Conventional long form: none
Conventional short form: Canada
History: consists of unwritten and written acts, customs, judicial decisions, and traditions dating from 1763; the written part of the constitution consists of the Constitution Act of 29 March 1867, which created a federation of four provinces, and the Constitution Act of 17 April 1982
Amendments: proposed by either house of Parliament or by the provincial legislative assemblies; there are 5 methods for passage though most require approval by both houses of Parliament, approval of at least two thirds of the provincial legislative assemblies and assent and formalization as a proclamation by the governor general in council; the most restrictive method is reserved for amendments affecting fundamental sections of the constitution, such as the office of the monarch or the governor general, and the constitutional amendment procedures, which require unanimous approval by both houses and by all the provincial assemblies, and assent of the governor general in council; amended 11 times, last in 2011 (Fair Representation Act, 2011)
Citizenship by birth: yes
Citizenship by descent only: yes
Dual citizenship recognized: yes
Residency requirement for naturalization: minimum of 3 of last 5 years resident in Canada
Chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Julie PAYETTE (since 2 October 2017)
Head of government: Prime Minister Justin Pierre James TRUDEAU (Liberal Party) (since 4 November 2015)
Cabinet: Federal Ministry chosen by the prime minister usually from among members of his/her own party sitting in Parliament
Elections appointments: the monarchy is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister for a 5-year term; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition in the House of Commons generally designated prime minister by the governor general
Description: bicameral Parliament or Parlement consists of
Elections: Senate - appointed; latest appointments in December 2018 House of Commons - last held on 21 October 2019 (next to be held in October 2023)
Election results: Senate - composition as of December 2018 - men 51, women 54, percent of women 51.4% House of Commons - percent of vote by party - CPC 34.4%, Liberal Party 33.1%, NDP 15.9%, Bloc Quebecois 7.7%, Greens 6.5%, other 2.4%; seats by party - Liberal Party 157, CPC 121, NDP 24, Bloc Quebecois 32, Greens 4; composition - men 240, women 98, percent of women 29%; note - total Parliament percent of women 34.3%
Highest courts: Supreme Court of Canada (consists of the chief justice and 8 judges); note - in 1949, Canada abolished all appeals beyond its Supreme Court, which prior to that time, were heard by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (in London)
Judge selection and term of office: chief justice and judges appointed by the prime minister in council; all judges appointed for life with mandatory retirement at age 75
Subordinate courts: federal level
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