Constitution Act, 1867

The Constitution Act of 1867 (English: Constitution Act, 1867, French: Loi de 1867 Constitutionnelle, formerly the British North America Act, 1867 and America Act British North de 1867) is the law by which created the Dominion of Canada been.

Background

The resolution adopted on March 29, 1867 by the British Parliament and came into force on 1 July of the same year the law is a fundamental part of the Canadian Constitution. It contains the basic principles of Canadian federalism as well as the constitutional law and was later extended by other British North America Acts, particularly the Constitutional Act of 1982.

The Act created the Canadian government, the House and the Senate, the justice system, including the Supreme Court and the basic principles of tax legislation. Likewise, it laid down implicitly that Canada is a bilingual country would. Decided as the British North America Act, it received its present official name Constitution Act by the Constitutional Act of 1982.

The law united the British colonies of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia with the province of Canada, consisting of Upper Canada ( now Ontario ) and Lower Canada (now Quebec ) for the State of the Dominion of Canada. It stipulated that the provinces should be represented in the House proportional to the population, while the equality of the Regions has been written in that each of them received 24 seats in the Senate. First Prime Minister of Canada was John Macdonald, of the Confederacy is considered one of the fathers.

Article 133 allowed both the Federal Parliament and the Parliament of Quebec in two languages ​​to negotiate and adopt bilingual laws. According to the common interpretation, this means that both languages ​​should be treated as equivalent. This also applies to courts at the federal level and in the province of Quebec.

Historical background of the founding of Canada were the tensions between British North America and the U.S., which had already led to the British -American War of 1812 and the rebellions of 1837. The union of the provinces should strengthen their position and make them fortified against any U.S. claims.

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