Constitutional amending formula
E52222
The constitutional amending formula is the set of legal rules and procedures that govern how Canada’s Constitution can be formally changed, including the required levels of federal and provincial consent.
Observed surface forms (1)
| Surface form | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| amending formula | 1 |
Statements (48)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
constitutional amendment procedure
ⓘ
legal rule ⓘ part of the Constitution of Canada ⓘ |
| alsoKnownAs |
Constitutional amending formula
ⓘ
surface form:
amending formula
constitutional amending procedures ⓘ |
| appliesTo | Constitution of Canada ⓘ |
| cameIntoForce | 1982 ⓘ |
| component |
federal unilateral amendment procedure
ⓘ
general amending procedure ⓘ provincial unilateral amendment procedure ⓘ special arrangements for some but not all provinces ⓘ unanimity procedure ⓘ |
| country | Canada ⓘ |
| definedIn | Constitution Act, 1982 ⓘ |
| generalProcedureThreshold | approval by the Senate and House of Commons and at least two‑thirds of the provinces representing at least 50 percent of the population of all provinces ⓘ |
| governs | formal constitutional amendments in Canada ⓘ |
| historicalContext |
Constitutional negotiations of the late 1970s and early 1980s
ⓘ
patriation of the Constitution of Canada ⓘ |
| includesSection |
section 38 of the Constitution Act, 1982
ⓘ
section 41 of the Constitution Act, 1982 ⓘ section 42 of the Constitution Act, 1982 ⓘ section 43 of the Constitution Act, 1982 ⓘ section 44 of the Constitution Act, 1982 ⓘ section 45 of the Constitution Act, 1982 ⓘ |
| interpretedBy | Supreme Court of Canada ⓘ |
| mainSection |
Constitution Act, 1982
ⓘ
surface form:
Part V of the Constitution Act, 1982
|
| notableCase |
Reference re Senate Reform (2014)
ⓘ
Reference re Supreme Court Act, ss. 5 and 6 (2014) ⓘ |
| purpose |
to govern how Canada’s Constitution can be formally changed
ⓘ
to specify levels of federal and provincial consent required for constitutional amendments ⓘ |
| relatedConcept |
division of powers in Canada
ⓘ
federalism in Canada ⓘ |
| replaced | British parliamentary authority to amend the British North America Acts ⓘ |
| requires |
participation of Parliament of Canada
ⓘ
participation of provincial legislatures ⓘ |
| section41Covers |
changes to the amending formula itself
ⓘ
composition of the Supreme Court of Canada ⓘ office of the Queen, the Governor General and the Lieutenant Governors ⓘ the right of a province to a number of members in the House of Commons not less than the number of Senators representing the province ⓘ use of the English or the French language in Canada subject to section 43 ⓘ |
| section42Covers |
matters subject to the general procedure including the principle of proportionate representation in the House of Commons
ⓘ
number of Senators and their residence qualifications ⓘ powers of the Senate and method of selecting Senators ⓘ |
| section43Covers | amendments in relation to one or more but not all provinces ⓘ |
| section44Covers | amendments by Parliament in relation to the executive government of Canada or the Senate and House of Commons ⓘ |
| section45Covers | amendments by provincial legislatures in relation to the constitution of the province ⓘ |
| subjectTo | constitutional conventions ⓘ |
| unanimityProcedureThreshold | approval by the Senate and House of Commons and all provincial legislative assemblies ⓘ |
Referenced by (2)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
this entity surface form:
amending formula