Québec's Positions on Constitutional and Intergovernmental Issues from 1936 to March 2001

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Part 1: Positions of Québec

• First Government of Maurice Duplessis (August 26, 1936 to October 25, 1939) (PDF, 1 page, 245 KB)
  • Constitutional amending procedure
  • Distribution of powers
  • Intergovernmental policy
• Government of Adélard Godbout (November 8, 1939 to August 8, 1944) (PDF, 2 pages, 258 KB)
  • Distribution of powers
  • Intergovernmental policy
• Second gouvernement de Maurice Duplessis (du 30 août 1944 au 7 septembre 1959) (PDF, 5 pages, 283 ko)
  • Status of Québec
  • Constitutional reform process
  • Constitutional amending procedure
  • Distribution of powers
  • Institutions
  • Intergovernmental policy
• Government of Paul Sauvé (September 11, 1959 to January 2, 1960) (PDF, 1 page, 259 KB)
  • Distribution of powers
  • Intergovernmental policy
• Government of Jean Lesage (July 5, 1960 to June 5, 1966) (PDF, 5 pages, 289 KB)
  • Status of Québec
  • Constitutional reform process
  • Constitutional amending procedure
  • Distribution of powers
  • Language rights
  • Intergovernmental policy
• Government of Daniel Johnson, Sr. (June 16, 1966 to September 26, 1968) (PDF, 6 pages, 281 KB)
  • Status of Québec
  • Constitutional reform process
  • Distribution of powers
  • Individual and language rights
  • Institutions
  • Intergovernmental policy
• Government of Jean-Jacques Bertrand (October 2, 1968 to April 29, 1970) (PDF, 3 pages, 278 KB)
  • Status of Québec
  • Constitutional reform process
  • Status of Québec
  • Individual and language rights
  • Institutions
  • Intergovernmental policy
• First Government of Robert Bourassa (May 12, 1970 to November 15, 1976) (PDF, 8 pages, 306 KB)
  • Status of Québec
  • Constitutional reform process
  • Constitutional amending procedure
  • Distribution of powers
  • Individual and language rights
  • Institutions
  • Intergovernmental policy
• Government of René Lévesque (pre-referendum period, November 25, 1976 to May 20, 1980) (PDF, 7 pages, 323 KB)
  • Status of Québec
  • Constitutional reform process
  • Distribution of powers
  • Individual and language rights
  • Institutions
  • Intergovernmental policy
• Government of René Lévesque (post-referendum period, May 21, 1980 to May 1985) (PDF, 8 pages, 337 KB)
  • Status of Québec
  • Constitutional reform process
  • Constitutional amending procedure
  • Distribution of powers
  • Individual and language rights
  • Institutions
  • Intergovernmental policy
• Governments of René Lévesque and Pierre Marc Johnson (May to December 2, 1985) (PDF, 3 pages, 290 KB)
  • Status of Québec
  • Constitutional reform process
  • Constitutional amending procedure
  • Distribution of powers
  • Individual and language rights
  • Institutions
  • Intergovernmental policy
• Second Government of Robert Bourassa (period preceding the failure of the Meech Lake Accord, December 12, 1985 to June 21, 1990) (PDF, 7 pages, 454 KB)
  • Status of Québec
  • Constitutional reform process
  • Constitutional amending procedure
  • Distribution of powers
  • Individual and language rights
  • Institutions
  • Intergovernmental policy
• Second government of Robert Bourassa (period following the failure of the Meech Lake Accord, June 22, 1990 to January 11, 1994) (PDF, 13 pages, 488 KB)
  • Status of Québec
  • Constitutional reform process
  • Constitutional amending procedure
  • Distribution of powers
  • Individual and language rights
  • Institutions
  • Intergovernmental policy
• Government of Daniel Johnson, Jr. (January 11, 1994 to September 26, 1994) (PDF, 3 pages, 266 KB)
  • Distribution of powers
  • Intergovernmental policy
• Government of Jacques Parizeau (September 26, 1994 to January 29, 1996) (PDF, 8 pages, 306 KB)
  • Status of Québec
  • Constitutional reform process
  • Distribution of powers
  • Language rights
  • Intergovernmental policy
• Government of Lucien Bouchard (January 29, 1996 to March 8, 2001) (PDF, 22 pages, 394 ko)
  • Status of Québec
  • Constitutional reform process
  • Constitutional amending procedure
  • Distribution of powers
  • Language rights
  • Institutions
  • Intergovernmental policy

