History of Canada (1982–92)

History of Canada
Part of a series on the

Year list / Timeline
Pre-colonization 1534–1763 1764–1866 1867–1914 1914–1945 1945–1960 1960–1981 1982–1992 1992–present
Topics
Constitutional history Cultural history Economic history Former colonies Immigration history Military history Monarchical history National Historic Sites Persons of significance Population history Territorial evolution
Research
Bibliography Historiography
Portal

The history of Canada (1982–1992) refers to the period immediately following the early 1980s, and prior to the 1993 resignation of Brian Mulroney the 18th Prime Minister of Canada.

The constitution

Main article: Patriation

In 1982, the Canada Act was passed by the British parliament and granted Royal Assent by Queen Elizabeth II on March 29. The corresponding Constitution Act was passed by the Canadian parliament and granted Royal Assent by the Queen on April 17, thus patriating the Constitution of Canada, and marking one of Trudeau's last major acts before his resignation in 1984. Previously, the constitution has existed only as an act of British parliament, and the documents remained there.

At the same time, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms was added in place of the previous Bill of Rights. Some of the negotiations between provincial and federal leaders, specifically those concerning the so-called Notwithstanding Clause, had failed to include Quebec Premier René Lévesque. Resentment over this "stab in the back" led to attempts to veto the constitution, which were ultimately ruled out.^[1]

Air India Disaster

Main article: Air India Flight 182

On June 23, 1985, Air India Flight 182 exploded while at an altitude of 31,000 feet (9500 m) above the Atlantic Ocean, south of Ireland; all 329 on board were killed, of whom 82 were children and 280 were Canadian citizens.

Up until September 11, 2001, the Air India bombing was the single deadliest terrorist attack involving aircraft. It is also the largest mass murder in Canadian history.

Brian Mulroney and Kim Campbell

Mila (left) and Brian (right) Mulroney greet Rt. Hon. Pierre Trudeau (Foreground).

Brian Mulroney came to power in the 1984 election, and quickly restored friendlier relations with the United States, which had been strained during Trudeau's time as Prime Minister. Prime Minister Mulroney's major focus was the establishment of free trade with the US, a very controversial topic. Eventually, the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement was signed in January 1988.

Mulroney also worked to appease the sovereignty movement in Quebec. In 1987, he attempted to draft the Meech Lake Accord, amending the 1982 constitution so that it would be acceptable to Quebec, which had not yet signed it. However, the Meech Lake Accord failed to be ratified by all provinces.

In 1989, the Progressive Conservative government of Prime Minister Mulroney proposed the creation of a national sales tax on goods and services (GST). The proposal was an instant controversy; a large proportion of the Canadian population was irritated and disapproved of the tax. Despite protests from the other parties, and even members of Mulroney's own caucus, the GST was introduced on January 1, 1991. The political ramifications of the GST were severe. It contributed to the Mulroney government becoming one of the least popular in Canadian history.

École Polytechnique massacre

Main article: École Polytechnique massacre

On December 6, 1989, Marc Lépine entered the École Polytechnique in Montreal. He went into an engineering class, separated the men from the women, forced out the men at gunpoint, began to scream about how he hated feminists, and then opened fire on the women. Lépine continued his rampage in other parts of the building, opening fire on other women he encountered. He killed 14 women (13 students and one employee of the university) and injured thirteen others before committing suicide. The massacre profoundly shocked Canadians. The Quebec government and the Montreal city government declared three days of mourning.

Initial news reports did not note that all 14 victims were women. When Lépine's motive became clear, the event served as a massive spur for the Canadian feminist movement and for action against violence against women. In 1991 Parliament officially designated December 6 as the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.

Oka Crisis

Main article: Oka Crisis

The Oka Crisis was a land dispute between the Mohawk nation and the town of Oka, Quebec which began on July 11, 1990, and lasted until September 26, 1990. It resulted in three deaths, and would be the first of a number of violent conflicts between Indigenous people and the Canadian Government in the late 20th century.

