Abstract
The Dominion of Canada was established in 1867 as a federation of British colonies in North America. The Canadian Parliament has always been bicameral. The government is responsible to the popularly elected House of Commons, where seats are distributed roughly in accord with population. Elections for the House of Commons must be held at least once every five years, and may be called earlier by the government. The upper chamber, the Senate, is an appointive body with formal powers virtually/equal to the Commons, but traditionally it has not used them. An exception was refusing to pass the proposed free trade agreement with the United States until after a general election was held in 1988.
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© 1991 Thomas T. Mackie and Richard Rose
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Mackie, T.T., Rose, R. (1991). Canada. In: The International Almanac of Electoral History. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-09851-4_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-09851-4_4
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
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