For the political ideology that favours Quebec remaining within the Canadian federation rather than pursuing independence, see Federalism in Quebec.
Not to be confused with Canadian nationalism.
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Canadian federalism (French: fédéralisme canadien) involves the current nature and historical development of the federal system in Canada.
Canada is a federation with eleven components: the national Government of Canada and ten provincial governments. All eleven governments derive their authority from the Constitution of Canada. There are also three territorial governments in the far north, which exercise powers delegated by the federal parliament, and municipal governments which exercise powers delegated by the province or territory. Each jurisdiction is generally independent from the others in its realm of legislative authority.[1] The division of powers between the federal government and the provincial governments is based on the principle of exhaustive distribution: all legal issues are assigned to either the federal Parliament or the provincial Legislatures.
The division of powers is set out in the Constitution Act, 1867 (originally called the British North America Act, 1867), a key document in the Constitution of Canada. Some amendments to the division of powers have been made in the past century and a half, but the 1867 act still sets out the basic framework of the federal and provincial legislative jurisdictions. The division of power is reliant upon the "division" of the unitary Canadian Crown and, with it, of Canadian sovereignty, among the country's 11 jurisdictions.
The federal nature of the Canadian constitution was a response to the colonial-era diversity of the Maritimes and the Province of Canada, particularly the sharp distinction between the French-speaking inhabitants of Lower Canada and the English-speaking inhabitants of Upper Canada and the Maritimes. John A. Macdonald,[2] Canada's first prime minister, originally favoured a unitary system.[3]
^Banting, Keith G.; Simeon, Richard (1983). And no one cheered: federalism, democracy, and the Constitution Act. Toronto: Methuen. pp. 14, 16. ISBN 0-458-95950-2.
^"Biography – MACDONALD, Sir JOHN ALEXANDER – Volume XII (1891-1900) – Dictionary of Canadian Biography". www.biographi.ca. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
^"John A. Macdonald on the Federal System". The Historica-Dominion Institute. Archived from the original on 27 June 2013. Retrieved 24 December 2012., quoting Parliamentary Debates on the Subject of the Confederation of the British North American Provinces—3rd Session, 8th Provincial Parliament of Canada. Quebec: Hunter, Rose & Co. 1865. pp. 29–45.
and 28 Related for: Canadian federalism information
Canadianfederalism (French: fédéralisme canadien) involves the current nature and historical development of the federal system in Canada. Canada is a...
Federalism is a mode of government that combines a general government (the central or "federal" government) with regional governments (provincial, state...
whose seats are apportioned on a regional basis, serve until age 75. Canadianfederalism divides government responsibilities between the federal government...
November 22, 2015. Mahler, Gregory S. (1987). New Dimensions of CanadianFederalism: Canada in a Comparative Perspective. Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press...
Federalism in Quebec (French: Fédéralisme au Québec) is concerned with the support of confederation in regards to the federal union of Canada: that is...
recognizes Canada as a constitutional monarchy and federal state, and outlines the legal foundations of Canadianfederalism. The Constitution of Canada includes...
Asymmetric federalism or asymmetrical federalism is found in a federation or other types of union in which different constituent states possess different...
Dual federalism, also known as layer-cake federalism or divided sovereignty, is a political arrangement in which power is divided between the federal...
Canadians. In recent years, the Conservative Party has repeatedly campaigned on the following policies: Bilingualism Supporting Canadianfederalism and...
such. Canada portal Structure of the Canadian federal government His Majesty's Government (term) Canadian order of precedence Office-holders of Canada Public...
In the United States, federalism is the constitutional division of power between U.S. state governments and the federal government of the United States...
monarchy of Canada is Canada's form of government embodied by the Canadian sovereign and head of state. It is one of the key components of Canadian sovereignty...
statutes and regulations, as they did when Canadian case law was primarily concerned with resolving issues of federalism. The Charter, however, granted new powers...
ISBN 0-521-46423-4. Retrieved October 18, 2010. Cyr, Hugo (2009). CanadianFederalism and Treaty Powers: Organic Constitutionalism at Work. Bruxelles ;...
higher education. Within Canadianfederalism the division of responsibilities and taxing powers between the Ontario and Canadian governments creates the...
under the Canada Health Transfer (CHT). With that said, under the constitutional division of powers in Canadianfederalism, adherence to Canada Health Act...
As a subfield of public economics, fiscal federalism is concerned with "understanding which functions and instruments are best centralized and which are...
roundup". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on October 22, 2015. Jackson, Michael D. (2013), The Crown and CanadianFederalism, Dundurn...
of American federalism." Canadian Journal of Political Science 21#3 (1988): 443–464. Smith, Peter J. "The Ideological Origins of Canadian Confederation"...
250–254, 344–347. ISBN 1551115956. OCLC 55973728. Cyr, Hugo (2009). Canadianfederalism and treaty powers: organic constitutionalism at work. Bruxelles:...
won the largest number of seats in Canadian history (at 211) and won the second-largest percentage of seats in Canadian history (at 74.8%), only ranking...
within the construct of Canadianfederalism is also important to Canadian sovereignty. Quebec has twice voted on seceding from Canada. Sovereignty has also...
undermines their authority." Jackson, Michael D. (2013), The Crown and CanadianFederalism, Dundurn, ISBN 978-1-4597-0989-8 Carroll, Alex (2003). Constitutional...
Press. ISBN 978-0-7748-0844-6. Taucar, Christopher Edward (2002). CanadianFederalism and Quebec Sovereignty. Peter Lang. ISBN 978-0-8204-6242-4. Webb...
Federalism was adopted, as a constitutional principle, in Australia on 1 January 1901 – the date upon which the six self-governing Australian Colonies...
educational system, as prescribed by the Canadianfederalism model of governance. In the mid-1960s and early 1970s, most Canadian colleges began to provide practical...
Retrieved 25 June 2022. Jackson, Michael D (2013), The Crown and CanadianFederalism, Toronto: Dundurn Press, p. 20, ISBN 9781459709898 "Thousands protest...
of powers between the federal and provincial governments The type of federalism to be applied within the federation The way the constitution should be...
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