Child welfare services fall under the jurisdiction of provincial and territorial authorities, as a result each province and territory has different legislation pertaining to child protection interventions.
The only child welfare regulations and legislation that apply to all provinces and territories are the Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development First Nations Child and Family Services National Program Manual and the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of the Child. Since 1991 the Canadian government has formally committed to ratifying the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of the Child.