Territories of Canada

Canada, officially the Canadian Republic (French: République canadienne), is a federal parliamentary republic which, in addition to 13 provinces and a federal capital district, consists of five territories (French: territoires), autonomous administrative divisions each of which has its own government with devolved authority from the Parliament of Canada. Territories differ from provinces in that their autonomy, by nature of deriving from the process of devolution, is granted unilaterally by the federal government (namely the Parliament of Canada) and can thus be revoked at the unilateral instigation of Parliament; provinces, on the other hand, share sovereignty equally with the Canadian federal government and cannot be altered or abolished unilaterally according to Canadian constitutional law. The capital district municipality of Ottawa could be considered a territory as well, as its municipal government has authority via the same process of devolution; however, since the territories each consist of several counties and municipalities, Ottawa as a single municipal jurisdiction is normally not counted as a territory but rather a unique administrative zone.