The Constitution of Canada is a large number of documents that have been entrenched in the constitution by various means. Regardless of how documents became entrenched, together those documents form the supreme law of Canada; no non-constitutional law may conflict with them, and none of them may be changed without following the amending formula given in Part V of the Constitution Act, 1982

The constitution includes legislation that was specifically written as constitutional documents, statutes that have become entrenched since their original creation, some treaties and royal proclamations, unwritten procedures adopted from the British parliamentary system of government, and unwritten underlying values.

The oldest Canadian constitutional documents were enacted before Confederation, and originated from the English or British government. Those documents were received—along with many subconstitutional laws—into the law of Canada and its provinces by means of section 129 of the Constitution Act, 1867 (then called the British North America Act, 1867). Between Confederation in 1867 and patriation in 1982, the United Kingdom enacted some Canadian constitutional documents by means of the Colonial Laws Validity Act 1865 and the Statute of Westminster 1931, most notably the British North America Acts. During this time, Canada also passed a small number of constitutional documents for itself. After patriation, all new constitutional documents were passed by the Parliament of Canada and the Legislatures of its provinces.

After patriation, the methods of constitutional entrenchment are: specific mention as a constitutional document in section 52(2) of the Constitution Act, 1982; amendments to constitutional documents using the amending formula in Part V the Constitution Act, 1982; in some cases, reference by an entrenched document; ruling by a court that a practice is part of Canada's unwritten constitution; or judicial interpretation of constitutional provisions.

The list of documents for the first two methods is well-established. For the next two, however, there is debate about which documents, or which parts of those documents, are included in the constitution. In some cases, the Supreme Court of Canada has made definitive rulings regarding whether a given documents forms part of the constitution, but in many cases the question is still unclear.

Legislation mentioned in section 52(2) Section 52(2) of the Constitution Act, 1982 says "The Constitution of Canada includes (a) the Canada Act 1982, including this Act; (b) the Acts and orders referred to in the schedule; and (c) any amendment to any Act or order referred to in paragraph (a) or (b)." The schedule, in turn, lists the following documents. Most were British North America Acts and were renamed as Constitution Acts in 1982. Others include the Parliament of Canada Act, 1875, the Statute of Westminster, 1931, and acts that created new provinces or changed provincial borders.

All of these acts were originally enshrined by the Colonial Laws Validity Act 1865 in the case of acts by the United Kingdom Parliament or enshrined by the British North America (No. 2) Act, 1949 or the British North America Act, 1871 in the case of acts by the Canadian Parliament.

In addition to the acts listed here, six other acts were listed as constitutional in §52(2) but were repealed at the same time (see "Repealed constitutional documents", below).

NamePurposeConstitution Act, 186730 & 31 Vict. c. 3 (UK),reprinted in RSC 1985, App II, No 5Entails the original creation of a federal dominion and defines much of the operation of the Government of Canada, including its federal structure, the House of Commons, the Senate, the justice system, and the taxation system.

Originally titled British North America Act, 1867.Manitoba Act, 1870SC 1870, c 3, reprinted in RSC 1985, App II, No 8Created the province of Manitoba and continued in force An Act for the Temporary Government of Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territories when united with Canada.

Originally titled An Act to amend and continue the Act 32-33 Victoria, chapter 3; and to establish and provide for the Government of the Province of Manitoba.Rupert's Land and North-Western Territory Order23 June 1870 (UK),reprinted in RSC 1985, App II, No 9Royal Order declaring that Rupert's Land become a part of Canada, effective July 15, 1870. Relieved Hudson's Bay Company of any unsettled Aboriginal claims, effectively making it the responsibility of the Canadian government.

Originally titled Order of Her Majesty in Council admitting Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory into the Union.British Columbia Terms of Union16 May 1871 (UK),reprinted in RSC 1985, App II, No 10 Admitted the colony of British Columbia as a province into the Dominion of Canada.

Originally titled Order of Her Majesty in Council admitting British Columbia into the Union.Constitution Act, 187134 & 35 Vict. c. 28 (UK),reprinted in RSC 1985, App II, No 11Gave Canada the power to establish new provinces and territories and change provincial boundaries with the affected province's consent. The Act recognized the creation of the province of Manitoba and the incorporation of Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory into Canada.

Originally titled British North America Act, 1871.Prince Edward Island Terms of Union29 June 1873 (UK),reprinted in RSC 1985, App II, No 12Admitted the colony of Prince Edward Island as a province into the Dominion of Canada.

Originally titled Order of Her Majesty in Council admitting Prince Edward Island into the Union.Parliament of Canada Act, 187538 & 39 Vict. c. 38 (UK),reprinted in RSC 1985, App II, No 13Clarified the power of the Canadian Parliament to legislate over, "privileges, immunities, and powers of," its members.Adjacent Territories Order31 July 1880 (UK),reprinted in RSC 1985, App II, No 14Admitted all remaining territories of British North America surrounding Canada (other than Newfoundland and its dependencies) into Canada.

Originally titled Order of Her Majesty in Council admitting all British Territories possessions in North America and Islands adjacent thereto into the Union.Constitution Act, 188649 & 50 Vict. c. 35 (UK),reprinted in RSC 1985, App II, No 15Gave parliament the authority to allow the territories of Canada to have representation in the Canadian Senate and Canadian House of Commons.

