stylistic:tone
Canada

In Canada, the Rule of Law is associated with A.V. Dicey: (1) that government must follow the law that it makes; (2) that no one is exempt from the operation of the law – that it applies equally to all; and (3) that general rights emerge from particular cases decided by the courts. It is mentioned in the preamble to the Constitution Act, 1982. The Constitution of Canada is "similar in principle" to the British constitution, and includes unwritten constitutional principles of democracy, judicial independence, federalism, constitutionalism and the rule of law, and the protection of minorities.

In 1959, Roncarelli v Duplessis, the Supreme Court of Canada called the Rule of Law a "fundamental postulate" of the Canadian Constitution. According to Reference Re Secession of Quebec, it encompasses, "a sense of orderliness, of subjection to known legal rules and of executive accountability to legal authority." In Canadian law, it means that the relationship between the state and the individual must be regulated by law and that the Constitution binds all governments, both federal and provincial, including the executive. With the adoption of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Canadian system of government was transformed to a significant extent from a system of Parliamentary supremacy to one of constitutional supremacy. The principle of the rule of law and constitutionalism is aided by acknowledging that the constitution is entrenched beyond simple majority rule. However, the notwithstanding clause operates to provide a limited "legislative override" of certain fundamental freedoms contained in the Charter, and has been invoked at different times by provincial legislatures.

In Canadian administrative law, "all exercises of public authority must find their source in law. All decision-making powers have legal limits, derived from the enabling statute itself, the common or civil law or the Constitution. Judicial review is the means by which the courts supervise those who exercise statutory powers, to ensure that they do not overstep their legal authority. The function of judicial review is therefore to ensure the legality, the reasonableness and the fairness of the administrative process and its outcomes." Administrative decision makers must adopt a culture of justification and demonstrate that their exercise of delegated public power can be “justified to citizens in terms of rationality and fairness.”