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• Politics of Canada
  • Political culture of Canada
  • Political history of Canada

The history of Canada-US relations indicates that much of Canadian politics is defined by reaction to, opposition to, following, or leading US trends. The two North American nations are so similar as to be often indistinguishable to a casual outsider, much as Canadians pride themselves on being somehow different.

Origin of Differences

The differences between Canada and the United States' political structures date back to the American Revolutionary War. With the creation of the United States of America, the founders of that nation rejected the British monarchyand the Westminster system. In contrast Canada was created by the British Empire, and thus it chose to emulate the British Government. However, Canada copied some concepts from the US, such as a Senate (which acts more like the British House of Lords), a Supreme Court, and eventually a Constitution which spells out rights and freedoms.

Likewise the origin of the differences between the political polices of Canada and the United States can be traced back to that original divide in 1776. The revolutionaries chose a path of independence, innovation and rejection of class system. Canada chose a path of dependence on the British empire, being largely settled by United Empire Loyalists, many of whom were given generous land entitlements. For example the entire province of Prince Edward Island was partitioned to nobles of the Kings choosing, whom displaced the original French settlers. Thus while the United States government is meant represent the people, of which are entitled to fundamental rights, Canada's citizens are only permitted to have any rights by the graciousness of the Crown.

Division of powers

The United States is federation and Canada is a confederation, though in many ways Canada acts more as federation in practice. Both countries are divided into a number of governmental sub-units. In Canada these are known as provinces and territories, in the United States they are known quite aptly as states (as well as the District of Columbia). Due to the high amount of centralization in the Canadian system, Canadian provinces are often more greatly controlled by federal government than US States are. While Canadian provinces are responsible for most of Canada's social safety net, including health care, welfare and education most provinces rely heavily on federal funds. In the United States the federal government also exerts a great deal of power but because of the Checks and balances in the US system this control is often tempered by the different branches. While Canadian provinces follow a common criminal code, US states have many differing laws, creating differences in everything from gun control measures to capital punishment. While each State has its own police force, restricted by law to arrest in another State, many Canadian provinces share a common federal police force. While each State has equal representation regardless of population in the Senate, each Province receives representation based on its population. Like the United States Canadian provinces became as smaller copies of the federal government. Over time, however, all the provinces have eliminated their upper house, and are now all unicameral. Many similarities remain, however while governors are similar in role to the president, so Canadian premiers are comparable to the prime minister.

Municipal powers

Canadian municipalities have no rights whatsoever, legally, and are 'creatures of the province' in which they are located. They cannot sue nor can they apply moral purchasing standards in defiance of provincial standards. Provinces may merge and divide even cities at will, without consultation, and may ignore results of any referendum at the municipal level. For details of a current controversy, see the Toronto, Ontario article, and a discussion of the 1998 amalgamation.

Special powers of Quebec

Quebec is primarily French-speaking and like Louisiana in the US, follows the Napoleonic civil code with respect to its civil law. Quebec's public pension and social insurance schemes are kept in separate funds from those of the rest of Canada, and are managed by the powerful Caisse de Dépôt fund, which often provides investment capital to Quebec-based businesses that are deemed strategic by its government.

Provincial politics in Quebec tend to revolve on the question of Quebec separation from Canada, to create a new French-speaking nation-state. The large parties (Parti Québécois is separatist, the Quebec Liberal Party is federalist) are divided on the question, and only recently has Quebec politics shown signs of moving away from this polarization.

There is no state in the United States, by contrast, where state politics is so dominated by a party with the goal of separation from the USA. Although Puerto Rico which is a Commonwealth within the United States does share some parallels with the Quebec situation.

Equalization payments

The richer provinces, notably Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta, pay what are called 'provincial equalization payments' to the poorer regions, notably Newfoundland, the Maritimes, and the Territories, who are typically quite dependent on such payments. Quebec, Nova Scotia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan are typically not so dependent, nor called upon to contribute much, to the 'have-not provinces'.

