Article 13: Structure of Government

The Republic of Canada shall be governed by a simple, transparent, and meritocratic system designed for the 21st century and beyond. Permanent political parties, whipped votes, and hereditary parliamentary theatrics are abolished. Government shall be conducted by individual citizens of proven character and competence who are always directly accountable to the people.

1.     The Legislature shall be unicameral and named the House of the Republic. It shall consist of exactly 333 members, each representing a single-member riding. Members shall serve terms of six years. Elections shall occur on fixed dates every two years for one-third of the seats (111 members), with the seats divided into three equal cohorts serving staggered terms. At the first election following ratification, the cohorts shall be assigned initial terms of two, four, or six years by lot to establish the staggered cycle; thereafter, all successful candidates shall serve full six-year terms.

2.     Ridings shall be drawn by an independent commission of experts selected from the National Registry of Qualified Experts under Article 2, using objective criteria of population equality, geographic contiguity, and respect for natural communities. Boundaries shall be reviewed decennially and may not be gerrymandered for political advantage.

3.     To qualify as a candidate, an individual must be an enfranchised citizen per Article 16, registered in the National Registry under Article 9, and submit a nomination petition signed by at least one percent of the riding’s electors. No other barriers to entry shall exist.

4.     Political parties are not recognised in law. No public funding, no tax status, no official party whips, no party names on ballots, and no party discipline enforced by the Speaker. Candidates may describe themselves however they wish, but ballots and official records shall list only the candidate’s personal name and riding.

5.     No corporate entity, special interest group, foreign actor, or non-citizen may provide any form of donation, funding, endorsement, or in-kind support to any candidate or campaign. Violations incur immediate disqualification, fines up to ten times the violation amount payable to the sovereign wealth fund, and potential criminal charges for fraud. Candidates may self-fund personal expenses only up to twice the national median wage per election cycle; all expenditures must be publicly disclosed in real time.

6.     The electoral authority shall provide each qualified candidate with a single, uniform webpage on a national digital platform, limited to 500 words, where the candidate may explain their motivation to serve, reasons for candidacy, key concerns regarding the Republic, and proposed actions if elected. No other campaign materials, websites, or advertising are permitted. The platform shall ensure equal visibility and algorithmic neutrality per Article 1.

7.     Elections for House members shall use first-past-the-post voting in each riding, with tabulation incorporating ranked preferences via the Schulze method to resolve ties or runoffs without separate rounds. Ballots shall list candidates in random order.

8.     The head of government shall be the Prime Minister of the Republic, elected nationally in a two-round system on the same fixed dates as the House cohorts. In the first round, voters select from all qualified national candidates; if no candidate achieves a majority, the top two advance to a runoff two weeks later. The Prime Minister shall serve a term of six years, aligned with the full staggered cycle of the House.

9.     The Prime Minister:
      a)     appoints and dismisses ministers (who must be citizens of proven competence, not necessarily from the House),
      b)     is commander-in-chief,
      c)     negotiates and ratifies treaties (subject to two-thirds approval of the House),
      d)     may veto legislation (veto override requires a three-quarters vote of the House),
      e)     may dissolve the House and call early elections once per term if the budget or supply bill fails twice. The Prime Minister may not introduce legislation or vote in the House.

10.     Any minister may be removed by a simple majority vote of no confidence on a motion that names the minister personally. The Prime Minister must dismiss that minister within 48 hours.

11.     The House may remove the Prime Minister by a constructive vote of no confidence: a three-quarters majority that simultaneously names a replacement Prime Minister who is immediately sworn in. This power may be used only once per term.

12.     Any law passed by the House of the Republic and assented to by the Prime Minister shall be suspended from taking effect if, within ninety days of passage, a petition signed by no fewer than five percent of the enfranchised citizens of the Republic, verified by the National Registry under Article 9, demands its submission to a binding national referendum. The referendum shall be held within one hundred eighty days of petition validation. If a majority of votes cast reject the law, it is permanently void. If approved, it takes immediate effect without further recourse. Petitions must specify the exact title and text of the challenged law; no general or vague demands are permitted.

13.     The House of the Republic, by a two-thirds vote, or the Prime Minister, may refer any bill that has passed the House to a binding national referendum before final assent. The referendum shall be held within one hundred twenty days. If a majority of votes cast approve the bill, the Prime Minister shall grant assent without delay. If rejected, the bill is defeated. This power exists to resolve matters of profound national controversy or constitutional significance where direct expression of the people’s will is deemed essential to legitimacy.

14.     Question Period is abolished in its current theatrical form. Instead, every Wednesday the Prime Minister and every minister shall appear in person before the House for a maximum of three hours of direct, unscripted questioning by any member. Questions are limited to two minutes; answers to four minutes. No points of order, no props, no applause, no prepared talking points. Sessions are live-streamed and permanently archived.

15.     The Speaker of the House is elected by the members at the opening of each new House cohort cycle and serves for six years. The Speaker may not be removed except by a two-thirds vote for cause. The Speaker’s role is time-keeping and enforcing decorum. Members shall conduct themselves professionally at all times, focusing on substantive issues, facts, and policy matters. Decorum violations include, but are not limited to, personal insults, innuendo, character assassination, deliberate falsehoods, lies by omission, or any disruptive behavior that undermines meritocratic, professional, civil, or rational discourse. The Speaker shall have the authority to enforce decorum by the following measures, applied progressively:
            i)     verbal warning;
            ii)     deduction of the member’s remaining question or answer time in that session;
            iii)     temporary expulsion from the chamber for the remainder of the day’s sitting;
            iv)     in cases of repeated or egregious violation, suspension of the member’s right to pose questions for up to four consecutive Wednesdays. All disciplinary actions shall be recorded in the minutes and published immediately. Appeals against the Speaker’s ruling may be made to the full House, but only by written motion requiring a two-thirds vote to overturn.

16.     All votes in the House are recorded by name and published within one hour. There is no secret ballot for any legislative matter.

17.     Members of the House may not serve simultaneously as ministers or as provincial legislators. Members receive a salary fixed at twice the national median wage and are subject to immediate recall by petition of ten percent of their riding’s electors.

18.     The provinces retain exclusive jurisdiction over education, health, municipal institutions, property and civil rights, natural resources within their boundaries, and all matters of a purely local or private nature. All residual powers belong to the national government. No concurrent powers exist except where explicitly stated in this Constitution.

19.     All other rules and procedures for the consideration and enactment of legislation shall be determined by the House of the Republic in standing orders adopted and amendable by simple majority vote of its members.

20.     Legislative Clarity
      a)     Every bill or resolution introduced in the House shall embrace but a single subject, which shall be clearly and accurately expressed in its title.
      b)     Immediately following the title, each bill shall contain a Statement of Purpose consisting of several plain-language sentences that fully and honestly describe its intended effect.
      c)     The substantive operative text of any bill shall not exceed 2500 words in standard legislative format. Technical detail may be incorporated by reference to existing statutes, but all new policy changes must remain within this limit.
      d)     No provision, rider, or amendment unrelated to the single subject stated in the title shall be permitted.
      e)     The Speaker shall certify compliance before debate or vote. Any bill failing certification is rejected. Any legislation enacted in violation of this Article is void in its entirety. The Supreme Court shall exercise original jurisdiction to strike down non-compliant laws upon petition by any citizen.