Canada Act 1982 - wikipedia Canada Act 1982 Part of a series on the Constitution of Canada Constitutional history Bill of Rights ( 1689 ) Act of Settlement ( 1701 ) Treaty of Paris ( 1763 ) Royal Proclamation ( 1763 ) Quebec Act ( 1774 ) Constitutional Act ( 1791 ) Act of Union ( 1840 ) Constitution Act ( 1867 ) Supreme Court Act ( 1875 ) Constitution Act, 1886 British North America Acts ( 1867 -- 1975 ) Statute of Westminster ( 1931 ) Succession to the Throne Act ( 1937 ) Letters Patent ( 1947 ) Canada Act ( 1982 ) Constitution Act ( 1982 ) Document list Amendments Unsuccessful amendments Constitutional law Constitutional debate Patriation Charter of Rights and Freedoms Canadian federalism Law of Canada Canadian Bill of Rights Implied Bill of Rights Canadian Human Rights Act Politics of Canada portal Canada Act 1982 Parliament of the United Kingdom Long title An Act to give effect to a request by the Senate and House of Commons of Canada. Citation 1982 c. 11 Territorial extent Canada Dates Royal assent March 29, 1982 Status : Current legislation Text of statute as originally enacted Revised text of statute as amended The Canada Act 1982 ( 1982 c. 11 ) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that was passed ( as stated in the preamble ) at the request of the Parliament of Canada, to `` patriate '' Canada 's constitution, ending the power of the British Parliament to amend the Constitution of Canada. The Act also formally ended the `` request and consent '' provisions of the Statute of Westminster 1931 in relation to Canada, whereby the British parliament had a general power to pass laws extending to Canada at its own request. Annexed as Schedule B to the Act is the text of the Constitution Act, 1982, in both of Canada 's official languages ( i.e. English and French ). Because of the requirements of official bilingualism, the body of the Canada Act itself is also set out in French in Schedule A to the Act, which is declared by s. 3 to have `` the same authority in Canada as the English version thereof ''. Contents 1 History 2 Enactment of the Act 3 Proclamation by the Queen of Canada 4 See also 5 References 6 External links History Canada 's modern political history as a union of previously separate provinces began with the British North America Act, 1867 ( currently officially called in Canada the Constitution Act, 1867 ). This act combined the Province of Canada ( now Ontario and Quebec ) with Nova Scotia and New Brunswick into a Dominion within the British Empire. Canada adopted a Westminster style government with a Parliament of Canada. A Governor General fulfilled the constitutional duties of the British Sovereign on Canadian soil. Similar arrangements applied within each province. Despite this autonomy, the United Kingdom still had the power to legislate for Canada. The Statute of Westminster 1931 removed this power of the British Parliament for Canada, as well as for the other British Dominions ( Australia ( adopted 1942 ), the Irish Free State, New Zealand ( adopted 1947 ), the Union of South Africa, and the Dominion of Newfoundland ( never ratified, joined Canada in 1949 ) ), unless ( sec. 4 ) the Dominion requested and consented to Imperial legislation. Also, the British North America ( No. 2 ) Act, 1949 was passed by the British Parliament, giving the Parliament of Canada significant constitutional amending powers. However, with Canada 's agreement at the time, under the Statute of Westminster ( sec. 7 ( 1 ) ) the British Parliament also retained the power to amend the key Canadian constitutional statutes, namely the British North America Acts. In effect, an Act of the British Parliament was required to make certain changes to the Canadian constitution. Delay in the patriation of the Canadian constitution was due in large part to the lack of agreement concerning a method for amending the constitution that would be acceptable to all of the provinces, particularly Quebec. Enactment of the Act The Canada Act 1982 was passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom in response to the request from the Parliament of Canada to take over authority for amending its own constitution. After unpromising negotiations with the provincial governments, Pierre Trudeau proclaimed that the federal Parliament would unilaterally patriate the constitution. After numerous references by the provinces, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in the Patriation Reference that provincial consent was not legally necessary, but to do so without substantial consent would be contrary to a longstanding constitutional convention. Trudeau succeeded in convincing nine provinces out of ten by agreeing to the addition of a Notwithstanding Clause to limit the application of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms as a result of discussions during a First Ministers ' conference and other minor changes in November 1981. In the UK, 44 Members of Parliament voted against the Act, including 24 Conservative and 16 Labour MP 's, citing concerns over Canada 's past mistreatment of Quebec and Aboriginal peoples ( as recalled with frustration by Jean Chrétien in his memoirs Straight from the Heart ) ; overall there was little opposition from the British government to passing the Act. However, new research into documents of the Thatcher