The negotiations of provincial relief, and the draining of human capital (properly individual capital) from poorer provinces to richer ones, are constant concerns of Canadian provincial premiers. In the post-World-War-II period, Atlantic Canada lost many people to Central Canada (especially Ontario), and Western Canada (mostly Alberta in the 1980s oil boom and British Columbia later).

From time to time Canadian premiers have made intolerant remarks about this situation in public. Alberta Premier Ralph Klein once famously offered any unemployed person "a free bus ticket to Vancouver" (to exploit that government's more generous assistance). Ontario Premier Mike Harris once famously referred to Atlantic Canada as "welfare bums". Both reflected underlying resentment of making payments to poorer regions, often voiced by constituents in their generally-more-politically-conservative provinces, who feel they are paying for the social assistance in these other places.

Although these politics of 'have' and 'have-not' states are also present in the United States, there is less subsidy of the latter by the former, and more appreciation of the role 'have-not' states play in providing labor to 'have' states, and in serving in the military.

Political parties

There are five political parties with seats in the Canadian House of Commons, three of which have at times held power at some point in various provinces. Both countries continue to use a first past the post system of electing representatives. This can sometimes work to exaggerate regional differences and interests, whether in the name of Quebec or of the southern "Dixiecrats".

The vote-splitting effect on the Canadian parliamentary system has often resulted in governments that have an absolute majority of representatives elected by far less than half of the overall popular vote, and effectively accountable to no one until the next election. In the United States, by contrast, the election of G. W. Bush in 2000 with slightly less than half of the popular vote is an anomalous effect of the electoral college system. It is far more difficult for third parties or independents to be represented in the United States. This usually requires an exceptional personal popularity, as was the case with Jesse Ventura in Minnesota.

The five Canadian political parties in the federal parliament are:

• the Liberal Party of Canada which currently holds power
• the Canadian Alliance which forms the official opposition
• the Bloc Québécois which is an exclusively regional Quebec party
• the New Democratic Party which is similar to a European social-democratic party, with some 'green' elements including strong affiliations with the peace movement and ecology activists (the Green Party of Canada not being very strong)
• the Progressive Conservative Party which was the traditional right-wing party, and often held power but was devastated in 1993 when the Bloc and the Alliance's predecessor the Reform Party of Canada were formed largely out of disgruntled Conservative supporters.

The rise of the Bloc and decline of the Conservative party very drastically changed the political landscape of Canada. Before that, federal politics were dominated by two parties; the Conservatives and the Liberals.

A consequence of these changes has been that the Liberal Party has tended to move more to the center, and has successfully split the vote between two parties 'on the right' (PCs and the Alliance). Since the Liberals are often referred to colloquially as the 'Grits', this condition of perpetual Liberal control is called 'the Grit lock'.

Although the Clinton-era Democrats also moved to dominate the center of the political spectrum in the United States, they did not manage to successfully divide and conquer their opponents. Nonetheless the rise of the Reform Party of H. Ross Perot in 1992, and the rise of the Green Party of the United States in 2000, could both be said to have 'split the vote' and elected a candidate of opposite political views.

In the United States, by contrast, splits in the solidarity of 'the right' and 'the left' have generally been rather temporary, and quickly re-formed by binding together new coalitions, despite a more distinctive and enduring "liberal vs. conservative" culture that tends to make American political culture more dualistic.

Bureaucracy

A key and often unnoted difference between Canada and the United States is the role of professional bureaucrats. In Canada, as in the UK, very few appointed officials lose their jobs during a shift of government even to a new party. While the Prime Minister of Canada has power within his government and over his Supreme Court unknown elsewhere in the developed world (often leading to the comment that "we elect a dictator"), these powers do not extend to the unionized public service.

