House of Commons Procedure and Practice
Edited by Robert Marleau and Camille Montpetit
2000 Edition — More information …
 Search 
Previous PageNext Page

4. The House of Commons and Its Members

[1] 
For a description of various electoral systems, see Jackson and Jackson, pp. 426-34.
[2] 
Indeed, the number of Members a party elects does not necessarily reflect the proportion of votes it received at the national level, as has been clearly demonstrated in numerous general elections. As an example, in the election of 1968, the Liberal Party polled 45% of the votes cast and won 59% of the seats in the House; in 1984, the Progressive Conservative Party polled 50% of the votes cast and won 75% of the seats in House. See Dawson’s The Government of Canada, 5th ed., pp. 314-5; 6th ed., p. 85.
[3] 
Constitution Act, 1867, R.S.C. 1985, Appendix II, No. 5, s. 40. Until the 1968 general election, some electoral districts were entitled to return two Members to the House of Commons. In each two-Member constituency, voters were entitled to cast two votes; the two candidates with the most votes won. See Norman Ward, “Voting in Canadian Two-Member Constituencies”, in Voting in Canada (ed. John C. Courtney), Scarborough: Prentice-Hall of Canada Ltd., 1967, pp. 125-9, for a historical perspective of two-Member constituencies.
[4] 
Constitution Act, 1867, R.S.C. 1985, Appendix II, No. 5, s. 37.
[5] 
See Norman Ward, “A Century of Constituencies”, Canadian Public Administration 10 (1967) as reprinted in Representation and Electoral Systems Canadian Perspectives, J. Paul Johnson and Harvey E. Pasis (editors), Scarborough: Prentice-Hall Canada Inc., 1990, p. 207.
[6] 
An Act to amend and continue the Act 32 and 33 Victoria, chapter 3, and to establish and provide for the Government of the Province of Manitoba, S.C. 1870, c. 3.
[7] 
See Journals, March 31, 1871, p. 198; May 20, 1873, p. 402.
[8] 
Northwest Territories Representation Act, 1886, S.C. 1886, c. 24; The Yukon Territory Representation Act, 1902, S.C. 1902, c. 37.
[9] 
See An Act to readjust the representation of the provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta in the House of Commons and to amend the Representation Act, S.C. 1907, c. 41.
[10] 
An Act to approve the terms of the union of Newfoundland with Canada, S.C. 1949, c. 1.
[11] 
An Act to amend the British North America Acts, 1867 to 1951, with respect to the Readjustment of Representation in the House of Commons, S.C. 1952, c. 15; An Act to amend the Representation Act, S.C. 1962, c. 17.
[12] 
Nunavut Act, S.C. 1993, c. 28; An Act to amend the Nunavut Act and the Constitution Act, 1867, S.C. 1998, c. 15, ss. 25, 45.3.
[13] 
In 1865, at the time of the Confederation debates, then Attorney General John A. MacDonald (later Canada’s first Prime Minister) explained that Quebec was chosen as the pivotal province because it was “the best suited for the purpose, on account of the comparatively permanent character of its population and from its having neither the largest nor the least number of inhabitants …” (Confederation Debates, February 6, 1865, p. 38).
[14] 
Constitution Act, 1867, R.S.C. 1985, Appendix II, No. 5, s. 51. A less detailed census takes place every five years.
[15] 
See Norman Ward, The Canadian House of Commons: Representation, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1950, pp. 39-41.
[16] 
Constitution Act, 1867, R.S.C. 1985, Appendix II, No. 5, s. 51A. This clause was enacted as the Constitution Act, 1915, R.S.C. 1985, Appendix II, No. 23. Prince Edward Island was guaranteed four seats and Nova Scotia and New Brunswick 10 each. At the time of Confederation, the Senate had 72 appointed members, 24 members each from Quebec, Ontario and the Maritimes (12 for Nova Scotia and 12 for New Brunswick). When Manitoba joined Confederation in 1870, it was given two Senators; in 1871 British Columbia received three and Prince Edward Island four (two from each of the other Maritime Provinces; see s. 147 of the Constitution Act, 1867); Alberta and Saskatchewan were granted four Senators each in 1905. The Senate was reconstituted at 96 by the Constitution Act, 1915. Six more Senators were added when Newfoundland joined Canada in 1949 and one Senator each was added for the Yukon Territory and the Northwest Territory in 1975. In 1999, one Senator was added for the new territory of Nunavut. The Senate ordinarily has 105 members.
