British North America Acts
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The British North America Acts 1867–1975 are a series of Acts of the British Parliament dealing with the government of Canada. The first and most important Act of the series, the British North America Act 1867 (now the Constitution Act, 1867), was passed in 1867, and created the self-governing dominion of Canada. Canada and the other British dominions achieved full legislative sovereignty with the passage of the Statute of Westminster 1931, but prior to the Canada Act 1982 the British North America Acts were excluded from the operation of the Statute of Westminster and could only be amended by the British Parliament.
In 1982 Canada patriated its constitution and entrenched within it the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, through the Constitution Act, 1982. By the Canada Act 1982, the British Parliament, acting at the request and with the consent of Canada, enacted the Constitution Act 1982, which established a procedure for the amendment of the Canadian constitution by the Canadian Parliament. The British North America Acts 1867–1975 are generally named Constitution Acts in Canada, and together with the Constitution Act 1982 are now collectively known as the Constitution Acts 1867–1982, though they remain named as they originally were in the United Kingdom. These and other Acts form the Constitution of Canada.
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Notable British North America Acts
The different Acts of the series are distinguished by appending the year of their enactment. BNA Acts were passed in 1867, 1871, 1886, 1907, 1915, 1916*, 1940, 1943*, 1946*, 1949, 1949 (No. 2)*, 1951*, 1952*, 1960, 1964, 1965, 1974 and 1975. Those marked with (*) have since been repealed.
British North America Act, 1867
British North America Act, 1949
Template:Seealso The British North America Act, 1949 was an Act of the British Parliament, which amended the Constitution of Canada, allowing for the entry of Newfoundland as the tenth province. The act was renamed the Newfoundland Act after Canada's Constitution was patriated from the United Kingdom in 1982.
The Act is not to be confused with the British North America Act 1949 No.2, also passed by the British Parliament pertaining to Canada in 1949.
See also: 1949 in Canada.
British North America (No. 2) Act, 1949
The British North America (No. 2) Act, 1949, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that granted Canada limited powers to amend its own constitution. The Parliament of Canada was thereafter allowed to amend the Canadian constitution in many areas of its own jurisdiction without appealing to the British Parliament first. However, the approval of the British Parliament was still needed for wider constitutional change such as that involving areas of provincial responsibility. Therefore, the Act can best be seen as a "partial patriation" of the Canadian constitution.
The Act was repealed in 1982 with the full patriation of the constitution from the United Kingdom and the addition of a new, comprehensive amending formula.
This Act is not to be confused with the British North America Act 1949, later renamed the Newfoundland Act in 1982, which confirmed the terms of union between Newfoundland and Canada and made Newfoundland the tenth province.
See also
External links
- Constitution Acts 1867 - 1982
- Canada and the British North America Act
- Template:Gutenberg
- Text of the British North America (No. 2) Act, 1949
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