The Constitution

Federalism: Canadian Federalism

Canada is a federation of ten provinces and three federally administered territories initially constituted through the British North America Act (BNAA). On July 1, 1867, three colonies - Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick - were granted by Britain a constitution, the British North America Act, creating the Dominion of Canada. It consisted of the provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec (formerly Canada East), and Ontario (formerly Canada West). The term "Confederation" refers to this 1867 act of union.

Other British colonies and territories soon joined Canada: by 1880, Canada included all of its present area except for Newfoundland and Labrador, which joined in 1949. The Statute of Westminster of 1931 established self-government for Canada. Patriation of Canada's constitution occurred when the British government passed the Canada Act 1982.

Canadian federalism is rather unique in a number of ways:

1. The structure of the Senate. Unlike most other federations, Canada's upper house is appointed rather than elected, and the provinces are not equally represented.
2. The federal-provincial division of powers. Sections 91 and 92 of the British North America Act detail the range of powers and responsibilities of the Federal Parliament (section 91) and of the provinces (section 92). Another rather unique feature of Canadian federalism is that unlike in other federations, powers not enumerated in the above sections, what are known as residual powers, reside with the federal government rather than the provinces.
3. No separate Provincial Constitutions. Unlike most other federations, the Canadian provinces, save one, do not have their own constitutions. India is the only other federation that shares this characteristic with Canada. However, each province does have its own legislature and sections 58-90 of the BNAA address the subject of "Provincial Constitutions" but with the exception of the executive office of the Lieutenant Governor (the Queen's representative), the provinces were given complete authority to amend their constitutions as they see fit. Many provinces used this to unilaterally abolish their upper chambers.

In practice, there is much over-lap between the Federal and provincial governments. The history of Canadian federalism is also largely the history of competition between these two levels of government. The Federal Government has become the dominant influence in the political system, because of its greater ability to raise revenue through taxation and other means. The provinces depend to varying degrees on financial transfers from the Federal Government to help cover the costs healthcare, social programs, and education, for example.

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Related Links

• Federalism
• The Foundations of Canadian Federalism
• Federalism-e: Canada's Undergraduate Federalism Journal
• Reflections on Asymetrical Federalism in Canada (PDF)
• Canada's Federalism in the 21st Century (PDF)