Country Foundations

Canada

Constitution in force since 1867, 19,565 words. Rights measured for 2023.

Read this profile with care. This country has no entrenched, codified bill of rights, so its declared scores are structurally low and its gap looks large and positive. That is a real finding about constitutional design — rights here are protected by statute, common law, or convention instead — not evidence that the country outperforms its peers.

Declared
57%
mean across compared rights
Practiced
79%
mean across compared rights
Gap
+23%
delivers more than promised
Executive respects constitution
68%
V-Dem, measured directly

The rights ledger

Each row compares what the constitution declares against what is measured in practice. The two values are always shown together — a gap on its own is easy to misread.

Declared in the constitutionPracticed (measured)Falls short / exceeds
0255075100Right to life — declared 100%, practiced 76%, gap −24%Right to life100%76%−24%Freedom from torture — declared 100%, practiced 82%, gap −18%Freedom from torture100%82%−18%Freedom from slavery and forced labour — declared 0%, practiced 80%, gap +80%Freedom from slavery and forced labour0%80%+80%Freedom from arbitrary detention (habeas corpus) — declared 100%, practiced 74%, gap −26%Freedom from arbitrary detention (ha…100%74%−26%Right to a fair and public trial — declared 100%, practiced 79%, gap −21%Right to a fair and public trial100%79%−21%Presumption of innocence — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Presumption of innocenceno practice measure100%——Right to legal counsel — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to legal counselno practice measure100%——Protection from self-incrimination — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Protection from self-incriminationno practice measure100%——Protection from double jeopardy — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Protection from double jeopardyno practice measure100%——Due process of law — declared 100%, practiced 76%, gap −24%Due process of law100%76%−24%Trial by jury or lay participation — declared 100%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Trial by jury or lay participationno practice measure100%——Freedom of expression — declared 100%, practiced 93%, gap −7%Freedom of expression100%93%−7%Freedom of the press — declared 100%, practiced 88%, gap −12%Freedom of the press100%88%−12%Freedom of thought and conscience — declared 100%, practiced 79%, gap −21%Freedom of thought and conscience100%79%−21%Freedom of religion — declared 100%, practiced 79%, gap −21%Freedom of religion100%79%−21%Separation of religion and state — declared 50%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Separation of religion and stateno practice measure50%——Academic freedom — declared 0%, practiced 72%, gap +72%Academic freedom0%72%+72%Freedom of assembly — declared 100%, practiced 79%, gap −21%Freedom of assembly100%79%−21%Freedom of association — declared 100%, practiced 85%, gap −15%Freedom of association100%85%−15%Right to petition government — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to petition governmentno practice measure0%——Right to form and join trade unions — declared 0%, practiced 76%, gap +76%Right to form and join trade unions0%76%+76%Right to vote and universal suffrage — declared 0%, practiced 93%, gap +93%Right to vote and universal suffrage0%93%+93%Right to privacy — declared 0%, practiced 87%, gap +87%Right to privacy0%87%+87%Freedom of movement — declared 100%, practiced 82%, gap −18%Freedom of movement100%82%−18%Right to asylum — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to asylumno practice measure0%——Right to own property — declared 0%, practiced 79%, gap +79%Right to own property0%79%+79%Equality before the law — declared 100%, practiced 72%, gap −28%Equality before the law100%72%−28%Right to education — declared 0%, practiced 79%, gap +79%Right to education0%79%+79%Right to health care — declared 0%, practiced 64%, gap +64%Right to health care0%64%+64%Right to shelter or housing — declared 0%, practiced 69%, gap +69%Right to shelter or housing0%69%+69%Independent judiciary — declared 0%, practiced 82%, gap +82%Independent judiciary0%82%+82%Right to bear arms — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to bear armsno practice measure0%——decl.prac.gap

· marks a right with no provision in that country’s constitution. Scores run 0–100; practiced values are V-Dem indicators normalized across all country-years.

Promise and practice over time

The declared line steps when the constitution changes. The practiced line moves when behaviour does. The distance between those two moments is the part worth looking at.

Declared (the text)Practiced (measured)The text changed
0501001982: constitutional text changed (+54 pts declared)190019502000

Mean across the 23 rights measured on both sides, 1867–2023. Vertical marks show years when the constitutional text changed enough to move the declared score.

Promised, but not delivered

  • Right to life −24%
  • Freedom from arbitrary detention (habeas corpus) −26%
  • Right to a fair and public trial −21%
  • Due process of law −24%

Delivered, though never promised

  • Freedom from slavery and forced labour +80%
  • Academic freedom +72%
  • Right to form and join trade unions +76%
  • Right to vote and universal suffrage +93%

Declared internationally

A constitution is only one place a country makes promises. These are the nine core UN human rights treaties.

Civil & Political Rights (ICCPR)ratified 1976
Economic, Social & Cultural Rights (ICESCR)ratified 1976
Racial Discrimination (ICERD)ratified 1970
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)ratified 1981
Convention against Torture (CAT)ratified 1987
Rights of the Child (CRC)ratified 1991
Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)ratified 2010
Enforced Disappearance (CPED)no action
Migrant Workers (ICMW)no action

Compare with

AfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAngolaArgentinaArmeniaAustraliaAzerbaijanBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBeninBhutanBoliviaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBrazilBulgariaBurkina FasoBurma/MyanmarBurundiCambodiaCameroonCape VerdeCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaColombiaComorosCosta RicaCroatiaCubaCyprusDemocratic Republic of the CongoDenmarkDjiboutiDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEswatiniEthiopiaFijiFinlandFranceGabonGeorgiaGhanaGreeceGuatemalaGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaiti

Data generated 2026-08-08.