What legal changes did the Canada Act 1982 introduce to end British legislative authority over Canada?
Executive summary
The Canada Act 1982 removed the residual authority of the UK Parliament to amend Canada’s constitutional statutes and patriated the Constitution by enacting the Constitution Act, 1982 as part of Canadian law [1][2]. It did so by terminating any future British legislative power over Canada, establishing domestic amending formulas, and incorporating the Charter of Rights and Freedoms into the supreme law of the land [3][4][5].
1. Termination of Westminster’s power: an explicit legal cut-off
Section 2 of the Canada Act 1982 (and related provisions) expressly states that no Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed after the Constitution Act, 1982 comes into force shall extend to Canada, thereby ending the UK Parliament’s power to legislate for Canada in future [2][3]. The Act was passed by Westminster at the request of Canada’s Senate and House of Commons—an explicit transfer of the final legal authority to Canada’s own institutions [1][3].
2. Patriation through incorporation: Schedule B and domestic supremacy
The Canada Act enacts the Constitution Act, 1982 as Schedule B, making that instrument part of Canada’s constitutional law and bringing under Canadian control those constitutional provisions that had been Imperial statutes [3][6]. By incorporating the Constitution Act, 1982 into domestic law, the Act removed the anomaly whereby core constitutional texts such as the British North America Act (now Constitution Act, 1867) could be amended only in London [1][7].
3. New amending formulas: who now changes the constitution
A central legal innovation was a formal amending formula that assigns the power to alter most constitutional provisions to Canadian bodies—typically the Senate, House of Commons and legislatures of at least seven provinces representing 50% of the population (the “7/50” rule)—and reserves unanimous consent for certain fundamental provisions, thereby replacing the need for British approval [7][8]. The Constitution Act, 1982 also preserves limited unilateral provincial amendment routes and specific procedures for exceptionally sensitive provisions, embedding the rules for constitutional change within Canada rather than in Westminster [6][8].
4. Charter of Rights and Freedoms: substantive constitutionalization tied to patriation
The Canada Act brought into Canada’s supreme law the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms as part of the Constitution Act, 1982, creating enforceable rights against governments and altering the legal landscape so that Canadian courts could invalidate laws inconsistent with constitutional guarantees [9][5]. That substantive shift accompanied the procedural transfer of amending power; patriation thus combined institutional independence with a newly entrenched rights framework [7][5].
5. Formalities, bilingual versions and proclamation: the mechanics of legal effect
The Canada Act includes a French text with equal authority and sets out Schedule A (French text) and Schedule B (the Constitution Act, 1982) so that the new constitutional order is available in both official languages and has the force of law in Canada once proclaimed [2][3]. The proclamation by Queen Elizabeth II on April 17, 1982 formally brought the Constitution Act, 1982 into force in Canada after Westminster approval on March 25, 1982, completing the legal transition [4][10].
6. Practical effect and contested politics: sovereignty sealed, but debates remain
Legally, the result was the end of British legislative authority and the creation of an internal Canadian amending regime; practically, Canadian courts and legislatures now operate under a single domestic constitution including the Charter [1][5]. Politically, the patriation process and the content of the new constitution—especially the Charter and some amending provisions—provoked controversy (notably Quebec’s objections and the broader federal–provincial negotiations), underscoring that the Act was both a legal instrument and the product of political bargaining [11][8]. Sources such as Britannica, The Canadian Encyclopedia, and consolidated federal legislation emphasize the Act’s formal effect while also documenting the negotiation-driven context of patriation [4][7][12].