The Calgary Declaration (french: Déclaration de Calgary), also known as the Calgary Accord (french: Accord de Calgary),
[CBC.ca,]
, URL accessed December 17, 2006. was an agreement made between most premiers of the
provinces and territories of Canada
Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North ...
regarding how to approach future
amendments to the Constitution. It was signed in
Calgary
Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...
,
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
, on September 14, 1997, by all
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
premiers and territorial leaders except
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
's
Lucien Bouchard
Lucien Bouchard (; born December 22, 1938) is a Canadian lawyer, diplomat and retired politician.
Minister for two years in the Mulroney cabinet, Bouchard then led the emerging Bloc Québécois and became Leader of the Opposition in the House ...
. The Declaration had followed controversial and divisive
constitutional debate in Canada
The Constitutional debate of Canada is an ongoing debate covering various political issues regarding the fundamental law of the country. The debate can be traced back to the Royal Proclamation, issued on October 7, 1763, following the signing of th ...
seen during the
patriation
Patriation is the political process that led to full Canadian sovereignty, culminating with the Constitution Act, 1982. The process was necessary because under the Statute of Westminster 1931, with Canada's agreement at the time, the Parliament o ...
of the Constitution in 1982, and the subsequent collapse of the
Meech Lake
Meech Lake (french: Lac Meech) is located within Gatineau Park in the Municipality of Chelsea, Quebec, Canada. It is located about 20 km northwest of Gatineau. The lake was named after Reverend Asa Meech, an early settler in the area.
Near the ...
and
Charlottetown Accord
The Charlottetown Accord (french: Accord de Charlottetown) was a package of proposed amendments to the Constitution of Canada, proposed by the Canadian federal and provincial governments in 1992. It was submitted to a public referendum on October ...
s.
Content
Both the Meech Lake and Charlottetown Accords, had they been enacted, would have controversially bestowed upon Quebec the status of a "
distinct society
Distinct society (in french: la société distincte) is a political term especially used during constitutional debate in Canada, in the second half of the 1980s and in the early 1990s, and present in the two failed constitutional amendments, the M ...
." The Declaration thus parted from this trend by referring to the "unique character of Quebec society" rather than endorsing the recognition of Quebec as a distinct society. The role of the
National Assembly of Quebec
The National Assembly of Quebec (officially in french: link=no, Assemblée nationale du Québec) is the legislative body of the province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; french: link=no, déput ...
in promoting this uniqueness (specified as including the predominant use of the
French language
French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in Nor ...
, its
culture
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...
and its
civil law) was affirmed.
Notwithstanding the uniqueness of Quebec's characteristics and the characteristics of other provinces, the Declaration stated that all provinces must have legal equality. Moreover, powers gained by any province during future constitutional negotiations would also have to be offered to the other provinces. In the process,
Canadian federalism
Canadian federalism () involves the current nature and historical development of the federal system in Canada.
Canada is a federation with eleven components: the national Government of Canada and ten provincial governments. All eleven go ...
was reaffirmed as the form of Canada's government, and it was stated that this system could operate to ensure Canadians would receive social services, as long as the various levels of government "work in partnership while respecting each other's jurisdictions."
The Declaration also affirmed
equality right
Social equality is a state of affairs in which all individuals within a specific society have equal rights, liberties, and status, possibly including civil rights, freedom of expression, autonomy, and equal access to certain public goods and s ...
s (including "
equality of opportunity
Equal opportunity is a state of fairness in which individuals are treated similarly, unhampered by artificial barriers, prejudices, or preferences, except when particular distinctions can be explicitly justified. The intent is that the important ...
") and recognized Canada's
multiculturalism
The term multiculturalism has a range of meanings within the contexts of sociology, political philosophy, and colloquial use. In sociology and in everyday usage, it is a synonym for "Pluralism (political theory), ethnic pluralism", with the tw ...
, indeed asserting that Canada's "diversity" and "tolerance" are "without rival in the world." In recognizing Canada's diversity, the Declaration made explicit reference to the "
Aboriginal peoples and cultures."
Reaction
According to an
opinion poll
An opinion poll, often simply referred to as a survey or a poll (although strictly a poll is an actual election) is a human research survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions ...
conducted by
Angus Reid
Angus Reid (born September 23, 1976, in Richmond, British Columbia) is a former offensive lineman who played in the Canadian Football League. Reid went to Simon Fraser University and played for the Simon Fraser Clan. He began his career with the M ...
in November 1997, 62% of Canadians supported the Declaration's principles (39% "moderately", 23% "strongly"). 30% were opposed and 7% had no opinion. These numbers were similar to Quebec's, which found 23% "strongly" in favour and 36% "moderately" in favour (59% overall), and 30% opposed.
Radio-Canada
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...
also found that in Quebec, 80% of the province's residents would classify the Declaration as "acceptable"; 18% were opposed.
Quebec Liberal Jean Charest
John James "Jean" Charest (; born June 24, 1958) is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who served as the 29th premier of Quebec from 2003 to 2012 and the fifth deputy prime minister of Canada in 1993. Charest was elected to the House of ...
voiced some support for the Calgary Declaration. However, a
Parti Québécois
The Parti Québécois (; ; PQ) is a sovereignist and social democratic provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. The PQ advocates national sovereignty for Quebec involving independence of the province of Quebec from Canada and establishin ...
minister
Guy Chevrette
Guy Chevrette (born January 10, 1940 in Saint-Come, Quebec) served as Parti Québécois leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly of Quebec, Canada, from 1987 to 1989. He was the MNA for the riding of Joliette-Montcalm from 1976 to 1981 ...
said a referendum should take place before Quebec should adopt the Declaration, and
sovereignty
Sovereignty is the defining authority within individual consciousness, social construct, or territory. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within the state, as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the perso ...
should be an option in such a referendum.
In 2006, the eventually successful candidate for the leadership of the
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' ...
Stéphane Dion
Stéphane Maurice Dion (born 28 September 1955) is a Canadian diplomat, academic and former politician who has been the Canadian ambassador to France and Monaco since 2022 and special envoy to the European Union since 2017. Dion was Leader of ...
recalled the Declaration as being unsuccessful. "Few people remember" the Declaration, he writes, and in Quebec the Declaration was quickly dismissed by politicians because it "had no teeth".
Journalist
Paul Wells
Paul Wells is a Canadian journalist and pundit. He was briefly a national affairs columnist for the ''Toronto Star'' in 2016–2017. Before that, he was a columnist for ''Maclean's'' for thirteen years; his column originally appeared in the bac ...
highlighted items he thought were missing from the Declaration, saying, "The Calgary declaration says nothing about
health care
Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...
, good schools, the return of prosperity, the slow rebirth of a thoughtful
Canadian foreign policy
The foreign relations of Canada are Canada's relations with other governments and nations. Canada is recognized as a middle power for its role in international affairs with a tendency to pursue multilateral solutions. Canada's foreign policy b ...
, or the possibility of sharing good ideas and ennobling projects with fellow citizens who don't speak the same language but who share the same values."
[Paul Wells, "Charest wins on platitudes", ''Guardian'', Charlottetown, P.E.I.: May 1, 1998, pg. A.6.]
References
External links
*
{{Constitution of Canada, debates
1997 in Canadian politics
History of Calgary
Constitution of Canada
1997 in Alberta