 In the first half of the 20th century, the largest western province was Saskatchewan, but its population was later eclipsed by Alberta and British Columbia.The issue of the demographic weight of each provinces came up during the negotiations for the Patriation of the Constitution, and especially discussions around the amending formula of the constitution.The final formula stipulates that minor changes to the constitution had to be approved by the Parliament of Canada and the Legislature of 7 provinces representing at least 50% of the Canadian population.