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In Canada, a 'First Ministers' conference' is a meeting of the provincial and territorial premiers and the Prime Minister. These events are held at the call of the prime minister and, since 1950, have typically been held annually. They are usually held in Ottawa.
Though known as "First Ministers' conferences" only since the 1960's, they ultimately trace their origin to the initial constitutional convention held in the mid-1860's at Charlottetown, PEI, then capital of the British Province of Prince Edward Island. After confederation, two conferences of provincial premiers were held, in 1887 and 1902, in which the federal government was not represented.
Altogether, 76 First Ministers' conferences have been held since the first was convened by Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier in 1906, at the request of the provinces. Some important First Ministers' conferences were those leading up to the Meech Lake and Charlottetown Accords. The failed Chalottetown Accord contained a provision that would have made annual First Ministers' conferences obligatory.
The conferences are important for a number of reasons. A sizable portion of provincial funding (referred to as transfer payments) comes from the federal government, the conferences are an opportunity for the premiers to lobby for more money. Today it is common for the Premiers to meet beforehand to present a common front to the federal government. They are also important in that Canada's federal system leaves a fair amount of overlap between federal and provincial jurisdictions and most large initiatives require some provincial support.
The vast majority of the activity at a First Ministers' conference takes place behind closed doors. A public statement is issued after the conference.
Formerly, the government leaders of the territories were only occasionally invited to these conferences, depending on whether issues relevant to the north are being discussed. Today, these leaders normally attend the meetings.

Contents

List of First Ministers' conferences to date

List of First Ministers' conferences to date

Here is a list of First Ministers' conferences, their dates and topics of discussion. The name of the prime minister at the time is included. Detailed information on individual may be found at http://www.scics.gc.ca/pubs/fmp_e.pdf.
Prime Minister: Sir Wilfrid Laurier

1. Conference of the Representatives of the Government of Canada and the Various Provinces

Ottawa, October 8-13, 1906

– Financial subsidies to the provinces

Prime Minister: Sir Robert Borden, but Sir William White chaired the conference as Acting Prime Minister

2. Conference between the Members of the Government of Canada and of the Various Provincial Governments Acting

Ottawa, November 19-22, 1918

– Soldier and land settlement, transfer of natural resources

Prime Minister: W.L. Mackenzie King

3. Dominion-Provincial Conference

Ottawa, November 3-10, 1927

– Various subjects listed under “Constitutional”, “Financial” and “Social and Economic” titles

Prime Minister: R.B. Bennett

4. Dominion-Provincial Conference

Ottawa, April 7-8, 1931

– Statute of Westminster

5. Dominion-Provincial Conference

Ottawa, April 8-9, 1932

– Unemployment relief

6. Dominion-Provincial Conference

Ottawa, January 17-19, 1933

– Various subjects including unemployment, old age pensions, company law and overlapping federal and provincial jurisdictions

7. Dominion-Provincial Conference

Ottawa, January 18-19, 1934

– Various subjects including employment, financial position of provinces, company law, taxes on liquor, Pacific Great Eastern Railway Company, B.C. claim for equality of treatment

Prime Minister: W.L. Mackenzie King

8. Dominion-Provincial Conference

Ottawa, December 9-13, 1935

– Various subjects including constitutional amendment, federal-provincial financial relations, taxation, social services

9. Dominion-Provincial Conference

Ottawa, January 14-15, 1941

– Recommendations of Rowell-Sirois Commission (federal-provincial fiscal relations)

10. Dominion-Provincial Conference on Reconstruction

Ottawa, August 6-10, 1945

– Postwar reconstruction and federal-provincial financial arrangements

11. Dominion-Provincial Conference on Reconstruction

Ottawa, April 29 – May 3, 1946

– Financial arrangements, public investment, health, old age pensions, unemployment

Prime Minister: Louis St. Laurent

12. Constitutional Conference of Federal and Provincial Governments

Ottawa, January 10-12, 1950

– Constitutional amendment

13. Constitutional Conference of Federal and Provincial Governments

Quebec City, September 25-28, 1950

– Constitutional amendment

14. Conference of Federal and Provincial Governments

Ottawa, December 4-7, 1950

– Tax agreements, old age security, provincial indirect sales tax

15. Federal-Provincial Conference 1955, Preliminary Meeting

Ottawa, April 26-27, 1955

– Federal relief for unemployed persons, and preparation of next Conference

16. Federal-Provincial Conference

Ottawa, October 3-6, 1955

– Fiscal relations, natural resources development, establishment of a federal-provincial Continuing Committee, health and welfare

