Prince Edward Island and the Amendment Formula
Frank MacKinnon *
Prince Edward Island’s opinions about constitutional amendment
in Canada are determined by the size of the province. The tiny
partner with a population of 108,000 is scarcely in a position to
press any opinion; it is fortunate to have a voice at all. Consequently
discretion has been its official policy; its government has said nothing
and its legislature has not debated the matter.
Appropriately enough, it was in the Island’s legislative building
that the subject was discussed by a federal-provincial conference
attended by the Prime Minister and all Premiers. This conference
was held in Charlottetown on September 1 and 2, 1964 to mark the
hundredth anniversary of the first Conference of the Fathers of
Confederation, and discussions took place around the table at which
the Fathers sat. Later the local legislature passed without discussion
a resolution approving the “Act to Provide for the Amendment in
Canada of the Constitution of Canada.” There was neither debate
on, nor expressed official “reaction” to, subsequent developments.
* Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Prince of Wales College, Charlottetown, P.E.I.
IV. – Constitutional Guarantees
