Parliament of Canada

Parliament of Canada Parlement du Canada (French)
42nd Canadian Parliament (current)
Type
Type	Bicameral
Houses	Senate House of Commons
History
Founded	July 1, 1867 (1867-07-01)
Preceded by	Initially assumed some jurisdiction from: Parliament of the Province of Canada General Assembly of Nova Scotia New Brunswick Legislature Later added some jurisdiction from: Hudson's Bay Company Legislature of the United Colony of British Columbia General Assembly of Prince Edward Island General Assembly of Newfoundland (then suspended) Parliament of the United Kingdom
Leadership
Monarch	Elizabeth II Since 6 February 1952
Governor General	David Johnston Since 1 October 2010
Speaker of the Senate	George Furey, Non-affiliated Since 3 December, 2015
Speaker of the House of Commons	Geoff Regan, Liberal Since 3 December 2015
Structure
Seats	443 338 MPs 105 Senators
Senate political groups	Non-affiliated (42)   Conservative (41)   Liberal (21)   Vacant (1)
House of Commons political groups	Liberal (182)   Conservative (97)   New Democratic (44)   Bloc Québécois (10)   Green (1)   Independent (1)   Vacant (3)
Elections
Senate voting system	Appointment by the governor general on advice of the prime minister
House of Commons voting system	Plurality by constituency
House of Commons last election	19 October 2015
Meeting place
Centre Block Parliament Hill Ottawa, Ontario Canada
Website
Parliament of Canada

Initially assumed some jurisdiction from:

Later added some jurisdiction from:

The Parliament of Canada (French: Parlement du Canada) is the federal legislative branch of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in the national capital, Ottawa, Ontario. The body consists of the Canadian monarch, represented by a viceroy, the governor general; an upper house: the Senate; and a lower house: the House of Commons. Each element has its own officers and organization. The governor general summons and appoints each of the 105 senators on the advice of the Prime Minister of Canada, while the 338 members of the House of Commons—called members of parliament (MPs)—are directly elected by eligible Canadian voters, with each MP representing a single electoral district, commonly referred to as a riding.

By constitutional convention, the House of Commons is the dominant branch of parliament, the Senate and Crown rarely opposing its will. The Senate reviews legislation from a less partisan standpoint and the monarch or viceroy provides the necessary Royal Assent to make bills into law. The governor general also summons parliament, while either the viceroy or monarch can prorogue or dissolve parliament, the latter in order to call a general election. Either will read the Throne Speech. The most recent parliament, summoned by Governor General David Johnston in 2015, is the 42nd since Confederation in 1867.