Province building
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Province-building is a term in
Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
which refers to the efforts of provincial governments to become prominent actors in lives of, and focus of loyalty for, people living within those provinces. It is related both to
nation-building Nation-building is constructing or structuring a national identity using the power of the state. Nation-building aims at the unification of the people within the state so that it remains politically stable and viable in the long run. According to ...
, process of constructing or structuring a
national identity National identity is a person's identity or sense of belonging to one or more states or to one or more nations. It is the sense of "a nation as a cohesive whole, as represented by distinctive traditions, culture, and language". National identity ...
using the power of the
state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...
, and
state-building State-building as a specific term in social sciences and humanities, refers to political and historical processes of creation, institutional consolidation, stabilization and sustainable development of states, from the earliest emergence of state ...
, enhancing the capacity of state institutions and building state-society relations. The
Constitution of Canada The Constitution of Canada (french: Constitution du Canada) is the supreme law in Canada. It outlines Canada's system of government and the civil and human rights of those who are citizens of Canada and non-citizens in Canada. Its contents a ...
, beginning with the
British North America Act, 1867 The ''Constitution Act, 1867'' (french: Loi constitutionnelle de 1867),''The Constitution Act, 1867'', 30 & 31 Victoria (U.K.), c. 3, http://canlii.ca/t/ldsw retrieved on 2019-03-14. originally enacted as the ''British North America Act, 186 ...
, delegates powers between the
federal government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...
and the provinces. These powers have been expanded over time by judicial rulings and successful provincial lobbying. Surveys of public opinion in Canada show that
healthcare Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...
and
education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...
rank as the "most important issues" in the minds of Canadians, and both those spheres are delegated to the provinces. Canadian provinces are also endowed with many symbols and myths that attract loyalty in much the same way as do
nation state A nation state is a political unit where the state and nation are congruent. It is a more precise concept than "country", since a country does not need to have a predominant ethnic group. A nation, in the sense of a common ethnicity, may inc ...
s. Many of them had long histories as separate British colonies before joining Canada. They have distinct flags and coats of arms, official provincial institutions such as museums, and separate media markets that cater to provincial affairs. Furthermore, their provincial heads of government, the
premiers Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...
, are often considered the provinces' representatives in national affairs, called "
executive federalism Executive federalism is "the processes of intergovernmental negotiation that are dominated by the executives of the different governments within the federal system." Alternatively, Donald Smiley defined Executive federalism as “the relation betw ...
". This contrasts with other federations such as the United States and Australia where the
upper house An upper house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smalle ...
of the legislature is considered to be responsible for defending the rights of the states against the federal government. Provincial loyalties also intersect with ethnic and linguistic ones. This is most true of
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
, where the provincial government views itself as the guarantor of the "national" culture of Quebec.
Quebec nationalists Quebec nationalism or Québécois nationalism is a feeling and a political doctrine that prioritizes cultural belonging to, the defence of the interests of, and the recognition of the political legitimacy of the Québécois nation. It has been ...
often view the provincial government as the basis on which to build the ''
État québécois The French term , literally translated, is "the Quebec State". The term "State" can refer to public authority, or a state apparatus, as in ' "a state-owned enterprise, federal crown corporations (sociétés d’État)"). "State" may be used to ...
'', the Quebec State. Political movements in other provinces have also tried to use the provincial government as a force to build provincial autonomy and safeguard local identity. For example, in the 1930s the province of
Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
sought to print its own currency and impose regulations on the major banks which were all based outside of the province. From the 1940s to the 1970s the government of
Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...
attempted to build a
social democratic Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote soci ...
society in that province, and "provincialized" many industries including
automobile insurance Vehicle insurance (also known as car insurance, motor insurance, or auto insurance) is insurance for cars, trucks, motorcycles, and other road vehicles. Its primary use is to provide financial protection against physical damage or bodily injury r ...
, medical insurance,
electricity generation Electricity generation is the process of generating electric power from sources of primary energy. For electric utility, utilities in the electric power industry, it is the stage prior to its Electricity delivery, delivery (Electric power transmi ...
,
telecommunications Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that fe ...
, and potash mining. In the 2020s, province-building returned in the form of the ''
Saskatchewan First Act The Saskatchewan First Act is an act first introduced on November 1, 2022, during the third sitting of the 29th Saskatchewan Legislature. The act was passed on March 16, 2023. The purpose of the act is to confirm Saskatchewan's autonomy and to re- ...
'', the ''
Alberta Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act The ''Alberta Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act'', commonly known as the ''Alberta Sovereignty Act'', is an act introduced on November 29, 2022, the first day of the fall sitting of the 4th Session of the 30th Alberta Legislature by the Prem ...
'', and Bills 96 (amendments to the ''Charter of the French Language'') and 21 (the ''Act respecting the laicity of the State'').


References

* * * * {{Portal bar, Canada, Politics, Political science Canadian political phrases Political science terminology Provincial and territorial government in Canada Regionalism (politics)