Canada
Parliament of Canada, Ottawa
Key Facts
Head of State: Queen Elizabeth II
Joined the Commonwealth: 1931
Capital City (location of Parliament): Ottawa
Unicameral/Bicameral: Bicameral - House of Commons (308) and Senate (105)
Further Information:
- Parliament of Canada
- IPU - House of Commons and Senate
- CPA Country Directory
- CPA Canada Region
- Commonwealth Secretariat
- UN Data
- BBC Country Profile
- British High Commission Ottawa
- Canadian High Commission London
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CPA UK and Canada
CPA UK and CPA Canada have a long history of facilitating successful thematic parliamentary bilateral delegations on behalf of their respective Legislatures. Recent activities between the two legislatures have included a Canadian delegation to the UK Parliament in 2016. CPA UK conducted a parliamentary delegation to Ottawa and Quebec in October 2016, which aimed to build UK parliamentarians' knowledge of Canada's approach to devolution, women's representation, climate change and parliamentary modernisation.
A CPA UK delegation visit to Canada in March 2020 has been postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The diplomatic visit will be rescheduled as soon as possible.
CPA UK and Canadian Provincial Legislatures
CPA UK has a strong relationship with Canada's Provincial Legislatures, most recently welcoming parliamentarians from the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick, British Columbia and Quebec.
- National Assembly of Québec
- Government of Québec London Office
- Legislative Assembly of Ontario
- Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick
- Nova Scotia Legislature
- Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island
- Legislative Assembly of Manitoba
- Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan
- Legislative Assembly of Alberta
- Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
- Yukon Legislative Assembly
- Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories
- Legislative Assembly of Nunavut
- Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly
Googlemaps
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Our Recent Programmes
Commonwealth Parliamentarians' Forum – Westminster, 26 February 2018 - 1 March 2018
CPA UK hosted the first Commonwealth Parliamentarians' Forum ahead of the UK hosting Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in April 2018. The Forum brought together national legislators from across the Commonwealth and set the scene for the CHOGM 2018 theme – ‘Towards a Common Future’. The Parliamentarians' Forum sparked dialogue, engaged parliamentarians in the summit agenda and created opportunities for in-depth cross-Commonwealth discussion. The Forum was an invaluable opportunity to reinforce and reinvigorate the Commonwealth’s aspirations, opportunities, challenges and relevance in the coming years.
Westminster Workshop on Public Accounts Committees – Westminster, 4-6 December 2017
CPA UK's series of capacity building Westminster Workshops have explored the role of parliamentarians and parliamentary Public Accounts Committees (PACs) in financial oversight, providing practical training and knowledge to Commonwealth PACs. The 2017 Westminster Workshop aimed to further the role of parliamentarians in the promotion of tax transparency and the prevention of tax avoidance.
Westminster Seminar on Parliamentary Practice and Procedure – Westminster, 13-17 November 2017
The annual Westminster Seminar is CPA UK’s flagship capacity-building programme for first-term parliamentarians and newly appointed procedural/committee Clerks from across the Commonwealth. Every year the programme provides a unique platform for participants to network and engage with counterparts; exploring different approaches to parliamentary democracy, practice and procedure in the context of the Westminster System and comparative Commonwealth parliamentary structures.
CPA UK and CPA Scotland hosted a delegation of Members of the Federal Parliament of Canada. The delegation consisted of eight members of the Canada–United Kingdom Inter-Parliamentary Association and five members of the Canada–Europe Parliamentary Association. The focus of the visit was on the UK’s decision to exit the European Union. The main discussions evolved around the implications of Brexit, the relationships between Westminster and the devolved legislatures, international trade, UK/Canada trade as well as the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). The visit helped deepen bilateral relations between UK and Canadian parliamentarians on issues of common interest.
The visit from Members of the Canadian Public Accounts Committee, 7-8 December 2016,
focused on increasing participants' awareness of international best practices in enhancing the oversight of public finance through engaging with UK and Commonwealth counterparts.
Following the programme facilitated by CPA UK, the Canadian delegation attended the Global Tax Transparency Summit on Friday 9 December. The Summit was conducted by the UK Public Accounts Committee and delivered in partnership with Christian Aid, CAFOD, ActionAid, Save the Children, Oxfam, and CPA UK.
Bilateral Visit from Members of the Parliament of Canada, Westminster, 14-15 March 2016
Following the reconstitution of the Canadian Federal Parliament after the November 2015 General Election, a delegation of Canadian Parliamentarians visited Westminster from 14-15 March 2016 to solidify ties between both the UK Parliament and the Canadian Parliament, as well as Commonwealth organisations and institutions based in the UK. This was especially relevant in light of the appointment of the new Secretary General of the Commonwealth, the Rt Hon. Baroness Scotland of Asthal QC, in November 2015 and of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, Akbar Khan, in October 2015.
A delegation of six UK Parliamentarians visited Canada over the period 5-13 April 2014. Programmes organised by the legislatures in Ottawa, Newfoundland and Labrador and the Northwest Territories (NWT) explored a range of areas including international relations, civil society, devolution, electoral reform, natural resources and defence and security co-operation.
