Page "Meech Lake Accord" Paragraph 1

In 1981, a round of negotiations led by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau to patriate the constitution reached an agreement that formed the basis of the Constitution Act, 1982.

Although this agreement passed into law, amending the British North America Acts, it was reached over the objections of Quebec Premier René Lévesque and the Quebec National Assembly refused to ratify the amendment.

The Supreme Court of Canada had previously ruled in the Quebec Veto Reference that Quebec never had, according to constitutional convention, a constitutional veto and that no province did.

The Supreme Court also ruled that the new constitution applied to all provinces notwithstanding their disagreement.

Ultimately, Quebec was the only province that did not favour patriation as agreed to by the other premiers.