Module 3A

Course Logistics

• Class size: $225$ students.

• Questions should be posted on Brightspace, which is an online learning platform often used by universities (benefits: collective learning; instructor time-management).

• The current video is part of Week 2; the first module covers Regionalism and Social Class.

Working Definition of Regionalism

• Stephen Brooks defines regionalism as: “A political identity based on a shared sense of place.”

• A political identity refers to how people see themselves as part of a group with common political interests and values. The core element here is a shared sense of place (meaning a common geographic area) → this shared sense shapes their identity, their interests, and how they mobilize (or organize) politically.

Regions as Social Constructions

• Regions are not natural features with fixed boundaries; instead, their boundaries are socially constructed, meaning they are created and defined by people and society, much like how nations are defined.

• For example: “Western Canada” is commonly understood to include British Columbia (BC), Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba — but these boundaries could easily be redrawn by people's perceptions or political decisions (e.g., “Central Canada” could be defined to include Manitoba and Ontario).

• Nevertheless, these social constructions have limits:

  • Geographic proximity matters; for instance, you wouldn't logically group BC and Newfoundland into the same region because they are so far apart.

  • Similar experiences are needed among the people within a perceived region, whether in terms of their economy, their natural resources, or their political institutions.

• A key trigger for political mobilization (or organizing collective action) often comes from a sense of alienation (feeling excluded or out of place) or discontent (dissatisfaction) with Canada’s central government institutions.

• An iconic slogan/book that illustrates this feeling is Let the Eastern Bastards Freeze in the Dark by Mary Janigan — this was a direct reaction to the National Energy Program (NEP) in the $1980s$, which was a federal policy that significantly impacted oil-producing Western provinces.

Common Canadian Region Lists

• A widely used 6-region model includes: Atlantic Canada, Quebec, Ontario, the Prairies, British Columbia (BC), and the North.

• An alternative 4-region model includes: Eastern Canada, Quebec, Ontario, and the West (which includes the Prairies and BC) and the North.

• It's important to remember that these boundaries can shift according to how residents and politicians perceive and define them.

Analytical Frameworks for Regionalism

1. Core–Periphery (Harold Innis & subsequent scholars)

• This framework divides Canada into two main types of regions:

• The Core (primarily Quebec and Ontario): These are the central, more industrialized regions that often hold political and manufacturing dominance.

• The Periphery (Atlantic Canada, the Prairies, BC, and the North): These are the outer regions that typically supply raw resources to the core and are often seen as politically dependent on it.

2. Old vs. New Canada (Michael Bliss, $2000s$)

• This framework categorizes regions based on their economic characteristics:

• New Canada: This refers to more entrepreneurial and innovative regions, often identified as Ontario and the West.

• Old Canada: This refers to regions seen as aging and experiencing slower growth, typically Quebec and Atlantic Canada.

• A caveat (or important note) is that economic fortunes can shift; for example, Quebec has economically outperformed Ontario over the last $15$ years, challenging this framework.

3. Beyond the Nation-State: “Nine Nations of North America” (Joel Garreau, $1981$)

• This theory claims that conventional national borders (like those between Canada, the US, and Mexico) are “largely irrelevant” when understanding cultural and economic areas.

• It proposes 9 cultural-economic nations within North America, each with a perceived “capital” city:

1. New England – This region includes Atlantic Canada and the US New England states, with its cultural and economic hub in Boston.

   2. Quebec – This refers to modern Quebec, which historically was Nouvelle-France (New France), with Québec City as its center.

   3. The Foundry – This area encompasses the old industrial belt of the US (like the Rust Belt) and Southern Ontario in Canada, with Detroit as its representative city.

   4. Dixie – This nation is based on the former Confederate states in the southern US, with Atlanta as a key city.

   5. The Islands – This refers to the Caribbean region combined with Miami, which serves as a major gateway city.

   6. Breadbasket – This nation includes the Great Plains of the US and parts of Northern Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba in Canada, with Kansas City representing its agricultural heartland.

   7. MexAmerica – This region consists of the US Southwest and Northern Mexico, with Los Angeles as a prominent urban center.

   8. Empty Quarter – This vast, sparsely populated area covers the Rocky Mountains, the Far North of North America, Alberta, and other similar regions, with Denver as a key city.