government indicate that Britain had serious concerns about the inclusion of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms within the Canada Act. Part of this concern stemmed from letters of protest the British received about it from provincial actors, but also because the Charter undermined the principle of parliamentary supremacy, which until that time had always been a core feature of every government practising the Westminster system. Through section 2 of the Canada Act 1982, the United Kingdom ended its involvement with further amendments to the Canadian constitution. The procedure for amending the Constitution Act, 1982 must comply with its Part V, instead of the usual parliamentary procedure requiring the monarch 's Royal Assent for enacting legislation. Proclamation by the Queen of Canada While the Canada Act 1982 received royal assent on March 29, 1982 in London, it was not until the Queen visited Canada the following month that the Constitution Act, 1982, its Canadian equivalent, was proclaimed by letters patent as a statutory instrument by the Queen during her presence in Canada. Canada 's Constitution Act, 1982 was signed into law by Elizabeth II as Queen of Canada on April 17, 1982 on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. Queen Elizabeth 's constitutional powers over Canada were not affected by the Act, and she remains Queen and Head of State of Canada. Canada has complete sovereignty as an independent country, however, and the Queen 's role as monarch of Canada is separate from her role as the British monarch or the monarch of any of the other Commonwealth realms. See also History of Canada portal Canadian politics portal Australia Act 1986 New Zealand Constitution Act 1986 Patriation References Jump up ^ Canada Act 1982, s. 3. ^ Jump up to : `` Canada in the Making -- Constitutional History ''... canadiana.org. Retrieved 2010 - 10 - 18. Jump up ^ `` The Statute of Westminster, 1931 ''. Efc.ca. Retrieved 2010 - 10 - 18. Jump up ^ `` British North America ( No. 2 ) Act, 1949 ''. Solon.org. Retrieved 2010 - 10 - 18. Jump up ^ `` Proclamation of the Constitution Act, 1982 ''. Canada.ca. Government of Canada. May 5, 2014. Retrieved February 10, 2017. Jump up ^ `` A statute worth 75 cheers ''. Globe and Mail. Toronto. March 17, 2009. Retrieved February 10, 2017. Jump up ^ Couture, Christa ( January 1, 2017 ). `` Canada is celebrating 150 years of... what, exactly ? ''. CBC. CBC. Retrieved February 10, 2017... the Constitution Act itself cleaned up a bit of unfinished business from the Statute of Westminster in 1931, in which Britain granted each of the Dominions full legal autonomy if they chose to accept it. All but one Dominion -- that would be us, Canada -- chose to accept every resolution. Our leaders could n't decide on how to amend the Constitution, so that power stayed with Britain until 1982. Jump up ^ Gérin - Lajoie, Paul ( 1951 ). `` Constitutional Amendment in Canada ''. The Canadian Journal of Economics and Political Science. Blackwell Publishing on behalf of Canadian Economics Association. 17 : 6. JSTOR 137699. Jump up ^ `` Intellectuals for the Sovereignty of Quebec ''. Rocler.qc.ca. 1995 - 10 - 30. Retrieved 2010 - 10 - 18. Jump up ^ `` Proclamation of the Constitution Act, 1982 ''. Library and Archives, Government of Canada. Government of Canada. 2015. Retrieved 13 February 2017. Jump up ^ `` The Constitution -- The Monarchist League of Canada ''. Monarchist.ca. Retrieved 2010 - 10 - 18. Jump up ^ `` 1981 CanLII 25 ( S.C.C. ) ''. CanLII. Retrieved 2010 - 10 - 18. Jump up ^ `` The Notwithstanding Clause of the Charter ( BP - 194E ) ''... parl.gc.ca. Retrieved 2010 - 10 - 18. Jump up ^ Siddiqui, Haroon ( 2012 - 04 - 15 ). `` Canada 's cherished Charter could not have happened without `` kitchen accord '' ``. Toronto Star. Retrieved 15 April 2012. Jump up ^ Frédéric Bastien. 2010. ― Britain, the Charter of Rights and the spirit of the 1982 Canadian Constitution. ‖ Commonwealth & Comparative Politics 48 ( 3 ) : 320 -- 347. Jump up ^ Feasby, Colin ( 2006 ). `` Constitutional Questions About Canada 's New Political Finance Regime '' ( PDF ). Osgoode Hall Law School York University. p. 18 Volume 48, Number 1. Retrieved 2010 - 10 - 18. Jump up ^ `` Proclamation of the Constitution Act, 1982 ''. Library and Archives, Government of Canada. Government of Canada. 2015. Retrieved 13 February 2017. The signing of the proclamation on April 17, 1982, marked the end of efforts by many successive governments. The new Constitution was accompanied by The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and an amending formula that would no longer require an appeal to the British Parliament. ^ Jump up to : Lauterpacht, E ( 1988 ). International Law Reports. Cambridge University Press. p. 457. ISBN 0 - 521 - 46423 - 4. Retrieved 2010 - 10 - 18. Jump up ^ `` Proclamation of the Constitution Act, 1982 ''. Library and Archives, Government of Canada. Government of Canada. 2015. Retrieved 13 February 2017. The signing of the proclamation on April 17, 1982, marked the end of efforts by many successive governments. The new Constitution was accompanied by The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and an amending formula that would no longer require an appeal to the British Parliament. Jump up ^ Cyr, Hugo ( 2009 ). Canadian Federalism and Treaty Powers : Organic Constitutionalism at Work. Bruxelles ; New York : P.I.E. Peter Lang. ISBN 978 - 90 - 5201 - 453 - 1. Retrieved 2010 - 10 - 18. Jump up ^ `` Some Visual Aspects of the Monarchical Tradition '' ( PDF ). Canadian Parliamentary Review 31. 