One of the largest annual gatherings of Commonwealth Parliamentarians will take place at the 65th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (CPC) hosted by the CPA Canada Region in Halifax, Canada. The annual flagship event will bring together over 500 Parliamentarians, parliamentary staff and decision makers from across the Commonwealth for this unique conference and networking opportunity. The CPC offers the prospect of the coming together of the CPA’s global membership to address the critical issues facing today’s Parliaments.

The CPA annual conference was due to take place in January 2021 - however the date has been postponed as a result of ongoing travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 global pandemic and the quarantine restrictions in place between different countries. The CPA Executive Committee approved the postponement of the 65th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (CPC) in August 2020 and again in March 2021. The current projected dates for the 65th CPC are: 20 to 26 August 2022.

With the ever-increasing focus on greater scrutiny of Parliamentarians and the overall public trust deficit in Parliaments, the CPA’s annual conference offers the opportunity for Members to benefit from professional development, supportive learning and the sharing of best practice with colleagues from Commonwealth Parliaments together with the participation of leading international organisations.

The 65th CPC Conference will be hosted by the CPA President (2019-2021), Hon. Anthony Rota, MP, Speaker of the House of Commons.

During the 65th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference, there will also be a number of additional conferences and meetings including: 38th CPA Small Branches Conference; 65th CPA General Assembly; meetings of the CPA Executive Committee; and the Society of Clerks at the Table (SoCATT) meetings.

The CPA Executive Committee also agreed that the postponement of the 65th CPC would allow for the hosting of a triennial conference of the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP).

The forthcoming annual conference will also hold elections for the Chairperson of the CPA Executive Committee; the Chairperson of the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians; the Chairperson of the CPA Small Branches; and the CPA Treasurer for new terms of office.

Follow #65CPC for updates on social media.

65th CPC Conference Theme: Inclusive, Accessible, Accountable and Strong Parliaments: the Cornerstone of Democracy and Essential for Development

A list of workshop topics will be confirmed in late 2021. 

Conference Theme: Resilience and Preparedness of Small Branches 

The 38th CPA Small Branches Conference will be held in the margins of the 65th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in Halifax, Canada.

• Workshop A: Promoting gender equality within and beyond Parliaments (Joint CWP and Small Branches Session, Innovations in Parliament - TED-Style Talk)  
• Workshop B: Building Sustainable Economies in Small Branches(Talkshow)  
• Workshop C: Financial Scrutiny and Oversight: How can Small Parliaments ensure effective accountability? (Mentoring Session)  
• Workshop D: Wellbeing Indicators for Small Branches (Talkshow)
  

In advance of the formal Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (CPC) which is due to be held in Halifax, Canada, the CPA Headquarters Secretariat is delivering a set of virtual workshops for Commonwealth Parliamentarians and parliamentary staff.

Each workshop will bring together leading experts from private, public, academic, political and international backgrounds.

The first set of Virtual CPC Workshops took place in February and March 2021 - please click here for more information and to view the workshops.

The topics for the first set of workshops included:

• National Action Towards Climate Change: Role of Parliaments and Parliamentarians of the Commonwealth
• Promote and Respect for International Humanitarian Law - Placing Humanity First
• Social Media - A Curse or a Blessing
• Leading the Way: How the Commonwealth can Empower Persons with Disabilities?
• Youthquakes and Rising Youth Activism in the Commonwealth

If you are interested in attending any future Virtual CPC workshops, please contact us at hq.sec@cpahq.org.

One of the largest annual gatherings of Commonwealth Parliamentarians took place from 22 to 29 September 2019 at the 64th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (CPC) hosted by the CPA Uganda Branch and the Parliament of Uganda. The conference was hosted by the CPA President Designate (2018-2019), Rt Hon. Rebecca Kadaga, Speaker of the Parliament of Uganda.

The main conference theme was: ‘Adaption, engagement, and evolution of parliaments in a rapidly changing Commonwealth’. 

