Section 1 of the ''Constitution Act, 1867'' (french: article 1 de la Loi constitutionnelle de 1867) is a provision of the

Constitution of Canada The Constitution of Canada (french: Constitution du Canada) is the supreme law in Canada. It outlines Canada's system of government and the civil and human rights of those who are citizens of Canada and non-citizens in Canada. Its contents a ...

, setting out the title to the Act. The ''

Constitution Act, 1867 The ''Constitution Act, 1867'' (french: Loi constitutionnelle de 1867),''The Constitution Act, 1867'', 30 & 31 Victoria (U.K.), c. 3, http://canlii.ca/t/ldsw retrieved on 2019-03-14. originally enacted as the ''British North America Act, 186 ...

'' is the constitutional statute which established

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Originally named the ''

British North America Act, 1867 The ''Constitution Act, 1867'' (french: Loi constitutionnelle de 1867),''The Constitution Act, 1867'', 30 & 31 Victoria (U.K.), c. 3, http://canlii.ca/t/ldsw retrieved on 2019-03-14. originally enacted as the ''British North America Act, 186 ...

'', the Act continues to be the foundational statute for the Constitution of Canada, although it has been amended many times since 1867. It is now recognised as part of the supreme law of Canada.

''Constitution Act, 1867''

The ''

'' is part of the

and thus part of the supreme law of

.Act, 1982'', s. 52, s. 53, and Schedule, item 1.
/ref> It was the product of extensive negotiations between the provinces of

British North America British North America comprised the colonial territories of the British Empire in North America from 1783 onwards. English overseas possessions, English colonisation of North America began in the 16th century in Newfoundland (island), Newfound ...

at the

Charlottetown Conference The Charlottetown Conference (Canada's Conference) was held in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island for representatives from colonies of British North America to discuss Canadian Confederation. The conference took place between September 1 thro ...

in 1864, the Quebec Conference in 1864, and the London Conference in 1866. Those conferences were followed by consultations with the British government in 1867. The Act sets out the constitutional framework of Canada, including the structure of the

federal government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...

and the powers of the federal government and the provinces. It was enacted in 1867 by the

British Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative supremacy ...

under the name the ''British North America Act, 1867''.Hogg and Wright, ''Constitutional Law of Canada'', para. 1:2.''British North America Act, 1867'', 30 & 31 Victoria, c. 3 (UK), s. 1.
/ref> In 1982 the Act was brought under full Canadian control through the

Patriation Patriation is the political process that led to full Canadian sovereignty, culminating with the Constitution Act, 1982. The process was necessary because under the Statute of Westminster 1931, with Canada's agreement at the time, the Parliament o ...

of the Constitution, and was renamed the ''

''. Since

the Act can only be amended in Canada, under the amending formula set out in the ''

Constitution Act, 1982 The ''Constitution Act, 1982'' (french: link=no, Loi constitutionnelle de 1982) is a part of the Constitution of Canada.Formally enacted as Schedule B of the ''Canada Act 1982'', enacted by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Section 60 of t ...

''.

Text of section 1

Section 1 reads:

Legislative history

Section 1 is found in Part I of the ''Constitution Act, 1867'', dealing with preliminary matters. It is a typical example of a short title used by British and Canadian legislative drafters. It was not used in the either the

Quebec Resolutions The Quebec Resolutions, also known as the seventy-two resolutions, are a group of statements written at the Quebec Conference of 1864 which laid out the framework for the Canadian Constitution. They were adopted by the majority of the provinces of ...

of 1864, nor the London Resolutions of 1866. The original name of the Act was the ''British North America Act, 1867'', which appeared in the first formal draft of the bill dated January 23, 1867, and was used in all subsequent drafts, up to the introduction of the bill in the British Parliament. The short title was presumably introduced by the British legislative drafter responsible for the bill, Francis S. Reilly. Section 1 has been amended once since the Act was enacted in 1867. The name of the Act was changed to the ''Constitution Act, 1867'' upon the Patriation of the Constitution in 1982.

Purpose and interpretation

The original name, the ''British North America Act, 1867'', reflected the colonial origins of the statute. It was enacted by the British Parliament in the mid-19th century, when the colonies of British North America were part of the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

. The name was changed to ''Constitution Act, 1867'', as part of the Patriation process, to modernise and rationalise the Constitution of Canada, without reference to British links. The

short title In certain jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom and other Westminster-influenced jurisdictions (such as Canada or Australia), as well as the United States and the Philippines, primary legislation has both a short title and a long title. Th ...

of a statute is generally used for citing the statute, rather than the longer full title. The long title is sometimes used by a court as an aid to interpretation. Both titles are equally authoritative.

Related provisions of the ''Constitution Act, 1867''

The formal long title of the Act is: ''An Act for the Union of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, and the Government thereof; and for Purposes connected therewith.''''Constitution Act, 1867''.
/ref>

References

{{Reflist Constitution of Canada Canadian Confederation Federalism in Canada