Political Science: Assignment 3 - Canadian Politics and Regionalism

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Assignment 3 Kahlon I
Political Assignment 3

Assignment 3 Kahlon II
Part A
1. Briefly explain the four chief elements of Canada's political culture according to
your textbook.
The Canadian political culture is characterized by four key elements, namely community,
freedom, equality, and expectation from the government. In Canada, a community is
described based on its ethnic origin, language, and tradition or history. When it is discussed
in political terms, the community implies a shared sense of connectivity and belongingness to
a nation. Canada has French, English, and Aboriginal communities (Brooks, 2007, p.49).
Talking about freedom, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom as per the Constitution
Act of 1982 provides freedom of religion, expression, thought, participate in political
activities, movement within and across Canada, equality rights, language rights, etc. Section
15 of the Charter outlines the equality rights. The constitution safeguards citizens against any
kind of discrimination based on caste, religion, color, sexuality, gender, age, disability, etc.
In Canada, people expect more from their government to carry out social welfare, provide
health-related infrastructure, provide safety, form policies for them, and govern the nation on
a right track (Brooks, 2007, p.67). This faith in the government owes a great deal to the ethos
of the collectivist that makes them unique from Americans and other countries.
2. How did the Quiet Revolution transform Quebec?
Prior to the Quiet Revolution, Quebec used to be an Anglo-Canadian territory, wherein
Courts and Church controlled the administration. In the 1960s, the Quiet Revolution brought
many changes. The region was characterized by a highly industrialized, an outward-looking
society undergoing urbanization (Goldin, 2006). After the Quebec Liberals Party came into
power in 1960 and the Quite Revolution expresses the efforts of the Liberals party to change
Quebec. It brought a rapid change in the governance of the province and its population. The
newly formed liberal government undertook social and radical political transformations.

Assignment 3 Kahlon III
Education responsibility and other governing powers were taken away from the church and
provided to the state. Hydro-electric utilities were nationalized. In addition to this, it resulted
in the sovereignty movement that gave a 20-year-old a right to get elected and start a
referendum (Goldin, 2006). The Quiet Revolution expanded women’s rights and powers. The
slogan “We are our own boss” turned out to be the driving theme of education, business,
political system, and culture.
3. What was the Person case, and what was its outcome?
The Person Case which is also called Edwards vs. A.G. of Canada. It is a famous
constitutional ruling that provides the constitutional rights to women and established their
rights in the Senate. The Constitution Act of 1867 was the law that established the Dominion
of Canada. Section 24 used to specify ‘qualified persons' could be a part of the Senate
(Jackson, 2013). However, the definition of persons does not consider women. In the 1920s,
the Five Women group raised voice against the barrier that was keeping women out of any
government office. They challenged a provision in the constitution that was preventing any
women to be a part of the Senate. They won this famous ‘Person Case' and ended the
provision in the Canadian constitution that did not consider females as ‘persons'. The
outcome of this case was that women were allowed to run the country and join public offices.
The Person case resulted in the entry of women in the House of Common and the Upper
House (Jackson, 2013).
4. How has the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) affected the Canadian
government’s powers?
The National American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is the international trading pact
signed between the USA, Canada, and Mexico that eliminates the trade barriers between the
three nations. Its impact on the government’s power is that it has diminished majority of them
(Caliendo & Parro, 2015). Prior to NAFTA, the government was entitled to protect the rights

Assignment 3 Kahlon IV
of the citizen against the businesses' and reduce the costs by making use of laws for child
labor and regulating wage and hours. NAFTA empowered the corporations to expand beyond
the domestic markets and invest in the international market, thereby increasing their influence
on government institution and reducing the powers within the hands of different levels of
government (Caliendo & Parro, 2015). In other words, the fall of national economies resulted
in the breakdown of the abilities of the government to keep a balance between mass
consumption and production. It failed in protecting human rights in the form of education and
welfare.
Conclusion
Section A helped me in understanding the basics of Canadian politics in depth. For instance, I
got to learn the meaning of freedom and equality and how Canadians are different from
American in terms of expectations for government. I learned about Personal Case and the
struggles of women in earlier time. In addition to this, understanding the Quiet revolution and
NAFTA was also a good experience.

Assignment 3 Kahlon V
Part B
Introduction
From the very beginning of Canadian history, regionalism had been a part of its political
system. The experts have a varying opinion about its effects on Canada. Some believe that
regionalism has weakened the Canadian state while other have completely opposite thinking.
Regionalism and its impacts on Canada are discussed in this section, wherein population and
ethnicity differences and their effects on the federal government’s responses are discussed. In
addition, a discussion on the Meech Lake constitutional debate and other law and
constitutional reforms that defined Quebec as a “distinct society” is done.
Regionalism in Canadian Politics
According to Loughlin & Keating (2013), regionalism can be defined as the distinctive
characteristics of a region or people’s perception attached to that place. Canada is known for
its different multiregional identities that are characterized by people from different religions,
ethnicities, traditions, and lifestyles. In Canada, regionalism is considered as a political
ideology based on the shared sense of attachment to a place and is characterized by Canadian
culture, society, economy, and political differences. In addition to this, some leaders relate it
to tension between local and national institutional, economic, and emotional attachment.
From the very first day of Confederation, Canada has developed many regional identities
grounded on geographic character, economic interest, and traditional lifestyles (Brooks,
2007). Canada has two of its greatest regionally distinct political cultures, namely Quebec
nationalism and Western alienation. Regionalism exists in the political system of Canada
from the very beginning. For instance, Canada has various regional identities among different
provinces and also within different provinces. Each province has its own defined
constitutional powers and boundaries. Nowadays, these provinces' power tends to replace

