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Meech Lake Accord, Charlottetown Accord & the 1995 Referendum

Meech Lake Accord, Charlottetown Accord & the 1995 Referendum. Review Question : Why were Quebec people so unhappy with Canada’s 1982 constitution amendments ?. Brian Mulroney. Conservative Prime Minister 1984 – 1993 He won the 1984 election by promising to bring Quebec

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Meech Lake Accord, Charlottetown Accord & the 1995 Referendum

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  1. Meech Lake Accord, Charlottetown Accord & the 1995 Referendum

  2. Review Question:Why were Quebec people so unhappy with Canada’s 1982 constitution amendments ?

  3. Brian Mulroney • Conservative Prime Minister 1984 – 1993 • He won the 1984 election by promising to bring Quebec into the constitution.

  4. Meech Lake Accord (1987) • Quebec would be recognized as a “Distinct Society” • More power to the provinces • Ex. Immigration control & Constitutional veto • Opting Out Clause • New Amending Formula • House/Senate must pass it, plus 2/3 of the provinces with 50% of the population

  5. Read pages 201 & 202 • Why did the Meech Lake Accord fail? • What was it missing?

  6. Why did it fail? • Pierre Trudeau (retired) was very vocal against it. He thought it would isolate Quebec and make them different • Many Canadian’s thought it was giving too much power to Quebec • First Nations were upset it didn’t contain anything for them • Citizens had not been involved in the process • Manitoba and Newfoundland withheld their support and the Meech Lake Accord died in 1990

  7. Elijah Harper • A Cree NDP member of Manitoba’s Legislature opposed Meech Lake and he made sure it didn’t pass

  8. Impact of the Failure of the Meech Lake Accord • Quebec separatism was on the rise • Two new federal political parties were formed: • Bloc Quebecois (Federal separatist party) • Reform Party (western right wing party)

  9. Charlottetown Accord • Brian Mulroney tried a second time to bring Quebec into Canada’s constitution • This time, he promised to include something for everyone, and citizens would be involved in the process by putting the constitutional amendments to a national referendum

  10. Charlottetown Accord: • Distinct Society for Quebec • Self-government for First Nations • More power for the Provinces • Forestry • Mining • Immigration • Opting Out Clause • Senate Reform (Triple E Senate) • House of Commons reform (Quebec gets ¼)

  11. Read pg. 202-203 • Why did it fail? • Was the long term impact?

  12. National Referendum (1992) • 54.5% of Canadians voted NO to the Charlottetown Accord • 68.3% of BC citizens voted NO (the highest) • Didn’t like Quebec getting ¼ of the House of Commons forever, even if BC passed Quebec in population • It had so many clauses, there was something everyone liked and something everyone disliked in it

  13. Impact of the Charlottetown Failure • Changes in politics: • Mulroney quit as Prime Minister in 1993, and he was replaced by Kim Campbell (1st female PM), and the next election, the Liberal Party won a majority government (Jean Chretien) • Parti Quebecois won the provincial election (1994) • Lucien Bouchard and his Bloc Quebecois become the Official Opposition Party in the 1993 Federal election • 1995 Referendum on full sovereignty for Quebec

  14. 1995 Referendum • Quebec PQ Premier Jacques Parizeau against Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien • 49.4% of Quebeckers voted “yes” to full sovereignty • 50.6% voted “no” • Prime Minister Chretien passed the Clarity Billafter the referendum so the Federal Government has more power in the future to approve a clear referendum question • This makes future referendums on sovereignty harder

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