Quebec Constitution

On October 12, 2023, the Quebec Liberal Party (QLP) announced its intention to amend its party program to include a commitment to enshrine Anglophone rights in a new Quebec constitution. This new document would be separate from Quebec’s existing constitution, which is already defined in the “Provincial Constitutions” provisions of the British North America Act of 1867. This latter document has outlined some of the prerogatives of the provincial legislatures, which were carried over to the Canada Act of 1982.

The QLP becomes the third party represented in the National Assembly to propose a Quebec constitution, joining the Parti Québécois and Québec solidaire (QS). In 2022, Simon Jolin-Barrette, a Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) cabinet minister, also publicly speculated that his government might pursue such a “projet de société” in a second term.

Naturally, each party will approach a prospective Quebec constitution in line with their preferred political status for Quebec. For example, QS sees it as a necessary infrastructure for an independent Quebec. While the Parti Québécois shares QS’s belief, they have also supported adopting such a document within Canada as an intermediary step before sovereignty—and it is expected that the QLP would see such a document as foundational for a Quebec that is a permanent part of Canada.

The adoption of a Quebec constitution has been one of the GQM’s central policies since its inception in 1995. For further information, please see the op-eds we have published on this topic under the media section of this website.