The Beginning of the End of the Gang of Eight: June 4, 1981

Abstract

This article deals with a group that has become known as the “Gang of Eight”, consisting of the Ministers of Justice and Intergovernmental Affairs for the eight provinces that were opposing the federal initiative. These ministers took part in a meeting in June of 1981 that is now largely unknown or forgotten. This meeting took place after the eight First Ministers had gathered in Ottawa to sign a document called the Ottawa Accord, an alternative to the Trudeau government’s patriation package.