British North America Acts
Core constitutional acts of Canada before 1982 patriation.
The British North America Acts, passed between 1867 and 1975, were the foundation of Canada’s constitution until 1982. Most came from the UK Parliament, with some from Canada’s. The name originally described the British colonies that united in 1867, and later referred only to Canada.
Quick Facts
- Parliament
- Parliament of the United Kingdom
- Citation
- 7 Edw. 7. c. 11
- Territorial extent
- Canada
- Royal assent
- 9 August 1907
Facts from the source article.
Constitutional changes
Canada dates its countryhood to the British North America Act, 1867, which took effect on July 1, 1867, but the United Kingdom retained legislative control over Canada and full control over Canadian foreign policy. Until 1949, only the British Parliament could amend the British North America Acts. The British North America (No. 2) Act, 1949, granted the Parliament of Canada limited power to make constitutional amendments, but full Canadian control came only with the Canada Act 1982. The delay was largely due to the inability to agree on an amendment procedure acceptable to all provinces, especially Quebec. After patriation, most British North America Acts were renamed Constitution Acts in Canada, while a few were repealed.
French-language versions
The fifteen British North America Acts enacted by the United Kingdom Parliament have no official French-language versions; only the English version is official. The five acts enacted by the Canadian Parliament do have official French-language versions, with both English and French equally authoritative. The French Constitutional Drafting Committee produced translations of all the acts under section 55 of the Constitution Act, 1982, but these have not been made official through the constitutional amending process.
Individual acts
The acts are distinguished by the year of enactment, with British North America Acts 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). Five of these were enacted by the Parliament of Canada: those of 1952, 1965, 1974, 1975, and 1975 (No. 2); the other fifteen were enacted by the Imperial Parliament in London. The first act created the internally self-governing Dominion of Canada. Later acts addressed representation in Parliament or the Senate as the country enlarged, added provinces, modified boundaries, handled transfer payments, made temporary changes due to world wars, adjusted federal-provincial powers, granted power over constitutional changes, created new social programs, and set mandatory retirement ages in the Canadian government. The British North America Act 1867, renamed the Constitution Act, 1867 in 1982, established the federal dominion and set the framework for the Government of Canada, including its federal structure, House of Commons, Senate, justice system, and taxation system; section 92A was added at patriation to give provinces greater control over non-renewable natural resources.
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