Intergovernmental and Administrative Federalism

• Author: Kathy L. Brock/Geoffrey Hale
• Pages: 101-118

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Intergovernmental and

Administrative Federalism

Introduction

Canada’s federal system does not function as a series of watertight

compartments, in which the activities of dierent governments

function in relative isolation. Even in areas in which jurisdictions

are distinct, policy choices over many years create various kinds of

interdependence — particularly in accommodating the movement

of people, goods, services, and capital across national, provincial,

and territorial borders (including those of Indigenous commun-

ities). But more than that, the interests, activities, and ambitions of

senior orders of government overlap and often compete, as do those

of dierent provinces, and relevant economic and societal interests.

e result is often a system of multi-level governance in which

the policy making and regulatory activities of federal, provincial,

and sometimes local and/or Indigenous governments overlap to

varying degrees, with rule-making and governance processes “inter-

acting, reinforcing (and/or) colliding” at dierent levels. Canadian

regulatory systems may also be inf‌luenced, directly or indirectly, by

international agreements, system-wide or sector-specif‌ic regulatory

trends, and periodic policy shocks: events or trends that disrupt

FEDERALISM IN CANADA

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established patterns of political, economic, and/or social activities

within and across national borders.

Managing these realities requires the development of political

and administrative processes to establish a practical (and some-

times principled) basis for cooperation; reconcile competing inter-

ests, where possible; balance aspirations for self-rule and shared

rule across jurisdictions; and work out day-to-day administrative

processes for politicians, public servants, individual Canadians, and

businesses to navigate these policies. While disputes over jurisdic-

tional boundaries may be resolved by the courts, more frequently

they are managed through political and bureaucratic relationships

of senior elected ocials and public servants.

Executive federalism describes the processes for negotiat-

ing and managing policy relations in various f‌ields between and

among senior (executive) decision-makers in federal, provincial,

and increasingly territorial (F/P/T) governments in Canada. Key

decision-makers in such cases include f‌irst ministers (prime min-

isters and premiers), Cabinet ministers responsible for overseeing

specif‌ic policy and regulatory f‌ields (for example, f‌iscal issues, f‌inan-

cial institutions, income transfer policies, immigration, and labour

market training), their deputy ministers, senior advisers, and lead-

ers of related F/P/T regulatory agencies. Some observers suggest a

trend toward greater “informality” in f‌irst ministers’ meetings since

the s, ref‌lected in the frequent use of online and telephone

meetings during the – pandemic. Such approaches place

a greater priority on discussion than decision-making, reducing

opportunities for political grandstanding, while leaving room for

lower-prof‌ile discussions and agreements among individual, policy-

specif‌ic ministers and their senior ocials.

Administrative federalism describes processes for implementing

policy decisions arising from the processes of executive federalism

and for adapting them to evolving circumstances. It involves the

nuts-and-bolts of day-to-day interactions of government depart-

ments and specialized regulators, along with processes available