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The British North America Acts 1867–1975 are a series of Acts made by the Parliament of the United Kingdom and (after 1949) the Parliament of Canada which formed the constitution of Canada prior to its patriation in 1982. The term "British North America" (BNA) refers to the British colonies in North America.

Constitutional change

While the British North America Act, 1867, created the self-governing Dominion of Canada, certain legislative powers, such as the ability to make constitutional changes, remained with the British parliament. Canada and the other British dominions achieved full legislative sovereignty with the passage of the Statute of Westminster 1931. Dispite passage of this Act, the British North America Acts at the time did not give the Dominion any powers or procedures for making its own constitutional changes, so the British parliament was still required (and obliged) to pass these changes, at the request of the Dominion. The British North America (No. 2) Act, 1949, gave the Parliament of Canada the power to make limited amendments, but the full Canadian control over the constitution would not be achieved until 1982, with the passage of the Constitution Act, 1982. This long delay was in large part due to the inability to create a constitutional amendment procedure which was acceptable to all of the provinces, particularly Quebec.

In 1982, Canada patriated its constitution and entrenched within it the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, through the passage of Constitution Act, 1982. By the Canada Act 1982, the British Parliament, acting at the request and with the consent of Canada (excluding the province of Quebec), enacted the Constitution Act 1982, which established a procedure for the amendment of the Canadian constitution by the Canadian Parliament. At the same time, the existing British North America Acts were "modernized", being either repealed, or retitled as Constitution Acts in Canada, though they remain named as they originally were in the United Kingdom. These modernized Acts, together with the Constitution Act, 1982 are now collectively known as the Constitution Acts 1867–1982. These and other Acts form the Constitution of Canada.

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 Parliament to make them official.[1]

Individual Acts

The different Acts of the 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 (*) have since been repealed. 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 at Westminster.

The first Act, the British North America Act, 1867 created the self-governing Dominion of Canada. The remaining acts dealt with a variety of topics, though the majority were concerned with modifying representation in Parliament or the Senate as the country grew and changed (1886, 1915, 1943, 1946, 1952, 1974, 1975, 1975 (No. 2)). Other topics include modifying the countries boundaries (1871, 1949), transfer payments (1907), temporary changes due to war (1916, 1943), federal-provincial powers (1930, 1964), power over constitutional changes (1949 (No. 2)), the creation of new social programs (1951, 1964), and manditory retirement ages (1960, 1965)

British North America Act, 1867

The act comprises a major part of Canada's constitution. The Act entails the original creation of a federal dominion and sets the framework for much of the operation of the Government of Canada, including its federal structure, the House of Commons, the Senate, the justice system, and the taxation system. It received its current name in 1982, with the patriation of the constitution (having originally been enacted by the Parliament of the United Kingdom). Amendments were also made at this time: section 92A was added, giving provinces 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 change provincial boundaries with the affected province's consent. The act recognized the creation of the province of Manitoba and the incorporation of Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory into Canada and allowed parliament and the Ontario and Quebec legislatures to redraw the boundaries of Ontario and Quebec in order to incorporate parts of these acquisitions.[2]

British North America Act, 1886

This act gave parliament the authority to allow the Territories of Canada to have representation in the Canadian Senate and Canadian House of Commons.[3]

British North America Act, 1907

This act regulated transfer payments by the federal government to 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. [4]

British North America Act, 1915

Expanded the Canadian Senate by giving Western Canadian provinces 24 Senators, the same number guaranteed to Ontario, Quebec and the Maritime provinces. The Act also guaranteed Newfoundland six Senators should the British colony join Confederation (it did in 1949).[5]

British North America Act, 1916

Extended the life of the 12th Canadian Parliament until October 1917, beyond the normal maximum of five years. The extension was due to World War I.[6] This Act was repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act, 1927.[7]

British North America Act, 1930

Gave the newer provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan rights over certain natural resources found in federally controlled crown lands.[8]

British North America Act, 1940

This act gave the federal government the jurisdiction over Unemployment Insurance thus allowing such a progam to be created on a national level.[9] An earlier attempt to create an Unemployment Insurance program during the Great Depression was ruled unconstitutional as unemployment relief was deemed to be a provincial responsibility.

