Bill C-14 · 44th Parliament · Justin Trudeau
Preserving Provincial Representation in the House of Commons Act
An Act to amend the Constitution Act, 1867 (electoral representation)
Government bill. Became law.
- IntroducedMarch 24, 2022
- Debated in principleMay 18, 2022
- Studied by a committeeDone
- Passed its first chamberJune 15, 2022
- Passed the second chamberJune 21, 2022
- Became lawJune 23, 2022
Leading supporters
Ranked by the part each played: who is responsible for the bill, who carried it, and who spoke for it most.
- Justin TrudeauPrime Minister
Who carries this bill
Arrows run from the person responsible to those who answer to them on this bill. The critic leads the Senate’s scrutiny and answers to no one on it.
What it set out to do
On 24 March 2022, the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities introduced Bill C-14, An Act to amend the Constitution Act, 1867 (electoral representation) (Preserving Provincial Representation in the House of Commons Act) and it was given first reading. Bill C-14 amends section 51 of the Constitution Act, 1867 to provide that, when the number of members of the House of Commons and the representation of the provinces in that House are readjusted on the completion of each decennial census, a province will not have fewer members assigned to it than were assigned during the 43rd Parliament. It also includes transitional measures providing for the application of that amendment to the readjustment of electoral boundaries under the Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act following the 2021 decennial census.
Summary by the Library of Parliament.
Where members stand
Votes and debate for this bill have not been read yet.
How it changed on the way
20% of the text as introduced was changed or removed by the time it became law (1,245 words introduced, 1,147 passed).
minor changeintent kept
The bill passed with only minor updates to dates and procedural headers. The core amendment preserving provincial seat counts from the 43rd Parliament remained identical.
- Minor punctuation adjustment in the new rule text.
Before: “43rd Parliament , there shall be added”
After: “43rd Parliament, there shall be added”
How precisely it is written
preciseChallenging the law: HardDisputing a charge: Hard
The bill relies on defined terms, exact references to the 43rd Parliament, specific dates, and numbered sections of the Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act to fix seat numbers and dictate recalculations or nullifications. This creates mechanical, objective rules with minimal interpretive space.
Open to argument
“As soon as feasible after the day on which this section comes into force”
The phrase introduces a minor timing flexibility without an objective deadline or test.
Clear-cut
“If the number of members assigned to a province by the application of rule 1 and section 51A is less than the total number assigned to that province during the 43rd Parliament, there shall be added to the number of members so assigned the number of members that will result in the province having the same number of members as were assigned during that Parliament.”
The rule supplies a numerical floor tied to a fixed historical parliament rather than a subjective standard.“old calculation means the calculation of the number of members of the House of Commons to be assigned to each province done by the Chief Electoral Officer under subsection 14(1) of the Act, the statement of the results of which was published in the Canada Gazette on October 16, 2021.”
The definition anchors the baseline to a single published document and exact date.“the 10-month period referred to in subsection 20(1) of the Act is, in respect of the province, deemed to begin on the day on which the statement referred to in subsection (1) is published in the Canada Gazette”
The provision converts an open timeline into a date certain triggered by publication.
Discretion. The Chief Electoral Officer must perform calculations and publish statements under explicit statutory triggers and timelines, with no policy or merits discretion granted to ministers or officials.
Challenging the law itself. The text supplies concrete numerical floors and mechanical procedures, leaving scant basis for a successful vagueness or overbreadth claim under section 7 of the Charter.
Disputing a charge under it. Any dispute would turn on verifiable arithmetic comparisons to the 43rd Parliament or the October 2021 Gazette notice rather than subjective judgments.
Read by a language model from the royal assent text; every quoted phrase appears in the bill. A reading of the drafting, not legal advice.
Did it work?
no evaluation found
Who lobbied on it
No lobbying registration naming this bill is loaded.
Stages and dates from LEGISinfo.