The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

The Charter is the part of Canada's Constitution that sets out rights and freedoms, and it comes up in several places on the citizenship test. Here is what Discover Canada says about it, from its chapter on rights and responsibilities, checked on 23 September 2026.

When and how

The Constitution of Canada was amended in 1982 to entrench the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Entrenched means it is part of the Constitution itself, not an ordinary law that Parliament could change on its own.

How it begins

The Charter opens with these words:

Whereas Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law.

The guide says the phrase underlines the importance of religious traditions to Canadian society and the dignity and worth of the human person. It also names the rule of law, which runs through the rest of the guide: no one, including government, is above the law.

What it protects

The guide describes the Charter as an attempt to summarize the fundamental freedoms while setting out additional rights.

The fundamental freedoms

• freedom of conscience and religion
• freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of speech and of the press
• freedom of peaceful assembly
• freedom of association

The rights the guide highlights

• Mobility rights. Canadians can live and work anywhere in Canada, enter and leave the country freely, and apply for a passport.
• Aboriginal peoples' rights. The rights guaranteed in the Charter do not adversely affect any treaty or other rights or freedoms of Aboriginal peoples.
• Official language rights and minority language educational rights. French and English have equal status in Parliament and throughout the government.
• Multiculturalism, which the guide calls a fundamental characteristic of Canadian heritage and identity.

Who it protects

The Charter is not only for citizens. IRCC's page on permanent resident status says permanent residents are also protected under Canadian law and the Charter. A few rights, such as voting, belong to citizens.

Rights and the law behind them

The Charter did not invent Canadians' freedoms. The guide traces them back through English common law and the civil code of France to Magna Carta in 1215, and describes the Charter as setting them down in the Constitution. Habeas corpus, the right to challenge unlawful detention by the state, comes from English common law.

For the test

The two facts asked most often are the year, 1982, and the fact that the Charter was added to the Constitution. Mobility rights and official language rights are the most common examples. Our study notes on rights and responsibilities and the chapter's practice questions cover them.