British North America Act, 1943

This act delayed redistribution of seats in the Canadian House of Commons until the end of World War II.[10]

British North America Act, 1946

This act adjusted the formula for distributing seats in the Canadian House of Commons amongst the provinces and territories.[11]

British North America Act, 1949

Allowed for the entry of Newfoundland as the tenth province. It was renamed the Newfoundland Act when Canada's 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).

See also: 1949 in Canada.

British North America (No. 2) Act, 1949

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 appealing to the British Parliament first. However, the approval of the British Parliament was still needed for wider constitutional change such as that involving areas of provincial responsibility. Therefore, the Act can best be seen as a "partial patriation" of the Canadian constitution.

The Act was repealed in 1982 with the full patriation of the constitution from the United Kingdom and the addition of a new, comprehensive amending formula.

This Act is not to be confused with the British North America Act, 1949 - later renamed the Newfoundland Act in 1982 - which confirmed the terms of union between Newfoundland and Canada and made Newfoundland the tenth province.

British North America Act, 1951

Gave the federal government the power to pass legislation concerning Old Age Pensions while recognizing the right of provincial legislatures to do likewise.[12] While parliament had instituted an Old Age Pension in 1927 it was administered by the provinces and jointly funded by them. This amendment allowed the federal government to administer and operate its own pension plan and allowed it to pass the Old Age Security Act.[13]

British North America Act, 1952

This was the first of the British North America Acts to be enacted by the Canadian Parliament (rather than the "Imperial Parliament" at London, England). This was possible under the provisions of the British North America (No. 2) Act, 1949.

This act adjusted the number of seats in the House of Commons and limited the number of seats a province could lose due to redistribution based on the census to 15% of its previous number. Gave Yukon territory its own Member of Parliament.[14]

British North America Act, 1960

This act instituted a mandatory retirement age of 75 for all superior court judges. [15]

British North America Act, 1964

This act expanded the federal government's jurisdiction over pensions to include survivor benefits and disability benefits while continuing to allow provincial legislation. [16] This amendment to the BNA Act made the Canada Pension Plan possible.

British North America Act, 1965

This was the second of the British North America Acts to be enacted by the Canadian Parliament (rather than the "Imperial Parliament" at London, England). This was possible under the provisions of the British North America (No. 2) Act, 1949.

Renamed the Constitution Act, 1965 in 1982, this legislation was introduced by the government of Lester B. Pearson and instituted a mandatory retirement age of 75 for all persons appointed to the Canadian Senate. Those appointed prior to the passage of the Act were exempt.[17]

British North America Act, 1974

This was the third of the British North America Acts to be enacted by the Canadian Parliament (rather than the "Imperial Parliament" at London, England). This was possible under the provisions of the British North America (No. 2) Act, 1949.

Changed the rules for the redistribution of seats in the Canadian House of Commons so that Quebec would have 75 seats while other provinces' seat allocation would be determined based on the size of their population in comparison to Quebec's. Provinces continued to be guaranteed to have at least as many MPs as Senators.[18]

British North America Act, 1975

This was the fourth of the British North America Acts to be enacted by the Canadian Parliament (rather than the "Imperial Parliament" at London, England). This was possible under the provisions of the British North America (No. 2) Act, 1949.

Increased the representation of the Northwest Territories in the House of Commons, to two members. [19]

British North America Act (No. 2), 1975

This was the fifth of the British North America Acts to be enacted by the Canadian Parliament (rather than the "Imperial Parliament" at London, England). This was possible under the provisions of the British North America (No. 2) Act, 1949.

Increased the number of Senate seats to 104 from 102 and allocated one seat for the Yukon and one for the Northwest Territories.[20]

External Links

- The original acts cited below are held by the Parliamentary Archives.

