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Federalism, Elections, and Regionalism
Geography and political divisions
in Canada
Canada is, without question, a country dominated by a vast and diverse
geography – and it has the demographics to match.
But the country has become overwhelmingly urban. Most Canadians
live on a thin strip of land (in a ribbon of cities and towns)
that hovers just above the 49 th parallel. In fact, 90% of Canadians
live within 200 kilometres of the United States border.
However, Canada retains one of the strongest traditions of federalist
political organizations in the world. The federalist system – breaking
Canada's government structures into provincial jurisdictions – is
designed to appreciate and reflect marked regional variance across
the country.
Equally, Canada's electoral system has several allowances to ensure
that no single demographic, or region, is able to dominate the
government. For instance, the senatorial and grandfather clauses
are designed to protect the
interests of smaller provinces and rural regions.
Regionalism in Canada
Canadian history has been shaped by a constant power struggle between
the provincial capitals and the federal capital in Ottawa.
Recent history shows that, more than ever, provincial and regional
interests are shaping Canadian elections.
The rivalry between Quebec and Ontario has dominated Canada's political
history. But, increasingly, these traditional power centres are
being challenged by western Canada's growing economic/population
base (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba).
Meanwhile, Atlantic Canada maintains its own struggle to wrest
power from central Canada.
And the electoral system itself has played a big part in the rise
of regionalism. Western Canada, in many ways, feels cheated by
the traditional dominance of Eastern centres and by special allowances
for historically significant partners in confederation. For example,
the senatorial and grandfather clauses are perceived to fly in
the face of populist democratic values widely held in the west.
Indeed, both reforms
to the senate chamber (seen as dominated by central
Canada), as well as reforms to the electoral system, are ‘hot
button' topics in western Canada.
However, while constitutional reform is a difficult option, any
electoral reforms will likely continue to take into account a
diversity of regional political variants, such as the rural/urban
divide.
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