Parliament of Canada - Composition

Composition

The Parliament of Canada is composed of three parts: the monarch, the Senate, and the House of Commons. Each has a distinct role, but work in conjunction within the legislative process. This format was inherited from the United Kingdom, and thus is a near identical copy of the parliament at Westminster, the greatest differences stemming from situations unique to Canada, such as the impermanent nature of the monarch's residency in the country and the lack of a peerage to form the upper chamber.

Only those who sit in the House of Commons are called members of parliament (MPs); the term is never applied to senators, even though the Senate is a part of parliament. Though legislatively less powerful, senators take higher positions in the national order of precedence. No individual may serve in more than one chamber of parliament at the same time.

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