Topic summary

British North America Act, 1867

Extracted from the Wikipedia article Constitution Act, 1867.

The Constitution Act, 1867 (French: Loi constitutionnelle de 1867), originally enacted as the British North America Act, 1867 (abbreviated BNA Act), is the foundational enactment of the Constitution of Canada. The act created Canada, a federal country, and defines much of its structure, including the Parliament of Canada (composed of the monarch, the House of Commons, and the Senate), the executive, parts of the court system, and the division of powers between the federal government and the provinces. The act also created two new provinces, Ontario and Quebec, and set out their constitutions. It also provided for the admission of other parts of British North America as additional provinces or as territory of Canada.