   9. Ecotopia – This nation stretches along the Pacific coast from San Francisco in the US up to British Columbia in Canada, often rooted in environmental and technological culture.

• This framework illustrates that regional cultures and economies may span national borders (e.g., sharing similarities between Seattle in the US and Vancouver in Canada).

Two Principal Drivers of Regional Alienation

A. Economic Basis

• Regional alienation, or the feeling of being excluded or unfairly treated, often stems from economic differences and policies.

• Unequal resource endowments: Different regions have different natural resources, such as oil in Alberta versus hydroelectricity (power from water) in Quebec.

• These differences lead to divergent interests on policies like climate policy (e.g., Quebec benefits from exporting low-carbon power, while Alberta's oil industry faces challenges).

• Canada also has a manufacturing core (Ontario and parts of Quebec) versus resource export economies (like the West, which depends on selling raw materials).

• Federal policies can deepen disparities: Historical policies have sometimes hurt certain regions while benefiting others.

  • The 19th-century National Policy (under Prime Minister John A. Macdonald) involved high tariffs (taxes on imported goods) designed to protect and grow central-Canadian industry. This hurt Western exporters because they had to buy more expensive Canadian goods and faced difficulties selling their own products abroad due to trade barriers.

  • The NEP ($1980$) was a federal program that capped Canadian oil prices below world prices to help fight inflation across Canada and subsidize manufacturing in the central provinces. This led to immense Western fury (illustrated by the “Eastern bastards” slogan) because it significantly reduced revenue for oil-producing provinces like Alberta.

• Market orientation differences: Different regions focus their trade on different global markets.

  • Eastern Canada tends to trade more with the US Midwest/East Coast and Europe.

  • British Columbia (BC) primarily focuses its trade on Asia.

• Equalization Program (a complex, federal-funded program):

  • Its objective is to enable “have-not” provinces (those with less ability to raise their own revenue) to offer public services (like healthcare and education) that are comparable in quality to those in “have” provinces, all at comparable tax rates.

  • There's a common misconception that “Alberta sends cheques to Quebec.” In reality, the program is funded by federal general revenues, meaning it's paid for by all Canadian taxpayers through income taxes, sales taxes, etc., not directly by one province to another.

  • This program is often a source of resentment in wealthier provinces (like Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland when oil prices were high) because they contribute more to federal revenues, which then fund programs like equalization.

B. Political-Institutional Basis

• Regional alienation also arises from how political power is distributed and exercised in Canada.

• Demographic dominance: Ontario and Quebec together hold a significant portion of Canada's population, which translates into an electoral majority (more than half the seats) in the House of Commons because representation is based on rep by pop (representation by population).

  • Consequence: When these two provinces vote similarly on major issues, their combined power often means the rest of Canada cannot overturn the election results or policy decisions.

• Under-representation in Cabinet: If the governing political party wins very few seats in Western Canada, the West can feel voiceless or excluded from federal decision-making (examples include the late Pierre Trudeau era and portions of the Justin Trudeau era).

• Ineffective regional counterweight: The Senate (Canada's upper house of Parliament) was originally designed to provide territorial balance and ensure regional voices were heard, but it is largely unelected and has limited power, making it a weak counterweight.

• First-Past-the-Post exacerbation: Canada's electoral system, where the candidate with the most votes in each riding (electoral district) wins, can magnify regional divisions.

  • Example: If the Conservative Party wins $51\%$ of the vote in every riding in Alberta, they capture $100\%$ of the seats in that province. This can mask the fact that $49\%$ of Albertans voted for other parties (like the Liberals) and create a perception of a “monolithic West” (as if everyone in the West thinks the same way).

  • A proportional representation system, where seats are allocated more closely to the percentage of votes received, would better display true pluralism (diversity of views) and soften this “monolithic West” narrative.

Case Studies of Canadian Regionalism

1. Atlantic (Maritime) Regionalism

• This region has a longstanding sense of economic decline that many trace back to the time of Confederation (Canada's formation).

• Maritime Rights Movement (1920s): This was a political movement in the Atlantic provinces that sought to address the region's economic struggles.

  • Its goals were to end punitive (harmful) federal policies that disadvantaged the Maritimes.

