Most general commercial law
of concern to businesses is provincial law. There is considerable consistency between most of such provincial laws across Canada.
Political and Constitutional Structure Canada is a parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy, with a political system originally modelled on that of the United Kingdom. Although King Charles III is Canada’s official head of state, the governments of Canada are democratically elected. Because Canada is a federal state, legislative and executive jurisdictions are constitutionally divided between the federal government and the 10 provincial governments. Each government is separately elected; federal and provincial governments are often from different political parties. The federal government has exclusive jurisdiction over some matters; others are reserved for the provincial governments. In other areas, however, both levels of government may regulate different aspects of a particular activity. In addition, provincial governments delegate certain powers to local governments. A business may therefore be regulated at three levels: federal, provincial and municipal. The federal Parliament has, for the most part, constitutional jurisdiction over issues concerning Canada as a whole, such as international trade, trade between provinces, national defence, citizenship and immigration, criminal law, currency, intellectual property, ports, aeronautics and broadcasting. The federal Parliament is also responsible for Yukon, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories, which have been given some authority to govern themselves on local matters through elected territorial councils. In certain regions, as a result of treaties or agreements, Canada’s Indigenous peoples exercise limited self-government. The 10 Canadian provinces have authority to make laws concerning matters such as property, contracts, natural resources, land use and planning, the administration of justice, education, healthcare and municipalities. Most general commercial law of concern to businesses is provincial law. There is considerable consistency between most of such provincial laws across Canada.
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Doing Business in Canada
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