Empire, Crown and Canadian Federalism

Abstract

AbstractThis article argues that imperialism and the Crown have determined the development of Canadian federalism. It maintains that the prominence of the provinces, the most distinctive feature of this country's federal system, is traceable, first, to the empire's evolution in the last century and its dissolution in this and, second, to the capacity of the Crown to endow the provinces with unlimited potential for action in areas of jurisdiction not assigned to Parliament. The structuring effect of these primary influences is examined from several perspectives: geographic, economic, social and constitutional. The article concludes that the provinces have been the true beneficiaries of Canada's heritage of empire and Crown.