New Trends in Canadian Federalism

This second edition renews the promise of the first: it offers a fresh and comprehensive exploration of the complexity of Canadian federal politics. It begins with a comprehensive section on constitutional politics, which examines topics ranging from executive federalism to multiculturalism including new chapters on judicial review and the division of powers, Aboriginal governance and federalism, and the implication of treaty rights for self-governance. This is followed by seven chapters that both provide a select survey of public policy areas and explore the impact of federal-provincial relations on policy evolution and outcomes. Updated chapters on trade policy, labour policy, the environment, regionalism, and, of course, health care are all to be found, alongside new work on social assistance and Canadian federalism and federation in comparative perspective. Throughout, the book reveals the visions that have animated Canada’s longstanding constitutional debates, the role of executive federalism and the courts in relation to the evolution of federalism, and the essential dynamism of policy development. Together they demonstrate that, despite the lack of a formal constitutional agreement, important changes are occurring in the Canadian federal system.