[17] 
Journals, July 5, 1943, pp. 582-4.
[18] 
Only the provinces of Quebec, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and British Columbia would have had seats in proportion to their population. See Ward, The Canadian House of Commons: Representation, p. 53.
[19] 
See the Constitution Act, 1946, R.S.C. 1985, Appendix II, No. 30. For additional information, see Ward, The Canadian House of Commons: Representation, pp. 54-5.
[20]
The entry of Newfoundland in 1949 increased this total to 262.
[21] 
See the Constitution Act, 1952, S.C. 1952, c. 15, s. 1. This was the first constitutional amendment passed by the Parliament of Canada after the amending procedure for the Constitution was modified in 1949.
[22] 
S.C. 1974-75-76, c. 13. The President of the Privy Council, Mitchell Sharp, noted during second reading of this bill: “The amalgam method was devised as a means of ensuring that the population size of constituencies in Canada would not grow to a point where a Member’s ability to represent his constituents would be impaired, nor the access of constituents to their Member unduly restricted.” See Debates, December 2, 1974, p. 1846. For additional information, see Dawson’s The Government of Canada, 6th ed., p. 91.
[23] 
See Debates, December 2, 1974, pp. 1845-7, where Mitchell Sharp, President of the Privy Council, outlines the amalgam formula.
[24] 
See Journals, January 13, 1981, pp. 1138-9; Standing Committee on Privileges and Elections, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, July 6, 1982, Issue No. 21, pp. 5-7 (Fifth Report presented on July 8, 1982 (Journals, pp. 5132-3)). See also Journals, October 1, 1985, p. 1051; November 21, 1985, p. 1251.
[25] 
S.C. 1986, c.8, s. 2.
[26] 
As enacted by An Act to amend the Nunavut Act and the Constitution Act, 1867, S.C. 1998, c. 15, s. 25.
[27] 
In April 1994, the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs was instructed to prepare and bring in a bill respecting the system of readjusting electoral boundaries and to consider a formula to cap or reduce the number of seats in the House of Commons (Journals, April 19, 1994, pp. 368-70). In its Fifty-First Report (presented on November 25, 1994 (Journals, p. 939)), the Committee concluded that a cap or reduction in the size of the House would not be feasible because of certain constraints set out in the Constitution, notably the senatorial clause, which can only be changed with the unanimous agreement of all provinces. Capping or reducing the size of the House, while maintaining the senatorial floor, would lead to certain provinces losing a significant number of seats while others would be protected. In addition, capping the size of the House would require repealing the grandfather clause which guarantees that provinces with declining populations maintain the same number of seats they had in 1986. See the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, November 25, 1994, Issue No. 33, pp. 5-11.
[28] 
Gerrymandering is the manipulation of riding boundaries by the government party to ensure that the opposition’s vote is concentrated in as few constituencies as possible. John McMenemy explains in The Language of Canadian Politics, Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 1995, p. 122, that the term “gerrymander” comes from such a manipulation in Massachusetts in 1812 by the party of Governor Elbridge Gerry, which resulted in constituencies whose configurations resembled those of a salamander. In his book, The Canadian House of Commons: Representation, Professor Norman Ward briefly describes the 1872, 1882 and 1892 redistributions as being affected by gerrymandering (see pp. 26-9).
[29] 
Journals, April 14, 1903, p. 116.
[30] 
See Journals, February 19, 1914, p. 153; March 25, 1924, p. 81; November 25, 1932, p. 148; February 24, 1947, pp. 122-3; June 28, 1952, p. 618.
