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Law

Current Legislation

This chart lists online sources of legislation, all of which are free to the public through Canadian government sources. Tracing the origin of a bill in parliament or legislature to its final form as a statute, and how it operates through regulation, is useful for legal research. It can help determine the intent of a law, how it has changed over time, and its current status.

Statutes and regulations are available online in consolidated (listed by title) and annual (listed by year) format. Statutes, also called Acts, are written laws enacted by a legislative body. Regulations provide details to give effect to the policy established by the statute, and online they are usually located in relation to overarching statutes. Statues and regulations are also available through the legal research databases WestlawNext Canada, LexisNexis Advance Quicklaw, and CanLII (which has the legislation comparison tool). HeinOnline includes the Revised Statutes of Canada.

Bills are the first stage of legislation before it is passed by a legislative body to become law. Bills are posted to parliament and legislature website. Organized by calendar date of reading or status, the full text, notable speeches, and votes are usually included.

Gazettes are official government newspapers published by jurisdiction. They include public notices, proclamations, and new statutes and regulations.

The Hansard is the official record of the proceedings of the parliament and legislature. It includes transcripts and an index, and is published by jurisdiction.

The Journals, Votes, and Proceedings are sources for records and meeting minutes of legislative bodies.

Proclamations for statutes coming into force sometimes have a dedicated proclamations page. These pages consolidate information published through Orders in Council or the Gazette.

For more information about terminology used in legislation, refer to the Glossary of Parliamentary Procedure.

For each resource, information is given online about whether this constitutes an official source of legal information. Unofficial sources are useful for research and informational purposes, while official sources are usually required for court submissions. In the chart below, an asterisk (*) indicates an official source of legislation (current to February 2022).

Jurisdiction
Statutes       
Regulations
Bills
Gazette
Debates
Journals / Votes & Proceedings

Proclamations / Orders in Council

See also the Gazette

Federal

Consolidated (Justice Laws)*

Annual (Justice Laws)*

Consolidated (Justice Laws)*

Annual (Canada Gazette II)

LegisInfo

Canada Gazette (1998 to present)

Canada Gazette (1841 to 1997)

Senate (Hansard)

House of Commons (Hansard)

Senate Journals

House of Commons Journals

Votes & Proceedings

Orders in Council

Ontario

Consolidated (Ontario e-Laws)*

Annual (Ontario e-laws)*

Consolidated (Ontario e-Laws)*

Annual (Ontario e-Laws)*

Legislative Assembly Ontario Gazette

Hansard

Ontario Scrapbook Hansard (1867-1946)

Votes & Proceedings

Proclamations

Orders in Council

Alberta

Consolidated (Laws Online)

Annual (CanLII)

Consolidated (Laws Online) Legislative Assembly Alberta Gazette Legislative Assembly Calendar and Videos Votes & Proceedings

Proclamations

Orders in Council

British Columbia

Consolidated (BC Laws)

Consolidated (BC Laws)

Annual (BC Laws)

Legislative Assembly

BC Gazette Part I

BC Gazette Part II

Hansard

Journals

Votes & Proceedings

Proclamations maintained by Courthouse Libraries

Orders in Council

Manitoba

Consolidated (Manitoba Laws)*

Annual (Manitoba Laws)*

Consolidated (Manitoba Laws)*

Annual (Manitoba Laws)*

Legislative Assembly Manitoba Gazette Hansard

Journals

Votes & Proceedings

Proclamations

Orders in Council

New Brunswick

Consolidated (Justice and Office of the Attorney General)*

Consolidated (Justice and Office of the Attorney General)* Legislative Assembly Royal Gazette Legislative Assembly Videos Journals

Orders in Council

Newfoundland

Consolidated (Legislative Counsel)*

Annual (Legislative Counsel)*

Consolidated (Legislative Counsel)*

Annual (Legislative Counsel)*

Legislative Assembly The Newfoundland and Labrador Gazette Hansard Journals

List of Acts subject to proclamation

Orders in Council

Northwest Territories

Consolidated (Legislative Assembly) Consolidated (Legislative Assembly) Legislative Assembly Northwest Territories Gazette Hansard Votes & Proceedings

Nova Scotia

Consolidated (Legislature)

Annual (Legislature)

Consolidated (Office of the Registrar) Legislature Royal Gazette Hansard Journals & Proceedings Proclamations

Nunavut

Consolidated (Nunavut Legislation)

Annual (Nunavut Legislation)

Consolidated (Department of Justice) Legislative Assembly Nunavut Gazette Hansard

Prince Edward Island

Consolidated (Government of PEI) Consolidated (Government of PEI) Legislative Assembly Royal Gazette Hansard Journals Orders in Council

Quebec

Consolidated (LégisQuébec)*

Annual (LégisQuébec)*

Consolidated (LégisQuébec)*

Annual (LégisQuébec)*

National Assembly Quebec Gazette Hansard Proceedings Provisions brought into force

Saskatchewan

Consolidated (Freelaw)

Annual (Freelaw)

Consolidated (Freelaw) Legislative Assembly Saskatchewan Gazette Hansard

Journals

Votes & Proceedings

Proclamations from the Law Society

Yukon

Consolidated (Legislative Assembly)

Annual (Legislative Assembly)

Consolidated (Legislative Assembly) Legislative Assembly Yukon Gazette Hansard Journals

More Resources for Legislative Research