What is Magna Carta also known as?
- The Act of Union
- The Great Charter of Freedoms
- The Quebec Act
- The Royal Proclamation
Answer: The Great Charter of Freedoms
Discover Canada says Magna Carta, signed in England in 1215, is also known as the Great Charter of Freedoms. It marks the start of the 800-year tradition of ordered liberty that Canadian law secures for Canadians.
Learn more: Where rights and laws come from
- Rights and responsibilities come from Canada’s history, are secured by Canadian law and reflect shared traditions, identity and values.
- Sources of Canadian law: laws passed by Parliament and the provincial legislatures, English common law, the civil code of France, and the unwritten constitution inherited from Great Britain.
- Magna Carta was signed in England in 1215. It is also called the Great Charter of Freedoms.
- Canada’s tradition of ordered liberty is about 800 years old and dates back to Magna Carta.
- Habeas corpus, the right to challenge unlawful detention by the state, comes from English common law.