Abstract

This thesis centres on the constitutional right of Aboriginal self-determination in the Canadian context. It seeks to answer the following question: How does and should Canadian constitutional law accommodate and protect Aboriginal self-determination? It is argued that the right of Aboriginal self-determination within the Canadian context is necessary in order to rectify the history of injustice faced by Aboriginal peoples and in order to acknowledge the right of Aboriginal peoples to control their own lives.

In seeking answers to the above question, legal analyses of constitutional recognition and protection of Aboriginal self-determination in Canada, along with international legal analyses of Indigenous self-determination, are undertaken. An analysis of whether Aboriginal peoples constitute "peoples" or "minorities" is related to the potential extent of the right of Aboriginal self-determination. This, in turn, holds importance in assessing which Aboriginal communities in Canada constitute peoples with a right of self-determination.