Quebec and the Constitution: Meech Lake and Charlottetown

Unfinished business

Imagine your family signs a big new agreement about how the house will run, but one family member refuses to sign it, and the agreement applies to them anyway. Would that feel settled? That was Canada after 1982. The Constitution applied in Quebec, but Quebec's National Assembly had never agreed to it.

For the next ten years, Canadian leaders tried twice to fix this. Both attempts failed, and the failures pushed Canada closer to breaking apart than at any time since Confederation. This lesson tells that story and asks: why was it so hard to agree?

Mulroney's promise

In September 1984, Brian Mulroney, a bilingual lawyer from Baie-Comeau, Quebec, led the Progressive Conservatives to a huge majority. He won many seats in Quebec by promising to bring Quebec into the Constitution "with honour and enthusiasm."

In 1985, Quebec elected a federalist Liberal government under Robert Bourassa. In 1986 Bourassa's government listed five conditions for signing:

1. recognition of Quebec as a distinct society;
2. a veto for Quebec over constitutional amendments;
3. a say in appointing the three Quebec judges on the Supreme Court;
4. more power over immigration to Quebec;
5. the right to opt out of new federal programs in provincial areas, with financial compensation.

The Meech Lake Accord (1987)

On April 30, 1987, Mulroney and all ten premiers met at Meech Lake in Gatineau Park, Quebec, and agreed to an accord that met all five conditions. To be fair to all provinces, several powers (such as suggesting Supreme Court judges) were given to every province, not only Quebec.

Because the accord changed the amending formula, it needed unanimous approval: Parliament and all ten provincial legislatures had to ratify it within three years, by June 23, 1990.

At first it looked easy. Then opposition grew:

• Pierre Trudeau, now retired, attacked the accord, arguing it would weaken the federal government and create two classes of provinces.
• New premiers were elected in New Brunswick (Frank McKenna), Manitoba (Gary Filmon) and Newfoundland (Clyde Wells). They were not bound by their predecessors' signatures. Newfoundland's legislature even cancelled its earlier approval in 1990.
• Women's groups worried the distinct society clause might be used to limit Charter equality rights in Quebec.
• First Nations, Inuit and Métis leaders had been left out of the talks. The accord recognized Quebec as distinct but said nothing about the distinct societies of Indigenous peoples, who had been here first.
• In December 1988, Quebec used the notwithstanding clause to keep its law requiring French-only outdoor commercial signs (Bill 178), after the Supreme Court struck down part of its sign law. This angered many English-speaking Canadians and lowered support for Meech Lake outside Quebec.

Elijah Harper and the deadline

Elijah Harper was an Oji-Cree man from Red Sucker Lake First Nation and a member of Manitoba's legislature. In June 1990, with only days left, Manitoba needed the unanimous consent of its members to skip the usual waiting periods and vote in time. Holding an eagle feather, Harper said "No" again and again. He explained that the accord ignored First Nations. Because of his stand, Manitoba could not vote before the deadline.

On June 22, 1990, Newfoundland's Premier Clyde Wells cancelled his legislature's vote. The next day, the Meech Lake Accord died.

To many First Nations people, Harper was a hero who showed that Indigenous peoples could not be left out of Canada's future. To many people in Quebec, the rejection felt like English Canada saying no to Quebec. Premier Bourassa told the National Assembly that, whatever happened, Quebec was "today and forever" a distinct society, free to choose its own future (English translations of his words vary).

Consequences in Quebec and Ottawa

• In May 1990, Lucien Bouchard, a powerful minister in Mulroney's cabinet, resigned. With other MPs from Quebec he formed the Bloc Québécois, a federal party working for Quebec sovereignty.
• Support for sovereignty in Quebec rose sharply in opinion polls in 1990 and 1991.
• Quebec passed a law promising a referendum by 1992 on either sovereignty or a new offer from the rest of Canada.
• Only weeks after Meech Lake died, the Oka crisis began (July 1990). Together, these crises showed that both Quebec and Indigenous nations wanted a new relationship with Canada.

The Charlottetown Accord (1992)

This time leaders tried to include more voices. The talks brought in the territorial leaders and national Indigenous organizations, including the Assembly of First Nations led by Ovide Mercredi. In August 1992 they agreed on the Charlottetown Accord. It included:

• a Canada Clause listing shared values, including Quebec as a distinct society, Indigenous peoples' rights, and the equality of provinces;
• an elected Senate with equal seats for each province (a major demand from the West);
• a guarantee that Quebec would always have at least 25% of the seats in the House of Commons;
• recognition of the inherent right of Indigenous self-government.

This time the accord was put directly to the people. On October 26, 1992, Canadians voted in a referendum (Quebec ran its own vote on the same question). The accord was rejected, with about 54% voting No across Canada. It lost in Quebec, the four western provinces, Nova Scotia and the Yukon.