Meech Lake Accord (1987)

Following the federal elections of 1984, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney had promised that he would attempt to get Quebec to sign the 1982 constitution. Robert Bourassa wanted special status for Quebec and additional powers. In 1987, at the Meech Lake conference, Prime Minister Mulroney and the ten provincial premiers agreed on Quebec's conditions and signed the Meech Lake Accord (1987) . Quebec had 5 demands that needed to be fulfilled before they could sign the 1982 constitution "with dignity and honour":

• A constitutional veto (meaning any one province could block any constitutional amendment)
• The recognition that Québec is a 'distinct society'
• The right to have Supreme Court Justices appointed from names on lists created by the province
• The limitation of the federal spending power, namely, the allowance for a province to withdraw from a national program to create its own, with federal monies
• Greater provincial control of immigration, by automatically constitutionalizing inter-governmental agreements relating to that.

Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and Robert Bourassa speek at the signing.{64kb}

The Accord expired after 3 years, on June 23, 1990. On that date, the House of Commons and eight of the ten provincial legislatures had ratified the accord. However, aboriginal MLA, Elijah Harper, of the Manitoba legislature blocked a ratification vote in that province. Newfoundland premier, Clyde Wells, having reversed the previous government's ratification saw this as an apparent defeat for the accord, and refused to hold a ratification vote in his legislature.

As the Accord failed to get unanimous consent it was discarded.