What is the Constitution Act, 1982?

The Constitution Act, 1982 is the constitutional statute that patriated the Canadian Constitution from the British Parliament, added the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, recognised existing Indigenous rights in section 35, and established a Canadian amending formula. The Act was proclaimed in force by Queen Elizabeth II in Ottawa on April 17, 1982, alongside Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and federal Justice Minister Jean Chrétien. Patriation ended the British Parliament's role in Canadian constitutional amendment.

The Act has six parts. Part I (sections 1 to 34) is the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, guaranteeing fundamental freedoms (section 2), democratic rights (sections 3 to 5), mobility rights (section 6), legal rights (sections 7 to 14), equality rights (section 15), language rights (sections 16 to 22), minority-language education rights (section 23), enforcement provisions (section 24), and other clauses including the section 33 notwithstanding clause. Part II (section 35) recognises and affirms 'the existing aboriginal and treaty rights of the aboriginal peoples of Canada'.

Part III (section 36) commits federal and provincial governments to promoting equal opportunities, reducing regional disparities, and providing essential public services of reasonable quality to all Canadians. Part IV (section 37) was a transitional provision requiring constitutional conferences. Part V (sections 38 to 49) is the amending formula, the procedure for amending the Constitution. Part VI (sections 50 to 61) contains general provisions including the schedule of constitutional documents.

The patriation process was politically fraught. Following the 1980 Quebec referendum on sovereignty-association (which the federalist side won), Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau pursued constitutional patriation. The November 1981 federal-provincial agreement (the Kitchen Accord, negotiated by federal Justice Minister Jean Chrétien with Roy Romanow of Saskatchewan and Roy McMurtry of Ontario) produced the Constitution Act package. Quebec did not consent to the package (the so-called Night of the Long Knives). Despite Quebec's lack of consent, the Patriation Reference (1981) and the Reference re Quebec Veto (1982) confirmed that federal patriation could proceed without Quebec's consent. The lasting effect of Quebec's exclusion has shaped Canadian politics ever since, with the Meech Lake (1987) and Charlottetown (1992) accords both attempting to bring Quebec into the constitutional family. The Constitution Act, 1982 is consistently ranked among the most important statutes in Canadian history.