Originally titled British North America Act, 1886.Canada (Ontario Boundary) Act, 188952 & 53 Vict. c. 28 (UK),reprinted in RSC 1985, App II, No 16Extended the boundaries of Ontario.Alberta ActSC 1905, c 3,reprinted in RSC 1985, App II, No 20 Created the province of Alberta out of part of the North-Western Territory, established the province's government, and created a system of subsidies to be provided by the federal government to the province.Saskatchewan ActSC 1905, c 42,reprinted in RSC 1985, App II, No 21Created the province of Saskatchewan out of part of the North-Western Territory, established the province's government, and created a system of subsidies to be provided by the federal government to the province.Constitution Act, 19077 Edw. 7. c. 11 (UK),reprinted in RSC 1985, App II, No 22Regulated transfer payments by the federal government to smaller provinces to support their legislatures and governments.

Originally titled British North America Act, 1907.Constitution Act, 19155 & 6 Geo. 5. c. 45 (UK),reprinted in RSC 1985, App II, No 23Expanded the Canadian Senate by giving Western Canadian provinces 24 Senators, the same number guaranteed to Ontario, Quebec and the Maritime provinces. The Act also guaranteed Newfoundland six Senators should the British colony join Confederation (it did in 1949).

Originally titled British North America Act, 1915.Constitution Act, 193020 & 21 Geo. 5. c. 26 (UK),reprinted in RSC 1985, App II, No 26Gave the newer provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan rights over certain natural resources found in federally controlled crown lands.

Originally titled British North America Act, 1930.Statute of Westminster, 193122 Geo. 5. c. 4 (UK),reprinted in RSC 1985, App II, No 27Established legislative equality for the self-governing dominions of the British Empire with the United Kingdom and gave Canada effective legislative independence on most matters.Constitution Act, 19403 & 4 Geo. 6. c. 36 (UK),reprinted in RSC 1985, App II, No 28Gave the federal government the jurisdiction over Unemployment Insurance thus allowing such a program to be created on a national level.

Originally titled British North America Act, 1940.Newfoundland Act12 & 13 Geo. 6. c. 22 (UK),reprinted in RSC 1985, App II, No 32Confirmed and gave effect to the Terms of Union agreed to between the then-separate Dominions of Canada and Newfoundland on March 23, 1949. The text of the Terms of Union of Newfoundland with Canada is contained in the schedule of the Act.

Originally titled British North America Act, 1949.Constitution Act, 19609 Eliz. 2. c. 2 (UK),reprinted in RSC 1985, App II, No 37Instituted a mandatory retirement age of 75 for all superior court judges.

Originally titled British North America Act, 1960.Constitution Act, 1964 1964. c. 73 (UK),reprinted in RSC 1985, App II, No 38Expanded the federal government's jurisdiction over pensions to include survivor benefits and disability benefits while continuing to allow provincial legislation. This amendment to the BNA Act made the Canada Pension Plan possible.

Originally titled British North America Act, 1964.Constitution Act, 1965SC 1965, c 4, part I,reprinted in RSC 1985, App II, No 39Instituted a mandatory retirement age of 75 for all persons appointed to the Canadian Senate.

Originally titled British North America Act, 1965.Constitution Act, 1974SC 1974-75-76, c 13, part I,reprinted in RSC 1985, App II, No 40Changed the rules for the redistribution of seats in the Canadian House of Commons so that Quebec would have 75 seats while other provinces seat allocation would be determined based on the size of their population in comparison to Quebec's. Provinces continued to be guaranteed to have at least as many MPs as Senators.

Originally titled Representation Act, 1974, then changed to British North America Act, 1974 in 1977 before changing to its current name in 1982.Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 1977 (SC 1976-77, c 28 s38(1))Constitution Act (No. 1), 1975SC 1974-75-76, c 28, part I,reprinted in RSC 1985, App II, No 41Increased the number of MPs representing the Northwest Territories into two. Replaced by section 46 of Constitution Act, 1999 (Nunavut).

Originally titled Northwest Territories Representation Act, then changed to British North America Act (No 1), 1975 in 1977 before changing to its current name in 1982.Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 1977 (SC 1976-77, c 28 s31)Constitution Act (No. 2), 1975SC 1974-75-76, c 53, reprinted in RSC 1985, App II, No 42Increased the number of Senate seats to 104 from 102 and allocated one seat for the Yukon and one for the Northwest Territories.

Originally titled British North America Act (No 2), 1975.Canada Act 19821982. c. 11 (UK), reprinted in RSC 1985, App II, No 44 Decreed that no future acts of the United Kingdom Parliament would extend to Canada, thereby patriating the constitution. Includes a French language version that has equal legal weight as Schedule A. Includes the Constitution Act, 1982 (in both languages) as Schedule B. Constitution Act, 19821982, c 11, Schedule B (UK),reprinted in RSC 1985, App II, No 44Made several amendments to the British North America Act, 1867. Includes the Charter of Rights and Freedoms as Part I. Recognized Aboriginal rights. Amended the equalization formula. Created an amending formula for the Constitution. Declared the above list of documents to be part of the Constitution.

Amendments