Gulf War

Canada was one of the first nations to agree to condemn Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait, and promptly agreed to join the US-led coalition. When the UN authorized full use of force in the 1991 Gulf War, Canada sent 3 warships, 2 CF18 squadrons and field hospital with support personnel. This was the first time since the Korean War that its forces had participated in combat operations. Canada suffered no casualties during the conflict, but since its end, many veterans have complained of suffering from Gulf War Syndrome.

Good and Services Tax Implementation

On January 1, 1991, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) legislation became effective.^[2] This decision was particularly controversial because Prime Minister Mulroney lacked the sufficient votes in the Senate to pass the legislation enabling the tax, as the Senate had a Liberal majority and who refused to support the legislation.^[3] Mulroney bypassed the Liberal majority by invoking section 26 of the Constitution Act, 1867 and appointing 8 new Senators with support of Queen Elizabeth II, creating a Progressive Conservative Senate majority.^[4] While originally intended to be set at 9%, the rate was lowered to 7%.

References

↑ Charting the Future: Canada's New Constitution, CBC Archives
↑ "1990: Mulroney stacks Senate to pass the GST". CBC Digital Archives. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved December 27, 2014.
↑ "1990: Mulroney stacks Senate to pass the GST". CBC Digital Archives. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved December 27, 2014.
↑ "1990: Mulroney stacks Senate to pass the GST". CBC Digital Archives. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved December 27, 2014.

External links

Parks Canada

List of years in Canada

Pre-Confederation Prehistory–1866	Prehistory to 1 BC 1st millennium 1000s 1400s 1500s 1600s 1610s 1620s 1630s 1640s 1650s 1660s 1670s 1680s 1690s 1700 1701 1702 1703 1704 1705 1706 1707 1708 1709 1710 1711 1712 1713 1714 1715 1716 1717 1718 1719 1720 1721 1722 1723 1724 1725 1726 1727 1728 1729 1730 1731 1732 1733 1734 1735 1736 1737 1738 1739 1740 1741 1742 1743 1744 1745 1746 1747 1748 1749 1750 1751 1752 1753 1754 1755 1756 1757 1758 1759 1760 1761 1762 1763 1764 1765 1766 1767 1768 1769 1770 1771 1772 1773 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778 1779 1780 1781 1782 1783 1784 1785 1786 1787 1788 1789 1790 1791 1792 1793 1794 1795 1796 1797 1798 1799 1800 1801 1802 1803 1804 1805 1806 1807 1808 1809 1810 1811 1812 1813 1814 1815 1816 1817 1818 1819 1820 1821 1822 1823 1824 1825 1826 1827 1828 1829 1830 1831 1832 1833 1834 1835 1836 1837 1838 1839 1840 1841 1842 1843 1844 1845 1846 1847 1848 1849 1850 1851 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866

Post-Confederation 1867–present	1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Quebec	1608 1609 1610 1611 1612 1613 1614 1615 1616 1617 1618 1635

Canadian electoral calendars	2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

Related	List of Canadian monarchs List of Governors General of Canada List of Prime Ministers of Canada Population of Canada by year Timeline

Research	Bibliography Historiography

Category Portal WikiProject

History of Canada

Year list (Timeline)	18000 BCE–1500 CE 1534–1763 1763–1867 1867–1914 1914–1945 1945–1960 1960–1981 1982–1992 1992–present

Topics	Canadians - (Persons of significance) Constitutional Crown & Aboriginals Cultural Economic Etymology Events of significance Former colonies & territories Heritage Minutes Historic Sites Immigration Military Conflicts Operations Peacekeeping Victories Monarchical Population history Sports Territorial evolution Women

Provinces & territories	British Columbia Alberta Saskatchewan Manitoba Ontario Quebec New Brunswick Nova Scotia Prince Edward Island Newfoundland and Labrador Yukon Northwest Territories Nunavut (Name etymologies)

Cities	Brampton Charlottetown Fredericton Halifax RM Hamilton Lethbridge Moncton Montreal Northwest Territories capital cities Ottawa Quebec City Regina Saskatoon Toronto Vancouver Winnipeg (Name etymologies)

Research	Bibliography Historiography

Category Portal WikiProject

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, March 31, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.