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Part 2: Speeches

• Adélard Godbout: Declaration during the debate on the Act respecting an Agreement between the Governments of the Dominion and of the Province of Québec for the suspension of certain taxes during the war, Québec Legislative Assembly, April 1942 (PDF, 1 page, 77 KB)
• Maurice Duplessis: Declaration made upon the first reading of Bill 43 on the implementation of a provincial income tax, Québec Legislative Assembly, January 14, 1954 (extract) (PDF, 3 pages, 85 KB)
• Maurice Duplessis: Declaration made upon the first reading of Bill 43 on the implementation of a provincial income tax, Québec Legislative Assembly, January 14, 1954 (extract) (PDF, 1 page, 79 KB)
• Jean Lesage: Statement on shared-cost programs, Federal-Provincial Conference, Québec, March 31, 1964 (extract) (PDF, 2 pages, 79 KB)
• Jean Lesage: Selected extracts from the book Un Québec fort dans une nouvelle Confédération, June 1965 (PDF, 2 pages, 98 KB)
• Paul Gérin-Lajoie: Opening statement given at the first meeting of the Constitutional Conference held in Ottawa, February 5, 1968 (PDF, 5 pages, 94 KB)
• Daniel Johnson père: Opening statement given at the first meeting of the Constitutional Conference held in Ottawa, February 5, 1968 (PDF, 6 pages, 100 KB)
• Jean-Jacques Bertrand: Opening statement given at the second meeting of the Constitutional Conference held in Ottawa, February 10, 1969 (extract) (PDF, 5 pages, 90 KB)
• Robert Bourassa: Statement on the Victoria Constitutional Charter, Québec National Assembly, June 23, 1971 (PDF, 1 page, 78 KB)
• René Lévesque: Statement on the referendum question, Québec National Assembly, December 20, 1979 (PDF, 3 pages, 90 KB)
• René Lévesque: Statement made at the Meeting of the First Ministers in Ottawa from June 8 to 13, 1980, June 9, 1980 (PDF, 4 pages, 88 KB)
• René Lévesque: Declaration at the Federal-Provincial Conference of the First Ministers on the Constitution, held in Ottawa, November 5, 1981 (PDF, 4 pages, 94 KB)
• Gil Rémillard: Speech given at the Symposium on “Rebuilding the Relationship: Québec and its Confederation Partners,” Mont-Gabriel, May 9, 1986 (PDF, 6 pages, 115 KB)
• Robert Bourassa: Speech upon the tabling of the motion proposing that the Québec National Assembly authorize the amendment of the Canadian Constitution in compliance with the Meech Lake Accord, June 18, 1987 (PDF, 4 pages, 95 KB)
• Claude Ryan: Reconciliation: A Québec View. Speech given at a seminar on language rights and policies, Kingston, December 8, 1989 (extract) (PDF, 5 pages, 110 ko)
• Robert Bourassa: Speech delivered at the Québec National Assembly upon the rejection of the Meech Lake Accord, June 22, 1990 (PDF, 1 page, 81 ko)
• Robert Bourassa: Message to the people of Québec following the failure of the Meech Lake Accord, June 23, 1990 (PDF, 3 pages, 90 KB)
• Gil Rémillard: Speech at the Canadian Bar Association Meeting, Whistler, February 24, 1992 (PDF, 6 pages, 103 KB)
• Jacques Parizeau: Message to the Nation upon the issuing of the referendum briefs, Québec, October 1, 1995 (PDF, 2 pages, 89 KB) (PDF, 4 pages, 78 KB)
• Lucien Bouchard: Statement following the Meeting of the First Ministers in Calgary, Québec, September 16, 1997 (PDF, 4 pages, 94 KB)
• Jacques Brassard: Ministerial statement on the territorial integrity of Québec, Québec National Assembly, November 12, 1997 (PDF, 2 pages, 85 KB)
• Lucien Bouchard: Preliminary statement the day following the Opinion of the Supreme Court of Canada on the federal government’s Reference concerning Québec’s accession to sovereignty, Québec, August 21, 1998 (PDF, 4 pages, 93 KB)
• Joseph Facal: Who fears Quebecers’ Democratic Determination? Brief presented before the Legislative Committee of the House of Commons entrusted with reviewing Bill C-20 (An Act to give effect to the requirement for clarity as set out in the Opinion of the Supreme Court of Canada in the Quebec Secession Reference), Ottawa, February 24, 2000 (PDF, 3 pages, 88 KB)

