THE EVOLUTION OF FEDERAL-PROVINCIAL RELATIONS IN CANADA: SOME REFLECTIONS

The Canadian Confederation has endured for more than a century, but the country retains extensive internal divisions. Indeed, the presence of a separatist provincial government in Quebec illustrates that Canada's fragmentations not only have persisted but may actually be deepening. This article comprises an examination of the relationship between federal and provincial governments from the Confederation period of the 1860s to the present. The objective is an appreciation of how the federation has developed into the current form of executive federalism. The historical discussion considers the successive and distinct intervals of federal-provincial relations which preceded executive federalism. They are the Confederation era, dual federalism, and cooperative federalism. Executive federalism entails a series of conferences between officials of federal and provincial governments in which national policy in fields of common interest is negotiated.

The article maintains that four themes firmly grounded in Confederation pervade the evolution of federal-provincial relations. They are: the absence of a sense of national allegiance throughout Canada; the constitution's explicit assignment of important responsibilities to the provinces; the disproportionate strength of Ontario and Quebec; and Quebec's relentless cultural individuality. Because these characteristics have, if anything, intensified in recent years, executive federalism is now necessary to accommodate conflicts between federal and provincial governments. Moreover, for a variety of reasons, both Canada's centrifugal character and executive federalism may be expected to continue indefinitely. The adversary nature of executive federalism, and the advantages which it offers to certain provinces, assure that a high level of federal-provincial tension also will be perpetuated.