The Constitution Act, 1867 and the Standing Orders provide for a fixed quorum of at least 20 Members, including the Speaker, to constitute a meeting of the House to exercise its powers. Should a quorum appear not to exist at the time the House meets, a count of the House will be taken. If 20 Members are not present, the Speaker will adjourn the House until the next sitting day. The Speaker may take such an initiative only before the House has been called to order; once the sitting begins, the Speaker cannot take any initiative respecting a quorum but must wait to have the matter raised by a Member.
During a sitting, any Member may draw the Speaker's attention to the lack of a quorum, and such a request for a "count" supersedes any question before the House. If a quorum is obviously present despite attention being drawn to its apparent lack, or if a recent count has shown a quorum, the Speaker may simply announce that he or she sees a quorum, dispense with the count, and proceed with business. Should doubt exist as to a quorum, a count will be made; if a quorum is present, business will continue. However, if no quorum exists after the first count, the bells are ordered to be rung until such time as the Chair wishes to conduct a count of the House, but for no longer than 15 minutes, after which, if no quorum is present, the Chair will adjourn the House until the next sitting day. Any Order of the Day under consideration at the time, with the exception of an item of Private Members' Business not selected to come to a vote, will remain on the Order Paper at the same place. (A count that reveals lack of quorum in a Committee of the Whole is reported immediately to the Speaker, who proceeds as set forth above.)
A number of ancillary rules operate concerning the determination of a quorum. A Member who calls quorum need not remain in the House. Furthermore, a Member who calls quorum while speaking and subsequently leaves the House may, upon returning after a count that confirmed a quorum, resume speaking. Finally, if the lack of a quorum goes unnoticed during a vote, the sum of the votes taken after a division, in addition to the Speaker and Members present at the time who did not vote, must nonetheless total at least 20; if not, and the Speaker's attention is drawn to the fact at the time, the question remains undecided.
Whether a quorum is present or not, the House may receive a message from the Governor General for its attendance in the Senate. When the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod knocks, the Speaker takes the Chair, receives the message, and proceeds to the Senate. Upon returning, the Speaker takes the Chair, since the sitting has officially begun, and conducts business until attention is drawn to the lack of a quorum.
