The 1971 Victoria Conference, a meeting between the federal government and the provinces, brought about the Victoria Charter. This Charter sought to establish a formula for amending the Constitution without requiring the unanimous consent of the provinces. Notably, it would give a veto to any province having or having ever had 25 percent of the Canadian population, thus essentially giving Quebec and Ontario veto powers. The provinces were supposed to confirm their acceptance by June 28, 1971, but a change of premiers in Saskatchewan and the reluctance of the federal government to recommend the Charter to Quebec's legislature, due to deficiencies in the clauses dealing with income security, led to the failure of this initiative.
