The Meech Lake Accord

The Meech Lake Accord is the term for a series of proposed amendments to the Constitution of Canada negotiated in 1987 by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and the 10 provincial premiers.

It was intended to persuade the government of Quebec to symbolically endorse the 1982 constitutional amendments by providing for some decentralization of the Canadian federation.

A dramatic final meeting among first ministers a month before the Accord's constitutionally mandated deadline seemed to show renewed agreement on a second series of amendments that would address the concerns raised in the intervening debates.

Despite this, the original accord would not gain acceptance in the Manitoba or Newfoundland legislatures in time for ratification.

Failure to pass the Accord greatly increased tensions between Quebec and the remainder of the country.

The Quebec sovereignty movement gained renewed support for a time.

The general aims of the Accord would be addressed in the Charlottetown Accord, which failed to gain passage in a referendum.