Comparative Analysis of the Canadian Welfare State

The essay explores how Canada's welfare state was shaped under the influence of both business and government, irrespective of whether Conservative or Liberal parties were in power. It discusses the tension between capitalist marketplaces and democratic governance, highlighting the unique aspects that distinguish Canadian politics from those of the United States, such as less emphasis on free competition and organized labor. The essay also reflects on how collective organization of working people and various social movements have impacted political power and democracy in Canada.

Running head: SOCIAL SCIENCE
SOCIAL SCIENCE
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Question 2 a
The welfare state of Canada was developed subject to the powerful influence that it
had over the business. This influence maintained a very close relationship with the federal
government and remained unfazed on the fact regarding whether the Conservative or the
Liberal party was in power at a given point of time. The welfare state always rested on the
tension that was present between the two systems of decision-making (Langille, 2016). These
two decision-making systems included the capitalist marketplace and the democratic
government. The political system of Canada may have been described as a system that
allowed accommodation of the elite. The welfare state was described to be able to confront
the challenges that were posed by the factors of communism and fascism. This would have
been possible if the political and social conditions of the concerned area were favorable.
There had been a sufficient democratic pressure during the time span ranging from the 1940s
to the 1970s. This led to the Canadian state gaining more autonomy from the capital that it
had enjoyed in the past.
Question 2 b
The Canadian welfare state is known to differ from the United States in a number of
ways. The Canadian political system have been known to be a tool of the populist sentiment,
in spite of the elaborate system of balances and checks that have been used to circumscribe
the power of the state of America. The Canadian business, unlike the United States have
never been subjected to the strict anti-combines system of legislation (Langille, 2016). The
Canadian state seemingly lays less focus on the merits of the free competition. The Canadian
State is also seen to provide less support to the system of the organized labor. The Canadian
nationals enjoy an extensive welfare state, which has been supportive of or has beholden to
the concerned business. This may be the result of the fact that the state depended on the

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support that was provided by a concentrated community of the corporate sector. This
community had been closely linked to the London and New York capitals rather than the
workers who were based in Canada.
Question 2 c
In these conditions, the common working people have to be organized and mobilized
to perform in a collective manner provided they wanted to possess political powers. This
would in turn help the democracy to run in a smooth manner. There had been an upsurge in
the activities of the democracy after the Great Depression and the World War II. The labor
rights to collective bargaining were secured by the labor movement. Thus, they were able to
enjoy the share of the increasing productivity. The open nature of the Canadian economy did
not allow the concerned government to maintain a steady growth, rise in the incomes and full
employment. The civil rights struggle had broken out in the mean time in the country, which
had been followed by the movements of environment, anti-war movements and the struggles
for the rights of the women. Reports claimed that huge number of demands were being placed
on the government due to the excessive practice of democracy (Langille, 2016).

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References
Langille, D. (2016). Follow the money: How business and politics define our health. D.
Raphael (3rd ed.) Social determinants of health: Canadian perspective, 470-490.