Constitution Acts of Canada, 1867 to 1982 (as consolidated up to 2024)

This consolidation contains the text of the Constitution Act, 1867 (formerly the British North America Act, 1867), together with amendments made to it since its enactment, and the text of the Canada Act 1982 and the Constitution Act, 1982, as amended since its enactment. The Constitution Act, 1982 contains the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and other provisions, including the rights of Indigenous peoples and the procedures for amending the Constitution of Canada. The Constitution Act, 1982 also contains a schedule of repeals of certain constitutional enactments and provides for the renaming of others. The British North America Act, 1949, for example, is renamed as the Newfoundland Act. The new names of these enactments are used in this consolidation, but their former names may be found in the schedule. The Constitution Act, 1982 was enacted as Schedule B to the Canada Act 1982, 1982, c. 11 (U.K.). It is set out in this consolidation as a separate Act after the Constitution Act, 1867 and the Canada Act 1982. French Version The French version of the Constitution Act, 1867 set out herein is the conventional translation. It does not have the force of law since this Act was enacted by the Parliament of the United Kingdom in English only. Section 55 of the Constitution Act, 1982 provides that a “French version of the portions of the Constitution of Canada referred to in the schedule [to that Act] shall be prepared by the Minister of Justice of Canada as expeditiously as possible”. The French Constitutional Drafting Committee was established in 1984 with a mandate to assist the Minister of Justice in that task. The Committee’s Final Report, which contains forty-two constitutional enactments, was tabled by the Minister in both Houses of Parliament in December 1990. Another office consolidation prepared by the Department of Justice and presented on this site is based on the French version of the Constitution Act, 1867 that was drafted by the Committee.