Texts on Wikisource:

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Canadian politics}}
-The '''British North America Acts 1867&ndash;1975''' are a series of [[Act of Parliament|Act]]s of the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]] and the [[Parliament of Canada]] dealing with the government of [[Canada]], which was known as "[[British North America]]" until 1867.  The first and most important Act of the series, the British North America Act 1867 (now the '''[[Constitution Act, 1867]]'''), was passed in 1867, and created the self-governing [[dominion]] of Canada. Canada and the other British dominions achieved full legislative sovereignty with the passage of the [[Statute of Westminster 1931]], but prior to the [[Canada Act 1982]] the British North America Acts were excluded from the operation of the Statute of Westminster. In 1949, the Parliament of Canada received the power to make certain types of amendment to the British North America Acts, but other amendments (and all amendments prior to 1949) could only be enacted by the United Kingdom Parliament.  This long delay was in large part due to the inability to create a constitutional amendment procedure which was acceptable to all of the provinces, particularly Quebec.
+The '''British North America Acts 1867&ndash;1975''' are a series of [[Act of Parliament|Act]]s made by the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]] and (after 1949) the [[Parliament of Canada]] which formed the constitution of [[Canada]] prior to its [[patriation]] in 1982.  The term "[[British North America]]" (BNA) refers to the [[British Empire|British colonies]] in North America.
+===Constitutional change===
-In 1982, Canada [[patriation|patriated]] its constitution and entrenched within it the [[Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms]], through the [[Constitution Act, 1982]]. By the [[Canada Act 1982]], the British Parliament, acting at the request and with the consent of Canada (excluding the province of Quebec), enacted the Constitution Act 1982, which established a procedure for the [[Amendments to the Constitution of Canada|amendment of the Canadian constitution]] by the [[Parliament of Canada|Canadian Parliament]]. The British North America Acts 1867&ndash;1975 are generally named ''Constitution Acts'' in Canada, and together with the Constitution Act 1982 are now collectively known as the Constitution Acts 1867&ndash;1982, though they remain named as they originally were in the United Kingdom. These and other Acts form the [[Constitution of Canada]].
+While the British North America Act, 1867, created the self-governing [[Dominion]] of Canada, certain legislative powers, such as the ability to make constitutional changes, remained with the British parliament. Canada and the other British dominions achieved full legislative sovereignty with the passage of the [[Statute of Westminster 1931]].  Dispite passage of this Act, the British North America Acts at the time did not give the Dominion any powers or procedures for making its own constitutional changes, so the British parliament was still required (and obliged) to pass these changes, at the request of the Dominion. The British North America (No. 2) Act, 1949, gave the Parliament of Canada the power to make limited amendments, but the full Canadian control over the constitution would not be achieved until 1982, with the passage of the [[Constitution Act, 1982]].  This long delay was in large part due to the inability to create a constitutional amendment procedure which was acceptable to all of the provinces, particularly Quebec.
+In 1982, Canada patriated its constitution and entrenched within it the [[Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms]], through the passage of Constitution Act, 1982. By the [[Canada Act 1982]], the British Parliament, acting at the request and with the consent of Canada (excluding the province of Quebec), enacted the Constitution Act 1982, which established a procedure for the [[Amendments to the Constitution of Canada|amendment of the Canadian constitution]] by the [[Parliament of Canada|Canadian Parliament]]. At the same time, the existing British North America Acts were "modernized", being either repealed, or retitled as ''Constitution Acts'' in Canada, though they remain named as they originally were in the United Kingdom. These modernized Acts, together with the Constitution Act, 1982 are now collectively known as the Constitution Acts 1867&ndash;1982. These and other Acts form the [[Constitution of Canada]].
-The different Acts of the 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 and 1975.  Those marked with (*) have since been repealed.
-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 at Westminster.
 ===French-language versions===
@@ Line 13: / Line 12: @@
 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 Parliament to make them official.[http://web.archive.org/web/20050825210541/http://www.justice.gc.ca/en/ps/const/loireg/intro.html]
+==Individual Acts==
-==British North America Act, 1867==
+The different Acts of the 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 (*) have since been repealed. 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 at Westminster.
