Canada Constitution

A constitution states a country’s basic rules and principles. In most countries, these are written down in one official document. Not in Canada. The constitution of Canada consists of unwritten laws and a group of written documents.

Canada’s constitution has many parts and has grown over time. For this reason, it is sometimes compared to a living tree. Like a tree, Canada’s constitution is flexible and able to change.

There are two main elements of Canada’s constitution. These documents are the Constitution Act of 1867 and the Constitution Act of 1982.

THE CONSTITUTION ACT OF 1867

The Constitution Act of 1867 united Canada’s four original provinces. It established the branches of government. It also described the powers of Parliament (Canada’s lawmaking body) and the powers of the provinces.

Under this act, changes to Canada’s constitution had to be approved by the government of Britain. Britain kept this authority until Queen Elizabeth II signed the Constitution Act of 1982. With it, she officially agreed to let Canada make its own decisions.

THE CONSTITUTION ACT OF 1982

The first part of the Constitution Act of 1982 is called the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It describes the basic rights of Canada’s citizens. These include freedom of equality, freedom of religion, and voting rights. The second part of the Constitution Act of 1982 describes the specific rights of Canada’s native people.

Nine of Canada’s ten provinces approved the Constitution Act of 1982. Only Québec refused to sign it. That’s because the act did nothing to protect Québec’s unique French Canadian culture.

Since 1982, constitutional changes have been proposed to deal with Québec’s concerns. But lawmakers and voters turned down these changes. In 1980 and again in 1995, the people of Québec voted on a plan to secede (separate) from Canada. Both times, the plan was rejected, but by a slim vote. Québec has still not approved the Constitution Act of 1982.

Source: Microsoft ® Encarta

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