British North America Acts and Selected Statutes

BRITISH NORTH AMERICA ACT, 1943(1)

7 GEORGE VI, CHAPTER 30

An Act to provide for the readjustment of the representation of the provinces in the House of Commons of Canada consequent on the decennial census taken in the year One thousand nine hundred and forty-one

[22nd July, 1943.]

WHEREAS the Senate and House of Commons of Canada in Parliament assembled have submitted an address to His Majesty praying that His Majesty may graciously be pleased to cause a Bill to be laid before the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the enactment of the provisions hereinafter set forth:

(1) This Act was passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom in accordance with an address from the Senate and from the House of Commons. It does not appear that the provinces were consulted. On the other hand, a protest was made by the Legislature of the province of Quebec against the adoption of the measure.

The reasons for the address are given in the preamble to the resolution preceding it as follows:

"That whereas provisions of the B.N.A. Act require that, on the completion of each decennial census, the representation of the provinces in the House of Commons shall be readjusted;

And whereas such readjustment involves in fact the determination of the number of members to represent each province and the number of electoral divisions within each province and the delimitation of such electoral divisions;

And whereas Canada has been at war since September 10, 1939, and hostilities may continue for an indefinite period;

And whereas the census of 1941 was taken during the progress of hostilities:

And whereas the effect of enlistment in the armed forces of Canada and of employment in the production of munitions of war has been to remove large numbers of the population from their homes to serve in and with such armed forces either in other parts of Canada or overseas or to reside temporarily in other parts of Canada;

And whereas experience has shown that such readjustment may give rise to sharp differences of opinion as to the appropriate delimitation of electoral divisions, which differences it is most desirable to avoid while Canada continues at war;

And whereas in these circumstances it does not now seem desirable that readjustment of representation on the basis of the census of 1941 should have to be made during the continuance of the hostilities in which Canada is now engaged,

A humble address be presented to His Majesty the King in the following words: Here follows the address and the draft of the Bill which is in the exact terms of the Act above.

The measure and its purpose were fully explained by the Minister of Justice, Mr. Saint-Laurent in the House of Commons on the fifth of July, 1943.

See also Note to s. 51 of the B.N.A. Act, 1867, supra.

Be it therefore enacted by the King's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

ment of

1. Notwithstanding anything in the British North America PostponeActs, 1867 to 1940, it shall not be necessary that the representa- redistribution of the provinces in the House of Commons of Canada be tion of seats readjusted, in consequence of the completion of the decennial in Commons. census taken in the year one thousand nine hundred and fortyone, until the first session of the Parliament of Canada commencing after the cessation of hostilities between Canada and the German Reich, the Kingdom of Italy and the Empire of Japan.

2. This Act may be cited as the British North America Short title Act, 1943, and the British North America Acts, 1867 to 1940, and citation. and this Act may be cited together as the British North America

Acts, 1867 to 1943.

BRITISH NORTH AMERICA ACT, 1946(1)

10 GEORGE VI, CHAPTER 63

An Act to provide for the readjustment of representation in the House of Commons of Canada on the basis of the population of Canada

[Assented to 26th July, 1946.]

(1) As in the case of the other amendments to the B.N.A. Act, the Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom was passed pursuant to a joint resolution of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada.

This Resolution was moved in the House on the 28th of May, 1946, by Mr. St. Laurent for Mr. Mackenzie King and read as follows:

That, whereas by the B.N.A. Act, 1867, it is provided that in respect of representation in the House of Commons the province of Quebec shall have the fixed number of sixty-five members;

And whereas the said Act provides that there shall be assigned to each of the other provinces such a number of members as will bear the same proportion to the number of its population as the number sixty-five bears to the number of the population of Quebec;

And whereas the said Act provides for the readjustment of representation on the completion of each decennial census, and that on any such readjustment the number of members for a province shall not be reduced unless the proportion which the number of the population of the province bore to the number of the aggregate population of Canada at the then last preceding readjustment of the number of members for the province is ascertained at the then latest census to be diminished by one twentieth part or upwards;

And whereas the effect of the aforesaid provisions has not been satisfactory in that proportionate representation of the provinces according to population has not been maintained:

And whereas it is considered that a more equitable apportionment of members to the various provinces could be effected if readjustment were made on the basis of the population of all the provinces taken as a whole. A humble address be presented to His Majesty The King in the following words:

We, Your Majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects, the Members of the House of Commons of Canada in Parliament assembled, humbly approach Your Majesty, praying that You may graciously be pleased to cause a measure to be laid before the Parliament of the United Kingdom to be expressed as follows:

"An Act to provide for the readjustment of representation in the House of Commons of Canada on the basis of the population of Canada;"

Then follows the Act exactly as it appears above, starting with the words "Whereas the Senate and House of Commons of Canada ..

" etc.,

On the sixth of June Mr. Diefenbaker moved that there should be consultation with the several provinces before presenting the address to His Majesty. His motion was negatived by a vote of 108 to 42 on the 20th of June, and the main motion was agreed to on the same date on a vote of 107 yeas and 22 nays.

The resolution was subsequently moved in the Senate by Senator Copp for Senator Robertson on the 2nd of July and carried on the 5th of July on the following division: 24 yeas to 7 nays.

See also Note to s. 51 of the B.N.A. Act, 1867, supra.

1. Section fifty-one of the British North America Act, 1867, is hereby repealed and the following substituted therefor:

New provision as to readjustment of represen

tation in Commons. 30-31

"51.-(1) The number of members of the House of Commons shall be two hundred and fifty-five and the representation of the provinces therein shall forthwith upon the coming into force of this section and thereafter on the completion of each Vict., c. 3. decennial census be readjusted by such authority, in such manner, and from such time as the Parliament of Canada from time to time provides, subject and according to the following rules:

1. Subject as hereinafter provided, there shall be assigned to each of the provinces a number of members computed by dividing the total population of the provinces by two hundred and fifty-four and by dividing the population of each province by the quotient so obtained, disregarding, except as hereinafter in this section provided, the remainder, if any, after the said process of division.

2. If the total number of members assigned to all the provinces pursuant to rule one is less than two hundred and fifty-four, additional members shall be assigned to the provinces (one to a province) having remainders in the computation under rule one commencing with the province having the largest remainder and continuing with the other provinces in the order of the magnitude of their respective remainders until the total number of members assigned is two hundred and fifty-four.

3. Notwithstanding anything in this section, if upon completion of a computation under rules one and two, the number of members to be assigned to a province is less than the number of senators representing the said province, rules one and two shall cease to apply in respect of the said province, and there shall be assigned to the said province a number of members equal to the said number of senators.

4. In the event that rules one and two cease to apply in respect of a province then, for the purpose of computing the number of members to be assigned to the provinces in respect of which rules one and two continue to apply, the total population of the provinces shall be reduced by the number of the population of the province in respect of which rules one and two have ceased to apply and the number two hundred and fifty-four shall be reduced by the number of members assigned to such province pursuant to rule three.

5. Such readjustment shall not take effect until the

Short title

(2) The Yukon Territory as constituted by Chapter fortyone of the Statutes of Canada, 1901, together with any Part of Canada not comprised within a province which may from time to time be included therein by the Parliament of Canada for the purposes of representation in Parliament, shall be entitled to one member."

2. This Act may be cited as the British North America and citation. Act, 1946, and the British North America Acts, 1867 to 1943, and this Act may be cited together as the British North America Acts, 1867 to 1946.

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