Managing federal-provincial relations under a minority government
Former prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau faced his fair share of inter-governmental dustups in Canada. It was no wonder given his central focus on all things constitutional — particularly his commitment to repatriating the constitution and entrenching a Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
After all, Canada does operate under a federal system of governance in which provinces have exclusive powers and responsibilities that they jealously protect.
Waging jurisdictional battles with Ottawa, then, is just part of the federal-provincial game.
It goes without saying that there is almost always a certain amount of healthy tension, bickering and stress in the federation.
Fundamentally, it’s no stretch to argue that provincial governments in Canada are never really happy about the state of inter-governmental affairs. They always seem to want more of one thing or another (and less federal intrusion) — namely, greater legislative competence, enhanced provincial autonomy and certainly more financial resources.
They used to call it “provincebuilding;” more like strengthening the provinces at the expense of the federal government, I’d say.
I’m sure that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau heard an earful from his father about those dastardly provincial premiers like René Lévesque (Quebec), Peter Lougheed (Alberta) and Allan Blakeney (Saskatchewan).
So you can just imagine what Justin Trudeau is likely telling his own children today about provincial premiers like Francois Legault, Jason Kenney and Scott Moe.
As that old saying goes: The more things change, the more they stay the same.
But as Alberta’s economy struggles mightily, and a growing “Wexit” movement on the Prairies emerges, the tone in
Western Canada has become increasingly more strident. The day after the Oct. 21 federal election, Alberta’s Kenney cut to the chase: “If the frustration and alienation in Alberta continues to mount, it will pose a very serious challenge to national unity.”
In nearby Saskatchewan, Premier Moe, after outlining a series of “new deal” dictates, was even more pointed: “There is a fire burning here in the Prairie provinces. What I am doing is handing him (Trudeau) a fire extinguisher and asking him not to show up with a gas can.”
Just after the election writ was issued, Quebec Premier Francois Legault entered the fray with his own set of demands, revolving around increased language (identity) protections for the province, more control over tax collection and an enhanced role in matters of immigration. And in his post-election press conference, Legault said bluntly: “I want to be clear. Yes we want constructive, pragmatic relations with the federal government, but it’s important that the federal government respect Quebec as a nation.”
Similarly, Bloc Québécois leader Yves-Francois Blanchet stated plainly that he does not want to focus his energies on advancing the sovereigntist project at this time. But on the last day of the election campaign, he noted that his platform “affirms that the nation (Quebec) must again consider giving itself all the attributes of sovereignty.”
Having said all of that, what we’re seeing right now is not a full-blown national unity crisis. Indeed, we are witnessing once again the natural outgrowths of a country comprised of 10 individual fiefdoms all advancing their specific economic, cultural and political interests.
Of course, it’s nothing new for a Canadian prime minister to have to defuse episodic outbreaks of provincial outrage and regional fissures within the federation. The trick is to find the right mix of disincentives and incentives — including withholding financial resources, utilizing divide-and-conquer strategies against a particular province, incorporating regional voices in the decision-making process in Ottawa and even meeting one-on-one with disgruntled provincial premiers.
Accordingly, PM Trudeau will need to respond positively to Western Canada’s policy agenda, utilize the outstanding negotiating skills of Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland and avoid pitting one region of the country against another. He should also start thinking about hosting an issue-specific (e.g., pharmacare and climate change) First Ministers’ Conference in the spring of 2020.
Yes, federal-provincial relations could go sideways fairly quickly for Mr. Trudeau. But the deft management of those relations could also offer him just as many opportunities to strengthen his hand going into the next federal election.