What does the Magna Carta also known as?

The Magna Carta, signed in 1215 in England, is also known as the Great Charter of Freedoms. According to the official Discover Canada study guide, this historic document marks the beginning of an 800-year-old tradition of ordered liberty that Canadians have inherited and continue to enjoy today. The Magna Carta was a foundational legal document that helped establish the principle that even rulers and governments must operate under the law, rather than through arbitrary actions or personal will.

Canada's legal and constitutional heritage draws directly from this English tradition. The Discover Canada guide explains that Canadian law has several sources, including laws passed by Parliament and the provincial legislatures, English common law, the civil code of France, and the unwritten constitution inherited from Great Britain. The Magna Carta sits at the very root of this English common law tradition, planting the seeds for concepts that Canadians take for granted today, such as habeas corpus — the right to challenge unlawful detention by the state.

The tradition of ordered liberty established by the Magna Carta culminated for Canada in 1982, when the Constitution of Canada was amended to entrench the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Queen Elizabeth II proclaimed the amended Constitution in Ottawa that year. The Charter begins with words that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law, a phrase that underlines the importance of religious traditions to Canadian society and the dignity and worth of the human person — values whose roots reach back to that ancient charter signed in England.

Understanding the Magna Carta is essential because it represents the historical origin of one of Canada's most cherished founding principles: the rule of law. As the Discover Canada guide states, individuals and governments are regulated by laws and not by arbitrary actions, and no person or group is above the law. This principle directly traces back to the Great Charter of Freedoms.

The Magna Carta also connects directly to other test topics, including the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (1982), habeas corpus, freedom of conscience and religion, freedom of association, and the responsibilities of citizenship such as obeying the law. Knowing that Canada inherited an 800-year-old tradition of ordered liberty helps explain why Canadians are proud of having the oldest continuous constitutional tradition in the world.