First Ministers' conference
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In Canada, a First Ministers' conference is a meeting of the provincial and territorial premiers and the Prime Minister. These events are held at the call of the prime minister and, since 1950, have typically been held annually. They are usually held in Ottawa.
Though known as "First Ministers' conferences" only since the 1960's, they ultimately trace their origin to the initial constitutional convention held in the mid-1860's at Charlottetown, PEI, then capital of the British Province of Prince Edward Island. After confederation, two conferences of provincial premiers were held, in 1887 and 1902, in which the federal government was not represented.
Altogether, 76 First Ministers' conferences have been held since the first was convened by Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier in 1906, at the request of the provinces. Some important First Ministers' conferences were those leading up to the Meech Lake and Charlottetown Accords. The failed Chalottetown Accord contained a provision that would have made annual First Ministers' conferences obligatory.
The conferences are important for a number of reasons. A sizable portion of provincial funding (referred to as transfer payments) comes from the federal government, the conferences are an opportunity for the premiers to lobby for more money. Today it is common for the Premiers to meet beforehand to present a common front to the federal government. They are also important in that Canada's federal system leaves a fair amount of overlap between federal and provincial jurisdictions and most large initiatives require some provincial support.
The vast majority of the activity at a First Ministers' conference takes place behind closed doors. A public statement is issued after the conference.
Formerly, the government leaders of the territories were only occasionally invited to these conferences, depending on whether issues relevant to the north are being discussed. Today, these leaders normally attend the meetings.
[edit] List of First Ministers' conferences to date
Here is a list of First Ministers' conferences, their dates and topics of discussion. The name of the prime minister at the time is included. Detailed information on individual may be found at http://www.scics.gc.ca/pubs/fmp_e.pdf.
Prime Minister: Sir Wilfrid Laurier
1. Conference of the Representatives of the Government of Canada and the Various Provinces
Ottawa, October 8-13, 1906
– Financial subsidies to the provinces
Prime Minister: Sir Robert Borden, but Sir William White chaired the conference as Acting Prime Minister
2. Conference between the Members of the Government of Canada and of the Various Provincial Governments Acting
Ottawa, November 19-22, 1918
– Soldier and land settlement, transfer of natural resources
Prime Minister: W.L. Mackenzie King
3. Dominion-Provincial Conference
Ottawa, November 3-10, 1927
– Various subjects listed under “Constitutional”, “Financial” and “Social and Economic” titles
Prime Minister: R.B. Bennett
4. Dominion-Provincial Conference
Ottawa, April 7-8, 1931
– Statute of Westminster
5. Dominion-Provincial Conference
Ottawa, April 8-9, 1932
– Unemployment relief
6. Dominion-Provincial Conference
Ottawa, January 17-19, 1933
– Various subjects including unemployment, old age pensions, company law and overlapping federal and provincial jurisdictions
7. Dominion-Provincial Conference
Ottawa, January 18-19, 1934
– Various subjects including employment, financial position of provinces, company law, taxes on liquor, Pacific Great Eastern Railway Company, B.C. claim for equality of treatment
Prime Minister: W.L. Mackenzie King
8. Dominion-Provincial Conference
Ottawa, December 9-13, 1935
– Various subjects including constitutional amendment, federal-provincial financial relations, taxation, social services
9. Dominion-Provincial Conference
Ottawa, January 14-15, 1941
– Recommendations of Rowell-Sirois Commission (federal-provincial fiscal relations)
10. Dominion-Provincial Conference on Reconstruction
Ottawa, August 6-10, 1945
– Postwar reconstruction and federal-provincial financial arrangements
11. Dominion-Provincial Conference on Reconstruction
Ottawa, April 29 – May 3, 1946
– Financial arrangements, public investment, health, old age pensions, unemployment
Prime Minister: Louis St. Laurent
12. Constitutional Conference of Federal and Provincial Governments
Ottawa, January 10-12, 1950
– Constitutional amendment
13. Constitutional Conference of Federal and Provincial Governments
Quebec City, September 25-28, 1950
– Constitutional amendment
14. Conference of Federal and Provincial Governments
Ottawa, December 4-7, 1950
– Tax agreements, old age security, provincial indirect sales tax
15. Federal-Provincial Conference 1955, Preliminary Meeting
Ottawa, April 26-27, 1955
– Federal relief for unemployed persons, and preparation of next Conference
