The Proclamation of the Constitution Act, 1867 (French: Proclamation de la Loi constitutionnelle de 1867) was a royal proclamation issued by Queen Victoria on the advice of the British government, bringing the Constitution Act, 1867 into force and creating the new country of Canada, effective July 1, 1867.
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.
A PROCLAMATION
for Uniting the Provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, into one Dominion, under the name of CANADA.
WHEREAS by an Act of Parliament, passed on the twenty-ninth day of March, one
thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirtieth year of Our reign, intituled "An Act for the union of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, and the Government thereof, and for purposes connected therewith," after divers
recitals it is enacted that "it shall be lawful for the Queen, by and with the advice of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, to declare, by Proclamation, that on and after a day therein appointed, not being more than six months after the passing of this Act the Provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, shall form and be One Dominion under the name of Canada, and on and after that day those Three Provinces shall form and be One Dominion under that Name accordingly:" and it is thereby further enacted, that "Such Persons shall be first summoned to the Senate as The Queen by Warrant, under Her Majesty's Royal Sign Manual, thinks fit to approve, and their Names shall be inserted in The Queen's Proclamation of Union:"
We, therefore, by and with the advice of Our Privy Council, have thought fit to issue this Our Royal Proclamation, and We do ordain, declare, and command that on and after the first day of July, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, the Provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, shall form and be One Dominion, under the name of Canada.
And We do further ordain and declare that the persons whose names are herein inserted and set forth are the persons of whom We have by Warrant under Our Royal Sign Manual thought fit to approve as the persons who shall be first summoned to the Senate of Canada.
Given at Our Court at Windsor Castle, this twenty-second day of May, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, and in the thirtieth year of Our reign.
GOD save the QUEEN.[10]
Purpose and interpretation
The Constitution Act, 1867 was passed by the British Parliament in March, 1867, receiving royal assent on March 29, 1867. However, it did not come into force immediately, as time was needed to prepare for the implementation of the new federal structure, particularly the selection of the new federal Cabinet.
Section 3 of the Act authorised the Queen, on the advice of the British government, to set the date for the coming into force of the Act. The Royal Proclamation was issued on May 22, 1867, setting July 1, 1867 as the day the Act would come into force and Canada would come into existence. Governor GeneralLord Monck appointed John A. Macdonald as the first prime minister of Canada. Macdonald then spent the months of May and June forming the new Cabinet, which required balancing a number of regional, sectarian, and linguistic issues. The new federal government then came into effect on July 1, 1867.[11]
Related provisions
Section 3 of the Act authorised the Queen to issue the Proclamation, acting on the advice of the British government.
Section 25 of the Act provided that the individuals listed in the Proclamation would be summoned to the Senate.
References
^Peter Hogg and Wade Wright, Constitutional Law of Canada, 5th ed. (Toronto: Thomson Reuters (looseleaf; current to 2022), para. 1:4.
