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Federalism in Canada
Contested Concepts and Uneasy Balances

Thomas Hueglin (Author)

9781442636460

Hardback, published 15 April 2021

384 pages
23.5 x 16 x 2.4 cm, 0.66 kg

"Federalism in Canada is fresh and matter of fact, a constitutional travelogue."

- Holly Doan (Blacklock’s Reporter)

"I highly recommend this book to all students of federalism interested in understanding how the Canadian federal system came to be and how it evolved over the past century and a half. It is a textbook example of a contribution that is perfectly balanced between advancing knowledge and making scholarly research accessible to the public."

- Félix Mathieu, University of Winnipeg (Canadian Journal of Political Science)

"This book rightfully should take its place within this scholarly history of federalism as a useful and original contribution."

- James T. McHugh, University of Akron (Publius: The Journal of Federalism)

Federalism in Canada tells the turbulent story of shared sovereignty and divided governance from Confederation to the present time with three main objectives in mind. The first objective is to convince readers that federalism is the primary animating force in Canadian politics, and that it is therefore worth engaging with its complex nature and dynamic. The second objective is to bring into closer focus the contested concepts about the meaning and operation of federalism that are at the root of the divide between English Canada and Quebec in particular. The third objective is to give recognition to the trajectory of Canada’s Indigenous peoples in the context of Canadian federalism, from years of abusive neglect to belated efforts of inclusion. The book focuses on the constitution with its ambiguous allocation of divided powers, the pivotal role of the courts in balancing these powers, and the political leaders whose interactions oscillate between intergovernmental conflict and cooperation. This focus on executive leadership and judicial supervision is framed by considerations of Canada’s regionalized political economy and cultural diversity, giving students a compelling and nuanced view of federalism in Canada.

Prologue: Approaches to Canadian Federalism
A Personal Account by Means of Acknowledgement
Contested Concepts as the Underlying Dynamic and Central Theme
Organization and Outline

1 An Introductory Understanding of Canadian Federalism
Shared Sovereignty
Power of the Courts
Sunny Ways of Compromise
Fiscal Imbalance
Executive Dominance
Imperfection

2 Confederation
Coming Together Lately
Relics of Empire
Unitary Impositions
Federal Accommodations
Parliamentary Concessions
"Indians"
An Incomplete Contract

3 Judicial Interpretations
Pith and Substance
From Need to Necessity
Beyond Provincial Concern
Federalism Demands Nothing Less
Law and Politics

4 From a Crisis of Capitalism to a Crisis of Federalism
Dramatic Crisis and BNA Act Federalism at a Loss
Prairie Populism
Enlightened Reactionaries
Rowell-Sirois Commission
Reversal of Functions

5 Mostly Fiscal Relations
Tax Sharing
Cost Sharing
Fiscal Equalization
Under the Indian Act
Fiscal Imbalance and the Spending Power

6 Difference, Dependency, and Displacement
Quebec Nationalism
Western Alienation
Eastern Dependencies
Indigenous Displacement
Regionalism and Federalism

7 Patriation and the Constitution Act, 1982
The Long Road to Patriation
Amendment
Charter
Aboriginal Rights
Flexible Renewal

8 The Unfinished Business of Canadian Federalism
Constitutional Politics
Secession and Clarity
Interstate Federalism and Intrastate Federalism
Indigenous Land Rights and Self-Government
Shifting Identities

9 Contested Concepts of Canadian Federalism
A Plural Compact of Provinces or a Dual Compact of Nationalities?
How Much Autonomy or Interdependence?
Treaty Federalism

Epilogue: Still a Federal Country
Bibliography
Index

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