Elizabeth II gave royal assent to the Canada Act 1982, the British statute that helped patriate Canada’s Constitution.
The act received royal assent in London on March 29, 1982, during Elizabeth II’s reign. It was enacted at the request of Canada’s Senate and House of Commons and ended the British Parliament’s general power to amend Canada’s Constitution. The act’s schedules included the Constitution Act, 1982, including the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Royal assent to the act and the later constitutional proclamation are related but different events. On April 17, 1982, Elizabeth II proclaimed the Constitution Act, 1982 in force on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. That ceremony is often remembered more vividly, which can cause confusion about which constitutional step the question names. The Canada Act took effect on April 17, not immediately on the date of assent. Elizabeth II was Queen of the United Kingdom and separately Queen of Canada, reflecting Canada’s constitutional status as an independent realm.