Section 36 of the Constitution Act, 1867
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| Constitution Act, 1867 |
|---|
| Part of the Constitution of Canada |
| PREAMBLE |
| I. PRELIMINARY |
| 1, 2 |
| II. UNION |
| 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 |
| III. EXECUTIVE POWER |
| 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 |
| IV. LEGISLATIVE POWER |
| 17, 18, 19, 20 |
| The Senate |
| 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36 |
| The House of Commons |
| 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51(1), 51(2), 51A, 52 |
| Money Votes; Royal Assent |
| 53, 54, 55, 56, 57 |
|
V. PROVINCIAL CONSTITUTIONS Executive Power |
| 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68 |
| Legislative Power |
| 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90 |
| VI. DISTRIBUTION OF LEGISLATIVE POWERS |
| 91, 92, 92A, 93, 93A, 94, 94A, 95 |
| VII. JUDICATURE |
| 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101 |
| VIII. REVENUES; DEBTS; ASSETS; TAXATION |
| 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126 |
| IX. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS |
| 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144 |
| X. INTERCOLONIAL RAILWAY |
| 145 |
| XI. ADMISSION OF OTHER COLONIES |
| 146, 147 |
| SCHEDULES |
|
First: Electoral Districts of Ontario Second: Electoral Districts of Quebec Third: Property of Canada Fourth: Property of Ontario and Quebec Fifth: Allegiance and Senate Qualification Sixth: Natural Resources |
| COMING INTO FORCE |
| Proclamation of the Constitution Act, 1867 |
Section 36 of the Constitution Act, 1867 (French: article 36 de la Loi constitutionnelle de 1867) is a provision of the Constitution of Canada relating to the voting procedure in the Senate of Canada.
The Constitution Act, 1867 is the constitutional statute which established Canada. Originally named the British North America Act, 1867, the Act continues to be the foundational statute for the Constitution of Canada, although it has been amended many times since 1867. It is now recognised as part of the supreme law of Canada.
The Constitution Act, 1867 is part of the Constitution of Canada and thus part of the supreme law of Canada.[1][2] The Act sets out the constitutional framework of Canada, including the structure of the federal government and the powers of the federal government and the provinces. It was the product of extensive negotiations between the provinces of British North America at the Charlottetown Conference in 1864, the Quebec Conference in 1864, and the London Conference in 1866.[3][4] Those conferences were followed by consultations with the British government in 1867.[3][5] The Act was then enacted in 1867 by the British Parliament under the name the British North America Act, 1867.[6][7] In 1982 the Act was brought under full Canadian control through the Patriation of the Constitution, and was renamed the Constitution Act, 1867.[2][6] Since Patriation the Act can only be amended in Canada, under the amending formula set out in the Constitution Act, 1982.[8][9][10]
Text of section 36
Section 36 reads:
Voting in Senate
36 Questions arising in the Senate shall be decided by a Majority of Voices, and the Speaker shall in all Cases have a Vote, and when the Voices are equal the Decision shall be deemed to be in the Negative.[11]
Section 36 is found in Part IV of the Constitution Act, 1867, dealing with the federal legislative power. It has not been amended since the Act was enacted in 1867.[11]
Legislative history
The power of the speaker to vote in proceedings was addressed in both the Quebec Resolutions of 1864,[12][13] and the London Resolutions of 1866.[14][15] Both proposed that the speaker would have a casting vote, and would only vote in the case of an equality of votes.
That approach was followed in the first two drafts of the bill.[16][17] The third draft changed the approach, and proposed giving the speaker the same right to vote as the other senators, with a measure defeated if there were an equality of votes. That approach was adopted in the final draft, with some changes in wording, becoming the version enacted as section 36.[18]