In the United States, by contrast, over 2500 jobs are direct appointments of the President of the United States, cabinet ministers need not be drawn from elected Members of Congress/Parliament, and "the whole top rank of every federal department is swept away and replaced" with each election. This is very different from the UK public service and Canadian public service situation, and creates very different dynamics, most notably in the conduct of Ministers vs. Secretaries:

A British or Canadian Minister is often in his or her job for a short time, not a specialist in the particular area of government, and must trust his or her Assistant Deputy Minister (only the Deputy being a political appointee) to convey his or her requests to the bureaucracy underneath.

An American Cabinet Secretary always takes one job for the duration of the Administration, unless they are replaced or resign from the government entirely. They have great power to replace their assistants, which extends deep down into the agencies they control, which have no effective unions.

While there are plenty of globally-experienced Americans appointed by each President, they are of course different people, and tend not to be 'insiders' to international institutions, which engage in constant diplomatic and interest group intrigue, requiring constant attention.

Bilingualism in French and English is an absolute and inflexible requirement of Canadian federal politics at the Cabinet level, and of bureaucrats at literally every level. Unilingual politicians are confined to provincial politics. Weak other-language skills among Cabinet Ministers also tend to increase the power of the very fluent bureaucrats, who are responsible for briefing the Ministers and for the translation of documents from one language into another.

Centralization of Power

In Canada there are far fewer 'checks and balances' than in the United States. The Prime Minister within Canada has vastly more power than the American president does. Since Canada's legislative and executive branches are fused the Prime Minister dominates both of them. Unlike the US congress the Prime Minister will always have the largest group of supporters in the House of Commons. Also the Prime Minister keeps very close controls on all members of parliament. In the United States there are often periods of cohabitation where congress is controlled by a different party than the White House. The president also has very limited control over the members of congress and must often bargain and make deals for support there.

The judicial branch in Canada is also closely controlled by the Prime Minister as they have complete power over the decision as to who becomes a Supreme Court judge. In the US, by contrast, all judicial appointments must be approved by the Senate. Until 1982 the Canadian judicial branch was for less powerful than the US one because Canada had nothing comparable to the US Bill of Rights. However in 1982 under the urging of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms was added to the constitution giving the courts far more power. However, in Canada's charter there is a Notwithstanding Clause, which allows any government to protect a bill from certain areas of the charter.

The centralization of power in Canada has certain benefits and certain liabilities when compared with the American system. A clear line of authority means it is very clear who in government is responsible for any given issue. Unlike in the US the Prime Minister is wholly accountable for the economy, security and other national concerns. The rigid control of Members of Parliament in Canada also serves to reduce corruption and reduce the influence of money in Canadian politics. Unlike American Senators MPs do not need to raise great deals of money, and because they are far less powerful there is far less interest from companies to donate to them. The advantages of the US system include that it is more flexible and more representative as each congressperson can make their own decisions on each issue. This leads to greater regional representation by each party, it also helps discourage the proliferation of third parties which occurs often in Canada.

To summarize the differences:

• Canada:
  • Hybrid liberalism civic nature with a strong strand of Tory deference.
  • Regional distinction
  • 2 Party qualified but more recently developed a more multiparty system.
  • Post-materialism of 1960s.
  • Oppositional relationship generally except for business links with parties and elites.
  • Fused executive and legislative branches
  • Very powerful Prime Minister

• United States:
  • Constitutionalism
  • Acceptance of limited state
  • Checks and balances
  • Individualism
  • Civic Culture
  • 2 Party System made up of catch-all parties.
  • Post-materialism and protest in the 1960s

Multilateralism

Canada is committed to the concept of multilateralism and collective security. It is one of the largest backers of the United Nations and supports most international initiatives, such as the Kyoto Protocols, the International Criminal Court, and the International Ban on Land Mines. The United States pursues both unilateral and multilateral policies at different times, depending on what is in their self interest. Many Americans have problems with the United Nations and are unwilling to see their sovereignty impinged by international organizations. Both Canada and the United States are committed to international economic organizations such as the International Monetary Fund, World Trade Organization and the World Bank.

See also: Politics of Canada, United States Government, Canada-US relations, Canadian provinces and territories, states of the United States of America.