  • Demands included: lower inter-provincial trade barriers (making it easier to trade goods between provinces); reduced railway freight rates (making it cheaper to transport goods); and lower tariffs to facilitate trade and export to the US.

  • A Royal Commission (a formal public inquiry appointed by Prime Minister Mackenzie King) was established and recommended reforms, but these recommendations were largely ignored by the federal government.

• Alienation in the Atlantic provinces is generally considered less overtly political (less focused on outright separation) because:

  • Atlantic provinces have historically secured a consistent cabinet presence in federal governments, giving them a voice at the top level.

• Contemporary issues facing the Atlantic provinces include:

  • Equalization generosity fluctuations — resentment can arise when the formula for equalization payments tightens, leading to less federal funding.

  • Newfoundland paradox: This province has rich natural resources (like offshore oil and gas) but also experiences high levels of poverty, which means it receives equalization payments, but sometimes loses them as resource revenues temporarily increase.

  • Demographic squeeze: This refers to a challenging population trend where there is out-migration (people leaving) of youth, leading to an aging population that requires higher healthcare costs.

  • Suggested reading: Finbow article.

2. Western Canadian Regionalism

• The root causes of Western Canadian regionalism are primarily:

1. Economic grievances (complaints about economic harm):

   • As mentioned, tariffs and the National Policy favored central Canadian industry at the West's expense.

   • The NEP (originally from $1980$ to $1985$) suppressed the prices for Canadian oil sales below world market prices, which severely reduced Alberta's royalties (payments from resource extraction) and overall revenue.

   1. Political frustration:

   • There's a perception among many in the West of being shut out of Liberal Party governments, which were the dominant federal party post-World War II.

   • Even Conservative governments (e.g., under Brian Mulroney in the $1980s$) were sometimes seen as prioritizing Quebec's interests when conflicts arose between regions.

• Slogans & Movements that emerged from this regionalism:

  • “The West Wants In.”: This slogan expresses a desire for greater influence and recognition within federal politics.

  • The rise of the Reform Party (led by Preston Manning in the $1980s–1990s$) was a significant development. It grew to become the official opposition in Parliament and later merged into the modern Conservative Party of Canada, reflecting a consolidation of Western conservative political power.

• Contemporary flashpoints (current issues causing tension) include:

  • An Equalization referendum in Alberta: This was a symbolic vote to express dissatisfaction with the equalization program (though a constitutional amendment would be required to actually abolish it).

  • Dissatisfaction with climate policy that is perceived to unfairly target the oilsands industry, a major economic driver in Alberta.

  • The emergence of Alberta separatism: While not mainstream, support for Alberta to separate from Canada occasionally polls in the low $30\%$ range (which is far from Quebec’s historic peak of $60\%$ support for sovereignty, but still notable).

• Key figures associated with Western regionalism and its political movements:

  • Preston Manning – the architect and leader of the Reform Party.

  • Stephen Harper – a former Alberta Member of Parliament (MP) and Prime Minister (PM); interestingly, his own equalization formula still faces criticism from the West despite his roots there.

  • Pierre Poilievre – the current Conservative leader, whose political roots trace back to the Reform movement.

Intersections & Implications

• The Rural–Urban Divide (differences in political views and interests between people living in rural areas versus cities) often overlaps with and complicates regional cleavages (divisions); future lectures will elaborate on this.

• Regional alienation influences several key aspects of Canadian politics:

  • Party system evolution (e.g., the Reform Party’s rise and eventual fusion into the Conservative Party).

  • Federal–provincial bargaining (negotiations between the federal government and provincial governments, often seen in issues like pipeline politics and environmental regulation).

  • National unity debates (discussions about Canada staying together as a country, including potential secessionist sentiments, or desires for provinces to leave).

• An important ethical/policy dilemma in Canadian federalism is balancing equity (principles of fairness and equal opportunity, often pursued through programs like equalization and nation-building policies) versus efficiency/autonomy (the desire for provinces to have more control over their own economies and resources without federal interference).

Upcoming Topics

• The next module will focus on Social Class in Canadian Politics.

• Future detailed discussions will cover: the history of tariffs, the mechanics of the Equalization program, Senate reform, and various electoral systems.