Succession to the Throne Act, 2013

Succession to the Throne Act, 2013
Parliament of Canada
Long title An Act to assent to alterations in the law touching the Succession to the Throne
Citation	S.C. 2013, c. 6
Enacted by	Parliament of Canada
Royal assent	27 March 2013
Commenced	26 March 2015
Legislative history
Bill title	C-53[1]
Introduced by	Rob Nicholson, Minister of Justice
Introduced	31 January 2013
First reading	Commons: 31 January 2013; Senate: 5 February 2013
Second reading	Commons: 4 February 2013; Senate: 7 March 2013
Third reading	Commons: 4 February 2013; Senate: 26 March 2013
Committee report	Presented: 26 March 2013
Status: In force

The Succession to the Throne Act, 2013 (French: Loi de 2013 sur la succession au trône),^[2] 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.