POLS 3210 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: English Canada, Asymmetric Federalism, Social Union Framework Agreement
8 Mar 2016
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Document Summary
Week 7: the various faces of canadian federalism. Defining characteristic of canadian federalism and intergovernmental relations. Combination of federalism and the westminster model of government. Prime ministers and premiers are the most influential ones in making any types of decisions. Governance of canada: partnership between two equal, autonomous, and interdependent orders of government that jointly decide national policy. Pm must talk to the premiers about policy that affects the whole country. Two equal levels of government working together. Cooperative federalism: post-war era up to late 1950s. Competitive federalism (debate of the constitution: early 1960s mid 1990s. Construction of the welfare state: healthcare, education, housing etc. Federal government takes lead on policy design and funding: large power imbalance. Expansion of shared-cost programs: federal spending power. Constitutional issues dominate the ig agenda: quiet revolution. The rise of neo-conservatism: national energy program. Everything was a fight, nobody was ever totally happy. High degree of political variance: ottawa-centered, province-centered, quebec-centered.
