POLI 204: Canadian Political Institutions and Federalism

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering foundational concepts of state and regime types, approaches to politics, Canadian constitutional history, language policies, federal and provincial divisions of power, and theories of fiscal and executive federalism.

State

An entity that exists when a sovereign power effectively rules over a population residing within the boundaries of a fixed territory. It comprises three components: population, territory, and sovereignty (which has internal and external components).

Nation

An identity shared by a large number of people, based on factors such as ethnicity, language, religion, and customs.

Regime

A classification of political rule presented along a continuum from majority rule to elite rule: Democratic to Hybrid to Authoritarian to Totalitarian.

Legislative Power

The branch of government power responsible for adopting and amending laws.

Executive Power

Government authority that is formally vested in the Crown and exercised through ministers who are accountable to the elected legislature.

Judicial Power

Government power through which courts interpret constitutional provisions and exercise judicial review over legislative and executive decisions.

Institutionalism

An approach to the study of politics that emphasizes constitutions and laws, examining how institutions shape political outcomes and comparing institutions across countries.

Political Sociology

An approach to politics that emphasizes society, its demands on the political system, and the feedback of political outputs into society.

State-Based / Elite-Based Approach

An approach to studying politics that emphasizes the autonomy and power of state actors, bureaucrats, and policy communities (such as the judicial and law-enforcement communities).

Political Psychology and Behaviour

An approach that emphasizes individual opinions, beliefs, perceptions, expectations, and motivations, and their effects on political preferences, issue stances, and political participation.

Path Dependence

A concept introduced under institutionalism stating that past events constrain later events.

Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism

Established in 1963 and chaired by André Laurendeau and Davidson Dunton amid the Quiet Revolution to investigate inequalities between English- and French-speaking Canadians; recommended expanding institutional bilingualism, promoting individual bilingualism, and ensuring equal citizenship rights.

Official Languages Act (1969)

Federal statute that came into force on 7 September 1969; recognized English and French as official languages, ensured bilingual federal services and equitable employment, affirmed equal authenticity of federal enactments, and created the Commissioner of Official Languages.

Institutional Bilingualism

Bilingualism within government institutions, allowing citizens access to institutions and public services in both English and French.

Individual Bilingualism

An individual's personal capacity to use both English and French.

Personality Principle

A linguistic diversity model associated with the Canadian federal government that grants particular linguistic status to individuals from linguistic minorities wherever they reside across Canada.

Territorial Principle

A linguistic diversity model granting particular status to a specific province or territory where a linguistic minority is concentrated; associated with Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nunavut.

Bill 101

The Charter of the French Language, adopted in 1977 under the Parti Québécois to make French the normal and usual language of work, education, communications, commerce, and business using a territorial approach that restricts individual rights for collective rights.

Skill-Based Selection

An immigration system based on points and occupational skills introduced in the 1960s, which ended overtly discriminatory policies and historical preferences for European, especially British, immigrants.

Multiculturalism Policy (1971)

Federal policy announced by Pierre Trudeau in 1971 (later formalized by the 1988 Multiculturalism Act) defined as 'multiculturalism within a bilingual framework': two official languages, but no official culture.

Three Phases of Multiculturalism

The chronological evolution of Canadian multiculturalism policy: ethnicity multiculturalism in the 1970s; equity or rights-based multiculturalism in the 1980s–1990s; and anti-racism/anti-discrimination multiculturalism from 2000 onward.

Kymlicka's Thesis on Multiculturalism (2021)

The argument that Canadian multiculturalism is resilient because it is linked to national identity (making open attacks risky), yet precarious because support is conditional and prejudice remains mobilizable (as shown in the 2015 election debates over the 'barbaric cultural practices' tip line).

White Identity (Snagovsky, Walker, and Wesley, 2026)

A psychological attachment to a white racial ingroup. Experimental research found information on demographic shifts activates it in Canada, but it did not robustly alter attitudes toward immigrants, admission preferences, or personal victimhood.

Constitutional Act, 1791

British statute that divided territory into Upper and Lower Canada, establishing representative government with an appointed governor, executive council, legislative council, and an elected assembly with limited power.

Act of Union, 1841

SUnited Upper and Lower Canada into a single colony, following demands for reform, the rebellions of 1837–1838, and the Durham Report. Responsible government followed in 1848.

Constitution Act, 1867

Originally the British North America Act. Created a federal union of Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, called the Dominion of Canada. Canada remained within the British Empire.

Statute of Westminster, 1931

Ended the precedence of British legislation over Canadian legislation and recognized authority to enact laws with extraterritorial implications, including foreign policy and trade. The lecture describes this as quasi-independence; patriation remained unresolved.

Constitution Act, 1982

Completed patriation and established Canadian amendment procedures. Added the Charter, recognition and affirmation of Aboriginal rights, and a commitment to fiscal equalization. Supplemented the existing Constitution rather than replacing it entirely.

Responsible Government

An unwritten constitutional convention whereby the executive branch is accountable to the legislature; ministers must maintain the confidence of the elected assembly to remain in power.