17. Dominion-Provincial Conference

Ottawa, March 9, 1956

– Federal-provincial fiscal arrangements

Prime Minister: John George Diefenbaker

18. Dominion-Provincial Conference

Ottawa, November 25-26, 1957

– Hospital insurance, costs of assistance to persons in need, assistance to Atlantic provinces, fiscal matters

19. Dominion-Provincial Conference

Ottawa, July 25-27, 1960

– Various tax matters including personal and corporate income taxes, equalization, indirect provincial sales tax, taxation of natural resources. Conditional grants and shared cost programs

20. Dominion-Provincial Conference

Ottawa, October 26-28, 1960

– Federal-provincial fiscal arrangements

21. Federal-Provincial Conference

Ottawa, February 23-24, 1961

– Federal-provincial fiscal arrangements

Prime Minister: Lester B. Pearson

22. Federal Provincial Conference

Ottawa, July 26-27, 1963

– Municipal loan and development fund, Canada Pension Plan

23. Federal-Provincial Conference

Ottawa, November 26-29, 1963

– Various subjects including state of the Canadian Economy, conditional grants and shared cost programs, fiscal relations, Canadian Pension Plan

24. Federal-Provincial Conference

Québec City, March 31 – April 1, 1964

– Shared cost programs and fiscal arrangements, Canada Pension Plan, taxation, fiscal relations, loans to university students

25. Federal-Provincial Conference

Charlottetown, August 31 – September 2, 1964

– Constitutional amendment

26. Federal-Provincial Conference

Ottawa, October 14-15, 1964

– Constitutional amendment, Tax Structure Committee, off-shore mineral rights

27. Federal-Provincial Conference

Ottawa, July 19-22, 1965

– Various subjects including Social Security, Economic Development, Tax Structure Committee, Transportation and Inland Water Resources

28. Federal-Provincial Conference

Ottawa, October 24-28, 1966

– Financing of higher education, federal-provincial fiscal arrangements

29. Federal-Provincial Conference on Housing and Urban Development

Ottawa, December 11-12, 1967

– Housing and urban development

30. Constitutional Conference

Ottawa, February 5-7, 1968

– Constitutional review, Recommendations of Royal Commission on Bilingualism & Biculturalism

Prime Minister: Pierre Elliott Trudeau

31. Constitutional Conference

Ottawa, February 10-12, 1969

– Constitutional review

32. Constitutional Conference

Ottawa, June 11-12, 1969

– Constitutional review

33. Constitutional Conference

Ottawa, December 8-10, 1969

– Constitutional review

34. Federal-Provincial Conference

Ottawa, February 16-17, 1970

– Economy, Western agriculture, pollution, Tax Structure Committee

35. Constitutional Conference

Ottawa, September 14-15, 1970

– Constitutional review

36. Federal-Provincial Conference

Ottawa, September 16, 1970

– Various subjects including Tax reform, agricultural, economic stabilization fund

37. Constitutional Conference

Ottawa, February 8-9, 1971

– Constitutional review, unemployment and northern resources

38. Constitutional Conference

Victoria, June 14-16, 1971

– Constitutional review (“Victoria Charter”)

39. Federal-Provincial Conference

Ottawa, November 15-17, 1971

– Economy, employment, fiscal arrangements, tri-level consultations

40. Federal-Provincial Conference

Ottawa, May 23-25, 1973

– Various subjects including social security system, health programs, post-secondary education, regional economic development, economic situation, foreign land ownership

41. Federal-Provincial Conference of First Ministers on Energy

Ottawa, January 22-23, 1974

– Various subjects including oil and gas policy, national energy policy and federal-provincial mechanisms for continuing consultation on energy

42. Federal-Provincial Conference of First Ministers on Energy

Ottawa, April 9-10, 1975

– The state of the economy and oil and gas prices and other related items

43. Federal-Provincial Conference of First Ministers

Ottawa, June 14-15, 1976

– Federal-provincial fiscal arrangements including shared-cost programs, revenue guarantee and equalization

44. Federal-Provincial Conference of First Ministers

Ottawa, December 13-14, 1976

– Fiscal arrangements and state of the economy

45. Federal-Provincial Conference of First Ministers on the Economy

Ottawa, February 13-15, 1978

– Various subjects including economic outlook and objectives, general economic policies, regional aspects of economic development, and sectoral policies

46. Federal-Provincial Conference of First Ministers on the Constitution

Ottawa, October 30, 31 and November 1, 1978

– Charter of rights, distribution of powers, institutions, process of constitutional review (creation of the Continuing Committee of Ministers on the Constitution or “CCMC”) and duplication of services

47. Federal-Provincial Conference of First Ministers on the Economy

Ottawa, November 27-29, 1978

– Various subjects including economic overview, labour market and employment issues, and economic coordination

