Government & politics — Canada

• federal parliamentary democracy (Parliament of Canada) under a constitutional monarchy
• a Commonwealth realm
• federal and state authorities and responsibilities regulated in constitution

• history: consists of unwritten and written acts, customs, judicial decisions, and traditions dating from 1763; the written part of the constitution consists of the Constitution Act of 29 March 1867, which created a federation of four provinces,
• and the Constitution Act of 17 April 1982 amendments: proposed by either house of Parliament or by the provincial legislative assemblies; there are 5 methods for passage though most require approval by both houses of Parliament, approval of at least two thirds of the provincial legislative assemblies and assent and formalization as a proclamation by the governor general in council; the most restrictive method is reserved for amendments affecting fundamental sections of the constitution, such as the office of the monarch or the governor general, and the constitutional amendment procedures, which require unanimous approval by both houses and by all the provincial assemblies, and assent of the governor general in council; amended 11 times, last in 2011 (Fair Representation Act, 2011)

• chief of state: King CHARLES III (since 8 September 2022); represented by Governor General Mary SIMON (since 6 July 2021) previous Queen ELIZABE
• Prime Minister Mark Carney (since 14 March 2025) cabinet: Federal Ministry chosen by the prime minister usually from among members of h
• is/her own party sitting in Parliament elections/appointments: the monarchy is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister for a 5-year term; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition in the House of Commons gen
• erally designated prime minister by the governor general note: the governor general position is largely ceremonial

Description

bicameral Parliament or Parlement consists of: Senate or Senat (105 seats; members appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister and can serve until age 75) House of Commons or Chambre des Communes (338 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote with terms up to 4 years)

Elections

Senate - last appointed in July 2021 House of Commons - last held on 20 September 2021 (next to be held on or before 20 October 2025)

Election Results

• Senate - composition as of January 2024 - men 43, women 54, percent of women 55.7% (8 seats are vacant) House of Commons - percent of vote by party - CPC 33.7%, Liberal Party 32.6%, NDP 17.8%, Bloc Quebecois 7.7%, Greens 2.3%, other 5.9%
• seats by party - Liberal Party 159, CPC 119, NDP 25, Bloc Quebecois 32, Greens 2, independent 1
• composition as of January 2024 - men 234, women 102
• percent of women 30.4%;

Note

total Parliament percent of women 35.2%

• highest court(s): Supreme Court of Canada (consists of the chief justice and 8 judges); note - in 1949, Canada abolished all appeals beyond its Supreme Court, which prior to that time, were heard by the Judicial Committee of the
• Privy Council (in London) judge selection and term of office: chief justice and judges appointed by the prime minister in council; all judges appointed fo
• federal level: Federal Court of Appeal; Federal Court; Tax Court; federal administrative tribunals; Courts Martial;
• provincial/territorial level: provincial superior, appeals, first instance, and specialized courts; note - in 1999, the Nunavut Court - a circuit court with the power of a provincial superior court, as well as a territorial court - was established to serve isolated settlements

Summary

10 provinces

Regions or States

• and 3 territories* Alberta
• British Columbia
• Manitoba
• New Brunswick
• Newfoundland and Labrador
• Northwest Territories*
• Nova Scotia
• Nunavut*
• Ontario
• Prince Edward Island
• Quebec
• Saskatchewan
• Yukon*

• Bloc Quebecois [Yves-Francois BLANCHET]
• Conservative Party of Canada or CPC [Pierre POILIEVRE]
• Green Party [Elizabeth MAY]
• Liberal Party [Justin TRUDEAU]
• New Democratic Party or NDP [Jagmeet SINGH]
• People's Party of Canada [Maxime BERNIER]

• yes residency requirement for naturalization: minimum of 3 of last 5 years resident in Canada

ADB (nonregional member), AfDB (nonregional member), APEC, Arctic Council, ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, C, CD, CDB, CE (observer), EAPC, EBRD, EITI (implementing country), FAO, FATF, G-7, G-8, G-10, G-20, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD (partners), IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUSCO, NAFTA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS, OECD, OIF, OPCW, OSCE, Pacific Alliance (observer), Paris Club, PCA, PIF (partner), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNMISS, UNRWA, UNTSO, UPU, USMCA, Wassenaar Arrangement, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

chief of mission

Ambassador David L. COHEN (since December 2021) embassy: 490 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario K1N 1G8 mailing address: 5480 Ottawa Place, Washington DC 20521-5480

telephone

[1] (613) 238-5335

FAX

[1] (613) 241-7845

Email address and website

• OttawaNIV@state.gov
• https://ca.usembassy.gov/

consulate(s) general

Calgary, Halifax, Montreal, Quebec City, Toronto, Vancouver consulate(s): Winnipeg

chief of mission

Ambassador Kirsten HILLMAN (since 17 July 2020)

chancery

501 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20001

telephone

[1] (844) 880-6519

FAX

[1] (202) 682-7738

Email address and website

• ccs.scc@international.gc.ca
• https://www.international.gc.ca/country-pays/us-eu/washington.aspx?lang=eng

consulate(s) general

Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, San Francisco/Silicon Valley, Seattle

trade office(s)

Houston, Palo Alto (CA), San Diego; note - there are trade offices in the Consulates General