16. Federal-Provincial Conference
Ottawa, October 3-6, 1955
– Fiscal relations, natural resources development, establishment of a federal-provincial Continuing Committee, health and welfare
17. Dominion-Provincial Conference
Ottawa, March 9, 1956
– Federal-provincial fiscal arrangements
Prime Minister: John George Diefenbaker
18. Dominion-Provincial Conference
Ottawa, November 25-26, 1957
– Hospital insurance, costs of assistance to persons in need, assistance to Atlantic provinces, fiscal matters
19. Dominion-Provincial Conference
Ottawa, July 25-27, 1960
– Various tax matters including personal and corporate income taxes, equalization, indirect provincial sales tax, taxation of natural resources. Conditional grants and shared cost programs
20. Dominion-Provincial Conference
Ottawa, October 26-28, 1960
– Federal-provincial fiscal arrangements
21. Federal-Provincial Conference
Ottawa, February 23-24, 1961
– Federal-provincial fiscal arrangements
Prime Minister: Lester B. Pearson
22. Federal Provincial Conference
Ottawa, July 26-27, 1963
– Municipal loan and development fund, Canada Pension Plan
23. Federal-Provincial Conference
Ottawa, November 26-29, 1963
– Various subjects including state of the Canadian Economy, conditional grants and shared cost programs, fiscal relations, Canadian Pension Plan
24. Federal-Provincial Conference
Québec City, March 31 – April 1, 1964
– Shared cost programs and fiscal arrangements, Canada Pension Plan, taxation, fiscal relations, loans to university students
25. Federal-Provincial Conference
Charlottetown, August 31 – September 2, 1964
– Constitutional amendment
26. Federal-Provincial Conference
Ottawa, October 14-15, 1964
– Constitutional amendment, Tax Structure Committee, off-shore mineral rights
27. Federal-Provincial Conference
Ottawa, July 19-22, 1965
– Various subjects including Social Security, Economic Development, Tax Structure Committee, Transportation and Inland Water Resources
28. Federal-Provincial Conference
Ottawa, October 24-28, 1966
– Financing of higher education, federal-provincial fiscal arrangements
29. Federal-Provincial Conference on Housing and Urban Development
Ottawa, December 11-12, 1967
– Housing and urban development
30. Constitutional Conference
Ottawa, February 5-7, 1968
– Constitutional review, Recommendations of Royal Commission on Bilingualism & Biculturalism
Prime Minister: Pierre Elliott Trudeau
31. Constitutional Conference
Ottawa, February 10-12, 1969
– Constitutional review
32. Constitutional Conference
Ottawa, June 11-12, 1969
– Constitutional review
33. Constitutional Conference
Ottawa, December 8-10, 1969
– Constitutional review
34. Federal-Provincial Conference
Ottawa, February 16-17, 1970
– Economy, Western agriculture, pollution, Tax Structure Committee
35. Constitutional Conference
Ottawa, September 14-15, 1970
– Constitutional review
36. Federal-Provincial Conference
Ottawa, September 16, 1970
– Various subjects including Tax reform, agricultural, economic stabilization fund
37. Constitutional Conference
Ottawa, February 8-9, 1971
– Constitutional review, unemployment and northern resources
38. Constitutional Conference
Victoria, June 14-16, 1971
– Constitutional review (“Victoria Charter”)
39. Federal-Provincial Conference
Ottawa, November 15-17, 1971
– Economy, employment, fiscal arrangements, tri-level consultations
40. Federal-Provincial Conference
Ottawa, May 23-25, 1973
– Various subjects including social security system, health programs, post-secondary education, regional economic development, economic situation, foreign land ownership
41. Federal-Provincial Conference of First Ministers on Energy
Ottawa, January 22-23, 1974
– Various subjects including oil and gas policy, national energy policy and federal-provincial mechanisms for continuing consultation on energy
42. Federal-Provincial Conference of First Ministers on Energy
Ottawa, April 9-10, 1975
– The state of the economy and oil and gas prices and other related items
43. Federal-Provincial Conference of First Ministers
Ottawa, June 14-15, 1976
– Federal-provincial fiscal arrangements including shared-cost programs, revenue guarantee and equalization
44. Federal-Provincial Conference of First Ministers
Ottawa, December 13-14, 1976
– Fiscal arrangements and state of the economy
45. Federal-Provincial Conference of First Ministers on the Economy
Ottawa, February 13-15, 1978
– Various subjects including economic outlook and objectives, general economic policies, regional aspects of economic development, and sectoral policies
46. Federal-Provincial Conference of First Ministers on the Constitution
Ottawa, October 30, 31 and November 1, 1978
– Charter of rights, distribution of powers, institutions, process of constitutional review (creation of the Continuing Committee of Ministers on the Constitution or “CCMC”) and duplication of services
47. Federal-Provincial Conference of First Ministers on the Economy
