Succession to the Throne Act, 2013
| Succession to the Throne Act, 2013 | |
|---|---|
| Parliament of Canada | |
| |
| Citation | S.C. 2013, c. 6 |
| Considered by | House of Commons of Canada |
| Considered by | Senate of Canada |
| Royal assent | 27 March 2013 |
| Commenced | 26 March 2015 |
| Legislative history | |
| First chamber: House of Commons of Canada | |
| Bill citation | Bill C-53 |
| Introduced by | Rob Nicholson, Minister of Justice |
| Introduced | 31 January 2013 |
| First reading | 31 January 2013 |
| Second reading | 4 February 2013 |
| Third reading | 4 February 2013 |
| Committee report | Presented: 26 March 2013 |
| Second chamber: Senate of Canada | |
| First reading | February 5, 2013 |
| Second reading | March 7, 2013 |
| Third reading | March 26, 2013 |
| Status: In force | |
legislature, considered_by.The Succession to the Throne Act, 2013 (French: Loi de 2013 sur la succession au trône), gave Canada's assent to the United Kingdom's 2013 changes to the rules of succession to the British throne. It was passed by the Parliament of Canada as Bill C-53, and received royal assent on 27 March 2013. The act was brought into force by the Governor-General-in-Council on 26 March 2015.
There was disagreement over the act's constitutionality and effectiveness in altering the line of succession to the Canadian throne. A challenge in Ontario Superior Court (Teskey v. Canada (Attorney General)) argued the law was unconstitutional, but it was dismissed at the Superior Court in 2013, and unsuccessfully appealed in 2014. Another challenge was filed in the Superior Court of Quebec (Motard c. Canada (Procureur général)), but in 2016 the Superior Court dismissed the application, leaving the act in place. The Quebec Court of Appeal upheld that ruling in 2019. In 2020, the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed an application for leave to appeal, leaving the Court of Appeal decision standing.