New Parline: the IPU’s Open Data Platform (beta)
Your one-stop-shop for information about national parliaments

Canada

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House of Commons

This is a bicameral parliament. Switch to theSenate
Political system Political systems: Presidential, Parliamentary, Presidential-Parliamentary, Monarchy, Communist, Transitional.
Parliamentary system
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Structure of parliament Structure of parliament: Unicameral, bicameral
Bicameral
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IPU membership Current membership status
Yes
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Caucuses

The mandate, working methods and activities of women’s caucuses in parliament.

Women

Caucus name
The All-Party Parliamentary Women’s Caucus (APWC)
Date of creation
12.2015
Formal or informal
Informal
The caucus is open to male MPs
Yes
The caucus is cross-party
Yes
Notes
The APWC has existed on and off since the late 1980s and it was most recently re-constituted during the 42nd Parliament, which sat between 3 December 2015 and 11 September 2019. Membership is open to Senators or Members of Parliament of all political parties. The APWC has no written rules and works strictly on a consensus basis. Each member of the caucus executive takes responsibility for communicating events to their respective party caucus colleagues on the Hill.
There are rules governing the functioning of the caucus
No
Issues dealt with by the caucus
The APWC regularly hosted events during the 42nd Parliament, such as: - an Indigenous blanket ceremony on the Hill, with Indigenous elder Barbara Dumont-Hill and Kairos Canada; - an event with former Australian prime minister Julia Gillard; - a reception put on with Equal Voice for the event “Daughters of the Vote”; - a meeting with a South Sudanese women’s group; - a reception with the Ovarian Cancer Society; and - a meeting with female MPs from the ParlAmericas network.
The caucus has a strategic plan or plan of action
No
The caucus has a communication plan
No
Caucus contact details