Ottawa, November 27-29, 1978
– Various subjects including economic overview, labour market and employment issues, and economic coordination
48. Federal-Provincial Conference of First Ministers on the Constitution
Ottawa, February 5-6, 1979
– Various subjects including consideration of questions raised at the Constitutional Conference (October 30 – November 1, 1978) and future constitutional work program
Prime Minister: Joe Clark
49. Federal-Provincial Conference of First Ministers on Energy
Ottawa, November 12, 1979
– Oil supply, pricing and use, energy pricing and development, conservation and self-sufficiency
Prime Minister: Pierre Elliott Trudeau
50. Federal-Provincial Conference of First Ministers on the Constitution
Ottawa, September 8-13, 1980
– Various subjects including trade, communications, Upper House, Supreme Court, family law, fisheries, offshore resources, equalization, charter of rights, patriation and amending formula and powers over the economy
51. Federal-Provincial Conference of First Ministers on the Constitution
Ottawa, November 2-5, 1981
– Consensus on patriation, constitutional amendment formula and charter of rights
52. Federal-Provincial Conference of First Ministers on the Economy
Ottawa, February 2-5, 1982
– Economic management and development
53. Federal-Provincial Conference of First Ministers on Aboriginal Constitutional Matters
Ottawa, March 15-16, 1983
– Various subjects including charter of rights, amending formula revisions and self-government
54. Federal-Provincial Conference of First Ministers on Aboriginal Constitutional Matters
Ottawa, March 8-9, 1984
– Equality rights, treaties and treaty rights, land and resources and self-government
Prime Minister: Brian Mulroney
55. First Ministers’ Conference on the Economy
Regina, February 14-15, 1985
– Investment, training and retraining, international trade and regional economic development (“Regina Accord” establishing “Annual Conference of First Ministers”)
56. First Ministers’ Conference on Aboriginal Constitutional Matters
Ottawa, April 2-3, 1985
– Aboriginal constitutional matters including self-government and sexual equality rights
57. Annual Conference of First Ministers
Halifax, November 28-29, 1985
– Federal-provincial relations, economic and fiscal situation, trade, agriculture, fisheries and economic and social development
58. Annual Conference of First Ministers
Vancouver, November 20-21, 1986
– State of the Federation and the economy, economic development and economic equality for women
59. First Ministers’ Conference on Aboriginal Constitutional Matters
Ottawa, March 26-27, 1987
– Constitutional amendment on aboriginal self-government and treaties and treaty issues
60. First Ministers’ Conference on the Constitution
Ottawa, June 3, 1987
– Signing of the 1987 Constitutional Accord
61. Annual Conference of First Ministers
Toronto, November 26-27, 1987
– Economic development
62. Annual Conference of First Ministers
Ottawa, November 9-10, 1989
– Federal-Provincial priorities, environment/sustainable development and Meech Lake Accord
63. First Ministers’ Conference on the Constitution
Ottawa, June 3-10, 1990
– 1987 Constitutional Accord (Meech Lake)
64. First Ministers’ Meeting on the Economy
Ottawa, December 19, 1991
– Coordinated approach to economic recovery
65. First Ministers’ Meeting on the Economy
Ottawa, February 10, 1992
– Pre-budget discussion of common economic recovery
66. First Ministers’ Meeting on the Economy
Toronto, March 24-25, 1992
– Various subjects including social programs, training, infrastructure, interprovincial trade barriers, international trade, agriculture, fisheries, tax coordination
67. First Ministers’ Meeting on the Constitution
Ottawa, August 18, 1992
68. First Ministers’ Meeting on the Constitution
Charlottetown, August 27-28, 1992
– Final Consensus Report on the Constitution, Final Political Accords and Draft Legal Text based on the Charlottetown Accord
Prime Minister: Jean Chrétien
69. First Ministers’ Meeting – Economy
Ottawa, December 21, 1993
– Economic renewal and fiscal responsibility, job creation and competitive economy and program coordination
70. First Ministers’ Meeting – Trade
Ottawa, July 18, 1994
– Internal trade
71. First Ministers’ Meeting
Ottawa, June 20-21, 1996
– Canadian economy, renewal of the federation, Section 49, Constitution Act 1982, jobs and growth and social dimensions
72. First Ministers’ Meeting
Ottawa, December 11-12, 1997
– Various subjects including social policy renewal, health and youth employment
73. First Ministers’ Meeting
Ottawa, February 4, 1999
– Social Union Framework Agreement
74. First Ministers’ Meeting
Ottawa, September 10-11, 2000
– Health care, childhood development
75. First Ministers’ Meeting
Ottawa, February 4-5, 2003
– Health care
Prime Minister: Paul Martin
76. First Ministers’ Meeting
Ottawa, January 30, 2004
– Health care, public health, Canada-U.S. relations, emergency management
