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