+The first Act, the [[Constitution Act, 1867|British North America Act, 1867]] created the self-governing [[Dominion]] of Canada.  The remaining acts dealt with a variety of topics, though the majority were concerned with modifying representation in Parliament or the Senate as the country grew and changed (1886, 1915, 1943, 1946, 1952, 1974, 1975, 1975 (No. 2)).  Other topics include modifying the countries boundaries (1871, 1949), transfer payments (1907), temporary changes due to war (1916, 1943), federal-provincial powers (1930, 1964), power over constitutional changes (1949 (No. 2)), the creation of new social programs (1951, 1964), and manditory retirement ages (1960, 1965)
+===British North America Act, 1867===
 {{Main|Constitution Act, 1867}}
 The act comprises a major part of [[Canada]]'s [[Constitution of Canada|constitution]].  The Act entails the original creation of a [[federation|federal]] [[dominion]] and sets the framework for much of the operation of the [[Government of Canada]], including its [[Canadian federalism|federal structure]], the [[Canadian House of Commons|House of Commons]], the [[Canadian Senate|Senate]], the justice system, and the [[taxation]] system.  It received its current name in 1982, with the [[patriation]] of the constitution (having originally been enacted by the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]]).  Amendments were also made at this time: section 92A was added, giving provinces greater control over non-renewable [[natural resource]]s.
-==British North America Act, 1871==
+===British North America Act, 1871===
 This act gave Canada the power to establish new provinces and territories and change provincial boundaries with the affected province's consent. The act recognized the creation of the province of [[Manitoba]] and the incorporation of [[Rupert's Land]] and the [[North-Western Territory]] into Canada and allowed parliament and the Ontario and Quebec legislatures to redraw the boundaries of Ontario and Quebec in order to incorporate parts of these acquisitions.[http://www.solon.org/Constitutions/Canada/English/ca_1871.html]
-==British North America Act, 1886==
+===British North America Act, 1886===
 This act gave parliament the authority to allow the [[Territories of Canada]] to have representation in the [[Canadian Senate]] and [[Canadian House of Commons]].[http://www.efc.ca/pages/law/cons/Constitutions/Canada/English/ca_1886.html]
-==British North America Act, 1907==
+===British North America Act, 1907===
 This act regulated [[transfer payment]]s by the federal government to 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]]. [http://www.solon.org/Constitutions/Canada/English/ca_1907.html]
-==British North America Act, 1915==
+===British North America Act, 1915===
 Expanded the [[Canadian Senate]] by giving [[Western Canada|Western Canadian]] provinces 24 Senators, the same number guaranteed to [[Ontario]], [[Quebec]] and the [[Maritimes|Maritime provinces]]. The Act also guaranteed [[Newfoundland and Labrador|Newfoundland]] six Senators should the British colony join Confederation (it did in 1949).[http://www.solon.org/Constitutions/Canada/English/ca_1915.html]
-==British North America Act, 1916==
+===British North America Act, 1916===
 Extended the life of the [[12th Canadian Parliament]] until October 1917, beyond the normal maximum of five years. The extension was due to [[World War I]].[http://www.solon.org/Constitutions/Canada/English/bnaa_1916.html] This Act was repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act, 1927.[http://www.efc.ca/pages/law/cons/Constitutions/Canada/English/slra_1927.html]
-==British North America Act, 1930==
+===British North America Act, 1930===
 {{see|Natural Resources Transfer Acts}}
 Gave the newer provinces of [[British Columbia]], [[Alberta]], [[Manitoba]] and [[Saskatchewan]] rights over certain natural resources found in federally controlled crown lands.[http://www.solon.org/Constitutions/Canada/English/ca_1930.html]
-==British North America Act, 1940==
+===British North America Act, 1940===
 This act gave the federal government the jurisdiction over [[Unemployment Insurance]] thus allowing such a progam to be created on a national level.[http://www.solon.org/Constitutions/Canada/English/ca_1940.html] An earlier attempt to create an Unemployment Insurance program during the [[Great Depression]] was ruled [[unconstitutional]] as unemployment relief was deemed to be a provincial responsibility.
-==British North America Act, 1943==
+===British North America Act, 1943===
 This act delayed [[redistricting|redistribution]] of seats in the Canadian House of Commons until the end of [[World War II]].[http://www.solon.org/Constitutions/Canada/English/bnaa_1943.html]
-==British North America Act, 1946==
+===British North America Act, 1946===
 This act adjusted the formula for distributing seats in the Canadian House of Commons amongst the provinces and territories.[http://www.solon.org/Constitutions/Canada/English/bnaa_1946.html]
-==British North America Act, 1949==
+===British North America Act, 1949===
 {{seealso|Newfoundland Act}}
