The New Constitution
In the early 1980s, under the leadership of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, the federal government proposed to patriate the Canadian constitution from the British Parliament, as well as to make amendments. Ruth Gorman was a vocal opponent of the Canadian Constitution Act, and pushed back against the federal government through letters, speeches, and the work of the Western Canada Concept Party of Alberta (WCC).
In her first letter to the Calgary Herald, Gorman speaks about many of her concerns, and refers to the federal government's proposal as a "complete takeover" of western Canada. She spoke extensively on the subject, wrote essays and newspaper articles, and was actively involved in the WCC. Her concerns were many, and included:
- a loss of property rights,
- a centralization of power in Ontario and New Brunswick, and
- the takeover of the profits from Alberta's natural resources
Even after the Constitution Act was passed in 1982, Gorman continued to speak out against what she saw as the injustice of the Act, especially in regard to property rights. She wrote about her concerns and advocated for what she saw as an affront to western Canadians, at one time referring to the Act as a "fiendish constitution...devised to destroy Canada".
Gorman also continued to speak out against the Constitution Act through her work with the WCC, despite her growing concerns about the direction of the party. Gorman shared these concerns with Howard Thompson, whom she later supported as a candidate.
