Core Themes & Ideas in Canadian Politics

What are the geographic challenges in Canada?

1. second-largest country in the world

2. regions run north-south but political borders are east-west (artificial), if we followed geography we might have regions like Cascadia or unified Great Plains.

How is canadian population distributed?

66-80% of Canadians live within 100km of the us border with a population thinly spread east-west because Canada is very cold and not ideal for habitation.

What does the canadian population distribution cause?

harder to build a strong shared national identity

What are regional identity and stereotypes like in Canada?

Canadians have strong regional identities, ie. Quebec linked with poutine and BC with yoga pants

What are regional divisions like in Canada?

West versus Central Canada (BC,AB,SK vs ON, QB) and Quebec vs the rest of Canada leads to tensions as the west’s population and economic importance have increased.

What has happened to Quebec’s population?

Decline from 1/3 around Confederation (1871) to now 20%

What has happened to Western growth?

From 1871 where Prairies and BC were sparsely populated to a significant share of the population, leading to feeling under-represented given their population and economic weight.

What has happened to the population of the Maritime?

Atlantic provinces (NS, NB, PEI, NL) went from 20% of the population to 5%.

What is the core-periphery (Hinterland) model?

The core-periphery model describes the spatial structure of economic and demographic development, where core regions (Ontario & Quebec) are economically prosperous and influential while peripheral resource-producing regions are often exploited and underdeveloped.

Explain Ontario’s dominance in the Hinterland model.

Economic power has long been concentrated in Central Canada, particularly in Ontario as it produces roughly 40% of Canada’s GDP.

Explain how Quebec has changed economically.

Quebec’s share of the national economy has fallen from just above 25% to about 20%.

Explain western economic growth.

Alberta (thanks to oil) and BC increased from under 10% to roughly 10-20% of national GDP.

What are the key examples of resource dependency by province?

• Alberta: about 30% of its economy depends on natural resources (mainly oil).

• Saskatchewan: also heavily resource-based.

• Newfoundland: significant offshore oil.

• Ontario: < 5% of GDP from natural resources.

What are the political implications of the Hinterland model?

natural resource debates matter far more to Albertans and Saskatchewanians than to Ontarians, particularly Alberta as resource development is tied to its provincial prosperity and ability to provide services.

Canadian Historical Context

original major division between French vs. English Canada, which is still important, but newer forms of diversity now play a larger role.

Canada as an immigrant country

Since 1967, Canada has intentionally become more of an immigrant country; despite recent policy changes, it remains central to Canadian identity and growth.

Pre-1960s Immigration in Canada

mostly immigrants from Britiain and the US, with an early 1900s wave from Central and Eastern Europe. (displacing indigenous people)

Post-1960s Immigration

policy shifted from race-based to race-neutral points system, new immigration increasingly from Asia and South Asia.

Multiculturalism Policy

In early 1970s, federal gov adopted official multiculturalism (funding programs to recognise and celebrate diversity) whilst Quebec prefers assimilation into French Society.

Geography of Immigration

Immigrants concentrate in BC (15%), Ontario (~44%), and Alberta as they tend to settle in urban/suburban areas.

Consequences of Urban Concentration

self-reinforcing pattern as immigrants move where opportunities already exist, making more and contributing to high housing prices and affordability issues.

Core Canadian Commitments

Liberty (freedom) and equality, especially political equality.

Economic equality debate

ongoing disagreement about how much economic inequality is acceptable, many believe there is a threshold where inequality becomes unfair and socially harmful.

Democracy and its challenges

Majority rule, often described as “the worst form of government, except for all the others.”

Tyranny of the majority

Majority rule can threaten minority freedoms and equality; need mechanisms to protect minority rights while keeping democracy.

Protections against majority tyranny

Federalism, Charter of Rights, Constitutionalism, Rule of Law.