The Canadian Constitution and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms

What is the Canadian Constitution? The Constitution of Canada is the supreme law of the land The Constitution sets the powers and limits of the monarch, and the Federal and Provincial governments The Constitution outlines the structure for governing the nation as well as defines and limits government power

Where and when did Canada get its Constitution? The original Canadian Constitution was written by John A. Macdonald and several other representatives who would be known as the “Fathers of Confederation” These men drafted Canada’s first Constitution in 1867 with the creation of the Dominion of Canada during Confederation.

What is Confederation? Confederation occurred in 1867 where three of the British colonies in North America united to form a confederation which became known as the Dominion of Canada The three colonies were Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Upper/Lower Canada. The statute or law that created Confederation was the British North America Act (BNA Act) of 1867. It is also referred to as the Constitution Act of 1867.

The British North America Act, 1867 The BNA Act formally established the Dominion of Canada The terms of the union provided that the former colony of Canada be divided into the provinces of Quebec and Ontario The BNA Act was structured from the principles of Britain’s Magna Carta (1215) and Bill of Rights (1689) The BNA Act would remain a central component of Canada’s Constitution for over a century

Can the Constitution be changed? The BNA Act of 1867 remained the basis of Canada’s Constitution for over a century During this time, the provisions of the Constitution were modified and developed by a number of amendments. Amendments are changes or alterations that are added to a given document However, the BNA Act did not outline how to amend the provisions of the Constitution. Essentially, since the BNA Act was a statute of the British Parliament, the Parliament in Canada had to send any changes to the Constitution to Britain for review and the monarch’s formal assent

Amending Formula To add to the challenge of changing the Constitution was the question of who had the right to makes changes Was it the Federal government or the provinces? Or both? Proposed changes needed to be settled amongst all parties on the basis of compromise Eventually, an amending formula, a method whereby changes to the Constitution could be made, was agreed upon and included in the Constitution Act of 1982

The Statute of Westminster, 1931 The Statute of Westminster was signed in 1931 and was important for it furthered Canada’s independence from Britain The Statute of Westminster detailed that England could no longer legislate for Canada unless specifically asked to do so by the government of Canada

Creating a Canadian Bill of Rights

The Constitution of 1982 In 1982, Pierre Trudeau pushed forward the proposal for patriation which would “bring the Constitution home” and formally transfer the control of the Constitution over to Canada Trudeau asked England to amend the BNA Act to include an amending formula and a Charter of Rights and Freedoms

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms was established in the Constitution of 1982 The Charter is an improvement of the 1960 Bill of Rights The Charter relates to the rights and freedoms that exist in Canada as well as the limits that can be placed upon them The Charter protects the interests of all Canadians

Charter of Rights and Freedoms The Charter provided Canadians with a variety of rights and freedoms based from the English Bill of Rights (1689) and the Canadian Bill of Rights (1960) The Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees all of these rights and freedoms for all Canadians as part of the Canadian Constitution of 1982