Dynamic De/Centralization in Canada, 1867–2010

Abstract

There is an exceptional character to the Canadian federation when it comes to dynamic de/centralization. Despite expectations that forces of modernization and globalization centralize federations, Canada’s overall “federal balance” has remained largely stable since 1867. Early in the federation’s life, there was decentralization in the fiscal realm and in a few policy fields (e.g., finance and securities as well as employment relations). The last several decades have witnessed decentralization in several policy fields, such as agriculture, citizenship, and immigration, and natural resource, but also centralization in such crucial ones as social welfare and language. The overall slight decentralist path of the Canadian federation occurred primarily through non-constitutional means. Court decisions played a significant role in shaping this path early on, but it is the territorial diversity of the country, primarily but not exclusively nationalism in Québec, along with the original centralized nature of the Canadian federation, that fundamentally accounts for why Canada has not centralized like so many other federations.