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Constitution Major Elements in Canada
Constitution of Canada Major Elements
Canada’s constitution consists of written documents and unwritten conventions. The written documents are a series of treaties, proclamations, and statutes that commit British and Canadian governments to a set of basic rules and principles. There are approximately 30 written constitutional documents, some written in the 19th century, others created during the late 20th century. Because Canada’s constitution is composed of many parts and has been revised over the course of many decades, it is often compared to a “living tree.”
The constitution of Canada has many more parts than the Constitution of the United States, which consists of just one primary document. Unlike colonial America’s sudden separation from the British Empire, Canada’s separation from the United Kingdom has been slow and peaceful, evolutionary rather than revolutionary. Canada’s many constitutional documents reflect this process of negotiated separation. Also, the Canadian provinces especially Québec have never been comfortable with the powers possessed by Canada’s federal government and have continually sought to renegotiate the balance of power defined by the constitution.
Constitutional documents tend to be formal, rigid, and difficult to amend. But a living tree needs to be flexible to adapt to the winds of change. Conventions fulfill this function. Conventions are informal practices that develop to suit changing social, economic, and political conditions. (1)
In this Section
- Constitution
- Constitution Origins
- Constitution Major Elements
- Constitution Documents
- Constitution Act of 1867
- Constitution Act of 1982
- Constitution Conventions
- Constitution Interpretation and Enforcement
Resources
Notes and References
See Also
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Legal Citations Generator| (2014, 03). Constitution Major Elements lawi.ca Retrieved 09, 2017, from https://lawi.ca/ |
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- Article Name: Constitution Major Elements
- Author: E. Encyclopedia
- Description: Constitution of Canada Major Elements Canada's constitution consists of written documents and unwritten conventions. [...]
This entry was last updated: March 23, 2014