The October Crisis and the War Measures Act which it spawned can be seen as the most extreme version of the debate on the larger issue of Quebec and its place in the Canadian Confederation. Shortly after the creation of the country in 1867, there were disputes between the federal and the various provincial governments over areas of jurisdiction and the division of power. Even though the Constitutional Act of 1867 (previously known as the British North America or BNA Act) divided the powers between the provinces and the federal government, there has always been debate over the interpretation of how and to what extent these powers should be divided. More recently, the constitutional debate has centred around the powers of the province of Quebec. Since the early 1960s successive governments in Quebec have argued that their province needs additional constitutional powers to protect its language and culture. There was seriously debate on constitutional reform at the Victoria Constitutional Conference in 1970 but the arrangement adopted at that time failed to win the necessary approval for action.

Constitutional reform became much more pressing after 1976, when Quebec elected the Parti Québécois, who formed a government committed to sovereignty-association or independence. When in 1980 the PQ held a referendum in Quebec on the issue of sovereignty association, 60 percent of voters reject it. This was, in part, because the federal government had promised during the campaign to reform Canada's constitution in order to better meet the needs of Quebec. They hoped that constitutional change would strengthen national unity and remove the fear of a possible break-up of Canada. Immediately following the vote, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau announced that, either with or without provincial support, he intended to make the Canadian Parliament solely responsible for Canada's constitution. Until this time, Canada's constitution, the BNA Act, had remained a legislative act of the British Parliament which had passed the necessary laws for Canada to be constituted as a country in 1867. Canada's government leaders felt they needed a new set of guidelines for the occasions when they wanted to amend or change the constitution, but they had not been able to agree on what that 'amending formula' should be. Until that was agreed upon, many MPs did not want to 'bring home' or 'patriate' the Constitution, as this phenomena came to be referred to.

Prime Minister Trudeau was determined to give control over our constitution to the Canadian Parliament, but Quebec and most of the other provinces were opposed because they saw Trudeau's inititives as an attempt to weaken provincial rights. Premier René Lévesque and six other premiers opposed Trudeau and challenged his right to unilaterally patriate the constitution in the courts. The Supreme Court of Canada ruled that substantial consent was necessary for Ottawa to act, not unanimity. Trudeau also wanted to include in the constitution a Charter of Rights and Freedoms that would guarantee Canadians the basic freedoms of speech, religion, and association and would prohibit discrimination on the basis of colour, sex or creed.

Eventually, all the premiers except Lévesque supported Trudeau, largely because he offered something each wanted. In the end, Quebec stood alone and when the constitution was patriated in 1982, Quebec lost its veto over constitutional change, a power it claimed to have possessed since Confederation. Many in Quebec believed that the English-speaking premiers had betrayed Lévesque and Quebec.

When Brian Mulroney and his Conservatives won the federal election in 1984, they promised to work toward getting Quebec to sign the Constitution. Although Quebec was bound by the Constitution, it had refused to participate in the 1982 constitutional process of patriation and people talked of the need to 'bring Quebec into the Constitution.' This, they hoped, would finally solve the constitutional problem that had plagued Canada for more than a generation. Later, Prime Minister Mulroney and the ten premiers reached a constitutional agreement that was acceptable to Premier Robert Bourassa of Quebec, an arrangement that would bring Quebec into the Constitution. The Meech Lake Accord, named after the location were the conference was held, recognized Quebec as a 'distinct society' and restored its veto over most constitutional amendments. All the provinces shared with Quebec the other articles included in the Accord, namely greater control over immigration, the power to nominate Supreme Court judges from which the federal government would choose, and the right to remain outside new cost-sharing agreements without financial penalty. All provinces were given three years for public hearing and feedback before the Accord had to be ratified in 1990.

That lengthy time frame allowed for much debate and eventually much opposition. The debate came to revolve around the nature of Canada if the constitutional amendment was approved. Many saw Meech Lake as a further dismantling or weakening of the power of the central government. Native groups, in particular, argued that their collective rights were being ignored. Pierre Trudeau, who continued to exert considerable influence, waded into the debate to ask how the courts would interpret the 'distinct society' clause. Those who wanted Senate reform believed that it would be impossible if Meech were ratified. Women's groups, trade unions and anti-poverty groups were opposed; some women argued that they should be exempt from the application of the 'distinct society' clause.

By early 1990, the Accord faced considerable opposition. New Brunswick and Newfoundland had each elected new premiers who were opposed to Meech. Newfoundland's Clyde Wells opposed the Accord because it weakened the federal government and created inequality between the provinces. His opposition, together with that of Elijah Harper, a native legislator in Manitoba, prevented the Accord from being ratified, and it died at the deadline for ratification on 23 June, 1990. At this time, several Conservative members of Parliament, led by Lucien Bouchard, the Minister of Environment, left the government of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney to form the pro-independence Bloc Québécois. A later attempt at constitutional reform, the Charlottetown Accord, was defeated in a national referendum in the fall of 1992, and the constitutional debate continues.