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MLA (9th ed.) Citation Style: Government Documents

Beginning your entry & URL Protocols

"When a nongovernment organization is both author and publisher, you may skip the Author element and begin the entry with the work's title. List the organization only as publisher."

  • However, listing government publications "by author instead of title (can be) useful." If you decide to list government publications by author, "begin the entry with the name of the government, followed by a comma and the name of the agency (if relevant)." MLA Handbook, 9th ed., pp. 119-121).

URLs

  • "When including a URL, copy it in full from your browser....(unless) your source offers a URL that it identifies as stable, permanent or persistent." Use a persistent link instead of the browser link if available.
     
  • Avoid citing URLs produced by shortening services (like bit.ly).
     
  • "You can usually omit http:// or https:// from URLs unless you want to hyperlink them and are working in a software program that does not allow hyperlinking without the protocol...." (MLA Handbook, 9th ed., pp. 195-6). 
    • Note, some URLs will not work for the user if https:// is omitted, so do not omit it if the URL doesn't work without it.

Basic Template

Title of Document. Name of Government Department, Agency or Committee, Publication Date, URL.

Agriculture in Harmony with Nature: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Sustainable Development Strategy 2001-2004. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 2001, https://publications.gc.ca/collections/Collection/A22-166-1-2001E.pdf.

OR

Name of Government,  Department, Agency or Committee.  Title of Document. Name of Website Publisher, Publication Date, URL.

British Columbia, BC Centre for Disease Control. Tetanus. Provincial Health Services Authority, 2021, www.bccdc.ca/health-professionals/clinical-resources/case-definitions/tetanus.

In-Text

Parenthetical: (Agriculture in Harmony 18)

Narrative: Agriculture in Harmony (18)

OR

Parenthetical: (British Columbia, BC Centre for Disease Control)

Narrative: British Columbia, BC Centre for Disease Control

When the Author is also the Publisher

MLA has a principle of removing redundancy. So, if the government author and publisher are the same you would either

  • omit the Author element and retain the publisher element OR
  • keep the author element and omit the publisher element (MLA Handbook, 9th ed., p. 119).

 

This example omits the Author element:

Title. Name of Publisher, Date, URL.

Canada's Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators. Environment and Climate Change Canada, 2021, https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/eccc/documents/pdf/cesindicators/ghg-emissions/2021/greenhouse-gas-emissions-en.pdf.

In-Text

Parenthetical: (Canada's Greenhouse 17)

Narrative: Canada's Greenhouse (17)

Government Document - online with a Personal Author

Author's Last Name, First Name. Title of Document. Name of Publisher, Publication Date, URL.

Pearson, Caryn. The Impact of Mental Health Problems on Family Members. Statistics Canada, 7 Oct. 2015, www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/82-624-x/2015001/article/14214-eng.pdf.

In-Text

Parenthetical: (Pearson 4)

Narrative: Pearson (4)

Government Document - Print

Information Use by the Ministry of Health in Resource Allocation Decisions for the Regional Health Care System. Office of the Auditor General of British Columbia, 2002.

In-Text

Parenthetical: (Information Use 22)

Narrative: Information Use (22)