Assignment 3 Kahlon VI
wider amorphous regions and local settlements as mean through which the residents express
their regional identification. There are many activities that were earlier planned at various
regional levels are a part of the provincial culture. Regionalism has increased the economic
development of provinces by providing assistance from the federal government for the
provision of services. Canadian regionalism is considered as most rapidly promoted by
provincial politicians and is one of the sensitive topics to debate on due to a large number of
cultural diversities in the country. Regionalism, on one hand, is a pride for the country while
on the other hand, it is quite challenging for the political system (Webber, 2015). This is
because there are many differences between different regions and provinces, thereby making
it difficult for the government to address all the request at the national level.
It has been noticed that the lack of regional accommodation and awareness within Canada’s
federal government has resulted in regional discontent. Most of the discontent arose from
uneven distribution of economic activity amongst different provinces of the country. In
addition to this, there are many federal policies favoring Ontario, Central Canada, and
Quebec that are putting North, East, and West on the disadvantageous position. For instance,
declaring Quebec as a "distinct society” is one of the controversial decision taken up by the
federal government.
Laws and constitutional reforms for defining Quebec as a “distinct society”
The formal recognition of Quebec as a distinct society was initially a controversial move
from the federal system. In October 1992, Canadians were asked to support the provision of
distinctive stature to Quebec as a part of reform. They named it "the Charlottetown Accord".
However, the majority of citizens turned this mega-constitutional reform down. They also
denied the recognition of other individual elements that included the suggestions for Quebec
to get a distinctive character in the constitution (Loughlin & Keating, 2013). However, the
government resurfaced the proposal under an extra-constitutional form. The controversies

Assignment 3 Kahlon VII
were born due to the confusion in the meaning of distinctive society and its implications. The
concept of distinctive society had emerged from two amendment projects, namely the
"Meech Lake Accord" and "the Charlottetown Accord" which was finally presented in
November 1995 by the then Prime Minister Chretien (Desbiens & Rivard, 2014).
The Idea that Quebec has distinct character first emerged in the British era in 1760. However,
in 1774, it got codified in the law by the Act of British Parliament i.e., The Quebec Act of
1774. This Act granted people the right to exercise the beliefs of the Roman Catholic
religion. In addition to this, civil cases were resolved using French laws and criminal cases by
British common law. However, the tension between the English and French was eventually
growing. This resulted in the division of Quebec into the Upper and Lower Canada under the
Constitutional Act 1791 (Brooks, 2015). The former region was handling common law and
freehold land tenure while the latter was given the charge of French Civil law and seigniorial
system. This division among the administration of Quebec was the prime challenge for
reaching general agreement on the clause.
The status of distinctive society status given to Quebec has been protested against by many
citizens. This clause raises two critical questions concerning mass politics (Jackson, 2013).
The first one is how would the provincial government of Quebec gain more support for
policies covering the infringe rights that are unchanged in the Charter? The second- Will the
status able to safeguard the unity of Confederation by authorizing the provincial loyalty while
the pan-Canadian one is at stake? These questions are very much concerning and are
affecting the general agreement. The distinct society status has been given to Quebec but it
has not benefitted the province much. Unlike the rest of the provinces of Canada, Quebec’s
education system, healthcare, and other social services have not transformed much (Desbiens
& Rivard, 2014).

Assignment 3 Kahlon
VIII
Conclusion
Part B of this assessment was a mix of politics and the history of Canada. It began with a
discussion on regionalism in Canada and its significance. For this, I have to explore the
history and geographic characteristics of the region and provinces. I understand that Canada
has many communities, culture, and religion that make it a regionally diverse nation.
Regionalism is an integral part of its political system. In addition to this, I came to learn
about the meaning of ‘distinctive society' and what are its features. I also learned about the
constitutional reforms that took place in order to provide this status to Quebec and how it is
affecting the province in modern days.

Assignment 3 Kahlon IX
Works Cited
Brooks, S. (2007). Canadian democracy: An Introduction. Oxford University Press.
Brooks, S. (Host), Vodarek, L. (Filming and Editing), & Nesbitt-Larking, P. (Interviewee).
(2015). Video clip 4: Trust and public opinion [Video file]. In Conversations on
Canadian politics: A video guide to accompany Canadian democracy (8th ed.). Don
Mills, ON Oxford University Press.
Brooks, S. (Host), Vodarek, L. (Filming and Editing), & Tanguay, B. (Interviewee).
(2015). Video clip 9: Quebec [Video file]. In Conversations on Canadian politics: A
video guide to accompany Canadian democracy (8th ed.). Don Mills, ON Oxford
University Press.
Caliendo, L., & Parro, F. (2015). Estimates of the Trade and Welfare Effects of NAFTA. The
Review of Economic Studies, 82(1), 1-44.
Desbiens, C., & Rivard, É. (2014). From passive to active dialogue? Aboriginal lands,
development and métissage in Québec, Canada. cultural geographies, 21(1), 99-114.
Goldin, C. (2006). The quiet revolution that transformed women's employment, education,
and family. American economic review, 96(2), 1-21.
Jackson, V. (2013). Constitutional engagement in a transnational era. Oxford University
Press.
Loughlin, J., & Keating, M. (2013). The political economy of regionalism. Routledge.

Assignment 3 Kahlon X
Webber, J. (2015). The Constitution of Canada: A Contextual Analysis. Bloomsbury
Publishing.