Changing with the Times: Success, Failure and Inertia in Canadian Federal Arrangements, 1945-2001

In this paper, following an introductory section setting out some salient characteristics of the country and its key institutions, we examine three aspects of Canada’s federal arrangements over the last half-century. We have chosen these three examples to illustrate, first, an instance in which successful changes were gradually made over time to accommodate changing economic and political circumstances, second, an instance in which the outcome of even greater efforts at changing institutions in the face of political demands was a resounding failure, and, finally, an instance in which, despite the apparent economic desirability of a change, none has even been attempted. The success story is the marked change that has taken place in the sharing of the personal income tax between the federal and the provincial governments. The failure is the unsuccessful attempt to amend the Constitution Act of 1982 to satisfy the demands of Québec, the majority francophone province in Canada. Finally, the story that has not happened is the creation of a national securities commission to replace the existing provincial commissions.