Joseph Facal: Globalization, the Federative Deficit and the Case of Québec. Speech delivered on the Occasion of the XVIIIth World Congress of the International Political Science Association, Musée du Québec, August 3, 2000 (PDF, 5 pages, 114 KB)

• Lucien Bouchard: Speech presented before the Québec National Assembly upon the passage of Bill 99, An Act respecting the exercise of the fundamental rights and prerogatives of the Québec people and the Québec State, December 7, 2000 (PDF, 5 pages, 100 ko)

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Part 3: Documents

• Document 1: Correspondence between W. L. Mackenzie King, Prime Minister of Canada, and Adélard Godbout, Prime Minister of Québec, regarding the Constitutional amendment on unemployment insurance, 1940 (PDF, 5 pages, 308 KB)
• Document 2: The 1942 Tax Rental Agreement between the governments of Québec and Canada (PDF, 18 pages, 1,2 MB)
• Document 3: Preliminary brief on the Constitution presented by the Québec government at the Federal-Provincial Conference held in Ottawa from January 10 to 12, 1950 (as reproduced in the proceedings of the Conference) (PDF, 4 pages, 168 KB)
• Document 4: Documents on the Constitutional amendment, 1951 (pensions for the aged and the blind): An Act to improve pensions for the aged and the blind (Assented to March 7, 1951), a letter from Maurice Duplessis, Prime Minister of Québec, April 18, 1951 and a telegram from the federal Minister of Justice, Stuart S. Garson, May 4, 1951 (correspondence taken from the Debates of the House of Commons) (PDF, 4 pages, 216 KB)
• Document 5: An Act to institute a royal commission of inquiry on constitutional problems (Assented to February 12, 1953) (PDF, 4 pages, 282 KB)
• Document 6: Resolution of the Québec Legislative Assembly authorizing the 1960 Constitutional amendment (compulsory retirement of superior court judges upon reaching the age of seventy-five), January 21, 1960 (PDF, 2 pages, 92 KB)
• Document 7: Resolution of the Québec Legislative Assembly authorizing the 1964 Constitutional amendment (old-age pensions and supplementary benefits) June 15, 1964 (PDF, 2 pages, 78 KB)
• Document 8: Correspondence from January to February 1966 between the Prime Minister of Québec, Jean Lesage, and the Prime Minister of Canada, Lester B. Pearson, regarding the Fulton-Favreau Formula (PDF, 11 pages, 413 KB)
• Document 9: Statement by the Prime Minister of Québec, M. Robert Bourassa, as regards the Victoria Constitutional Charter, Québec, June 23, 1971 (communiqué) (PDF, 3 pages, 111 ko)
• Document 10: Resolution of the Québec National Assembly on the right of Quebecers to decide on their constitutional future, May 4, 1978 (PDF, 2 pages, 75 KB)
• Document 11: Québec-Canada: A New Deal. The Québec Government Proposal for a New Partnership Between Equals: Sovereignty-Association, 1979 (extract) (PDF, 22 pages, 1 MB)
• Document 12: The 1980 referendum question and an extract of the Official Report of the Directeur général des élections (results) (PDF, 3 pages, 105 KB)
• Document 13: Resolution of the Québec National Assembly regarding the unilateral patriation of the Canadian Constitution, November 21, 1980 (PDF, 2 pages, 140 KB)
• Document 14: Constitutional Accord, Canadian Patriation Plan, April 16, 1981 (accord signed by the provinces, except Ontario and New Brunswick) (PDF, 12 pages, 336 KB)
• Document 15: Resolution of the Québec National Assembly regarding the unilateral patriation of the Canadian Constitution, October 2, 1981 (PDF, 2 pages, 104 KB)
• Document 16: Constitutional Accord of November 5, 1981, concluded without the participation of Québec (PDF, 5 pages, 225 KB)
• Document 17: Order-in-Council No. 3214-81 regarding Québec’s opposition to the project for patriating and amending the Canadian Constitution, November 25, 1981 (PDF, 2 pages, 95 KB)
• Document 18: Resolution of the Québec National Assembly on the conditions without which Québec cannot accept the patriation of the Canadian Constitution, December 1, 1981 (PDF, 3 pages, 153 KB)
• Document 19: Resolution of the Québec National Assembly dated March 20, 1985 on the recognition of existing aboriginal rights and the resolution dated May 30, 1989 recognizing the existence of the Maliseet Nation (PDF, 3 pages, 115 KB)

