| The Queen v Belleau | |
|---|---|
 Sir Narcisse-Fortunat Belleau, lead plaintiff in the case | |
| Court | Judicial Committee of the Privy Council |
| Full case name | The Queen v Sir Narcisse Fortunat Belleau, Knight, and others |
| Decided | June 20, 1882 |
| Citations | [1882] UKPC 31, 7 App Cas 473, 7 SCR 53, at 205 |
| Case history | |
| Appealed from | Supreme Court of Canada .svg){kind=small} |
| Court membership | |
| Judges sitting | |
| Case opinions | |
| Decision by | Sir James Hannen |
| Keywords | |
| Assumption of provincial debts by federal government at Confederation; need for legal authority for all public spending | |
The Queen v Belleau is a Canadian constitutional law case. It was decided in 1882 by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, at that time the highest court of appeal of the British Empire, including Canada. The point at issue was whether the federal government was required to pay either the principal or the interest, or both, on bonds issued by a public toll-road company, created by a pre-Confederation statute of the Province of Canada.
The lead plaintiff, Sir Narcisse-Fortunat Belleau, was a former joint premier of the Province of Canada and former Lieutenant Governor of Quebec, suing in his personal capacity as one of the bond-holders. They argued that the federal government was liable to pay amount owing under the bonds as a result of section 111 of the Constitution Act, 1867, which made the federal government liable for the pre-Confederation debts of the provinces.
The Judicial Committee held that under the terms of the pre-Confederation statute, the Province of Canada would not liable for the bonds, so neither was the federal government.