User:Mr Serjeant Buzfuz/Section 88 of the Constitution Act, 1867

Section 88 of the Constitution Act, 1867 is a transitional provision of the Constitution of Canada relating to the two provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Section 88 continued their pre-Confederation governments after Canada was established in 1867.

The Constitution Act, 1867 is the constitutional statute which established Canada. Originally named the British North America Act, 1867, the Act continues to be the foundational statute for the Constitution of Canada, although it has been amended many times since 1867. It is now recognised as part of the supreme law of Canada.

Constitution Act, 1867
The Constitution Act, 1867 is part of the Constitution of Canada and thus part of the supreme law of Canada. It was the product of extensive negotiations by the governments of the British North American provinces in the 1860s. The Act sets out the basic constitutional structure of Canada, including creating the federal government and defining the powers of the federal government and the provinces. Originally enacted in 1867 by the British Parliament under the name the British North America Act, 1867, in 1982 the Act was brought under full Canadian control through the Patriation of the Constitution, and was re-named the Constitution Act, 1867. Since Patriation, the Act can only be amended in Canada under the amending formula set out in the Constitution Act, 1982.

Text of section 88
Section 88 reads: Constitutions of Legislatures of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. ''88. The Constitution of the Legislature of each of the Provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick shall, subject to the Provisions of this Act, continue as it exists at the Union until altered under the Authority of this Act.

Section 88 is found in Part V of the Constitution Act, 1867, dealing with provincial constitutions.