First Ministers' conference

First Ministers' conference

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 1960s, they ultimately trace their origin to the initial constitutional convention held in the mid-1860s 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.

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 underConstitutional”, “FinancialandSocial and Economictitles

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 29May 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 31April 1, 1964
Shared cost programs and fiscal arrangements, Canada Pension Plan, taxation, fiscal relations, loans to university students

25. Federal-Provincial Conference
Charlottetown, August 31September 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 orCCMC”) 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 30November 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 MinistersConference on the Economy
Regina, February 14-15, 1985
Investment, training and retraining, international trade and regional economic development (“Regina AccordestablishingAnnual Conference of First Ministers”)

56. First MinistersConference 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 MinistersConference on Aboriginal Constitutional Matters
Ottawa, March 26-27, 1987
Constitutional amendment on aboriginal self-government and treaties and treaty issues

60. First MinistersConference 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 MinistersConference on the Constitution
Ottawa, June 3-10, 1990
1987 Constitutional Accord (Meech Lake)

64. First MinistersMeeting on the Economy
Ottawa, December 19, 1991
Coordinated approach to economic recovery

65. First MinistersMeeting on the Economy
Ottawa, February 10, 1992
Pre-budget discussion of common economic recovery

66. First MinistersMeeting 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 MinistersMeeting on the Constitution
Ottawa, August 18, 1992

68. First MinistersMeeting 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 MinistersMeetingEconomy
Ottawa, December 21, 1993
Economic renewal and fiscal responsibility, job creation and competitive economy and program coordination

70. First MinistersMeetingTrade
Ottawa, July 18, 1994
Internal trade

71. First MinistersMeeting
Ottawa, June 20-21, 1996
Canadian economy, renewal of the federation, Section 49, Constitution Act 1982, jobs and growth and social dimensions

72. First MinistersMeeting
Ottawa, December 11-12, 1997
Various subjects including social policy renewal, health and youth employment

73. First MinistersMeeting
Ottawa, February 4, 1999
Social Union Framework Agreement

74. First MinistersMeeting
Ottawa, September 10-11, 2000
Health care, childhood development

75. First MinistersMeeting
Ottawa, February 4-5, 2003
Health care

Prime Minister: Paul Martin
76. First MinistersMeeting
Ottawa, January 30, 2004
Health care, public health, Canada-U.S. relations, emergency management


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