What does patriation mean in constitutional terms?

• A. Transfer control over a constitution from Canada to Britain
• B. Create a new constitution from scratch
• C. Transfer control over a constitution from a mother country to its former dependency
• D. Revoke the monarchy

Answer: (C)

Patriation means bringing the power to change a country’s constitution into the country itself. It describes transferring constitutional authority from a mother country to its former dependency, so the nation can amend its own fundamental laws without needing permission from the former colonial power. A key example is Canada, which patriated its constitution in 1982, shifting the amending power from Britain to Canadian institutions and adding the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This isn’t about creating a brand-new constitution, nor about handing control back to Britain, nor about revoking the monarchy.