POL2101 Canadian Politics UOttawa

Constitutional Act (1791)

Act which divided the British colony in lower Canada (french catholic) and upper Canada (english protestant)

Act of the Union

Lower Canada was visited by Lord Durham, who thought that the french were an inferior race which needed to be assimilated to British culture. Britain tried to merge both Canada's together, which created rebellion in Lower Canada. This unrest led to the British North America Act.

British North America Act (1867 Constitutional Act)

Created the centralized federation that we know today. Creates the constitution, federal system, house of commons, senate and four provinces: ON, QC, NS and NB.

Federation

A state with two or more levels of governance, who have their own constitutionally defined specialized powers. Homogenous populations, political parties, partisan politics, economic disparities, external shocks and court decisions can centralize or decentralize them.

Centralized Federation

Federation with strong unitary central powers that overpower other levels. They can generally overpower in conflicting/concurring reservation and residuary powers, and can act in "peace and good order"

Unitary State

State with all powers centralized

Quebec Act (1774)

After defeat from the french, Britain allowed French to practice Catholicism and participate in Government.

Centralized Canadian Sectors

Social welfare, language, employment protection, economic activity,

Decentralized Canadian sectors

Employment, resources, health care, education, immigration (although mainly shared). Sectors can decentralize because of court rulings, lack of federal representation, lack of organization between federal and provincial parities, lack of representation in the senate, nationalism in Quebec and development of provinces.

Health Care Transfer Act

Act that sends money to provinces, measured by capita, to provide healthcare to citizens. Broad conditions must be held by provinces to receive this payment.

Equalization

Payments made to provinces to ensure that Canadians have access to services of similar quality as described in Constitution at similar levels of taxation. The fiscal capacity of each province is determined (revenue generated at same level of taxation)/, and provinces who are below average are brought to average through payments.

Nationalism

Love of the nation, associated with self-determination and identity components. In Quebec, this is largely centered on the protection of French culture.

Pre-1960's Quebec

French Catholic conservative nation, largely led and directed by the church. There is a focus on agricultural work, large families, religion and conservatism.

The Quiet Revolution (1960)

Party Libéral du Québec is elected and slowly takes over most activities run by the church like welfare, health and education. Nationalism starts to shift on language rather than religion. There is massive secularization, modernization through industrialization and an end of the linguistic work-division with the English.

Party Libéral du Québec (PLQ)

Political government which advocated for decentralization, higher provincial powers and recognition of difference. Led Québec through the Quiet Revolution.

Party Québécois (1976)

Left-wing social democratic party which implemented multiple social democratic legislation in Quebec. The party was very nationalist towards language and called for Québec independence. The party was behind the Quebec independence referendums in 1980 and 1995.

Quebec Independence Referendum (1980)

First Quebec referendum which failed. During the first referendum, Trudeau promised that constitutional changes would be implemented if Québec stays in the federation. Media was also manipulated in order to make people feel as though Québec would fail economically if it became independent.

Constitutional Act (1982)

After the referendum, Trudeau tried to change the constitution to centralize the federation. He was taken to court and unable to change the constitution without the provinces, so he this act. This act created the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It was refused by Québec, since Québec wanted recognition of difference, a veto in the constitution, and no protection for language minorities in Québec. This led to the Lake Meech Accord.

Lake Meech Accord (1987)

This accord was a follow up to the 1982 Constitutional Act, which aimed to obtain Québec's approval. The accord aimed to recognize Québec as a distinct society and provided new powers to the provinces. However, it was refused by a First Nation member in the Manitoba Legislature, since the amendments did not give legal recognition to First Nations. The failure of the accord led to the Charlottetown agreement.

Charlottetown Accord (1992)

Second bill by provinces which aimed to decentralize the federation and obtain Québec's consent to the constitutional act of 1982. The accord failed because of issues in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Accord was also criticized for not giving Québec enough powers. In the end, the accord was refused.

Clarity Act

Act that states that if there is a referendum in Quebec, the House of Commons will determine if it is legitimate. Quebec can't be independent without passing the act after the referendum vote.

Council of Federations

Body created by provinces to up inter-provincial relations. The federal government is not a member. The council has a history of inefficiency and non-consensus, since provinces have different economies, interests, cultures and parties.

Indian Act (1876)

Act of the Canadian government which classifies Indigenous population in Canada in three categories: Status, non-Status and Treaty Indians.

Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples

A commission which writes recommendations to promote reconciliation, to rebuild nationhood, treaty relationships and peaceful coexistence.

Indian Residential Schools Resettlement Agreement (IRSRA)

Agreement from the Canadian Government which created common experience payments, independent assessment processes, commemoration funding and created the First Nation Healing Foundation and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission

Reconciliation

Making amends between groups, taking responsibility and apologizing. Reconciliation can be seen in three aspects:
Resignation: asymmetrical reconciliation
Consistency: Making adjustments to either or both sides of an agreement until they are the same, making changes that are proportional to the damages done.
Relationship: symmetrical efforts on both sides to reach reconciliation.
Previously: discussions in Canada to create "regional" or a "third level of governance" for First Nation communities, or making First Nation "citizen plus" - citizens who have more privileges.

indigenous land rights

Often associated with self-governance, refers to the right of First Nation bands to govern and own their ancestral lands. Indigenous communities often wish to benefit from the exploitation of the land through self-governance.

Regionalism

Refers to the particular traits or attributes of a given place, which individuals usually identify with. In Canada, different areas have different weather, economic disparities, seasonal activities, languages, etc. Some may identify with the west, north, east, central, etc. Can also refer to regional methods of governance rather than central form of administration.

Alberta

Particularities: populism, economically unique (rich province, no equalization, low taxes), wild rose, conservative dynasty (right of center), NDP surprise.

Saskatchewan

Particularities: from very poor to rich, oil boom, agrarian, social democratic agrarianism, shift towards conservatism.

Newfoundland

Particularities: strong nationalism after Quebec, seasonal work, very left wing (even cons), relies on equalization (but still is very nationalist), conservative resurgence, aging population, just recently joined federation, two party system between libs and cons

Western Alienation

The feeling from Western Canada that policy makers have favored central and eastern provinces. This is in large part because most western provinces do not receive equalization, because most policy makers are not elected to represent the West or represent West interests, and because central policy makers often limit the ability to exploit natural resources (ex: national energy policy). Western alienation led to the creation of the reform party, calls for reforms of the senate and the Alberta firewall.

Reform Party

Political party that was the voice of western alienation in Canada. The reform party was a populist conservative party which aimed to reform the senate so that it can represent western interests.

National energy policy

After the price of oil was becoming too high, this policy was put into place by Trudeau to put a maximum on the price of oil. This frustrated Alberta, since this limited the profits they could obtain from the exploitation of natural resources. This contributed to western alienation.

Wild rose

Far-right conservative party which emerged in Alberta. Was the voice for Western Alienation and aimed to "unite the right" lol

Alberta firewall

Refers to letter written by multiple Albertan politicians which aimed to tell the current Alberta Premier to exercise provincial powers. Wanted to build a "firewall" to avoid federal influences in provincial politics. Wanted own tax system, own pension plan, establishment of a provincial police forces.