Bill status in Canada: stages, labels and LEGISinfo

The stages a bill passes

A bill can become law only once the same text has been approved by both Houses of Parliament and has received royal assent ¹. Most public bills start in the House of Commons, but bills may start in the Senate ¹. Bills that spend public funds or relate to taxation must be introduced in the House of Commons first ¹.

In the traditional Commons route, a minister gives two days' notice, the bill is read a first time with no debate or vote, and second reading debate covers the bill's principle ¹. A committee then hears witnesses and studies the bill clause by clause, ending with the question "Shall the bill carry?" ¹. Report stage and third reading follow, and the Clerk of the House then certifies that the bill has passed and sends it to the Senate ¹.

• Notice: 48 hours before introduction ¹.
• First reading: introduced, no debate or vote ¹.
• Second reading: debate on principle, the text itself cannot be amended ¹.
• Committee: witnesses and clause-by-clause study ¹.
• Report stage: further amendments in the House ¹.
• Third reading: debate on the final form, then a vote ¹.
• Senate: a similar process ¹.
• Royal assent: granted by the Governor General ¹.

Three routes through the Commons

The House of Commons describes three options for government bills ¹. A bill can go to committee before second reading, with debate on that motion limited to five hours ¹. In that route, report stage cannot begin before the third sitting day after the committee reports ¹. In the traditional route, report stage cannot begin before the second sitting day after the report ¹. In the third route, a committee prepares the bill itself after a 90-minute debate on the instruction ¹.

The Standing Orders require each of the three readings to take place on a different day ¹. Some bills, mainly appropriation bills, may pass several stages in one sitting, and the House may allow the same with unanimous consent ¹.

Status labels in LEGISinfo

LEGISinfo shows a bill's current status, which is the status in the current session or the status at dissolution of a past session ². Its counts for the 45th Parliament, 1st session, read on 7 November 2026, are below ³. The 15 counts add up to 198, the same total as the split by chamber of 136 Commons bills and 62 Senate bills ³.

Reading the progress bar

LEGISinfo uses red for Senate stages, green for House of Commons stages and blue for royal assent ². A grey icon with a no symbol marks the stage at which a bill was defeated or not proceeded with ². Each stage can show one of five states: completed, in progress, reached with no further activity, not completed, or not reached ².

Pro forma bills S-1 and C-1 are introduced at the start of each session to assert each House's right to conduct its proceedings ². They get first reading only, and their texts are not printed ². So a pro forma status is not a sign of a stalled bill.

When a session ends

Prorogation ends a session and dissolution ends a Parliament, terminating all business ⁴. All government bills that have not received royal assent before prorogation cease to exist ⁴. To go ahead in a new session they must be reintroduced as new bills, or reinstated if the House adopts a motion to that effect ⁴. LEGISinfo has a separate stage label for a bill reinstated from a previous session ².

The Constitution sets a maximum duration of five years for a Parliament ⁴. The number of sessions in a Parliament has ranged from one to seven ⁴.

Royal assent and coming into force

Royal assent is granted by written declaration or by traditional ceremony ¹. In the written route, a bill is deemed to have received royal assent as soon as both Houses have been informed ¹. The Interpretation Act requires the Clerk of the Parliaments to endorse the date of assent on every Act, immediately after its title ⁵.

If an Act sets no commencement date, it commences on the date of assent ⁵. Otherwise it comes into force on a date in the Act or one set by order of the Governor in Council ¹. An enactment expressed to come into force on a particular day comes into force on the expiration of the previous day ⁵.