Post on 17-Dec-2015
The Evolution of Canadian Federalism: 1867-1967 and
beyondDouglas Brown
Political Science 3212012
The Evolution of Canadian Federalism, 1867-2012
• Forces of Change in the Federal System • The Imperial federal government, 1867-1896• Rise of Provincial Rights • The era of classical federalism: 1896-1939• Centralization and the welfare state: 1939-66• The rise of executive federalism: 1966-2006• Harper era: disengagement?
Forces of Change in the Federal System 1 – exogenous
• Geopolitical: rise and fall of British empire, increasing econ and social integration with USA, globalization
• Economic: patterns of booms and recessions, depressions, industrialization
• Social: population growth, waves of immigration, westward expansion, urbanization
• Political culture: increasing democracy, participation, rights and entitlements
Forces of Change in the Federal System 2 – institutional evolution
• Formal constitutional amendment• Judicial review -- Judicial Committee of the Privy
Council (UK), Supreme Court of Canada• “Organic” statutes -- e.g. Elections Act, Supreme
Court Act• Informal political conventions – e.g.’s: decline in
use of disallowance and reservation powers, role of territories in intergovernmental conferences
The Imperial Era – 1867-1896
– Macdonald in power – follows as much as he can the original plan
– Provinces treated as junior partners– “National Policy”, railways and territorial
expansion– A gradual reaction to over-centralization sets
in– The fate of French outside Quebec, Louis Riel
and the erosion of bicultural consensus
Rise of Provincial Rights
• Role of partisan politics: Conservative centralists vs. Liberal provincialists
• Ontario and Quebec governments push back• Role of JCPC to define and strengthen
provincial powers:– Parsons 1881– Maritime Bank 1892– Labour Conventions 1937
Era of “Classical” Federalism, 1896-1939
• Federal and provincial governments seen as legal equals
• Laurier government supports federal principles• Resource economies lead to growth in provincial
revenues • Henri Bourassa: concept of English-French duality
Wartime and the rise of Central Power
• Effects of the Great Depression: rise of left-central critique
• Rowell-Sirois report: long-term blueprint for cooperative federalism
• World War II fiscal and economic centralization• The effect of the Keynesian economic model and
building the welfare state • Modernization and the apparent obsolescence of
federalism
Post-war Cooperative Federalism
• Tax rental agreements and gradual decentralization
• Federal spending power• Cost-shared programs• Quebec opposition: Duplessis and the Tremblay
Report
Post- 1967 Federalism• The Trudeau era:– Competitive federalism– “Province-Building”– Rising Quebec nationalism – Constitutional Politics
• Mulroney –Chrétien– Constitutional crisis– Fiscal crisis – Free trade and globalization
Executive Federalism
• Response to interdependence in federal system
• Executive dominance comes from “Westminster” form of government
• Bigger role due to poor degree of regional representation in central institutions
• Growing importance over time
Changing role of Executive Federalism
• Early inter-provincial conferences• Dominion-Provincial conferences• Post war fiscal federalism • Growth of functional ministerial conferences• First Ministers and their increasing role of
regional representation• Reaching Limits: Constitutional Reform
Constraints on effectiveness of Intergovernmental Relations (Executive
federalism)
• Strong provincial autonomy• Competitive political culture• Lack of institutionalization, no constitutional
status• Ad-hoc working rules• Democratic deficits
The Smiley critique
• Undue secrecy• Low citizen participation• Weakened accountability• Freezing out some issues and interests• Contributes to the growth of government• Continuous and unresolved conflict
The Harper Era
• “Open federalism” (i.e. return to “classical” division of powers)
• Link with Conservative ideology: reducing the (Liberal) State.
• Pulling back from: FMCs, intergovernmental solutions, third order of government (aboriginal)
• Take-it or leave it fiscal relations