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• Document 20: Draft Agreement on the Constitution, Proposals by the government of Québec, May 1985, and the correspondence between Messrs. René Lévesque, Prime Minister of Québec, and Brian Mulroney, Prime Minister of Canada, regarding these proposals (PDF, 33 pages, 999 KB)
• Document 21: Agreement between the government of Québec and the government of Canada pertaining to the Francophone Summit on November 7, 1985 (PDF, 5 pages, 158 ko)
• Document 22: The 1987 Constitutional Accord, June 3, 1987 (“The Meech Lake Accord”) (PDF, 13 pages, 434 KB)
• Document 23: Resolution of the Québec National Assembly to authorize an amendment to the Canadian Constitution in accordance with the Meech Lake Accord, June 23, 1987 (PDF, 7 pages, 286 KB)
• Document 24: An Act to establish the Commission on the Political and Constitutional Future of Québec (Assented to September 4, 1990) (PDF, 9 pages, 401 KB)
• Document 25: An Act respecting the process for determining the political and constitutional future of Québec (As assented to on June 20, 1991) (PDF, 9 pages, 409 KB)
• Document 26: Resolution of the Québec National Assembly asking the federal government to abide by the process established in Bill 150, November 27, 1991 (PDF, 2 pages, 79 ko)
• Document 27: Consensus Report on the Constitution: Final Text, Charlottetown, August 28, 1992, (Charlottetown Accord) (PDF, 26 pages, 931 KB)
• Document 28: An Act to amend the Act respecting the process for determining the political and constitutional future of Québec (Assented to September 8, 1992) (PDF, 2 pages, 86 KB)
• Document 29: Resolution of the Québec National Assembly on the 1992 referendum question and an extract of the Official Report of the Directeur général des élections (results) (PDF, 3 pages, 96 KB)
• Document 30: Bill 1, entitled An Act respecting the future of Québec, 1995 (PDF, 22 pages, 926 KB)
• Document 31: Resolution of the Québec National Assembly on the 1995 referendum question and an extract of the Official Report of the Directeur général des élections (results) (PDF, 3 pages, 104 KB)
• Document 32: Resolution of the Québec National Assembly on the right of Quebecers to define their political status, May 1996 (PDF, 2 pages, 83 KB)
• Document 33: Resolution of the Québec National Assembly authorizing the amendment of section 93 of the Constitution Act, 1867, April 15, 1997 (PDF, 2 pages, 118 KB)
• Document 34: Decision by the Conseil des ministres no. 97-092 on the fifteenth anniversary of the coming into force of the Constitution Act, 1982, April 16, 1997 (PDF, 3 pages, 121 KB)
• Document 35: Resolution of the Québec National Assembly dated May 21, 1997 on the October 30, 1995 referendum and the Referendum Act(PDF, 2 pages, 78 KB)
• Document 36: The Calgary Declaration (declaration of the provinces and territories except Québec), September 14, 1997 (PDF, 3 pages, 135 KB)
• Document 37: Guidelines from the government of Québec regarding Canadian intergovernmental relations, December 4, 1997(PDF, 2 pages, 113 KB)
• Document 38: The Social Union Framework Agreement, February 4, 1999, that Québec did not sign (PDF, 11 pages, 373 KB
• Document 39: Declaration of the Gouvernement du Québec respecting Québec’s participation in international forums dealing with education, language, culture and identity, March 24, 1999 (PDF, 4 pages, 144 KB)
• Document 40: An Act respecting the exercise of the fundamental rights and prerogatives of the Québec people and the Québec State (Assented to December 13, 2000) (PDF, 7 pages, 250 KB)

Part 4: Timetable

Document on Québec's positions on constitutional and intergovernemntal issues(PDF, 4 pages, 36 KB)

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