Patriation of the Canadian Constitution
Canada acquired the power to amend its own constitution in 1982, 115 years after becoming a country. The British North America Act of 1867 was a statute of the United Kingdom parliament, and every constitutional amendment had to be requested from Westminster because Canadians could not agree on a domestic formula — the argument being about whether Quebec, or any province, had a veto. Trudeau made patriation the central project of his career and announced in 1980, after the Quebec sovereignty referendum, that he would proceed unilaterally if necessary. Eight provinces objected and the Supreme Court ruled in 1981 that unilateral action was legal but violated a constitutional convention. The deal was made overnight on 4 November 1981 in a kitchen at the conference centre, by federal and provincial officials, while the Quebec delegation was asleep across the river in Hull — an episode Quebec calls the night of the long knives. The compromise added the notwithstanding clause, letting legislatures override certain Charter rights for five years at a time. The Charter of Rights and Freedoms is the substance of the act and has transformed Canadian law, since courts can now strike down statutes. Section 35 recognised existing Aboriginal and treaty rights. Quebec has never signed, and two later attempts to bring it in — Meech Lake and Charlottetown — failed, the second by referendum. The Queen signed the proclamation in the rain on Parliament Hill in April 1982. The notwithstanding clause was included because several provinces would not sign without it and was expected to be politically unusable. It was barely invoked for thirty years and has been used repeatedly since 2018, which is a reminder that constitutional safety valves tend to be found eventually.
- Year: 1982 CE
- Category: Political
