Federalism in Canada

This article explores the benefits of federalism in Canada, including its role in providing an extra check on government authority and bringing services closer to the people. It also examines how federalism effectively represents regional, linguistic, and other divisions in society, and its impact on public policy and finance.

Running head: FEDERALISM IN CANADA
Federalism in Canada
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FEDERALISM IN CANADA2
On Balance, Does Canada Benefit from Being a Federation with Power Divided
Between Federal and Provincial Levels of Government?
A federal government is a structureseparating up power between a central national and
local state government that are linked together by the national government. Jurisdictions of
control are divided, where some are controlled and managed by each level of government.
Federal government systems are governed by charters that specifies what parts of public will be
under the jurisdiction of central government and the areas that state governments command as
pointed out by Smith (2014).
The principle of federalism is central to the organization of the Canadian government.
Under federalism, Canada as a nation is categorized into two constitutionally independent levels
of government; federal and the local governments respectively. Does Canada benefit from this
division on balance? This separation of government plays an integral responsibility in public
policy and finance as well.
Why does federalism exist? There are several reasons why federalism in Canada is
preferable. First and foremost, it is important to note that federalism operates as an extra check
on the government authority. In unitary countries or states, legislative supremacy is often
extremely based within a solitaryrank of government (Rodden, 2007). In comparison, power may
be distributed amongst various echelons of government as opposed to a situation where
individual political influential or leaders control the power and trend of government. This in
turns makes it easier for the citizens to access fundamental services without necessarily moving
to a centralized and crowded place. In this regard, federalism brings services closer to the people
and also inclusivity through the division of powers at each level of government.

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How Does Federalism Effectively Represent Regional, Linguistic and Other Divisions in
the Society?
Federalism lies at the heart of Canadian’s political life. Collectively with parliamentary,
conscientious government and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, it is one of the foundations
which the constitution of Canadian rests (Canada, 1998). Federalism in Canada is closely
connected with;
 The practice of democracy,
 The accommodation and recognition of linguistic, cultural and regional differences,
 The development and implementation of public policy.
Federalism division has protected confined or local interests to a great degree. It links the
people with government where a group of people of race or ethnicity can communicate directly
to the government using various means. According to Dyck (2017), the government or the
authority is more likely to react to a demand that comes from a group than that comes from an
individual. These groups are known as advocacy teams or at times they are called social
movements.
Canada has states that are very outsized and have extremely diverse residents. In most cases,
local groups in one fraction of the nation have often had a different political desires and opinions
than other locations since the said regions are dominated by a section or a certain ethnic,
spiritual, or linguistic grouping which is considered as marginal within the larger population. In

FEDERALISM IN CANADA4
this situation, the Canadian government has always listened to such groups considered as the
minority (Stevenson, 2009). For instance, during National Housing Survey program, the
Canadian government has always assisted non-residents whose first language is neither English
nor French by translating the questions into 31 languages, an indication that federalism has
effectively represented regional, linguistic and other divisions in the society.
In conclusion, the division of power or federalism has a played a role in shaping political
outcomes in Canada. The executive dominance in Canadian governments has resulted to their
capability to approve and implement various contentious redistributive policies, for example, the
national health insurance program (Dyck, 2014).

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References
Smith, J. (2014). Federalism. Vancouver: UBC Press.
Rodden, J. A. (2007). Hamilton's paradox: The promise and peril of fiscal federalism. New
York: Cambridge University Press.
Canada. (1998). Official report of debates, House of Commons: Reformatted from the original
and including, Official debates of the House of Commons of the Dominion of Canada.
Ottawa: C.W. Mitchell, "Free Press" Office.
Stevenson, G. (2009). Unfulfilled union: Canadian federalism and national unity. Montreal:
McGill-Queen's University Press.
Dyck, R., Cochrane, C., & Dyck, R. (2017). Canadian politics: Critical approaches.