His Majesty's Loyal Opposition. Parties with official status. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada , they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada.
The House of Commons is a democratically elected body whose members are known as members of Parliament MPs. There have been up to MPs since the most recent electoral district redistribution for the federal election , which saw the addition of 30 seats.
Historically, however, terms have ended before their expiry and the sitting government has typically dissolved parliament within four years of an election according to a long-standing convention. In any case, an act of Parliament now limits each term to four years. Seats in the House of Commons are distributed roughly in proportion to the population of each province and territory.
However, some ridings are more populous than others, and the Canadian constitution contains provisions regarding provincial representation. As a result, there is some interprovincial and regional malapportionment relative to the population. The lower of the two houses making up the parliament, the House of Commons, in practice holds far more power than the upper house , the Senate.
Although the approval of both chambers is necessary for legislation to become law, the Senate only occasionally amends bills passed by the House of Commons and rarely rejects them. Moreover, the Cabinet is responsible primarily to the House of Commons. The government stays in office only so long as they retain the support, or "confidence", of the lower house. The House of Commons meets in a temporary chamber in the West Block of the parliament buildings on Parliament Hill in Ottawa , while the Centre Block , which houses the traditional Commons chamber, undergoes renovation.
