Bill 1 explained in plain English
An Act to perpetuate an ancient parliamentary right
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 44th Parliament, 1st Session. Representative vote breakdowns appear when the Assembly publishes an Ayes and Nays page for the bill.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
Bill 1 is a ceremonial bill that asserts the Ontario Legislature's parliamentary right to conduct its own business independently of the Crown, a practice dating to 1558.
Bill 1 is a formal, ceremonial bill introduced at the start of each parliamentary session. It does not create new laws or change existing ones. Instead, it serves as a written record asserting a long-standing constitutional principle: the Ontario Legislature has the right to meet and conduct its business without permission from the Crown (the monarchy). This principle is ancient in parliamentary tradition, dating back to at least 1558. In 1604, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom formally documented this practice by resolution. By introducing this bill first in Ontario, the Legislature is publicly affirming that it can prioritize and deal with matters it chooses, rather than only those the Crown directs it to address. This is sometimes called a "pro forma" bill—a ceremonial bill used in some parliamentary jurisdictions to explain and record the constitutional importance of parliamentary independence.
- Introduces a ceremonial bill at the beginning of the parliamentary session
- Asserts the Ontario Legislature's constitutional right to sit and conduct business without permission from the Crown
- Records the historical basis for this parliamentary right, dating to 1558 and formally codified in 1604
- Explains the practice of introducing a pro forma bill to document the constitutional importance of the first bill of each session
- Affirms that the Legislature can give priority to matters other than those expressed by the Crown
- Members of the Ontario Legislature (all elected representatives)
- The Crown (monarchy), as the bill concerns the relationship between the Legislature and Crown authority
- The Ontario Legislature has the constitutional right to sit and act without needing leave or permission from the Crown
- The Legislature has the right to give precedence to matters other than those expressed by the Sovereign
- 1558 - approximate date from which this parliamentary practice dates
- 1604 - year the House of Commons formally codified this right by resolution
- April 15, 2025 - First Reading of Bill 1
- The bill text does not specify when it will receive Second or Third Reading, or when it may receive Royal Assent
- The bill does not explain in detail the specific historical events or parliamentary procedures from 1558 or 1604
- The bill does not clarify how this assertion interacts with other constitutional instruments governing Ontario's Legislature
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
Official textProcess Snapshot
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
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
How this data is sourced