Section 68 of the Constitution Act, 1867 () is a provision of the Constitution of Canada relating to the seats of government of the four original provinces, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec.

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.

Constitution Act, 1867

The Constitution Act, 1867 is part of the Constitution of Canada and thus part of the supreme law of Canada.Peter Hogg and Wade Wright, Constitutional Law of Canada, 5th ed. (Thomson Reuters (looseleaf; current to 2025)), para. 1:4.Constitution Act, 1982, s. 52, s. 53, and Schedule, item 1. 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.Donald Creighton, The Road to Confederation (Macmillan Publishing, 1964; reprinted ed., Oxford University Press, 2012); online version.Christopher Moore, 1867 — How the Fathers Made a Deal (McClelland & Stewart, 1997). Those conferences were followed by consultations with the British government in 1867.Ben Gilding,"The Silent Framers of British North American Union: The Colonial Office and Canadian Confederation, 1851–67" (2018) 99:3 Canadian Historical Review. The Act was then enacted by the British Parliament under the name the British North America Act, 1867.Hogg and Wright, Constitutional Law of Canada, para. 1:2.British North America Act, 1867, 30 & 31 Vict., c. 3 (UK). In 1982 the Act was brought under full Canadian control through the Patriation of the Constitution, and was renamed the Constitution Act, 1867. Since Patriation, the Act can only be amended in Canada, under the amending formula set out in the Constitution Act, 1982.Hogg and Wright, Constitutional Law of Canada, para. 4:1.Constitution Act, 1982, Part V.Canada Act 1982, 1982, c. 11, s. 2 (UK).

Text of section 68

Section 68 reads:

Section 68 is found in Part V of the Constitution Act, 1867, dealing with provincial constitutions. It has not been amended since the Act was enacted in 1867.

Purpose and interpretation

Section 68 defines the seats of government of the four original provinces. The established seats of government of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia were continued, but seats of government had to be assigned for the two new provinces created by the Act, Ontario and Quebec. All four were chosen as seats of government in part for military reasons, with two based on the risk of conflict with the United States.

Quebec City

Quebec City was the oldest city of the four, but had an interrupted tenure as a provincial capital. Its military significance was its location at the point where the St. Lawrence estuary narrows into the St. Lawrence River, which was the cut-off point for large ocean-going warships entering the St. Lawrence.Brett McGillivray, "Quebec, Quebec, Canada", Encyclopedia Britannica (updated September 30, 2022).Serge Bernier, Jacques Castonguay and others, Military History of Quebec City : 1608-2008 (Montreal: Art Global; Ottawa, Ontario : Canada Parks Agency, National Defence Canada, and Public Works and Government Services Canada, 2008), p. 56. Quebec was the oldest city in New France, and had served as the capital of the French colony of Canada. It had also served as the capital of the British Province of Quebec (from 1763 to 1791), and then as the capital of Lower Canada from 1791 to 1841. Quebec served as the seat of government of the Province of Canada from 1852 to 1856, and again from 1859 to 1866.J.M.S. Careless, The Union of the Canadas — The Growth of Canadian Institutions 1841–1857 (McClelland & Stewart: 1967), pp. 170, 179–180.Government of Canada–Designations of National Historic Significance: Meetings of Parliament, 1841-1866. Quebec became the seat of government of the new province of Quebec on July 1, 1867.

Halifax

Halifax was the second oldest provincial capital, having served as the capital of the British colony of Nova Scotia since 1749. Its deep harbour, ice-free year round, made it a valuable port for the Royal Navy. Halifax was one of the main stations for the Royal Navy in British North America in the 18th and 19th centuries.W.S. MacNutt, The Atlantic Provinces —The Emergence of Colonial Society 1712–1857, McClelland & Stewart (Canadian Centenary Series), 1965), pp. 46–47, 82, 129–131, 150–151. Halifax continued as the seat of government of the province of Nova Scotia after Confederation in 1867.

Fredericton

Fredericton was made the capital of the British colony of New Brunswick in 1783. The site was chosen because it was well-inland, and thus not vulnerable to naval attack from the United States.MacNutt, The Atlantic Provinces, pp. 100–101.P.B. Waite, The Life and Times of Confederation, 3rd ed. (Robin Brass Studio: 2001), pp. 250–251. It continued as the seat of government of the province of New Brunswick after Confederation.

Toronto

Toronto, originally named York, had been the second capital of Upper Canada. Newark (now Niagara-on-the-Lake) was the first capital of Upper Canada, but the capital was moved to York because Newark was too close to the United States, being just across the Niagara River from Fort Niagara, New York."Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada", Encyclopedia Britannica.Gerald M. Craig, Upper Canada — The Formative Years 1781–1841 (McClelland & Stewart (Centenary Series), 1963), pp. 25, 56, 78.

Even so, York was attacked and occupied by invading American forces during the War of 1812, in the Battle of York, April 1813. Before the American invaders left, they burnt down several government buildings, including the provincial Parliament buildingLegislative Assembly of Ontario, Upper Canada's First Parliament Buildings, 1797-1813. and Government House, and looted private property.Renee Lafferty, "The Sacking of York, Canadian Encyclopedia, published online March 22, 2011; edited July 13, 2015.Craig, Upper Canada — The Formative Years, pp. 76–77. In spite of that attack, York continued to be the capital of Upper Canada until the Province of Canada was created, when Kingston became the capital of the new province. York was renamed Toronto in 1834. It served as the capital of the Province of Canada from 1849 to 1852, and again from 1856 to 1858.J.M.S. Careless, The Union of the Canadas — The Growth of Canadian Institutions 1841–1857 (McClelland & Stewart: 1967), pp. 170, 179–180, 198. It became the seat of government of the new province of Ontario on July 1, 1867.

Related provisions of the Constitution Act, 1867 Section 16 provides that Ottawa is the seat of government for Canada.

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