Dominion Status

The constitutional status describing Canada's evolution within the British Empire: recognized as self-governing colonies in 1907; defined as autonomous, equal communities sharing allegiance to the Crown in 1926; and legally confirmed in 1931.

Patriation

The 1982 process that brought constitutional amendment power home to Canada, eliminating the necessity for the British Parliament to enact Canadian constitutional changes.

7/50 Rule

The general amending formula requiring approval from both houses of the federal Parliament and the legislative assemblies of at least seven provinces representing at least $50\%$ of the total provincial population.

Notwithstanding Clause (Section 33)

A constitutional mechanism in the Charter allowing Parliament or a provincial legislature to enact legislation that operates notwithstanding Section 2 or Sections 7 to 15; valid for up to 5 years (renewable) as a compromise between judicial review and parliamentary supremacy.

Equalization Payments

Unconditional federal transfers introduced in 1957 and constitutionally entrenched in 1982 under Section 36(2) to address provincial fiscal capacity disparities so provinces can offer comparable public services at comparable taxation levels.

Federal Powers

Jurisdictional powers allocated to Ottawa under the Constitution Act, 1867, including trade and commerce, any form of taxation, national defence, banking, Aboriginal affairs, criminal law, and interprovincial transportation and communication.

Provincial Powers

Jurisdictional powers allocated to provinces under the Constitution Act, 1867, including direct taxation within the province, public lands, hospitals and health care, municipal institutions, education, property and civil rights, and administration of justice.

Concurrent Powers

Areas of shared constitutional jurisdiction between federal and provincial governments: agriculture, immigration, and old-age pensions (added via amendment in 1951).

Residual Powers

Unallocated legislative powers reserved exclusively for the federal government under the 'peace, order and good government' (POGG) clause.

Fiscal Imbalance

A structural mismatch occurring when a government's constitutional responsibilities and expenditures (accelerated by urbanization and population growth) exceed its revenue-raising capacity.

Fiscal Federalism

A set of cooperative intergovernmental mechanisms—such as taxation agreements, conditional grants, block grants, and equalization payments—designed to address vertical and horizontal fiscal mismatches.

Conditional Grants

Federal transfer payments made to provincial governments in areas of provincial jurisdiction that are contingent upon adherence to federally specified program conditions.

Block Grants

Federal funding targeted broadly toward a specific policy field (such as postsecondary education or health care) without detailed restrictions on how funds are allocated within that field.

Executive Federalism

The management of intergovernmental relations through direct negotiations among executive branch leaders and ministers (e.g., First Ministers' Conferences, Council of the Federation) rather than through parliamentary legislatures.

Lazar's 'Workhorse of the Federation' (2010)

A metaphor for executive federalism and fiscal negotiations, which manage major federal coordination, policy compromises, and welfare state funding despite lacking transparency, binding rules, and legislative oversight.

Collaborative Federalism (Cameron and Simeon, 2002)

A modern dynamic of executive federalism wherein federal, provincial, and territorial governments act as equal, autonomous, and interdependent partners to co-determine broad national policies without amending the formal constitution.

Asymmetrical Federalism

A federal structure where different constituent units possess differing jurisdictional powers or arrangements (e.g., Quebec's distinct pension plan, civil law, and immigration powers; Nunavut's 1999 consensus government under its Land Claims Agreement).

creation if the canadian conferation

Front: Why was the Canadian Confederation created, and how was it a political compromise?

Back: In 1867, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia united for economic, political, and military reasons.

Federalism balanced:

• English Canadian centralizers: a strong central government.

• French Canadian leaders: protection of their language, laws, and religion.

• Maritime leaders: preservation of regional authority.

Negotiated in Charlottetown, Quebec City, and London; enacted by the British Parliament.

Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom

Back: A constitutionally entrenched bill of rights introduced in 1982, protecting rights and freedoms against government action.

It protects:

• Fundamental freedoms: conscience, religion, thought, belief, opinion, expression, peaceful assembly, and association.

• Democratic rights, including voting.

• Legal and equality rights.

• Official-language and minority-language education rights.

• Rights equally guaranteed to male and female persons.

Section 33 — notwithstanding clause: Parliament or a provincial legislature can declare that a law operates despite section 2 or sections 7–15, for up to five years, renewable.

Mechanisms of fiscal federalism (taxation agreements/conditional grants/block grants/equalization payments)

• Taxation agreements: arrangements coordinating governments’ use of direct and indirect taxation.

• Conditional grants: federal grants to provinces in areas of provincial jurisdiction, subject to specified conditions.

• Block grants: grants directed toward a particular policy field, such as health care or postsecondary education, without detailed conditions governing use within that field.

• Equalization payments: transfers addressing differences in provincial fiscal capacity to support comparable services at comparable taxation levels.

Taxation agreements:

Arrangements coordinating governments’ use of direct and indirect taxation.

Conditional grants:

Federal grants to provinces in areas of provincial jurisdiction, subject to specified conditions.

Block grants:

Grants directed toward a particular policy field, such as health care or postsecondary education, without detailed conditions governing use within that field.

Equalization payments:

Transfers addressing differences in provincial fiscal capacity to support comparable services at comparable taxation levels.