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Canadian Politics 101: Federalism and Unity
Welcome to Longform North -- a longform interview podcast featuring Canadian voices and stories about Canada.
Canada is a federal country, which means power is divided between two levels of government - the federal government and the provinces.
And even though it's all one country, the provinces are very different from each other. They have different economies, different cultures, different politics, different languages, and different interests.
And sure, diversity is our strength and all that, but trying to balance all those interests isn't always easy. At least one province has tried to separate a couple times, while similar threats from other provinces have bubbled up, too.
So how do all these governments work together? And what, if anything, keeps the country from falling apart?
Joining me again to help out with these questions is Dr. Tom Bateman. He is a professor of political science at St Thomas University, and he is one of the co-authors of a book called The Canadian Regime: An Introduction to Canada's Parliamentary Democracy.
Some of the topics we discuss include:
- Why did Canada choose to have a federal system back in 1867?
- How John A. MacDonald was originally against federalism and aimed to create a strong central government.
- How are the different powers divided up between the federal government and the provinces?
- How the impact of health and education gave the provinces much more influence and power than what was originally planned.
- How the lines get blurred as to who has jurisdiction over what. For example the environment, where natural resources is provincial, but climate change and environmental sustainability is federal.
- Equalization payments and how they work.
- The separatist movements in both Alberta and Quebec, and what is behind them?
- Could Canada fall apart? What is it that's keeping it together?
Links:
- The Canadian Regime: An Introduction to Canada's Parliamentary Democracy
- Dr. Tom MJ Bateman
*Note: This episode was recorded on March 15th, 2025.
For more about the podcast, check out the website: longformnorth.com
Music by Aaron Barth
Hosted and produced by Ian Van Harten
View all episodes
By Ian Van HartenWelcome to Longform North -- a longform interview podcast featuring Canadian voices and stories about Canada.
Canada is a federal country, which means power is divided between two levels of government - the federal government and the provinces.
And even though it's all one country, the provinces are very different from each other. They have different economies, different cultures, different politics, different languages, and different interests.
And sure, diversity is our strength and all that, but trying to balance all those interests isn't always easy. At least one province has tried to separate a couple times, while similar threats from other provinces have bubbled up, too.
So how do all these governments work together? And what, if anything, keeps the country from falling apart?
Joining me again to help out with these questions is Dr. Tom Bateman. He is a professor of political science at St Thomas University, and he is one of the co-authors of a book called The Canadian Regime: An Introduction to Canada's Parliamentary Democracy.
Some of the topics we discuss include:
- Why did Canada choose to have a federal system back in 1867?
- How John A. MacDonald was originally against federalism and aimed to create a strong central government.
- How are the different powers divided up between the federal government and the provinces?
- How the impact of health and education gave the provinces much more influence and power than what was originally planned.
- How the lines get blurred as to who has jurisdiction over what. For example the environment, where natural resources is provincial, but climate change and environmental sustainability is federal.
- Equalization payments and how they work.
- The separatist movements in both Alberta and Quebec, and what is behind them?
- Could Canada fall apart? What is it that's keeping it together?
Links:
- The Canadian Regime: An Introduction to Canada's Parliamentary Democracy
- Dr. Tom MJ Bateman
*Note: This episode was recorded on March 15th, 2025.
For more about the podcast, check out the website: longformnorth.com
Music by Aaron Barth
Hosted and produced by Ian Van Harten