Constitution Act, 1982

The Constitution Act, 1982 was a landmark constitutional reform that patriated the Canadian Constitution from the United Kingdom and added the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Act includes Part I (the Charter), Part II (Rights of the Aboriginal Peoples of Canada), Part III (Equalization and Regional Disparities), Part V (the Amending Formula), and Part VII (General). The Act abolished the UK Parliament’s power to legislate for Canada and established a domestic amending formula requiring varying levels of provincial consent. The Act was proclaimed by Queen Elizabeth II on 17 April 1982, following the patriation agreement reached by the federal government and nine provinces (Quebec did not consent). The Charter became the supreme law of Canada, to which all legislation must conform.

Legal area: Constitutional law establishes the framework of government, the division of powers between federal and provincial levels, and the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms.

Year enacted: 1982

Full text: https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-29/

Key Provisions

• Part I: Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (sections 1-34)
• Section 1: Reasonable limits clause (Charter rights subject to reasonable limits demonstrably justified)
• Section 7: Life, liberty, and security of the person
• Section 15: Equality rights (effective 1985)
• Section 33: Notwithstanding clause (legislative override for certain Charter provisions)
• Section 35: Rights of Aboriginal peoples (existing aboriginal and treaty rights recognized)
• Part V: Amending formula (general formula 7/50, unanimous consent for certain matters)
• Section 52: Constitution is the supreme law of Canada

Significance

The Constitution Act, 1982 transformed Canadian constitutional law by introducing the Charter, which has become the central framework for protecting individual rights and freedoms in Canada. The section 33 notwithstanding clause allows legislatures to override certain Charter rights for renewable five-year periods. Section 35 provides constitutional protection for Aboriginal and treaty rights. The amending formula has proven difficult to use, with major amendments (Meech Lake Accord 1987, Charlottetown Accord 1992) failing to achieve consensus. Quebec has not formally consented to the 1982 Constitution Act, a continuing political issue.