48. Federal-Provincial Conference of First Ministers on the Constitution

Ottawa, February 5-6, 1979

– Various subjects including consideration of questions raised at the Constitutional Conference (October 30 – November 1, 1978) and future constitutional work program

Prime Minister: Joe Clark

49. Federal-Provincial Conference of First Ministers on Energy

Ottawa, November 12, 1979

– Oil supply, pricing and use, energy pricing and development, conservation and self-sufficiency

Prime Minister: Pierre Elliott Trudeau

50. Federal-Provincial Conference of First Ministers on the Constitution

Ottawa, September 8-13, 1980

– Various subjects including trade, communications, Upper House, Supreme Court, family law, fisheries, offshore resources, equalization, charter of rights, patriation and amending formula and powers over the economy

51. Federal-Provincial Conference of First Ministers on the Constitution

Ottawa, November 2-5, 1981

– Consensus on patriation, constitutional amendment formula and charter of rights

52. Federal-Provincial Conference of First Ministers on the Economy

Ottawa, February 2-5, 1982

– Economic management and development

53. Federal-Provincial Conference of First Ministers on Aboriginal Constitutional Matters

Ottawa, March 15-16, 1983

– Various subjects including charter of rights, amending formula revisions and self-government

54. Federal-Provincial Conference of First Ministers on Aboriginal Constitutional Matters

Ottawa, March 8-9, 1984

– Equality rights, treaties and treaty rights, land and resources and self-government

Prime Minister: Brian Mulroney

55. First Ministers’ Conference on the Economy

Regina, February 14-15, 1985

– Investment, training and retraining, international trade and regional economic development (“Regina Accord” establishing “Annual Conference of First Ministers”)

56. First Ministers’ Conference on Aboriginal Constitutional Matters

Ottawa, April 2-3, 1985

– Aboriginal constitutional matters including self-government and sexual equality rights

57. Annual Conference of First Ministers

Halifax, November 28-29, 1985

– Federal-provincial relations, economic and fiscal situation, trade, agriculture, fisheries and economic and social development

58. Annual Conference of First Ministers

Vancouver, November 20-21, 1986

– State of the Federation and the economy, economic development and economic equality for women

59. First Ministers’ Conference on Aboriginal Constitutional Matters

Ottawa, March 26-27, 1987

– Constitutional amendment on aboriginal self-government and treaties and treaty issues

60. First Ministers’ Conference on the Constitution

Ottawa, June 3, 1987

– Signing of the 1987 Constitutional Accord

61. Annual Conference of First Ministers

Toronto, November 26-27, 1987

– Economic development

62. Annual Conference of First Ministers

Ottawa, November 9-10, 1989

– Federal-Provincial priorities, environment/sustainable development and Meech Lake Accord

63. First Ministers’ Conference on the Constitution

Ottawa, June 3-10, 1990

– 1987 Constitutional Accord (Meech Lake)

64. First Ministers’ Meeting on the Economy

Ottawa, December 19, 1991

– Coordinated approach to economic recovery

65. First Ministers’ Meeting on the Economy

Ottawa, February 10, 1992

– Pre-budget discussion of common economic recovery

66. First Ministers’ Meeting on the Economy

Toronto, March 24-25, 1992

– Various subjects including social programs, training, infrastructure, interprovincial trade barriers, international trade, agriculture, fisheries, tax coordination

67. First Ministers’ Meeting on the Constitution

Ottawa, August 18, 1992

68. First Ministers’ Meeting on the Constitution

Charlottetown, August 27-28, 1992

– Final Consensus Report on the Constitution, Final Political Accords and Draft Legal Text based on the Charlottetown Accord

Prime Minister: Jean Chrétien

69. First Ministers’ Meeting – Economy

Ottawa, December 21, 1993

– Economic renewal and fiscal responsibility, job creation and competitive economy and program coordination

70. First Ministers’ Meeting – Trade

Ottawa, July 18, 1994

– Internal trade

71. First Ministers’ Meeting

Ottawa, June 20-21, 1996

– Canadian economy, renewal of the federation, Section 49, Constitution Act 1982, jobs and growth and social dimensions

72. First Ministers’ Meeting

Ottawa, December 11-12, 1997

– Various subjects including social policy renewal, health and youth employment

73. First Ministers’ Meeting

Ottawa, February 4, 1999

– Social Union Framework Agreement

74. First Ministers’ Meeting

Ottawa, September 10-11, 2000

– Health care, childhood development

75. First Ministers’ Meeting

Ottawa, February 4-5, 2003

– Health care

Prime Minister: Paul Martin

76. First Ministers’ Meeting

Ottawa, January 30, 2004

– Health care, public health, Canada-U.S. relations, emergency management