 Allowed for the entry of [[Newfoundland and Labrador|Newfoundland]] as the tenth [[Provinces and territories of Canada|province]].  It was renamed the '''[[Newfoundland Act]]''' when Canada's Constitution was patriated from the United Kingdom in 1982.
@@ Line 53: / Line 58: @@
 :''See also: [[1949 in Canada]]''.
-==British North America (No. 2) Act, 1949==
+===British North America (No. 2) Act, 1949===
 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 appealing to the British Parliament first.  However, the approval of the British Parliament was still needed for wider constitutional change such as that involving areas of provincial responsibility.  Therefore, the Act can best be seen as a "partial patriation" of the Canadian constitution.
@@ Line 60: / Line 65: @@
 This Act is not to be confused with the British North America Act, 1949 - later renamed the [[Newfoundland Act]] in 1982 - which confirmed the terms of union between [[Newfoundland and Labrador|Newfoundland]] and Canada and made Newfoundland the tenth province.
-==British North America Act, 1951==
+===British North America Act, 1951===
 Gave the federal government the power to pass legislation concerning [[pension|Old Age Pension]]s while recognizing the right of provincial legislatures to do likewise.[http://www.solon.org/Constitutions/Canada/English/bnaa_1951.html]
 While parliament had instituted an Old Age Pension in 1927 it was administered by the provinces and jointly funded by them. This amendment allowed the federal government to administer and operate its own pension plan and allowed it to pass the ''[[Old Age Security Act]]''.[http://www.canadianencyclopedia.ca/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1SEC825568]
-==British North America Act, 1952==
+===British North America Act, 1952===
 This was the first of the British North America Acts to be enacted by the Canadian Parliament (rather than the "Imperial Parliament" at London, England). This was possible under the provisions of the British North America (No. 2) Act, 1949.
 This act adjusted the number of seats in the House of Commons and limited the number of seats a province could lose due to [[redistricting|redistribution]] based on the [[census]] to 15% of its previous number. Gave [[Yukon (electoral district)|Yukon]] territory its own Member of Parliament.[http://www.solon.org/Constitutions/Canada/English/bnaa_1952.html]
-==British North America Act, 1960==
+===British North America Act, 1960===
 This act instituted a mandatory retirement age of 75 for all [[superior court]] judges. [http://www.solon.org/Constitutions/Canada/English/ca_1960.html]
-==British North America Act, 1964==
+===British North America Act, 1964===
 This act expanded the federal government's jurisdiction over pensions to include survivor benefits and disability benefits while continuing to allow provincial legislation.
 [http://www.solon.org/Constitutions/Canada/English/ca_1964.html] This amendment to the BNA Act made the [[Canada Pension Plan]] possible.
-==British North America Act, 1965==
+===British North America Act, 1965===
 This was the second of the British North America Acts to be enacted by the Canadian Parliament (rather than the "Imperial Parliament" at London, England). This was possible under the provisions of the British North America (No. 2) Act, 1949.
 Renamed the '''Constitution Act, 1965''' in 1982, this legislation was introduced by the government of [[Lester B. Pearson]] and instituted a [[mandatory retirement]] age of 75 for all persons appointed to the [[Canadian Senate]]. Those appointed prior to the passage of the Act were exempt.[http://www.solon.org/Constitutions/Canada/English/ca_1965.html]
-==British North America Act, 1974==
+===British North America Act, 1974===
 This was the third of the British North America Acts to be enacted by the Canadian Parliament (rather than the "Imperial Parliament" at London, England). This was possible under the provisions of the British North America (No. 2) Act, 1949.
 Changed the rules for the redistribution of seats in the Canadian House of Commons so that Quebec would have 75 seats while other provinces' seat allocation would be determined based on the size of their population in comparison to Quebec's. Provinces continued to be guaranteed to have at least as many MPs as Senators.[http://www.solon.org/Constitutions/Canada/English/ca_1974.html]
-==British North America Act, 1975==
+===British North America Act, 1975===
 This was the fourth of the British North America Acts to be enacted by the Canadian Parliament (rather than the "Imperial Parliament" at London, England). This was possible under the provisions of the British North America (No. 2) Act, 1949.
 Increased the representation of the [[Northwest Territories]] in the House of Commons, to two members. [http://www.solon.org/Constitutions/Canada/English/ca_1975_1.html]
-==British North America Act (No. 2), 1975==
+===British North America Act (No. 2), 1975===
 This was the fifth of the British North America Acts to be enacted by the Canadian Parliament (rather than the "Imperial Parliament" at London, England). This was possible under the provisions of the British North America (No. 2) Act, 1949.