based on representation-by-population. The normal number of senators can be exceeded by the monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister, as long as the additional senators are distributed equally with regard to region (up to a total of eight additional Senators). This power of additional appointment has only been used once, when Prime Minister [[Brian Mulroney]] petitioned [[Elizabeth II|Queen Elizabeth II]] to add eight seats to the Senate so as to ensure the passage of the [[Goods and Services Tax (Canada)|Goods and Services Tax]] legislation.

[[File:Colline du Parlement, Édifice du Centre 04.jpg|thumb|A democratically elected body, the [[House of Commons of Canada]] is one of three components of the [[Parliament of Canada]].]]

The House of Commons currently has 343 members elected in [[single-member district]]s in a [[Plurality voting|plurality voting system]] (first past the post), meaning that members must attain only a [[Plurality (voting)|plurality]] (the most votes of any candidate) rather than a [[majority]]. The [[Electoral district (Canada)|electoral districts]] are also known as [[Riding (division)|ridings]].

Mandates cannot exceed five years; an election must occur by the end of this time. This fixed mandate has been exceeded only once, when Prime Minister [[Robert Borden]] perceived the need to do so during World War I. A [[British North America Acts#British North America Act, 1916|constitutional amendment]] was passed, extending the life of the Parliament by one year, by the unanimous consent of the House of Commons. The size of the House and [[Apportionment (politics)|apportionment]] of seats to each province is revised after every decennial census, conducted every ten years, and is based on population changes and approximately on representation-by-population.