Canadian Federalism In Canada

The concept of Canadian federalism first emerged in 1867, bringing together disparate colonies under one centralized government. Initially, the colonies opposed the thought of federalism, as they believed they would lose their independence by giving up certain powers to a national government. The central government would control defense, foreign affairs, money, postage, and taxation; Furthermore, the colonies preferred dealing with London, instead of Canada East or Canada West. The colonies did not feel a great attachment to the people of other colonies. The Lower Canada French felt no desire to become a minority in a larger English-speaking majority country. The Maritime provinces, similarly, had closer economic links to Britain and the Eastern

It is imperative for political parties to garner the support of central Canada to exhibit any success in federal elections. The prairie provinces, and the West Coast though, feel alienated from rest of Canada, and believe policies are tailored towards central Canada. Tariff policies protected manufacturing jobs and corporate profits in Ontario and Quebec for a century. (brooks, 245) Quebec and Ontario additionally have more members of parliament in the prime minister’s cabinet than all the other provinces combined, furthering the claims of favouritism. On the contrary, the positive of federalism is the promotion of a sovereign nation, as opposed to independent states. Moreover, power is balanced in federal countries by allowing provinces control over education, healthcare, and infrastructure; whereas foreign affairs, national defense, economy, citizenship, and immigration are matters controlled by the federal

Primary activities such as forestry, fishing, and farming account for the greatest percentage of national income (source). Without federalism, the resources that come from rainforests, prairie farmlands, tundra and a mineral-rich shield would all be separate. The disadvantage of federalism is the economic gap between the lesser and more affluent regions of Canada, as result equalization payments assist struggling provinces to pay for social services. The advantage of an equalization payment is the allowance for provinces to level the playing field and share the same services of wealthy provinces. Manitoba Premier Howard Pawley believed that equalization payments promoted a family culture, and unity among Canadian people as well as stating “somebody’s life chances shouldn’t be determined by geography” (Howard Pawley source). A disadvantage of transfer payments is that wealthy provinces are faced with the burden of federal cuts perennially. British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario annually contribute more in revenue than they receive back in transfer payments (Brooks