The CPA flagship event brought together over 500 Parliamentarians, parliamentary staff and decision makers from across the Commonwealth for this unique conference and networking opportunity. The CPC offered the prospect of the coming together of the CPA’s global membership of Parliamentarians and Parliamentary staff to address the critical issues facing today’s Parliaments.

With the ever increasing focus on greater scrutiny of Parliamentarians and the overall public trust deficit in Parliaments, the CPA’s annual conference also offered the opportunity for Members to benefit from professional development, supportive learning and the sharing of best practice with colleagues from Commonwealth Parliaments together with the participation of leading international organisations.

During the 64th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference, there were also a number of additional conferences and meetings including: 37th CPA Small Branches Conference; 6th triennial Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) Conference; 64th CPA General Assembly; meetings of the CPA Executive Committee; and the Society of Clerks at the Table (SOCATT) meetings. This year, the conference held elections for the Chairperson of the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP), the CPA Treasurer and the CPA Small Branches Chairperson for new three-year terms.

Related Resources

64th CPC Conference Programme

Conference Concluding Statement

The Parliamentarian: 64th CPC Issue

The Parliamentarian: Uganda Supplement

Click for images from 64th CPC 

Keynote Speeches

• The President of the Republic of Uganda and Vice-Patron of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), His Excellency Yoweri K. Museveni
• The Goodwill message to the conference from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Patron of the CPA and Head of the Commonwealth.
• CPA President (2018-2019), Rt Hon. Rebecca Kadaga, Speaker of the Parliament of Uganda
• The Chairperson of the CPA Executive Committee, Hon. Emilia Monjowa Lifaka, MP, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Cameroon
• The CPA Secretary-General, Mr Akbar Khan sent a message to delegates to the 64th CPC.
• The Acting CPA Secretary-General, Mr Jarvis Matiya also delivered a speech at the opening of the CPA conference in Uganda.

One of the largest annual gatherings of Commonwealth Parliamentarians took place in November 2017 at the 63rd Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (CPC) hosted by the CPA Bangladesh Branch and the Parliament of Bangladesh. The annual flagship event brought together over 500 Parliamentarians, parliamentary staff and decisionmakers from across the Commonwealth for this unique conference and networking opportunity. The CPC offered the prospect of the coming together of the CPA’s global membership to address the critical issues facing today’s parliaments.

With the ever increasing focus on greater scrutiny of Parliamentarians and the overall public trust deficit in Parliaments, the CPA’s annual conference offered the opportunity for Members to benefit from professional development, supportive learning and the sharing of best practice with colleagues from Commonwealth Parliaments together with the participation of leading international organisations. The overall main conference theme for the 63rd CPC was ‘Continuing to enhance the high standards of performance of Parliamentarians’.

The CPA President and outgoing Chairperson of the CPA Executive Committee, Hon. Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, MP, Speaker of the Parliament of Bangladesh, hosted the 63rd CPC, which took place from 1 to 8 November 2017 (inclusive of arrival and departure dates) in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference is the annual conference of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) and the conference was a critical year for the CPA as Members elected their new Chairperson for a three year term. 

The conference programme included two plenaries and eight workshops, with some workshops including presentations by experts from international organisations. Included in the workshops was one selected by the Host Branch, one on a Gender-related theme and one topic from the topics submitted by Small Branches.

Workshops were held during the conference on a wide range of topics including the role of Parliamentarians in building stronger ties within Commonwealth; giving voice to the youth: mechanisms for ensuring effective participation of the youth in the governance process; how can CPA Members work with their own governments in ensuring that the SDG goals have a proper gender lens, to ensure success in the areas of alleviating poverty and women’s empowerment; small jurisdictions and big problems: Logistics and infrastructure challenges.

During the 63rd Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference, there were also be a number of additional conferences and meetings including: 36th Small Branches Conference; meetings of the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP); CPA Executive Committee; CPA General Assembly including the Election of the Chairperson of the CPA Executive Committee.

Related Resources

Conference Concluding Statement for 63rd CPC

The Parliamentarian: 63rd CPC Issue

The Parliamentarian: Bangladesh Supplement