Appendix 1: Fundamamental principles evidenced by consconstitutional text, statutory provisions, and conventions

AuthorGregory Tardi
Pages647-677
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 1
FUNDAMENTAL PINCIPLES AS
EVIDENCED BY CONSTITUTIONAL
TEXT, STATUTORY POVISIONS,
AND CONVENTIONS
ELECTORAL SYSTEM SIMILAR IN PRINCIPLE TO THAT
OF THE UNITED KINGDOM
Canada inherited its entire Democratic form of government, including
democratic elections, from the United Kingdom, by way of the Constitu-
tion Act, . e key to this constitutional and legal inheritance was the
Preamble of the Constitution.
Constitution Act, 1867, Preamble
 the Provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick have
expressed their Desire to be federally united into One Dominion under the
Crown of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, with a Constitu-
tion similar in Principle to that of the United Kingdom
MAXIMUM DURATION OF LEGISLATURES AND
FIXED-DATE TIMING OF ELECTIONS
e text of the Constitution sets at f‌ive years the limit for the duration of
a Parliament, from election to election. is constitutional standard was
f‌irst set out in  and was renewed in . In , when the Canada
Elections Act was amended to establish a system of f‌ixed-date elections, a
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ANATOMY F AN ELECTION
new statutory standard limiting the life of each House of Commons to
a maximum of four years was set. e constitutional standard remains
unchanged.
Constitution Act, 1867, s 50
Duration of House of Commons
50. Every House of Commons shall continue for Five Years from the Day of
the Return of the Writs for choosing the House (subject to be sooner dis-
solved by the Governor General), and no longer.
Constitution Act, 1982, s 4
Maximum duration of legislative bodies
4. (1) No House of Commons and no legislative assembly shall continue for
longer than ve years from the date xed for the return of the writs at a
general election of its members.
Continuation in special circumstances
(2) In time of real or apprehended war, invasion or insurrection, a House
of Commons may be continued by Parliament and a legislative assembly
may be continued by the legislature beyond ve years if such continuation
is not opposed by the votes of more than one-third of the members of the
House of Commons or the legislative assembly, as the case may be.
Canada Elections Act, ss 56.1–56.2
Powers of Governor General preserved
56.1 (1) Nothing in this section aects the powers of the Governor Gen-
eral, including the power to dissolve Parliament at the Governor General’s
discretion.
Election dates
(2) Subject to subsection (1), each general election must be held on the
third Monday of October in the fourth calendar year following polling day
for the last general election, with the rst general election aer this section
comes into force being held on Monday, October 19, 2009.
Alternate day
56.2 (1) If the Chief Electoral Ocer is of the opinion that a Monday that
would otherwise be polling day under subsection 56.1(2) is not suitable for that
purpose, including by reason of its being in conict with a day of cultural or
religious signicance or a provincial or municipal election, the Chief Electoral

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