How Did Pierre Trudeau Shaped Canada

Pierre Elliott Trudeau is a significant person in the history of my theme, Canadian politics in relation to the legal system. As the 15th Prime Minister of Canada, he played a huge role in shaping Canada through his political career by upholding a philosophy of Canada united as one through a strong federal government. In the wake of the 1980 referendum win, Trudeau immediately wanted to fulfill the constitutional promise that he made during his campaign. It was he who had the vision of patriating the Constitution, and for the following 18 months this would become his top priority. Being the most reluctant to include an entrenched Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in the Constitution, he immediately formed a commission to get ideas from

These eight provincial premiers, dubbed the “Gang of Eight” opposed the plan in provincial courts of appeal and ran a Public Relations campaign against it in both Great Britain and Canada. However, all these actions did not stop PM Trudeau from giving Canada the independence it deserved, because while these events were happening, he submitted his resolution to the Supreme Court of Canada for a judicial agreement. The court agreed that the federal government had the legal right to patriate and amend the Constitution, even without provincial consent, but that whenever laws were proposed in the future without a “consensus” of the provinces, it would be a breach of constitutional convention. Basically, if PM Trudeau wanted Canada to gain total constitution of the country through patriation, constitutional convention (agreement) and constitutional law would be required. This split decision was seen as a messy win for both sides, and caused PM Trudeau to call "the one last time" conference, which began in Ottawa on November

When the Constitution Act was patriated, the role of courts in Canada changed significantly. The job of making sure that laws affecting individual rights are in accordance with the Charter now falls to them, and ultimately, the Supreme Court of Canada. Governments cannot pass laws that do not agree with the constitution - known as unconstitutional laws - because they can be stopped from ever coming into effect or getting ‘striked down’ by the courts. PM Trudeau had been a voice for a new Constitution since his first election campaign in 1965, in which he said, “I believe a constitution can permit the coexistence of several cultures and ethnic groups within a single state.” The Constitution Act of 1982 was also dedicated to shaping Canada’s independence. PM Trudeau believed a self-respecting sovereign nation should control its “official plan”; and that that no other country should have control over Canada’s constitution, but couldn’t do so because Canada’s constitution was a British law formed in 1867 called the British North America