Bill C-12 explained in plain English
An Act to amend the Constitution Act, 1867 (Democratic representation)
Federal Parliament bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
Short answer
Bill C-12 amends the Constitution Act, 1867 to reform the method of adjusting parliamentary and provincial representation based on population distribution and growth.
At a glance
Official Parliament of Canada snapshot for 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. MP vote breakdowns appear when the House of Commons publishes a recorded division export for that bill. Senate and House stage details include official debate/sitting links when LEGISinfo publishes them.
AI-generated from official bill text; automatically checked and spot-reviewed.
Bill C-12 amends the Constitution Act, 1867 to reform the method of adjusting parliamentary and provincial representation based on population distribution and growth.
Bill C-12 proposes changes to the Constitution Act, 1867 to reform how representation in the House of Commons and provincial legislatures is adjusted. The reforms aim to ensure that electoral districts are sized fairly based on population growth and that provinces with faster population growth receive proportional representation.
- Replaces section 51(1) of the Constitution Act, 1867 with new rules for readjusting the number of House of Commons members and provincial representation
- Introduces an electoral divisor of 108,000 for the first decennial census after enactment
- Establishes a method for calculating electoral representation using decennial census data divided by 279, with specific rounding rules for fractional remainders
- Ensures provinces with faster population growth receive proportional representation in legislative seats
- Provinces
- Federal and provincial legislatures
- Electoral districts
- Population statistics
- The exact implementation details for the electoral divisor calculation are defined in the bill text but require further legislative clarification.
- The long-term impact of population growth on representation is dependent on future census data and legislative adjustments.
The method for adjusting representation in the House of Commons and provincial legislatures is changed to ensure proportionality based on population distribution.
The 1985 Constitution Act is cited as part of the legal framework for determining representation rules.
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. Coverage is limited to the official text extracted for this bill version.
Official textParliamentary Process
We don't have a plain-language summary for First reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Second reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Third reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for First reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Introduction and first reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Second reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Debate at second reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Sponsor’s speech yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Response speech yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Response speech yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Response speech yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Debate at second reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Consideration in committee yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Report stage yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Third reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
Debate and sitting links point to official parliamentary sources when LEGISinfo publishes them. Any plain-language discussion summaries should be generated from those official texts and reviewed before public display.
Vote Summary
This bill is still active. We only show vote counts after the legislature publishes a recorded division.
No published representative vote breakdown
This bill is still moving through the process. When a recorded division is published, representative positions can be listed here.
Official sources
This plain-English summary is based on official legislative sources and public records. It is intended for civic education and is not legal advice.
How this data is sourced