Charlottetown Accord

I

Introduction

Charlottetown Accord, agreement between the federal government of Canada, the provincial and territorial governments, and representatives of Canada’s indigenous peoples on a proposed reform of the Canadian Constitution of 1982. The agreement dealt with issues concerning the status of the province of Québec, the self-government of indigenous peoples, and the structure of Canada’s Parliament. It was signed on August 28, 1992, at Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, and was rejected by a majority of voters in a Canada-wide referendum of October 26, 1992.

II

Background

The driving force behind the Charlottetown Accord was the fact that the constitution of 1982 was not ratified by the legislature of Québec, where French is the principal language and French culture is dominant. Many citizens of Québec, where one-fourth of all Canadians and four-fifths of all French Canadians live, felt that the constitution did not adequately consider the cultural differences between Québec and the rest of Canada. A 1987 effort to address this issue had resulted in the Meech Lake Accord, which recognized the uniqueness of Québec and granted reforms that Québec leaders had requested. However, despite support by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and many provincial leaders, the Meech Lake Accord was not ratified by all provincial legislatures in the span of three years, as required by constitutional rules.

Much of the criticism that contributed to the failure of the Meech Lake Accord centered on the restricted proceedings in which it was put together. The prime minister and the provincial leaders had met behind closed doors, focusing on the specific demands of Québec, without inviting public discussion. After the accord was rejected by the voters, Mulroney decided to include the entire country in a two—year public debate about the constitution and a search for a new accord. The indigenous peoples and the western provinces were important participants in the discussions. The indigenous peoples pressed their demand for more self-government, and the western provinces sought a greater voice in Parliament by way of reforms in the Senate.

In Québec, citizens became disillusioned with the federal government after the failure of the Meech Lake Accord. Québec premier Robert Bourassa withdrew from any further negotiations and announced that he would only meet with the federal government and not with the other provincial governments. A commission was created in Québec to discuss the future of the province within Canada. Bourassa set a deadline of October 1992 for revision of the constitution. If this deadline was not met, he said, his government would hold a referendum in Québec on whether the province should unilaterally change its relationship to the rest of Canada or perhaps separate from it altogether.

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By the middle of 1992 the federal government had not produced a proposal acceptable to Québec. Bourassa then changed his tactics and decided to meet with the other provincial premiers and with indigenous leaders as well as with the federal government. Just one week of discussions produced a tentative agreement, and a formal agreement was completed the next week in Charlottetown.

III

Contents of the Accord

The Charlottetown Accord contained four major elements. First, Québec would be recognized as a distinct society within Canada, with this recognition limited to matters of language, culture, and some aspects of civil law. Second, the rights of Canada’s indigenous peoples to self-government would be recognized, and governmental institutions would be established to exercise these rights. Third, the Senate would become an elected, rather than an appointed, body; each province would elect six senators and each territory would elect two. The indigenous peoples would also be represented in the Senate. Fourth, federal and provincial powers would be redistributed, with the provinces regaining powers they had lost in the areas of culture, forestry, mining, tourism, and municipal affairs.

Bourassa objected that equality of the provinces in the Senate would dilute Québec’s representation. To get his consent, it was agreed that the Senate’s powers would be limited. Furthermore, the more populous provinces—of which Québec was one—would get additional seats in Parliament’s other chamber, the House of Commons. Additionally, Québec would be guaranteed a minimum of 25 percent of the seats in the House of Commons even if its proportion of the Canadian population declined below this figure.

IV

Referendum

A vote on the agreement was scheduled for October in order to meet Bourassa’s deadline. Most of Canada’s politicians as well as the majority of the media supported the agreement. However, among Canada’s citizens there was little enthusiasm. Many English-speaking Canadians believed the accord yielded too much to Québec’s demands. On the other hand, most Québeckers felt that the accord provided too little. Elsewhere in Canada, especially in the western provinces, the accord was unpopular because of the limitations on the Senate’s powers and the guaranteed minimum of seats in the House of Commons for Québec. For the most part, Canada’s indigenous peoples did not support the accord, despite the endorsements of their leaders.

Canadian voters rejected the accord by a margin of 55 percent to 45 percent. The provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, and Québec and the Yukon Territory voted against the accord. The provinces of Ontario, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, and New Brunswick and the Northwest Territories voted for it. Indigenous peoples generally voted against the accord.

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