C-14 1 44 70-71 Elizabeth II 2021-2022

An Act to amend the Constitution Act, 1867 (electoral representation)

Preserving Provincial Representation in the House of Commons Act

Preserving Provincial Representation in the House of Commons Act 2022 6 23 6 2022 91079

RECOMMENDATION

Her Excellency the Governor General recommends to the House of Commons the appropriation of public revenue under the circumstances, in the manner and for the purposes set out in a measure entitled “

An Act to amend the Constitution Act, 1867 (electoral representation) ”.

SUMMARY

This enactment amends

section 51 of the Constitution Act, 1867 to provide that, when the number of members of the House of Commons and the representation of the provinces in that House are readjusted on the completion of each decennial census, a province will not have fewer members assigned to it than were assigned during the 43rd Parliament. It also includes transitional measures providing for the application of that amendment to the readjustment of electoral boundaries under the Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act following the 2021 decennial census.

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

Alternative Title

Alternative title

This Act may be cited as the Preserving Provincial Representation in the House of Commons Act .

30-31 Vict., c. 3 (U.K.); 1982, c. 11 (U.K.)

Constitution Act, 1867

2011, c. 26, s. 2

Rule 2 of subsection 51(1) of the Constitution Act, 1867 is replaced by the following:

If the number of members assigned to a province by the application of rule 1 and

section 51A is less than the total number assigned to that province during the 43rd Parliament, there shall be added to the number of members so assigned the number of members that will result in the province having the same number of members as were assigned during that Parliament.

Interpretation

Deemed reference

A reference to the Constitution Acts, 1867 to 1982 is deemed to include a reference to

section 2 .

Transitional Provisions

Definitions

(1) The following

definitions apply in this

section and

section 5 .

Act means the Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act . ( Loi )

old calculation means the calculation of the number of members of the House of Commons to be assigned to each province done by the Chief Electoral Officer under subsection 14(1) of the Act, the statement of the results of which was published in the Canada Gazette on October 16, 2021. ( calcul antérieur )

Words and expressions

(2) Unless the context otherwise requires, words and expressions used in this

section and

section 5 have the same meaning as in the Act.

New calculation

(1) As soon as feasible after the day on which this

section comes into force, the Chief Electoral Officer must calculate the number of members of the House of Commons to be assigned to each province under subsection 14(1) of the Act, subject and according to the provisions of

section 51 of the Constitution Act, 1867 and the rules set out in that

section as they are amended by

section 2 , and on completing that calculation must cause a statement to be published in the Canada Gazette setting out the results.

Province with different number of members resulting from new calculation

(2) If the calculation referred to in subsection (1) results in a different number of members of the House of Commons for a province than was obtained under the old calculation,

(

a) any report referred to in subsection 14(2) of the Act that is prepared in respect of the province on the basis of the old calculation, and anything done under sections 19 to 23 of the Act on the basis of the report, are nullities;

(

b) the commission established for the province under

section 3 of the Act in respect of the most recent decennial census must prepare a report under subsection 14(2) of the Act in respect of the province on the basis of the calculation referred to in subsection (1); and

(

c) the duties and functions set out in sections 19 to 23 of the Act are to be performed in respect of the province following the preparation of the report under paragraph (b), and the 10-month period referred to in subsection 20(1) of the Act is, in respect of the province, deemed to begin on the day on which the statement referred to in subsection (1) is published in the Canada Gazette .

No representation order before coming into force

(3) If, before the day on which this

section comes into force, no representation order was prepared and transmitted under subsection 24(1) of the Act on the basis of the old calculation, the Chief Electoral Officer must — without waiting for the report prepared under subsection 20(1) of the Act for a province referred to in subsection (2) — prepare and transmit a representation order under subsection 24(1) of the Act that applies in respect of all provinces other than that province.

Representation order before coming into force

(4) If, before the day on which this

section comes into force, a representation order was prepared and transmitted under subsection 24(1) of the Act on the basis of the old calculation, that representation order and any proclamation made under subsection 25(1) of the Act that declares it to be in force are nullities only in respect of a province referred to in subsection (2).

Representation order and proclamation — province referred to in subsection (2)

(5) If subsection (3) or (4) applies, a representation order is to be prepared under subsection 24(1) of the Act, and a proclamation is to be made under subsection 25(1) of the Act, in respect of a province referred to in subsection (2) and on the basis of the calculation referred to in subsection (1).

Previous representation order applies

(6) For greater certainty, the representation order annexed to the Proclamation Declaring the Representation Order to be in Force Effective on the First Dissolution of Parliament that Occurs after May 1, 2014 , registered as SI/2013-102, continues to apply in respect of a province referred to in subsection (2) until the representation order referred to in subsection (5) becomes effective under subsection 25(1) or (2) of the Act.

Administrative consolidation

(7) When the representation order and proclamation referred to in subsection (5) are published in the Canada Gazette under

section 26 of the Act, the Chief Electoral Officer must publish on their website an administrative consolidation consisting of that representation order and the portion of the representation order referred to in subsection (3) or (4), as the case may be, that applies in respect of all provinces other than a province referred to in subsection (2). The consolidation must set out, in respect of each province, the day on which the applicable representation order came into force.