Emergencies Act

Emergencies Act Loi sur les mesures d'urgence
Parliament of Canada
Long title An Act to authorize the taking of special temporary measures to ensure safety and security during national emergencies and to amend other Acts in consequence thereof
Citation	RSC 1985, c 22 (4th Supp)
Enacted by	Parliament of Canada
Royal assent	July 21, 1988
Legislative history
Bill citation	C-77, 33rd Parliament, 2nd session
Introduced by	Perrin Beatty, Minister of National Defence
First reading	June 26, 1987
Second reading	November 2, 1987
Repeals
War Measures Act
Status: Current legislation

The Emergencies Act (French: Loi sur les mesures d'urgence) is a statute passed by the Parliament of Canada in 1988 which authorizes the Government of Canada to take extraordinary temporary measures to respond to public welfare emergencies, public order emergencies, international emergencies and war emergencies. The law replaces the War Measures Act passed in 1914. It asserts that any government action continues to be subject to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Canadian Bill of Rights.

Under the Emergencies Act, the Cabinet of Canada can declare a national emergency in response to an urgent and critical situation that cannot be dealt with by any existing law, and either is beyond the capability of a province to deal with it or threatens the sovereignty of Canada. Before declaring a national emergency, the federal cabinet must consult with provincial cabinets. In the case of a public welfare or public order emergency where the effects of the emergency are confined to, or occur principally in, one province, the Emergencies Act cannot be used if the provincial cabinet does not indicate that the situation is beyond the capacity of the province to deal with it.^[1] Once an emergency is declared, it is subject to confirmation by the House of Commons and Senate.

The Emergencies Act has been invoked only once since it was enacted in 1988, in response to the Canada convoy protest in 2022.^[2][3]