Canada Act 1982 in the context of "Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms"

Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the second-largest country by total area, with the longest coastline of any country. Its border with the United States is the longest international land border. The country is characterized by a wide range of both meteorologic and geological regions. With a population of over 41 million, it has widely varying population densities, with the majority residing in its urban areas and large areas being sparsely populated. Canada's capital is Ottawa and its three largest metropolitan areas are Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver.

Indigenous peoples have continuously inhabited what is now Canada for thousands of years. Beginning in the 16th century, British and French expeditions explored and later settled along the Atlantic coast. As a consequence of various armed conflicts, France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763. In 1867, with the union of three British North American colonies through Confederation, Canada was formed as a federal dominion of four provinces. This began an accretion of provinces and territories resulting in the displacement of Indigenous populations, and a process of increasing autonomy from the United Kingdom. This increased sovereignty was highlighted by the Statute of Westminster, 1931, and culminated in the Canada Act 1982, which severed the vestiges of legal dependence on the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

The history of post-confederation Canada began on July 1, 1867, when the British North American colonies of Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia were united to form a single Dominion within the British Empire. Upon Confederation, the Province of Canada was immediately split into the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. In 1870, Canada acquired the vast expanse of the continent controlled by the Hudson's Bay Company, which was eventually divided into new territories and provinces. British Columbia joined in 1871, and Prince Edward Island in 1873. Canada evolved into a fully sovereign state by 1982.

Before being part of British North America, the constituents of Canada consisted of the former colonies of Canada and Acadia from within New France which had been ceded to Great Britain in 1763 as part of the Treaty of Paris. French Canadian nationality was maintained as one of the "two founding nations" and legally through the Quebec Act which ensured the maintenance of the Canadian French language, Catholic religion, and French civil law within Canada, a fact which remains true today.

The Constitution Act, 1982 (French: Loi constitutionnelle de 1982) is a part of the Constitution of Canada. The Act was introduced as part of Canada's process of patriating the constitution, introducing several amendments to the British North America Act, 1867, including re-naming it the Constitution Act, 1867. In addition to patriating the Constitution, the Constitution Act, 1982 enacted the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms; guaranteed rights of the Aboriginal peoples of Canada; entrenched provincial jurisdiction over natural resources; provided for future constitutional conferences; and set out the procedures for amending the Constitution in the future.

This process was necessary because, after the Statute of Westminster, 1931, Canada allowed the British Parliament to retain the power to amend Canada's constitution, until Canadian governments could agree on an all-in-Canada amending formula. In 1981, following substantial agreement on a new amending formula, the Parliament of Canada requested that the Parliament of the United Kingdom give up its power to amend the Constitution of Canada. The enactment of the Canada Act 1982 by the British Parliament in March 1982 confirmed the Patriation of the Constitution and transferred to Canada the power of amending its own Constitution.