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Constitutional showdown

It was a hard-fought coming of age for Canada. From the 1960s through the early 1980s, Canadian politicians argued fiercely at the constitutional bargaining table over the balance of provincial and federal power. In the end, Canada gained a Charter of Rights and Freedoms and a homemade Constitution. But it would not be without its costs as the question of Quebec's status in Canada loomed larger than ever.

At the televised 1968 federal-provincial conference, the premiers continue to debate the issue of constitutional reform. At stake: patriation of the Constitution, provincial independence and centralized authority. Quebec's Union Nationale premier Daniel Johnson and Justice Minister Pierre Trudeau bicker viciously.

Johnson fights for his province's autonomy; Trudeau defends federalism. Ever the peacemaker, Prime Minister Pearson calls for a coffee break to halt the tense proceedings. In these CBC Television interviews, Johnson and Trudeau volley political insults and accusations back and forth with absolute certainty.
. Between 1763 and 1867, Canada was governed by the following five Constitutions: The 1763 Royal Proclamation, the 1774 Quebec Act, the 1791 Canada Act, the 1840 Union Act and the 1867 British North America Act. For a history of Canada's constitutional evolution from Confederation through 1964, please consult "Canada's Constitutional Debate: What Makes a Nation."

. Political pundits observed that Trudeau assumed a prominent position at the 1968 conference. Critics, including Premier Johnson, suggested that the Justice Minister was grandstanding in an effort to secure a position as the next leader of the Liberal party.

. Historian Peter H. Russell noted in his book Constitutional Odyssey that the 1968 conference was a turning point for Trudeau. Russell noted that the ambitious justice minister's "performance at this conference was instrumental in pushing him to the forefront of the contest to choose a new leader of the Liberal party and a new prime minister of Canada. In Trudeau, English Canada had found a new constitutional hero."

. On Feb. 16, 1968, just ten days after the federal-provincial conference, Trudeau announced his bid for the leadership. He campaigned on the platform of bridging the French and English chasm and building the "just society." On April 6, 1968, he won the Liberal leadership in a fourth-ballot victory and on June 25, 1968, he led the party to a majority government.

. In 1965, Daniel Johnson published Égalité ou Indépendance in which he pleaded his case for constitutional reform or else independence. The first paragraph of the book reads, "L'histoire de la nation canadienne-française est avant tout l'histoire de ses luttes constitutionnelles, l'histoire d'un peuple à la recherche d'une patrie." Translated: "The history of the French Canadian nation is first and foremost the history of its constitutional struggles, the history of a people in search of a country."

. Johnson was elected the premier of Quebec in 1966. He died in office two years later on Sept. 26, 1968. Pierre-Marc Johnson, Daniel Johnson Sr.'s son, was premier of Quebec representing the Parti Québécois for a brief period in 1984. Daniel Johnson Jr. was Liberal premier of Quebec from January to September 1994.

. Over the course of the conference, Pearson and the premiers continued to debate language rights, regional disparities and the question of a charter. They would meet again six times before the highly anticipated Victoria Conference in 1971.
. "Patriate," a Canadian term, is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as "To bring (legislation) under the constitutional authority of the autonomous country to which it applies, used with reference to laws passed on behalf of that country by its former mother country."
Medium: Television
Program: Newsmagazine
Broadcast Date: Feb. 6, 1968
Guest(s): Daniel Johnson, Pierre Elliott Trudeau
Host: Ron Collister
Reporter: Peter Daniel
Duration: 13:16

Last updated: March 9, 2012

Page consulted on March 25, 2013

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