[31] 
For a more detailed look at the history of readjustment up to the 1960s, see Ward, “A Century of Constituencies”, pp. 207-20.
[32] 
See Ward, “A Century of Constituencies”, p. 211.
[33] 
See, for example, Debates, May 25, 1933, pp. 5468-9; February 21, 1947, pp. 698-9. Between 1958 and 1962, a private Member, Frank Howard (Skeena), annually introduced a bill to assign this task to an independent body.
[34] 
S.C. 1964-65, c. 31. The bill took over a year to get through Parliament because of disagreements over some of the major clauses. See Ward, “A Century of Constituencies”, pp. 212-6.
[35] 
If the chief justice of the province does not or cannot appoint someone for whatever reason, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court may make the appointment (Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. E-3, s. 5). This occurred in 1993 when the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court appointed the chairman of the British Columbia electoral boundaries commission. Originally, there was a fourth person appointed to each commission, a representation commissioner. The Office of Representation Commissioner was abolished in 1979, when the incumbent retired and most of his duties were transferred to the Chief Electoral Officer.
[36] 
Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. E-3, ss. 4-6. After the Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act was passed in 1964, many Members expected the Speaker to consult with party leaders prior to making appointments to the electoral boundaries commissions. Instead, the Speaker consulted with the chief justice in each province and the chairman of each commission, and generally appointed an university professor in political science and a citizen whose professional employment indicated some semblance of impartiality, such as the clerk of a legislature. See Ward, “A Century of Constituencies”, p. 216.
[37] 
Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. E-3, s. 10.
[38]
The Office of the Chief Electoral Officer is discussed in detail later in this chapter.
[39] 
Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. E-3, ss. 13-4.
[40]
The Canada Gazette is a periodical publication of the Government of Canada containing orders in council and proclamations, regulations and other statutory instruments, and Acts of Parliament.
[41] 
Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. E-3, s. 20(1) as amended by c. 6 (2nd supp.), s. 4.
[42] 
Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. E-3, s. 15 as amended by c. 6 (2nd supp.), s. 2.
[43] 
Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. E-3, s. 19 as amended by c. 6 (2nd supp.), s. 3.
[44] 
Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. E-3, s. 20(2). The Chief Electoral Officer noted in an appearance before the Procedure and House Affairs Committee on February 3, 1994, that no extension had been given in the previous redistribution nor did he anticipate that it would in the 1993-94 redistribution process (Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, February 3, 1994, Issue No. 1, p. 15).
[45] 
Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. E-3. s. 21(1) as amended by c. 6 (2nd supp.), s. 5. See, for example, Journals, June 22, 1995, p. 1867. If the House is not sitting, the reports are tabled on any of the first five sitting days when the House returns. On June 10, 1994, the Standing Orders were amended to designate the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs as the parliamentary committee responsible for electoral matters (see Journals, June 10, 1994, p. 563; Twenty-Seventh Report, Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, June 9, 1994, Issue No. 16, pp. 7-8. See also Standing Order 108(3)(a)(vi)).
[46] 
Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. E-3, s. 21(2).
[47] 
Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. E-3, s. 22 as amended by c. 6 (2nd supp.), s. 6.
[48] 
Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. E-3, s. 22 as amended by c. 6 (2nd supp.), s. 6. In 1995, because of the large number of objections filed, the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs established four regional sub-committees to hear from Members and to make recommendations to the Committee (see Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence,October 17, 1995, Issue No. 52, pp. 25-6).
[49] 
See, for example, Journals, October 4, 1995, p. 1990; Debates, October 4, 1995, p. 15222. See also Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, October 17, 1995, Issue No. 52, p. 17.
[50] 
Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. E-2, s. 22 as amended by c. 6 (2nd supp.), s. 6. See, for example, Journals, November 29, 1995, p. 2188. For the Committee’s final report on this matter in regard to the 1995 readjustment of electoral boundaries, see Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, Minutes of Proceedings, November 28, 1995, Issue No. 53, pp. 16-118, in particular pp. 18-26.

Top of documentPrevious PageNext Page