To outsiders, Canada is a uniform country with one government, one prime minister, who speaks for all Canadians. But, in reality, this is not the case. Canada is a dichotomy of governments, of powers, competing with each other, eroding a common sense of nationhood. We do not have one economy or one culture in Canada.
Nearly 150 years ago we were created as a self-governing colony by an Act of a British Parliament, which limited Canada’s powers, subjugating it to Britain. Canada was not sovereign. Slowly, however, Canada evolved into a state, taking on debt during the First World War, gaining its first consulate in 1919, and its first embassy in 1927, all hallmarks of statehood. But Canada was still perceived as a British lackey, even as late as 1989 by our largest trading partner, the United States.
Preceding Canada’s Free Trade Agreements, Pierre Trudeau repatriated our Constitution in 1982, which confirmed that there were two sovereign governments within Canada: the federal government and the provincial governments. Prior to this act, Canada had been acting upon a centralized government, focused upon its two most populated provinces, Ontario and Quebec, a residual function left over from Britain. When Canada industrialized, it had continued this infrastructural format, creating its own form of internal colonization, focused upon Ottawa and central Canada. The provinces of eastern and western Canada, however, had gradually been gaining their own sovereignty through the diffusion of power. Through the management of Crown Lands and Resources, the ability to now levy taxes and to take on debt, the provinces were becoming more powerful and less dependent upon Ottawa.
When the Chretien government began to push more and more costs upon the provinces after 1993, the provinces became more relevant to the citizens. The most important aspects of our lives – healthcare, education, business, and infrastructure – were all under the domain of sovereign provincial governments. Of course, some provinces, like Alberta, were more independent and sovereign than others, but the fact remains that the role of Ottawa was diminishing. Each province had become a separate economic unit, and over the last two decades, the provinces became more willing to work together, without the assistance of Ottawa.
So, why is this important to understand? Because the role of Ottawa has changed for our provinces, and us, and it has really only become a branded public face to those outside of Canada. The provinces have been evolving into states in everything but name, emerging to become more sovereign than at any other time in Canada’s history. They have become more of a nation that citizens can identify with than with Canada. This raises the question: if Ottawa is no longer that relevant or representative of us, why do we continue to pay it deference here in Alberta? Maybe it is time for provinces to re-evaluate their relationship with Ottawa.
John Kennair is an international consultant and doctor of laws who lives in St. Albert.
