Federalism in Canada and its Implications on Various Minority Groups

The Emergence of Federalism in Canada

Federalism is a democratic institution wherein different levels of government in a country are responsible for varying tasks. In short, specific tasks are the responsibility of specific governmental structures in countries that practise federalism. In Canada, federalism is a form of government where responsibilities are distributed between the federal and provincial governments. This is exemplified in that, specific tasks, such as defence, fall under federal jurisdiction, and other tasks, such as education, are within the provincial jurisdiction.

Federalism was established in Canada when the British North American Act was signed in 1867, wherein the British monarchy granted Canada the autonomy to form its own independent country as a constitutional monarchy. The first Prime Minister of Canada, Sir John A. MacDonald, was not in favour of this government form and had preferred a system in which the federal government had more authority over provinces. This division between federal and provincial jurisdiction was created mainly because the provinces were wary of joining Canada and due to preexisting colonial tensions between French-speaking Quebec and English-speaking Canada. This tension led Quebec to be unwilling to give total authority to the federal government.

Today, as a geographically and politically diverse country of this size and variation, the government of Canada is better able to function efficiently by spreading out responsibilities amongst the different levels of government.