Constitutional Timeline

1621 - Acadia (Acadie) named Nova Scotia by English

1625 - Nova Scotia Arms granted by King Charles I

1689 - English Bill of Rights enacted

1713 - France ceded, for the last time, mainland Nova Scotia peninsula to British (Treaty of Utrecht)

1758 - Nova Scotia Legislature established (consisting of the Lieutenant Governor, his Council and the newly established, elected legislative assembly called the House of Assembly)

1763 - France ceded, for the last time, the rest of Acadia, including Cape Breton Island ('île Royale), the future New Brunswick and St John's Island (later re-named Prince Edward Island), to British (Treaty of Paris) and it was joined to Nova Scotia

1769 - Prince Edward Island established as a colony separate from Nova Scotia

1784 - Cape Breton Island and New Brunswick established as colonies separate from Nova Scotia

1820 - Cape Breton Island re-joined to Nova Scotia

1838 - separate Executive Council and Legislative Council established

1848 - responsible government established in Nova Scotia (for first time all members of the Executive Council from the House of Assembly and became responsible to it)

1867 - union of provinces of Canada, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia as the self-governing federal colony of the Dominion of Canada (British North America Act, 1867 -- now known in Canada as Constitution Act, 1867) & the Parliament of Canada established (consisting of the Queen, the Senate and the House of Commons)

1928 - abolition of the Legislative Council (leaving the Legislature consisting of the Lieutenant Governor and the House of Assembly)

1931 - Canadian independence legally recognized (Statute of Westminster, 1931)

1960 - Canadian Bill of Rights enacted

1982 - patriation of the amendment of the Constitution of Canada & adoption of the Constitution Act, 1982, including the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Canada Act 1982)