How We Source
Every claim in every Hansard Files piece is traceable to a specific primary document. Here is exactly how that works.
THE SOURCES
Hansard Files draws exclusively from official Canadian government records. No anonymous sources. No party communications. No press releases. The primary documents used are:
House of Commons Debates (Hansard)
The official verbatim transcript of everything said on the floor of the House of Commons. Published by the Parliament of Canada after each sitting day. Cited by date and speaker.
Senate Debates (Hansard)
The verbatim transcript of Senate proceedings. Same standard as House Debates. Cited by date and speaker.
Committee Evidence
The official transcript of testimony given before standing and special committees of the House and Senate. Includes witness testimony, member questions, and tabled documents. Cited by committee name, meeting number, and date.
Orders and Notices / Order Paper
The official daily agenda of the House of Commons, including written questions, notices of motion, and tabled documents. Published each sitting day.
Canada Gazette
The official newspaper of the Government of Canada. Contains regulatory changes, statutory notices, and government appointments. Published in Parts I, II, and III.
Auditor General Reports
Independent performance and financial audits of federal departments and programs, produced by the Office of the Auditor General of Canada.
Parliamentary Budget Officer Reports
Independent fiscal and economic analysis produced by the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer.
Departmental Plans and Results Reports
Annual forward-looking and retrospective reports filed by every federal department and agency.
Main and Supplementary Estimates
The federal government’s spending plans, tabled in Parliament each fiscal year. The primary source for budget and expenditure coverage.
Open Government Records
Datasets, reports, and documents published through open.canada.ca, Library and Archives Canada, and departmental disclosure portals.
HOW CITATIONS WORK
Every Hansard Files piece closes with a Sources and Citations section. Citations follow APA format and include enough detail to locate the original document independently.
A typical committee citation looks like this:
House of Commons. (2026). Evidence. Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, Meeting No. 42, 45th Parliament, 1st Session. Parliament of Canada.
A Hansard citation looks like this:
House of Commons Debates. (2026, April 28). 45th Parliament, 1st Session, Vol. 151, No. 18. Parliament of Canada.
Every citation includes enough information to pull the original document from parl.ca, the Canada Gazette portal, or the relevant departmental website.
HOW TO VERIFY A CLAIM
All House and Senate debate transcripts are searchable at parl.ca. Committee Evidence is indexed by committee name and meeting number at the same address. Canada Gazette issues are archived at gazette.gc.ca. Auditor General and PBO reports are available at their respective office websites.
If you believe a claim in a Hansard Files piece is inaccurate or unsupported by the cited source, reply directly to any email or contact hansardfiles.ca. Corrections are published promptly and transparently.
WHAT WE DO NOT USE
Party communications, press releases, and media summaries are not used as primary sources. Where they are referenced, they are identified as such and distinguished from the official record.
Opinion, inference, and analysis are clearly separated from the documented record in every piece. Where a conclusion is drawn from the evidence rather than stated in it, it is labeled as such.
A NOTE ON SCOPE
Hansard Files covers the Canadian federal parliamentary record. Provincial legislatures, municipal governments, and foreign parliamentary records fall outside the publication’s primary scope, though they appear occasionally in historical deep dives where the federal connection is direct.
Questions about sourcing or methodology can be sent directly to the editor by replying to any Hansard Files email.