2004. p. 17. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 2010 - 03 - 08. Retrieved 2010 - 10 - 18. External links Wikisource has original text related to this article : Proclamation of the Constitution Act 1982 Wikisource has original text related to this article : Canada Act 1982 Table of Constitutional Documents Constitution of Canada List of constitutional documents Quasi-constitutional law Pre-Confederation constitutional documents Iroquois constitution Mi'kmaq constitution Constitution of New France Royal Proclamation of 1763 Quebec Act of 1774 Constitutional Act of 1791 Declaration of Independence of Lower Canada ( 1838 ) Report on the Affairs of British North America ( 1839 ) Act of Union 1840 Confederation Charlottetown Conference, 1864 Quebec Conference, 1864 Quebec Resolutions London Conference, 1866 Fathers of Confederation Constitution Act, 1867 Canadian federalism Preamble Section 121 Section 125 Powers under Section 91 Peace, order, and good government Trade and commerce Criminal law Matters excepted from s. 92 Powers under Section 92 Licensing Works and undertakings Property and civil rights Administration of justice Fines and penalties for provincial laws Matters of a local or private nature Amendments and other constitutional documents 1867 -- 1982 British North America Acts, 1867 -- 1982 Manitoba Act, 1870 Alberta Act, 1905 Saskatchewan Act, 1905 Statute of Westminster, 1931 Newfoundland Act, 1949 Patriation Fulton -- Favreau formula Victoria Charter Kitchen Accord / Night of the Long Knives Constitution Act, 1982 Part I -- Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms Preamble 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 16.1 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 Part II -- Rights of the Aboriginal peoples of Canada 35 Part III -- Equalization and regional disparities 36 Part VII -- General 52 59 Conventions At Her Majesty 's pleasure Cabinet collective responsibility Disallowance and reservation Responsible government Fusion of powers Queen - in - Parliament Implied repeal Individual ministerial responsibility Interpellation Question Period Parliamentary privilege Parliamentary sovereignty Reserve power Royal prerogative Constitutional debate since 1982 Triple - E Senate Meech Lake Accord Charlottetown Accord Calgary Declaration Other unsuccessful amendments Interpretation of the Constitution Indigenous self - government Pith and substance Double aspect Equal authenticity rule Paramountcy Living tree Implied Bill of Rights Interjurisdictional immunity Purposive theory Dialogue principle Provincial constitutional law Constitution of Alberta Constitution of Quebec Constitution Act ( British Columbia ) WikiProject United Kingdom legislation Pre-Parliamentary legislation List of English statutes Charter of Liberties Magna Carta Acts of Parliament by states preceding the Kingdom of Great Britain Parliament of England to 1483 1485 -- 1601 1603 -- 1641 Interregnum ( 1642 -- 1660 ) 1660 -- 1699 1700 -- 1706 Parliament of Scotland to 1707 Acts of Parliament of the Kingdom of Great Britain 1707 -- 1719 1720 -- 1739 1740 -- 1759 1760 -- 1779 1780 -- 1800 Acts of the Parliament of Ireland to 1700 1701 -- 1800 Acts of Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 1801 -- 1819 1820 -- 1839 1840 -- 1859 1860 -- 1879 1880 -- 1899 1900 -- 1919 1920 -- 1939 1940 -- 1959 1960 -- 1979 1980 -- 1999 2000 to date Halsbury 's Statutes Legislation.gov.uk Short titles relating to the European Union ( formally European Communities ) 1972 to date Church of England measures List Church of England Assembly ( Powers ) Act 1919 Legislation of devolved institutions Acts of the Scottish Parliament List Acts and Measures of the National Assembly for Wales List Acts of the Northern Ireland Assembly Acts of the Parliament of Northern Ireland Orders in Council 1994 to date for Northern Ireland 1972 -- 2009 Secondary legislation United Kingdom statutory instruments Scottish statutory instruments Acts of Sederunt Acts of Adjournal Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Canada_Act_1982&oldid=850915295 '' Categories : 1982 in Canadian law Canada and the Commonwealth of Nations Constitution of Canada Political history of Quebec United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1982 1982 in international relations Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning Canada Canada -- United Kingdom relations March 1982 events Hidden categories : All pages needing factual verification Wikipedia articles needing factual verification from April 2016 All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from October 2010 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Wikisource Čeština Deutsch Français Bahasa Indonesia Italiano Magyar Nederlands Português Русский Svenska Türkçe Українська 5 more Edit links This page was last edited on 18 July 2018, at 20 : 25 ( UTC ). 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Question: when did canada become a completely independent country
Answer: April 17, 1982