Home > Canada Act 1982
Canada Act 1982 is an Act of Parliament passed by the British Parliament that severed virtually all remaining constitutional and legislative ties between the United Kingdom and Canada. 1 History
Canada's road to political self government came with the British North America Act 1867 (now called the Constitution Act 1867). This act created the modern state of Canada by combining the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick into a dominion within the British Empire. From this Canada adopted a Westminster style government with a Parliament. A Governor General fulfilled the constitutional duties of the British Sovereign on Canadian soil.
Despite this, 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 the other British Dominions ( Australia, the Irish Free StateThe Irish Free State ( Irish language:, Saorstat Eireann was ( 1922 1937) the name of the state comprising the 26 of Ireland's 32 counties which were separated from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland under the Irish Free State Agreement (or A, New ZealandFor alternative meanings, see New Zealand (disambiguation). New Zealand is a country formed of two major islands and a number of smaller islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. A common Mori name for New Zealand is Aotearoa popularly translated as Land, South AfricaSouth Africa is a republic at the southern tip of Africa. It is bordered to the north by Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the north-east by Mozambique and Swaziland. Lesotho is contained entirely inside the borders of South Africa. South Africa is one o, and NewfoundlandThis is about the island in Canada. For the Canadian province of Newfoundland see Newfoundland and Labrador. For other meanings of Newfoundland see Newfoundland (disambiguation). Newfoundland is a large island off the north-east coast of North America, an). Also, the British North America Act 1949The British North America Act 1949 was an Act of the British Parliament, which amended the Constitution of Canada. See also: 1949 in Canada. Constitution of Canada 1949. was passed by the British parliament, giving the Canadian ParliamentParliament Hill's Centre Block houses both the Commons and Senate. The Parliament of Canada (in French: le Parlement du Canada is Canada's legislative branch, seated at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario. According to Section 17 of the Constitution Act, 1 significant constitutional amending powers. However an Act of the British Parliament was still required to make some amendments in the Canadian constitution. This delay in repatriating the Canadian constitution was due in large part to the lack of agreement over a mechanism for amending the constitution that would be acceptable to all of the provinces, particularly QuebecQuebec ( In Detail) ( In Detail) National Motto: Je me souviens (I remember CapitalLargest city Quebec City Montreal Area Total % fresh water 2nd largest(1st lgst prov. 1 542 056 kmē 11,5% Population Total (2004) Density Ranked 2nd 7 509 928 5,43/kmē Admi.
2 Enactment of The Canada Act of 1982
The Canada Act of 1982 was the last request of the Canadian government to amend the country's constitution. Pierre Trudeau had hoped originally to unilaterally change the constitution, but the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the consent of the majority of the provinces was needed. The United Kingdom revoked its right to issue further amendments to the Canadian constitution; as schedules to the act the Constitution Act 1982 of the Canadian Parliament as the new constitution of Canada which includes the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Thus even though Quebec refused to ratify the constitution, it was imposed through the Canada Act 1982, as was the right of the Westminster Parliament to do so.
The Canada Act 1982 was signed into law by Her Majesty Elizabeth II Queen of Canada on a rainy April 17, 1982 on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. Queen Elizabeth remains Queen and Head of State of Canada to this day. Her constitutional powers over Canada were not affected by the Act, which some critics say still gives Britain some political power, however superficial or unused, over the government of Canada. However, most agree that beyond membership in the Commonwealth of Nations Canada has full sovereignty over its realm and the Queen's role is separate of her role as the British monarch.
