Fair Representation Act (Canada)

Not to be confused with Fair Representation Act (United States).

Fair Representation Act
Parliament of Canada
  • An Act to amend the Constitution Act, 1867, the Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act and the Canada Elections Act
Considered byParliament of Canada
Assented toDecember 16, 2011
Legislative history
Bill titleC-20
Introduced byTim Uppal
Amends
Related legislation
Preserving Provincial Representation in the House of Commons Act
Status: Repealed

The Fair Representation Act (French: Loi sur la représentation équitable) was an act of the Parliament of Canada and was passed by the 41st Canadian Parliament in 2011.[1][2] The Act was introduced as Bill C-20 with the long title An Act to amend the Constitution Act, 1867, the Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act and the Canada Elections Act.[3]

The legislation amended the Constitution Act, 1867 and modified the redistricting process contained within it.[4] Amendments affecting proportionate representation between the provinces, require support of seven provinces representing at least 50% of the population of Canada. Because the Fair Representation Act did not affect the proportionate representation of the provinces, it was passed without approval of the provinces.[4] The legislation could be passed by the Parliament of Canada alone, under section 44 of the Constitution Act, 1982.[4]

In 2012, the federal electoral redistribution was conducted using the amended formula introduced by the Fair Representation Act. It increased the number of MPs in the most populous provinces: Quebec gained three, Ontario gained 15, British Columbia gained six and Alberta gained six.[2]

The 2022 federal electoral redistribution began under the formula created by the Act, but in March 2022 the House of Commons rejected the allocation it produced.[5][6] As a result, the government introduced the Preserving Provincial Representation in the House of Commons Act.[5][7] The Act received royal assent on June 23, 2022, repealing the constitutional amendments made by the Fair Representation Act.[8]

References

  1. ^ "C-20: An Act to amend the Constitution Act, 1867, the Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act and the Canada Elections Act". Parliament of Canada. December 16, 2011. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  2. ^ a b "30 more MPs for rebalanced House of Commons". cbc.ca. October 26, 2011.
  3. ^ Thandi Fletcher (December 16, 2011). "Crowded House: Parliament gets cozier as 30 seats added". Canada.com. Postmedia News. Archived from the original on March 14, 2013. Retrieved December 19, 2011.
  4. ^ a b c Bryden, Joan (November 5, 2021). "Ottawa needs support from majority of provinces to guarantee Quebec's share of Commons seats". CBC News. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
  5. ^ a b CBC News (March 4, 2022). "Ottawa to protect number of Quebec Commons seats, stop province from losing MP". CBC News. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  6. ^ Woolf, Marie (March 4, 2022). "Feds to protect number of Quebec's Commons seats to ensure province doesn't lose MP". Global News. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  7. ^ "C-14: An Act to amend the Constitution Act, 1867 (electoral representation)". Parliament of Canada. 2022. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  8. ^ "JOURNALS Thursday, June 23, 2022". ourcommons.ca. House of Commons of Canada. June 23, 2022. Retrieved June 24, 2022. A message was received informing the Commons that on June 23, 2022, at 10:28 p.m., Her Excellency the Governor General signified royal assent by written declaration to the following bills: Bill C-14, An Act to amend the Constitution Act, 1867 (electoral representation) — Chapter No. 6;
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