Back British North America Act German Leyes de la Norteamérica británica Spanish Actes de l'Amérique du Nord britannique French Leggi sul Nord America Britannico Italian 英領北アメリカ法 Japanese 영국령 북아메리카 법 Korean British North America Act Dutch Ustawa o Brytyjskiej Ameryce Północnej Polish Atos da América do Norte Britânica Portuguese Акты о Британской Северной Америке Russian
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The British North America Acts, 1867–1975, are a series of acts of Parliament that were at the core of the Constitution of Canada. Most were enacted by the Parliament of the United Kingdom and some by the Parliament of Canada. Some of the acts were repealed in Canada by the Constitution Act, 1982. The rest were renamed the Constitution Acts and amended, with those changes having effect only in Canada. The Canadian versions of the Constitution Acts are part of the Constitution of Canada, and can be amended only in Canada.
The British versions of the acts which remain in force in Britain are ordinary British statutes. They can be amended by the British Parliament, but those amendments would not have any effect in Canada. They retain their original names and do not include any amendments made after 1964.
As used in these acts, the term "British North America" (BNA) originally referred to the British colonies in North America which formed Confederation in 1867: the Province of Canada (which became the provinces of Ontario and Quebec), Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. The 1867 act also envisaged that specific other colonies might join Confederation in the future: British Columbia, Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, Rupert's Land, and the North-Western Territory. Even after the creation of Canada in 1867, the subsequent acts listed in this article continued to use the term "British North America", but the term then applied only to Canada.